iPad mini 5 release date, news & update: iPad Mini 5 to be replaced by iPad Pro Mini?

As Apple fans await an announcement about the next iPad Mini, rumors are coming out that Apple may replace the iPad Mini 5 with an iPad Pro Mini.

While it is unclear if Apple is indeed planning on creating a mini model of its iPad Pro, or if a mini variant of this device is even feasible, PC Advisor U.K. says that this is possible given how Apple surprisingly debuted the iPad Pro 9.7 in March when everyone was expecting an iPad Air 3.

Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether Apple will slap the "Pro" suffix on such a small tablet with fewer productivity options than the iPad Pro. It's likely that Apple will keep the "Pro" name for its bigger tablets, the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch variants, as well as the rumored new 10.5-inch iPad coming in 2017.

Whether or not the next iPad mini will be called the iPad Mini 5 or the iPad Pro Mini, tech industry watchers expect that the device will have a chassis made from 7000-series aluminum and that it will be slimmer than previous iPad Mini models. Rumor has it that the iPad Mini 5 could actually be a millimeter or two thinner than the iPad Mini 4. In addition, there are speculations that Apple could give the next iPad Mini support for the Apple Pencil, NFC, and 3D Touch.

The iPad Mini 5/iPad Pro Mini is expected to have no headphone port, the same 8-megapixel main camera as the previous model, at least 32 GB of storage, and Apple's A9 processor.

Because the iPad Mini 5 was not unveiled in October, as was expected, MacWorld now says that the long-awaited new iPad Mini could be launched in March 2017. If so, it will be the first iPad Mini to not be launched in the fall. Both the iPad Mini and the iPad Mini 2 were launched in November, the iPad Mini 3 in October, and the iPad Mini 4 in September.