According to a new report from AllThingsD, sources close to the situation have confirmed that Apple will pull back the curtain on a new, smaller iPad during a special event in October. Meanwhile, all signs still point to an iPhone unveiling on September 12, so rabid members of the tech press and Apple’s fan club should have plenty of time to dig into one new product before another takes the stage.
Rumors of a smaller iPad have been making the rounds ever since Apple’s 10-inch tablet first hit the market, and those rumblings have only grown in intensity since companies like Amazon and Google entered the fray. At this point, there’s still hardly any concrete information about Apple’s smaller iPad (unless you’re the type to read too much into sketchy Chinese cases), but there’s little question that Apple’s tiny tablet would mean plenty of trouble for those two players in particular.
Amazon’s pint-sized Kindle Fire has been one of the only tablets to give the iPad line a run for its money in terms of sales, and the company is expected to unveil the Fire’s successor at a press event on September 6. Meanwhile, Google worked with Asus to produce the impressive Nexus 7, and recent speculation seems to indicate that Nexus 7 sales could easily outpace Google’s own expectations. Considering the iPad’s tremendous popularity though, we may soon see Amazon and Google’s momentum take a nosedive should Apple push out a product to compete in the same niche those companies’ devices currently occupy.
via Apple’s New Mini iPad Expected To Take The Stage At October Event | TechCrunch.