14 DAY TRIAL // With Apple’s iPad event just two days away, a research note from KGI Securities indicates that some of the tech specs recently dished out by the media may have been inaccurate.
A prominent analyst with a fair track record of predicting Apple’s hardware releases, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has released a research note according to which Apple will indeed release two new iPad models next week.
These are, of course, the fifth-generation iPad with a 9.7-inch display, and the second-generation iPad mini, with a 7.9-inch display.
The consensus among analysts is that both tablets will be getting the new A7 chip debuted in the iPhone 5s, but Kuo’s research has led him to believe that Apple will actually equip the larger tablet with a more powerful, A7X processor.
The iPad mini 2 will be the one getting the A7 and, as many pundits have claimed, the diminutive tablet will also be getting a Retina display.
However, Kuo cautions that supplies of the smaller tablet will be heavily constrained, mainly because Apple’s suppliers are having difficulties churning out massive amounts of Retina displays.
The new iPads will “probably” not feature the Touch ID fingerprint sensor as Apple is allocating full production capacity for the hot-selling iPhone 5s.
The same goes for the Gold finish. Neither tablet will actually sport this new look for now, according to Kuo’s research.
Design-wise, the iPad 5 will look a lot like the iPad mini (but bigger). The slimmer iPad 5 will be 20% lighter than the previous-generation model, “down to around 7.5 mm and 500 grams,” Kuo says.
The new iPads will also gain the new 8MP iSight camera found in the iPhone 5s, according to KGI’s analyst.