Apple’s latest launch event is expected to be focused massively on new and upgraded iPads in the build up to the Christmas shopping period!

New iPad! The original iPad is expected to get a new, slightly thinner shape that’s more in keeping with the design of the iPad Mini. Inside, the iPad will get a new processor based off the 64-bit A7 chip that’s already in the newly released iPhone 5S. It’s expected the iPad version of that chip to be called the A7X, which gets tweaks to support the much larger display on the iPad. Given that the iPhone 5S has a better camera than the iPhone 5, it’s likely the same hardware will be added to the iPad as well. Questions we ask: Will the new iPad be getting the iPhone 5S’s new Touch ID fingerprint sensor? And, will there be a shiny new gold iPad version?

New iPad Mini! Apple’s very successful smaller tablet will also get some changes. It’s still running the two-generations-old A5 processor, so it’s almost certain to get an upgrade. But to what? The smaller Mini doesn’t necessarily require the computing horsepower that the standard iPad does (smaller display = fewer pixels to keep track of = easier load on the processor), so it may not make the leap to the expected A7X chip like the iPad. Instead, the Mini may make do with the A6 chip that’s in the iPhone 5 (with a possible tweak or two to justify calling it the A6X). The other big question is about the Mini’s display. Currently, it lacks the higher resolution of Apple’s Retina displays, which appear on the iPhone 5S and 5C, the full-size iPad, and a MacBook Pro. It seems like it’s the Mini’s time, particularly since its competitors already feature higher-resolution screens. Touch ID seems less likely here, but we may see a further proliferation of silver, gray, and gold.

Apple UK – iPad Homepage