Bloomberg: iPad mini coming later this year with major redesign, 27″ iMac replacement in the works
The iPad mini has looked pretty much the same since its inception, however Bloombergs Mark Gurman says a major redesign is about to be launched later this year. Gurman called it “the greatest redesign in the nine-year history” of the iPad mini on his Turned on podcast.
Last month, we saw renderings that showed thinner frames, no TouchID Home button, and squared pages, similar to the iPad Air. This follows a previous report from Gurman who claimed the same design changes.
The thinner frame allows Apple to fit a larger screen – 8.5 to 9 inches diagonally, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, up to the 7.9 ”standard so far. There will also be other changes, such as joining its larger siblings by replacing the light port with a USB-C port. TouchID will still be on board, but built into the on / off button instead.
iPad Air (2020) and rumors iPad mini 6 • The new iPad mini design will be based on Air
The podcast has other interesting details about Apple’s plans. It is claimed that the company is working on replacing the current 27 ”iMac, which uses Intel Core processors, with one that uses Apple silicon.
It’s not the Apple M1, but perhaps one of the upcoming chipsets, the M1X. Note that while it replaces the 27 ”model, this new iMac may have a larger screen. The new chip and screen could enable the new model to serve as a replacement for the now discontinued iMac Pro, which made its debut in 2017.
The current 27 ”iMac (non-pro) lineup was updated last year, so they are not as old, but they are not in line with Apple’s Intel-free strategy. The only Apple-powered iMacs currently have a 23.5 ”screen, and they use the M1. There is still no question of replacing the 21.5 ”model, which has not been touched for years (it has a 7th generation i5).
The 23.5 “M1-powered iMac
You can check out the free version of Switch on, where Gurman talks about the Apple Card and a potential rival to Square (a financial services company known for turning iPads into outlets). The iPad mini, iMac and other info are part of the paid podcast.
