iPad Mini October - While the tech world prepares for a rumored Sept. 12 Apple event, at which the company will reportedly debut the latest iPhone as well as a new iPad Mini, a new report states that the iPad Mini will get its own launch event in October.
AllThingsD is quoting sources who say that Apple will get the iPhone launch out first in September before showcasing the smaller iPad a month later. A previous report in iMore said that Apple was preparing a Sept. 12 event to introduce both the newest iPhone, which it said will go on sale Sept. 21, and the iPad Mini.
Giving the two products their own launch events will allow Apple to garner more press attention and free marketing than if they were combined. It might also be a necessary step for Apple. Digitimes, which has a very spotty record on Apple predictions, reported this past week that Apple will ramp up production of the iPad Mini starting next month, with output expected to hit 4 million units a month. Digitimes said that Apple would debut the 7.85-inch iPad in October.
Except for out-of-town journalists who have to fly to potentially two events, not one, this makes a lot of sense. Apple’s bread and butter is still the iPhone and it deserves its own press debut. Reviewers will have time to focus on the iPhone before moving onto the iPad Mini. And then Apple can build up more anticipation for the smaller iPad, which could debut alongside the latest iPods, said DaringFireball’s John Gruber. ”Why share the spotlight? Why have another Apple product battling with the iPhone for the top spots in news coverage?,” Gruber wrote.
An iPad Mini launch in October could also steal some of the thunder from Microsoft’s Windows 8, which is available starting Oct. 26.
Apple hasn’t had this issue in the past because the iPad has typically debuted at the beginning of the year, while the latest iPhones have been shown off in the summer and now, more recently, in the fall. But with Apple’s product line-up getting more crowded, it just means a busier calendar of Apple events.
