Rumored 10.8-inch iPad may launch before the end of 2020; expect 8.5-inch iPad mini in early 2021

If you are getting ready to upgrade your iPad situation at some point in the future, then you may be keeping tabs on what analysts and rumors are saying about two upcoming models, the 10.8-inch iPad and 8.5-inch iPad mini.

So you’ll probably want to know that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has weighed in on the subject again, saying that we should expect to see the larger of the two models launch before the end of this year. According to Kuo (via MacRumors), Apple is currently planning on launching the tablet in the second half of 2020, but there isn’t a specific date to circle on the calendar just yet.

Interestingly, we still don’t know where this 10.8″ iPad fits within the lineup, or, more specifically, which current iPad the new one will be replacing. As it stands right now, Apple has the 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad Air, which features a 10.5-inch display. So the new model will be bigger than both, but the rumor mill isn’t giving us a clear picture which model it will be replacing, or if it will be replacing any of them.

Meanwhile, the refresh to the iPad mini will apparently happen sometime in early 2021, according to Kuo. No exact release date for this tablet, either, but when the model does launch it will feature an 8.5-inch screen. Apple last upgraded the iPad mini in 2019, after a lengthy wait time between upgrades, so a turnaround in 2021 will be pretty quick in comparison.

Now, if you’ll recall, there was a report last week that said Apple could include a 20W power adapter in the box of at least one of the iPhone 12 models expected to arrive this fall. That’s not the case, according to Kuo, who believes that Apple is going to include that 20W adapter with both the aforementioned iPad models, and not the new iPhones at all.

Instead, Apple is apparently planning on ditching not only the wired EarPods, but also the charger in the iPhone 12 lineup’s boxes. That would line up with expectations from other analysts at this point in time, so these changes for what’s in the box might be something worth preparing for now, well ahead of time.

What do you make of all these changes regarding what’s supposed to be in the next iPhone’s box? Do you agree with the possibility that Apple will remove both EarPods and the charger? Or do you think this is the wrong move?