Apple Might Include A Stylus In The iPad 5 And The iPad mini 2
If we are to consider the latest rumors, then the iPad mini 2 and the iPad 5 will have something in common with the Samsung Gaalaxy Note series of pahblets (a phablet is a device designed to combine the functionalities of both tablets and smartphones) and that is a stylus. The rumors come from reports regarding the future tablets from Apple.
It would appear that that Apple will adopt an aggressive strategy regarding its second generation iPad mini and its iPad 5 as it is rumored that they will include a stylus with these two tablets, a stylus similar to the S-Pen included in the Galaxy Note series of phablets.
The Galaxy Note line of phablets saw an increase in both popularity and sales over the years and the included stylues, the S-Pen, was received positively by customers. That might be one of the reasons that pushed Apple to include a stylus in its upcoming tablets. If you happen to be a graphic designer, we are sure you will appreciate the most the inclusion of a stylus, especially since there are many drawing apps available for the iPad on the App Store.
We already reported the latest rumors regarding the second generation iPad mini. According to these rumors, the next iPad mini 2 will feature a Retina display that will be capable of a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, twice as much as the current iPad mini’s resolution: 1024 × 768 pixels and equal to the iPad 4′s display resolution. It will also have a massive pixels per inch density of 326, which is about as the PPI density of the iPhone 5; to make an idea what a huge step up this PPI density is, the current iPad mini has a pixels per inch density of only 163.
Besides the Retina display (which is the most asked for feature by iPad mini users), the second generation iPad mini will also have a dual core CPU based on the A7 SoC and of course a display of 7.9 inches. Other features will include a battery life of about 10 hours, FaceTime High Definition camera and an iSight camera capable of recording Full HD videos. Another rumor is that Apple will likely make the second generation iPad mini less thick and to that end it seems that a new technology developed by Sharp, called IGZO (an acronym that comes from indium gallium zinc oxide), will be used in the iPad mini 2.
As for the iPad 5, rumors indicate that it will not have bezels. Again, Sharp’s technology, IGZO, is rumored to be used in the iPad 5′s production. An important aspect to note is the fact that Sharp is not doing very well at the moment and if the rumors are right, then the release date of both the iPad mini 2 and the iPad 5 will depend a lot on how reliable Sharp will be when delivering components for these tablets. Also, as you probably already know, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned not long ago that Apple won’t be releasing any new devices before Fall this year. There are reports placing the iPad 5′s release date around October 2013 and the iPad mini 2′s around this year’s Christmas. Apple might give both tablets a single launch, as the iPad mini has been meet with critical and commercial success.
The increased resolution and PPI density of the next generation iPad mini will make it an excellent graphic tablet for artists so the inclusion of the stylus (both in the next generation iPad mini and in the iPad 5) is certainly good news. For now though it is only a rumor so treat is as such; we don’t expect any kind of info from Apple anytime soon regarding the iPad 5 and the iPad mini 2.
