The 7th-gen iPad mini may arrive this year

With fall rapidly approaching, Apple is gearing up to release new iPhones, Apple Watches, and M3 Macs. But a new rumor claims we might be an unexpected new iPad too.

According to ShrimpApplePro, which has a pretty decent record when it comes to Apple rumors, the 7th-generation iPad mini will arrive this fall. The leaker doesn’t share any details other than they will share more about the update in “the next post.” Previous rumors suggested that 2023 would be a quiet year for the iPad, with the 5th-gen Air, M2 Pro, and redesigned 10-gen model all arriving in 2022, though an update to the iPad mini was always a possibility.

After the first three models, the iPad mini has had an irregular update schedule, with three and a half years passing between the iPad mini 4 and the fifth generation, and 30 months between the fifth and sixth generations:

• iPad mini: October 2012
• iPad mini 2: October 2013
• iPad mini 3: October 2014
• iPad mini 4: September 2015
• iPad mini (5th-gen): March 2019
• iPad mini (6th-gen): September 2021

That would mark two years since the 6th-gen iPad mini made its debut with a full redesign that dumped the home button, increased the screen size from 7.9 inches to 8.3 inches, and switched from Lightning to USB-C. At the time of its release, it was the first Apple product to use the A15 Bionic processor, arriving before the iPhone 12 that year.

The new iPad mini will presumably get Wi-FI 6E and an A16 or A17 processor, but it’s not clear what else will be new about the device other than a few new colors. It already has all of the modern iPad features, including Center Stage, Apple Pencil 2 support, and 5G, and is unlikely to get ProMotion or a Smart Connector like the larger models.

ShrimpApplePro isn’t the first to suggest that the iPad mini could be updated by the end of 2023. Back in December 2022, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that “Apple is currently working on a new version of the iPad mini equipped with a new processor as the main selling point, and the mass shipment is expected to start by the end of 2023 or in 1H24.”

But if you’re looking to buy one, you should probably hold off for a couple of more months. For all of the latest information about the iPad mini 7, stay tuned to our iPad mini 7 rumor roundup.