First iPad Mini Part Potentially Leaked, Device Rendered in 3D

As fall 2012 approaches, the iPhone 5 is on everybody’s lips. The device has garnered so much attention, it is disrupting the mobile industry before it even comes to existence. But that’s not the only thing on the table for this year’s updates.

The reputable John Gruber says we have every reason to believe Apple is, indeed, coming out with an iPad mini this year. The iPhone 5 is stealing its spotlight, he says.

“A question I’ve seen (and myself pondered) recently: given the deluge of leaks of purported parts from the imminent new iPhone, where are the equivalent parts leaks from this smaller iPad?” writes Gruber.

The author of Daring Fireball points out to comments made by “a few smart colleagues” of his who reportedly noted that “that the new iPhone is almost certainly further ahead in production.”

“Supply chain leaks for the new iPhone are perhaps inevitable at this point, if Apple is preparing to have tens of millions of units en route from China five weeks from now,” says the Apple pundit.

“Perhaps the new smaller iPad is on a different schedule — announced alongside the new iPhone on September 12, but shipping a few weeks later.”

The first hardware leak purporting to show an iPad mini part comes from French site Nowhereelse, which delivered the above photo showing a dock connector that doesn’t fit any existing Apple device.

It’s not small enough to be in the iPhone, and it’s not large enough for a normal iPad. As Cultofmac points out, even the knowledgeable repair shop iFixit believes it to be a legitimate Apple part.

Designer Maurizio Vitale now chimes in with some 3D renderings of the rumored device. Taking cues from the aforementioned John Gruber’s blog entry, he envisioned a device with a narrower bezel, making it look like blown-up iPod touch. Which is really the consensus among tech pundits.