Rumor: Suspect 'iPad mini' mockup allegedly shows front plate design

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
A new mockup of the Apple's so-called "iPad mini" showed up on a Chinese website early Tuesday, with the non-working unit appearing to have a fabricated front glass attached to the device's rumored backplate.

While the legitimacy of the mockup is highly suspect, the unit is one of the first physical representations of how Apple's rumored 7.85-inch tablet may look if and when it is released this fall.

Given that there are many inconsistencies with the mockup and previous "leaks," the validity of the unit, including the front assembly's bezel, cannot be confirmed by AppleInsider. As such, the images are presented here only for purposes of discussion.

The apparently non-functioning model, first discovered on website BoLoPad.com by nowhereelse.fr, seems to be based on the purportedly leaked iPad mini backplate seen earlier this month, except Tuesday's images show what looks to be markings for storage capacity, model specifications and governmental certifications.

Mockup Back
Source: BoLoPad


Centered near the top of the backplate is a small hole or opening, the purpose of which is unknown.

Rounding out the parts seen on the unit's backside are volume rocker and power buttons, a rear-facing camera and hold switch, all of which are most likely non-functional and may not even be official Apple parts.

Mockup Bottom


On the front is a front assembly possibly made from glass, with bezels strikingly similar to those seen in a mockup from iMore in August, though the no light seems to emanating from the screen, possibly pointing to a paper placeholder. Sitting in the center of the top bezel is a hole for a front-facing camera, though the positioning is not centered, being slightly higher than the part seen on the 9.7-inch iPad.

Mockup Front
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    now, I believe any rumor because of iphone 4s, 5 which was exactly the same as rumors. so if ipad mini will look like that with some shitty features like iphone 5, I will never buy apple forever. plus, ipad mini price will be steep. look at ipod touch 5G. it starts $299. so if it would be $399 as basic model, it is also non-sense because high end ipod touch model is $399. there is no advantage of buying over a big ipad. epic fails. this company faces with limitation finally without Steve Jobs Tim Cook has no idea what he is doing.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    Have we seen any legitimate leaks for the Mini? All I remember seeing up to this point are "mockups" and "drawings" of what it "might" look like.

    Anyway if all these are legit, I hope the price isn't higher than $300 as some here have postulated.
  • Reply 3 of 54

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archurban View Post



    now, I believe any rumor because of iphone 4s, 5 which was exactly the same as rumors. so if ipad mini will look like that with some shitty features like iphone 5, I will never buy apple forever. plus, ipad mini price will be steep. look at ipod touch 5G. it starts $299. so if it would be $399 as basic model, it is also non-sense because high end ipod touch model is $399. there is no advantage of buying over a big ipad. epic fails. this company faces with limitation finally without Steve Jobs Tim Cook has no idea what he is doing.


     


    Well, if your business acumen is as good as your spelling and grammar, then all those Apple shareholder suckers truly are in trouble. Sell, everyone, quick!!!


     


    Seriously, though, the iPad Mini may be able to use a cheaper screen (same resolution as iPads 1 & 2) and other cheaper components than the iPod Touch. This would allow of a similar or lower price-point while still being competitive. Then it will be up to the buyer to decide which form factor they prefer. It may still not happen, of course, but I think it could do very well, given the evident market.

  • Reply 4 of 54
    red oakred oak Posts: 1,087member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archurban View Post



    now, I believe any rumor because of iphone 4s, 5 which was exactly the same as rumors. so if ipad mini will look like that with some shitty features like iphone 5, I will never buy apple forever. plus, ipad mini price will be steep. look at ipod touch 5G. it starts $299. so if it would be $399 as basic model, it is also non-sense because high end ipod touch model is $399. there is no advantage of buying over a big ipad. epic fails. this company faces with limitation finally without Steve Jobs Tim Cook has no idea what he is doing.


    I love your broken English. It reads like a Samsung press release or newspaper ad 

  • Reply 5 of 54

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archurban View Post



    now, I believe any rumor because of iphone 4s, 5 which was exactly the same as rumors. so if ipad mini will look like that with some shitty features like iphone 5, I will never buy apple forever. plus, ipad mini price will be steep. look at ipod touch 5G. it starts $299. so if it would be $399 as basic model, it is also non-sense because high end ipod touch model is $399. there is no advantage of buying over a big ipad. epic fails. this company faces with limitation finally without Steve Jobs Tim Cook has no idea what he is doing.


    by shitty you mean having the best screen, the best processor, the best GPU, the best UI speed (by a gigantic margin), the best 4g browsing battery life, the best looks, being the lightest and thinnest?


     


    god, i hope so.

  • Reply 6 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    archurban wrote: »
    now, I believe any rumor because of iphone 4s, 5 which was exactly the same as rumors.

    If rumours contradict how can you believe any rumour? Well, in that case, I'm starting one that iPad mini will actually be a chip you shove in your eyeball.
  • Reply 7 of 54
    The iPhone 5 was a little disappointing, and frankly a small version of an iPad isn't exactly earth shattering either, particularly since Amazon and Google have adequate small tablets on the market already. Apple makes great stuff, but they need to shake things up again.
  • Reply 8 of 54
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Apple could easily bring in an iPad Mini/Nano between the iPod and existing iPad 3rd Gen, they just need to drop the iPad 2.

    Then the product line would be as follows FROM MARCH 2013
    iPod Shuffle $49
    iPod Nano $149
    iPod Touch (4th Gen) 16GB $199 / 32GB $249
    iPod Touch (5th Gen) 16GB $299 / 32GB $399
    iPad Mini 16GB $399 - Justify price by using retina display resolution 2048x1536 326ppi. A5X chip
    iPad (retina) 16GB $499 / 32GB $599 / 64GB $699 A6 chip

    Of course, Apple don't NEED to release a smaller iPad unless the dozens of 7" devices start to erode its market position. As demonstrated in the keynote the iPad has solidified its market position and even grown during the time that the kindle fire launched. Just with the PC market Apple have no inclination to be a part of the race to the bottom.
  • Reply 9 of 54

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by xxSampleXX View Post



    The iPhone 5 was a little disappointing, and frankly a small version of an iPad isn't exactly earth shattering either, particularly since Amazon and Google have adequate small tablets on the market already. Apple makes great stuff, but they need to shake things up again.


    What would you prefer they do? You realize it was 7 years between the iPod before the iPhone was announced (2000-2007), and 3 (which is an amazing feat) between the iPhone and the iPad (2007-2010). Even if you believe they should maintain that pace (which is simply impossible), that would mean we wouldn't even see their new earth-shattering "shake-up" product until next year. Look at all of Apple's product lines. It's all about iterative, progressive updates of the same family and a (potentially) revolutionary new product only once in a great while. Apple had a decade of innovation that had never been seen in the tech industry before. Why don't you give them a chance before writing them off like everybody else?

  • Reply 10 of 54
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post



    Apple could easily bring in an iPad Mini/Nano between the iPod and existing iPad 3rd Gen, they just need to drop the iPad 2.



    Then the product line would be as follows:

    iPod Shuffle $49

    iPod Nano $149

    iPod Touch (4th Gen) 16GB $199 / 32GB $249

    iPod Touch (5th Gen) 16GB $299 / 32GB $399

    iPad Mini 16GB $399

    iPad (retina) 16GB $499 / 32GB $599 / 64GB $699 etc


    Nope! They need the iPad 2 as an education model because iBooks for K-12 need the low price and 10" screen. Also the mini needs to have cellular to be practical since it would obviously be targeted at commuters where as the big iPad is mostly a stay at home device. The only way the mini is going to fit in is for it to have the same high end features as the regular iPad and a similar price just smaller.

  • Reply 11 of 54
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Wait I thought everybody was saying Apple has to do a smaller tablet. Now it's just 'meh' because Google and Amazon already have "adequate" tablets on the market?

    I'm not sure what people expect Apple to do. Build a pair of silly looking glasses that augment your reality? No thanks Google can keep that one.
  • Reply 12 of 54
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member


    iPad Mini?


     


    I thought we'd already been shown the iPad Mini???


     


     



     


    ;-)

  • Reply 13 of 54
    With the new iPod touch, I'm still not convinced we'll see the mythical iPad mini. A 7" tablet would be good for e-reading, but little else.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member


    On the contrary, Now that Apple has released the new iPod Touch, there's no doubt in my mind that this mock-up is the read deal.  The form factor looks identical to the new iPod touch, just a hair thicker.

  • Reply 15 of 54
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member


    I thought the iPhone 4 design was real as soon as I first saw it on gizmodo.


    I thought the same about the first images of the iPhone 5.


    I'll trust my instinct again, and I think that this looks fake. Why put the speakers so close to each other?

  • Reply 16 of 54
    If mass production is to be believed, then the new iPad mini has to start at $199/$249.

    Nobody is going to buy a 7" tablet at $399, not even an iPad.
  • Reply 17 of 54
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member


    Only thing I don't see that we might have seen from a production model would be some kind of plastic panel that we see in the new iPod touch, I think it's for blutooth connectivity.  One would think they'd include pretty much all the same tech of the iPod Touch at least (save for retina).

  • Reply 18 of 54
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    gtr wrote: »
    iPad Mini?

    I thought we'd already been shown the iPad Mini???


    LL

    ;-)

    I really wish people would stop confusing the iPad (multipurpose computing device) with the iPod Touch (media delivery device). They two are entirely different markets.
    antkm1 wrote: »
    On the contrary, Now that Apple has released the new iPod Touch, there's no doubt in my mind that this mock-up is the read deal.  The form factor looks identical to the new iPod touch, just a hair thicker.

    It looks plausible to me, as well.

    Of course, TS' head will now explode.
  • Reply 19 of 54
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    ...Given that there are many inconsistencies with the mockup and previous "leaks," the validity of the unit, including the front assembly's bezel, cannot be confirmed by AppleInsider. As such, the images are presented here only for purposes of discussion.

    The apparently non-functioning model, first discovered on website BoLoPad.com by nowhereelse.fr, seems to be based on the purportedly leaked iPad mini backplate seen earlier this month...


     



    If you go back to the article about the backplate, you'll notice that it doesn't really look machined, cut from a CNC machine.  You can't see an sign of a bit machining out the inside shape of the unibody, much like you would see in some of the photos of the current iPhone 5 unibody.  That's really the only queue that this leaked unibody might not be legitimate.  Also it seems like the edge on the inside are not efficiently machined out.  Like they have too much wasted space around the edges of the unibody.  Apple would not do that.  They'd use every micron of space inside that they could.

  • Reply 20 of 54
    Centered near the top of the backplate is a small hole or opening, the purpose of which is unknown.

    Second mic, like the iPhone.
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