Compal Expected to Assemble iPad Mini 5 Launching 'Later in 2019' - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Compal Expected to Assemble iPad Mini 5 Launching 'Later in 2019'

Taiwanese manufacturer Compal Electronics is expected to be a supplier of the so-called iPad mini 5 when the tablet launches later in 2019, according to DigiTimes. This would likely entail final assembly of the device.

ipad mini 4 2017 roundup header

‌iPad mini‌ 4

Rumors suggest Apple will release the new ‌iPad mini‌ as early as this spring, likely alongside a new seventh-generation iPad with a slightly larger 10-inch display. Apple's plans to release a new ‌iPad mini‌ have been reported by Ming-Chi Kuo, Mark Gurman, DigiTimes, and the China Times.

Apple has debuted new iPads in March for three consecutive years, including the 9.7-inch iPad Pro in 2016, the fifth-generation ‌iPad‌ in 2017, and the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌ in 2018, so there's a good chance that Apple will unveil the ‌iPad mini‌ 5 and the new 10-inch ‌iPad‌ in a little over a month from now.

Kuo said the new ‌iPad mini‌ will feature an upgraded processor and a lower-cost panel, but few details are known beyond that.

The current iPad mini 4 was released in September 2015. The tablet features a 7.9-inch display with 326 PPI, A8 chip, 2GB of RAM, Touch ID, 8-megapixel rear camera, a Lightning connector, dual speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is available with 128GB of storage for $399 (Wi-Fi) and $529 (LTE).

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Caution)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Remain 'Ready' to Launch

Sunday March 22, 2026 6:33 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled nine new products this month, but the wait continues for the next-generation Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini models. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other...
ios 26 4 pastel

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...

Top Rated Comments

93 months ago
Give us an iPad Mini 5 and iPhone SE 2 with updated specs & a lot of people will be happy.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
93 months ago
I hope they won't go full penny-pinching again and use the old chassis (but seeing Cook's track record, I'm sure that's exactly what they'll do)
My bet is on it being thicker, lower quality screen for the same $399. And this new 10 inch iPad rumor will have similar crappy parts for $499.

Apple wants us to feel compelled to buy an iPad Pro. There’s no way they will give us what we want— a full-featured iPad Mini with a sub $500 price.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
93 months ago
I hope they won't go into full penny-pinching mode again and use the old chassis (but seeing Cook's track record, I'm sure that's exactly what they'll do)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
93 months ago
Mom's original iPad Mini is very slow now. We're waiting for a replacement to show up. Can't justify buying the "current" Mini now, at that price.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G5isAlive Avatar
93 months ago
The excitement builds... knowing that no matter what is released there are going to be three basic comments
1) who wants this? update the Mac Pro!
2) they cheaped out, I want a fully featured iPad mini Pro at half the cost!
3) its too expensive, I want just a basic device.

The minority will say, just what I have been waiting for!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
w_aldo Avatar
93 months ago

Kuo said the new iPad mini will feature an upgraded processor and a lower-cost panel
So an air gap, then?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)