Apple iPad
China's Economic Daily News says there will be no iPad Air 3 for 2015, based on Foxconn’s 2015 orders specific to Apple. Reuters/Robert Galbraith

The original Apple iPad Mini tablet recently was removed from the iPad lineup. And now we know why: The iPad Mini 4 is in the offing.

According to the credible tipster @OnLeaks, a slew of images of the bumper cases for the Apple iPad Mini 4 have been uploaded. This is significant because cover manufacturers usually get the dimensions of a new device first. (Scroll down to check out the case images.) GSM Arena says the tablet will be unveiled in the fall.

Apple has partnered with Samsung to build hardware components for the tablet, including the A9 processor. Bloomberg, quoting an anonymous source, reports, "Samsung will start making Apple A9 processor chips at its Giheung plant in South Korea.”

NWE reports the usual lock/mute switch in the compact tablet will be replaced by a microphone hole. The speaker grill is believed to come with one row of big cutouts, which is similar to the bigger iPad Air 2. In contrast, the predecessor Apple iPad Mini 3 comes with an arrangement of smaller double rows of speaker holes. Moreover, the aluminum chassis will be thinner than its predecessor, says the Latin Post.

Here are the key iPad Mini 4 features as reported by VCPost: The device will come with a 7.9-inch display, 2 GB of RAM, iOS 9, Touch ID fingerprint sensor and Apple Pay support. Apple has not confirmed the iPad Mini 4 features or specifications so far.

Here is the set of images pertaining to the Apple iPad Mini 4 cases from @OnLeaks:

RELATED STORIES
Ipad Apple