Leaked parts reveal the next iPad design

iPad /

Questions about the next-generation iPad are likely to focus on when Apple will release the highly anticipated tablet, now that leaked parts have shown what it will probably look like. Components that appear to be the casings for new versions of the iPad and the iPad Mini were sent to Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy by a source that he considers trustworthy, he told The Guardian.

The components for the full-size iPad show that the device will be slightly narrower and thinner than previous models and will have more of a square shape than previous versions, though the display will apparently remain the same size. The iPad Mini also will be thinner but its size will otherwise remain unchanged.

“The parts have only become available recently and in very limited quality,” Hilsenteger said in The Guardian. “They are fabricated by an OEM that delivers orders to Apple.”

Apple launched the iPad Mini last fall, and rumors about the next-generation device have been circulating for months. A release date has not been announced. Speculation has centered around the materials to be used for the display and whether the new version would utilize the iPad Mini's touch-screen technology for a lighter feel.

Video of the leaked parts posted by Unbox Therapy shows the presumed new iPad next to the third-generation Retina display model and shows a reflective Apple logo on the back, as well as modifications to the speakers and volume controls. The slimmer size and adjusted controls may lead more people to consider iPad replacement, Darrell Etherington wrote in TechCrunch.

“By far the biggest failing of the Retina iPads has been their slight size increase over the iPad 2 to accommodate bigger batteries to power those juice-hungry high-resolution displays,” Etherington wrote. “If Apple's truly going to focus on delivering a slimmer, sleeker case with the iPad 5, we could see a lot of iPad 2 hold-outs rushing to upgrade.”

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