The next iPad mini might launch with the iPhone 15 and Apple Watch 9

Apple might be releasing a new iPad mini this year, according to a new report. The report follows analyst statements earlier in 2023 that the company was planning to update the iPad mini with a spec bump. Apple’s small tablet was last updated with the iPad mini 2021, alongside the iPhone 13.

Today’s report comes from ShrimpApplePro, a leaker on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. According to the leak, Apple is considering releasing a new iPad mini this year. It would reportedly debut with the Apple Watch Series 9, so likely around the same time as the iPhone 15 launch, or a month later if not. The leaker does not expect Apple to make big changes to the iPad mini this year, instead restricting the updates to a spec bump.

The recent report tallies with what other Apple watchers, including Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, have said in the past. The substance of what a minor spec refresh could constitute has not been shared. It could be as simple as updating the A15 Bionic chip powering it, giving the 2023 iPad mini more headroom in the future.

It would be about time

It’s rough out there for mini product lovers. The few mini products out there that hit a niche are infrequently updated; the others are simply taken out back unceremoniously, as was the case with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini phones.

Apple updating the iPad mini this year would at least give the impression that it is committed to at least one line of mini products, training people who want to invest in small tablets to wait for a release cycle that falls every other year.

It’s not as if Apple’s other tablets don’t have a similar cycle. It’s simply that with the bulk of the tablets being 10-11 inches, waiting your turn in the tablet release cycle will certainly feel longer than ever.