The third member of the iPad mini family has just been named and shown to the public. The device will begin shipping next week, is named the iPad mini 3 and follows the iPad mini and the iPad mini with Retina display. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has yet to go into the exacting detail and praise that it lavished on the iPad Air 2 it just released but it’s becoming clearer what the company has done with this third-generation iPad mini 3.
Apple iPad mini arrives
The iPad mini 3 will be available for pre-order tomorrow (17 October) and will begin shipping next week and rumors suggest next week means Friday. The core specs are not dissimilar to that of the iPad Air 2. The iPad mini 3 will include Touch ID, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and A8 processor, rather than the A8X processor run by the iPad Air 2.
The iPad mini will be made available in white, silver and gold and the Touch ID will be built into the Home button as expected. It will ship with a 5 megapixel iSight camera that supports full-HD (1080p) video recording, a FaceTime HD front-facing camera, and will support up to 802/11n with MIMO as far as Wi-Fi is concerned.
The iPad mini will cost from $399 for the 16GB model, $499 for 64GB and $599 for 128GB for models with Wi-Fi only. While the company intends to make the device with LTE options as well that pricing was not available at the time of this writing.
Reduced prices on older models
Additionally, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced that it would reduce prices on older models of the iPad Mini. The original model will now be available for $249 with the iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 2 with Retina Display going for $299.
While just simple speculation, this might not sell as Apple wants. With just a 7.9in Retina display, one could easily question the wisdom of the new device given the increased screen size of the newly released and hugely popular iPhone 6 plus. That is, however, just one person’s opinion and it comes from someone who has been wrong before on a number of occasions including a number of occasions with regards to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also released its best desktop ever today, a 27″ Retina Display iMac, but we will get into that amazing machine in a different piece as it looks and reads truly remarkable.
