Apple’s iPhones have lengthy boasted spectacular water-resistance capabilities. Each handset since 2018’s XS technology has been IP68 rated, the very best you’ll see on a shopper product, and particularly credited with the flexibility to outlive submersion in at the very least 2m of water (or extra, in later generations) for as much as half-hour. Most of us nonetheless dread the thought of dropping our iPhone within the bathtub or the bathroom, however the actuality is that it could in all probability be wonderful.
The iPad, nonetheless, is a special matter solely. For no matter purpose, Apple doesn’t publish water-resistance specs for any of its iPads. This doesn’t essentially imply you’ll be able to’t get them moist, but it surely in all probability means Apple doesn’t assume they’d do very nicely, which is a fear for holidaymakers who wish to learn eBooks by the swimming pool.
This could possibly be set to vary. A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which focuses principally on upcoming OLED display upgrades, briefly alludes to a different change: the iPad mini is getting a redesigned case that’s higher capable of stand up to liquid intrusions.
The attention-grabbing half is that Apple isn’t merely copying what it does on the iPhone and utilizing that on the bigger system. As a substitute, the corporate is engaged on an entire new vibration-based speaker system, which might allow it to eliminate the speaker holes that are such a weak spot for water entry. “That’s a special strategy than the iPhone’s water resistant design,” Gurman explains, “which retains holes however provides gaskets and adhesives to forestall harm.”
At this stage, the thought stays fairly imprecise, each on when this mini might arrive and the way efficient the water resistance will likely be—there’s no phrase on what IP score this could end in, or whether or not Apple would select to publicize a function that would seem to provide the iPad mini a promoting level over its largely dearer siblings. The Seventh-gen iPad mini got here out in fall 2024, and primarily based on previous habits (a 30-month hole between the fifth and sixth iPad minis; a three-year hole between the sixth and Seventh), it could possibly be a protracted anticipate the subsequent mannequin, apparently code-named J510. That’s assuming Apple even completes the undertaking in time for the subsequent mini, and as Gurman factors out, it might but change its thoughts and transfer in a special route.
One element Gurman is ready to touch upon is the worth of the upgraded mini: it might value as a lot as $100 greater than the present mannequin, he says, which implies as much as $599. That worth bump is especially brought on by the OLED display, however having a little bit of water resistance for the primary time might assist justify the associated fee if you happen to’re planning to take the pill with you on vacation.
