KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he of the decent Apple predictions track record, has released a new report with his expectations for Apple’s October 22nd media event.
Kuo believes that Apple will be introducing a thinner and lighter fifth-generation iPad, as well as a new iPad mini with Retina display. The latter has been the subject of considerable debate, with some sources believing that Apple is not yet ready to bring Retina displays to the iPad mini, but while Kuo believes that Apple will indeed be able to introduce a Retina iPad mini, supplies will be highly constrained at first.
Kuo also says that there will “probably” not be a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, nor a gold color option for either model. He believes the components related to those features are being funneled only to the iPhone 5s, which remains in tight supply.
Kuo says he sees the fifth-generation iPad adopting a new A7X chip, with the iPad mini being equipped with an A7 chip like the one in the iPhone 5s. In addition, Kuo says both models will include the new “M7” chip as seen in the new iPhone 5s. He also restated his earlier claim that the rear camera on the iPads will be upgraded to 8 megapixels.
Kuo also sees a new Retina MacBook Pro debuting on Tuesday, which will be based on Intel’s latest Haswell chips, which will yield improved performance and battery life. He also reiterates his claim that the MacBook Pro’s FaceTime camera will be upgraded to 1080p quality.
