Apple iPad 5 Release Date Nears: More Proofs Of Thinner Bezels, iPad Mini Traits Surface In Leaked Digitizer Photos

As a highly expected September release date of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) fifth generation iPad, dubbed the iPad 5, is approaching, a new set of photos, claimed to be that of the new iPad’s digitizer, reveal some specifications of the yet-to-be-announced flagship device.

Macfixit, an Australian repair company, has claimed to have obtained a front panel and digitizer of the iPad 5 and has put it on sale for $200. The component’s availability status is currently shown as “out of stock.”

The company’s product description of the alleged iPad 5 part reads: “So it looks like we've got a preview of the replacement screen for the iPad 5 which is not even out yet!”

The photos of the leaked iPad 5 component show narrower side bezels and a pair of flex cables along the long edges of the panel that end in connectors around the same position, which is seen on the current iPad model.

Here are the key changes on the alleged iPad 5 front panel, which are highlighted by the Macfixit listing:

- The display area is the same as the Retina iPad model.

- The edges of the frame are narrower using the same style as the iPad mini.

- The ITO (Indium tin oxide) is the same as the iPad mini.

- There are now two connectors instead of one.

- The connectors have been changed from FFC (Flat Flexible Cable, like in the iPad 2/3/4) to FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits, like in the iPhone 4/5).

The front panel also carries a part number -- 821-1892-02 -- that matches the format that Apple uses on many of its iOS device components, MacRumors reported. And, rumors are rife that Apple’s next 9.7-inch iPad will borrow design aesthetics from the iPad mini to become thinner.

A pair of photos of the iPad 5’s front bezel surfaced in April, suggesting that the new tablet’s design will be inspired by the iPad mini. A similar leak took place last week, when a video showed the alleged front panel and back shell of the iPad 5 assembled together.

If Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities, is to be believed, Apple is expected to release the iPad 5 in early September. According to Kuo, the new 9.7-inch tablet will be the "highlight of iPad in 2013," as the much-awaited 7.9-inch Retina iPad mini 2 with an A7 SoC could be delayed until next March or April.

However, subsequent reports suggested that the Retina iPad mini could be launched in the fourth quarter of this year, sporting display panels made by Samsung (KRX:005935).

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