Next-gen iPad mini with A20 Pro chip found in Apple's code

Put the current iPad mini on its side for a video call and the front camera ends up on one of the short edges. That is because it sits in the top bezel when the device is held upright ^[5]. The person on the other end sees you from off to one side. In the model described in Apple's code, the camera moves to the landscape side, where every other iPad already puts it ^[2][5].

Most of the coverage leads with the chip. By Apple's numbering, the A20 Pro is three generations past the A17 Pro in the mini on sale now ^[11][9]. I'd expect that gap to matter more for how long a unit stays in service than for anything a user notices on day one. The camera change is different. A user notices it the first time they join a call with the device on its side.

The evidence comes from Apple's own files ^[1]. That is harder evidence than a parts-supplier rumor, and MacRumors says the files' presence suggests a launch is likely soon ^[14]. It is still one find. MacRumors is not publishing the files' details ^[14], and 9to5Mac's report credits the discovery to MacRumors ^[10]. The independent support is Gurman's earlier reporting, which MacRumors says the icons appear to corroborate ^[12].

The images show only the front, so changes to the back and sides are unknown ^[6]. 9to5Mac reads the icon as keeping the current model's overall design ^[5]. The same device is also rumored to get a slightly larger screen and an OLED display ^[13]. A buyer who needs existing cases or mounts to carry over cannot settle that from a front-facing icon. The volume and power buttons stay on top ^[7]. Neither report includes a price.

I'd wait if the purchase can slip into November. Waiting means betting that Apple hits Gurman's end-of-October timing ^[4] and committing before Apple has announced a price.

To apply this to a specific order, sort it on two axes. The first is timing: whether the devices must be in people's hands before the end of October. The second is use: whether the people receiving them take calls with the device on its side or work near water, where the reported water resistance would count ^[12].

- Can wait, and the use matches: wait for the new model. - Can wait, and the use does not match: wait anyway. The cost is a few weeks, and you see the new price before you commit. - Must buy now, and the use matches: buy only what the deadline requires and move the rest of the order to the new model. - Must buy now, and the use does not match: buy the current model. It is still the device Apple released in October 2024 ^[9].