One thing that I didn't see mentioned in the newest rumors about the next iPad Mini is how much it will weigh. I have a feeling that the new iPad Mini could have its weight reduced significantly, to somewhere around 250 grams or lower. Maybe anywhere from about 220 to 260 grams. Here's how I came up with that number, along with my thoughts about the potential release date.
I figured this out from looking at the weights of previous iPads and previous iPod Touches.
iPad Mini 4 Weight
When Apple released the iPad Air, the WiFi version went down from the 650 gram iPad 4th gen to just 450 grams. Apple also reduced the weight of the iPod Touch over two generations from the 115 gram 3rd generation to the 88 gram 5th generation. The drop in weight for each was around 70-75%.
And now it looks like the next iPad Mini should be much thinner and have the same thinner design that the iPad Air and iPod Touch 5g used. So I wonder if the iPad Mini will go down in weight to 70-75% of the 330 gram weight of the iPad Mini 3rd generation. So somewhere around 250 grams or lower.
It would be amazing if they figured a way to get the iPad Mini to be under 200 grams. That would be asking too much I think. But I wouldn't doubt if Apple has thought about 200 grams as a target weight for the Mini. However, for this release I think getting it to under 250 grams is a more realistic possibility.
iPad Mini 4 Release Date
And when will the iPad Mini 4 get released? Apple has an event scheduled for September 9th. Some of the products that have been in the rumor mill include the iPhone 6s, iPad Pro, Apple TV with new remote, iPad Mini with thinner design, and retina 21.5 inch iMac.
My guess is the September event will be about the iPhone and Apple TV, and the availability of iOS 9. While a second October or November event will highlight iPads. That would include the new iPad Pro, along with the new iPad Mini 4th generation.
The main reason for thinking the iPad Pro and iPad Mini will be launched in a separate October event is the fact that in both 2013 and 2014 they held a separate event. It was at that special event that iPads were announced. The iPad Air and Mini retina in 2013, and the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 in 2014.
So it might make sense that they might stick with this schedule and announce the iPad Mini 4, alongside the new iPad Pro, in October or November of this year. It's worth noting that they also announced different laptop Macs and desktop Macs at each of the October events. So we might expect the new retina 21.5 inch iMac to be announced at the October event as well.