With the Apple iPad Pro completing one year in the market last month, tech pundits predicted the arrival of an iPad Pro refresh, but it did not come to fruition. Moreover, Apple released the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in September without shedding any light on the long-awaited iPad Pro refresh i.e. the iPad Pro Mini or iPad Mini 5.

But since 2016 is almost over, there's hearsay that Apple will unveil the iPad Mini 5 alongside the iPad Pro 3 in March 2017, when the Apple iPad Pro 9.7in marks its first year in the market.

Design & Build

The Apple iPad Mini 5 is likely to sport a much thinner physical structure as compared to its precursors, which are already 6.1mm. The iPad Mini 5 is expected to be roughly 1.1mm smaller than the iPad Mini 4 model. In other words, the iPad Mini 5 could boast an incredible 5mm thin build, according to a report on MacWorld.

Apple is also likely to launch the bezel-less design and debut an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display. Furthermore, Apple might decide to go for the Series 7000 aluminum, which is considered to be comparatively lighter and more robust than other lower-grade aluminum that some handset manufacturers are using for smartphones.

Specs & Features

An all-powerful A9 processor is most likely to fire up the Apple iPad Mini 5. The ARM-built Cortex-A9 Processor is specifically designed to run smaller devices including smartphones, wearables, tablets, and other gadgets and functions at an extremely high speed, making it an apt choice for the new Apple iPad Mini 5, iTechPost reported.

Camera & Battery

The Apple iPad Mini 5 is also likely to retain the camera specs of its precursor that comprise of an 8MP primary camera and a 12MP front shooter. Under the hood, it packs a robust 5,124 mAh battery and 4GB of RAM.

The Apple iPad Mini 5 will probably be launched at Apple's next event, which is slated to take place in March 2017. There's also word that it will come bearing a price tag of $390 based on its variants.