All-Glass iPad 5, iPad mini 2 Expected To Be lighter, Thinner, Debut In Q3

Stabley Times’ Jake Robison reports that Apple will make both the taller iPad 5 and shorter iPad mini 2 more svelte than their predecessors, slimming down both models for their release date in 2013.

Robison says the rumor cites a thinner front bezel as the source of the iPad diet plan, which should make the new models more lightweight in addition to being thinner – and moreover that they could mirror the iPhone by moving to an all-glass body. He notes that Apple has encountered difficulty in shrinking the full size iPad any further due to limitations of aging Lithium-ion battery technology prevent the batteries of iPads and mobile devices from drastically shrinking until a more efficient battery technology is invented, so the front face material is the only avenue left whereby bulk can be diminished, consequently the material used on the front face of the new iPads will be dictated by whichever material Apple determines can be effectively used in the thinnest quantity.

Robison observes that glass case material used for the iPhone is essentially bulletproof and has proved more durable than earlier iPhone models made of acrylic as well as thinner and lighter.

Apple’s Next-gen 9.7″ iPad Expected To Be 25% lighter, 15% Thinner, Debut In Q3

Appleinsider’s Mikey Campbell reports that noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, in a note obtained by AppleInsider, says he expects Apple’s fifth-generation iPad to be substantially smaller than the current model, while still managing to carry a GF2 touch panel, A7X processor and other improvements over its predecessor.

“We think the tablet will, at 7.5-8.0mm, be 15% thinner than iPad 4,” Kuo writes, and that he sees the “iPad 5” as requiring less juice, and expects a 25 to 30 percent decrease in battery size, facilitating a 15 to 20 percent reduction in thickness.

Internally, the next iPad is expected to be powered by a new A7-series SoC manufactured using Samsung’s 28 nanometer process, improving efficiency while increasing processing power, although he expects the fourth-generation unit’s 5-megapixel camera will be carried over, along with the front-facing FaceTime HD package, production to start ramping up in July and August ahead of a shipments in August or September.

MacRumors’ Eric Slivka also has a report on Ming-Chi Kuo’s predictions here:
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