New report claims iPad mini with 2048 x 1536 display coming this fall

iPad mini (landscape, in hand, display)

While alleged iPhone 5S component leaks continue to surface, we’ve heard and seen little news lately regarding the next generation iPad mini. The highly anticipated refresh is expected to fix the most common complaint in the slate’s otherwise glowing reviews: the display.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen several reports claiming that Apple is going to be adding a Retina display to its popular 8-inch tablet this year. And we’ve got a new one today that corroborates that theory, claiming that the device is set to land in the third quarter…

The report comes from German blog Mobileaks (via Cult of Mac):

“The iPad Mini 2 has not been confirmed by Apple, but we have just received a detailed render of our tipster. In addition, we also received a list of some specifications of the new mini tablet. The screen will remain the same as the first iPad Mini, namely 7.9 inches. But the bezel is brought to a minimum, so there has been a nearly edge-to-edge screen.

The screen resolution is 2048 x 1536 pixels, so there is a Retina display with a ppi of 324. The processor of the iPad Mini 2 is the Apple A6X, who also was fitted on the iPad 4.”

Mobileaks doesn’t have any kind of track record with Apple intel, but the fact that many details here line up with previous reports adds weight to their story. It’s quite likely that, if the next mini does have a Retina display, Apple will go with the familiar 2048 x 1536.

Render-iPad-Mini-2

That being said, we’re not sure if we buy the whole bezel-shrinking bit. The mini is already extremely small; so small in fact that most pundits don’t think that Apple is going to be able to squeeze a Retina display into its current dimensions, let alone something smaller.

But bezel size aside, the second gen iPad mini is expected to debut this fall alongside a slew of other Apple product refreshes. Also set for a pre-holiday unveiling is a redesigned iPad 5, a beefed up iPhone 5S, a budget iPhone, and possibly even the long-rumored iWatch.