Report: Apple To Launch New iPads On 22 October

Apple will unveil its latest iPads on 22 October, according to a report in AllThingsD, as the tech titan looks to do battle with the likes of Amazon, Google and Samsung in the tablet space.

Sources familiar with the company’s plans told the blog it would be releasing the new iPad lineup, possibly including a fresh Mini, in time for Christmas.

iPad launch coming

Onlookers expect to see more powerful processors and a thinner design. It’s not clear whether the new iPads will use the fingerprint biometric protection included in the iPhone 5S.

The launch may also be accompanied by some new Mac machines too, according to the blog.

Meanwhile, sources from Apple supply chain partners told Reuters there may be issues with supplying the retina screens for the iPad Mini.

That could be bad news for Apple, what with the holiday season approaching and at a time when competition in the tablet space is heating up, with the latest Amazon Kindle receiving plaudits and Google planning a new Nexus in the not too distant future.

As with previous iPad upgrades, and unlike iPhones, the latest iPads are likely to just be called the “new iPad”, rather than be given a numerical value.

Apple’s recently launched iPhone 5S and 5C models sold over nine million units over the first few days of release.

What’s the competition been up to? Try our quiz on the other tablets of 2013!