Apple iPad 5 Release Date Nears: Touch ID Among New Features?

Just one week after alleged photos of Apple’s second-generation iPad mini surfaced with the same Touch ID security feature from the iPhone 5s and a similar gold color option, a convincing video from Toronto-based Unbox Therapy shows how Touch ID will likely be a major feature in the fifth-generation iPad when it sees its release date this fall.

In the video, Lewis Hilstenteger of Unbox Therapy shows how an alleged front panel of the iPad 5 doesn’t exactly fit the traditional home button for any iPhone or iPad. But when he removes the embedded fingerprint sensor from a gold iPhone 5s, he found the smaller Touch ID-enabled home button fits perfectly. Check out the video to see how Touch ID would fit in the iPad 5.

The one slight issue with Hilstenteger’s theory is that the iPad 5 is expected to release with many of the same design features from the first-generation iPad mini: The iPad 5 is rumored to release with the same thickness, the same thinner side bezels, tapered back and anondized aluminum enclosure as the smaller iPad. But the iPad mini also features a smaller home button, which means the iPad 5 may simply feature a smaller home button, rather than a newly pioneered technology that saw its first release just a month ago.

However, one major reason the iPad 5 could easily release with Touch ID is because the current iPad 4 features an A6X chip, which means Apple can only upgrade its iPad 5 to an A7 chip, the same processor that powers the iPhone 5s and contains the unique fingerprint sensor technology. In September, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPad 5 would release with a new A7X chip, which also makes sense, given how last year’s iPhone 5 released with an A6 chip and the iPad 4, which saw its release date one month later, came with an upgraded version of the same chip optimized for the iPad.

iPad 5 Release Date Nears: What To Expect

As we previously mentioned, Apple is expected to release the iPad 5 with a new form factor that resembles the iPad mini, including a thinner and lighter build, a tapered back, thinner side bezels that preserve the original 9.7-inch display, and a new set of symmetrical speaker grilles on either side of the Lightning port. Unbox Therapy recently uploaded a few videos showing off the rear shells of the iPad 5 and new iPad mini -- we’ve embedded one of these videos below.

Considering the deluge of leaks and rumors, we expect Apple to unveil and release the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 very soon -- most likely at the end of October or early November. We believe Apple will unveil the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 at an event held on Oct. 22, which would mean the release date for both tablets would land on Nov. 1. We also believe the October event will also introduce a few newly upgraded Mac computers, including the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini, as well as the new Mac Pro, which was given a “sneak peak” in June.

What do you think of the iPad 5? Do you hope Apple chooses to release its next full-size tablet with Touch ID, or other features from the iPhone 5s? Do you believe the early November release date makes sense for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2? Sound off in the comments section below.

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