With the start of every year, fans and users of Apple products take to innumerous sources talking about the rumors related to iDevices. This year also people are so eager to know about the upcoming products of the Cupertino-based technology company.

In just two weeks of this year, the number of rumors has reached an extent where people just can't decide what Apple is going to do the entire year. However, people take every bit of information with a pinch of salt, and at the same time trust some people who have been predicting the company's moves right, for last some years.

Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst at the KGI Securities, shot to fame and earned respect of Apple fans when he predicted Apple's product launch and other details of the new devices accurately in the year 2012. Kuo is once again in news, and this time for Apple's 2013 product roadmap.

The most significant part of Kuo's analysis is the fifth-generation iPad. According to him the iPad 5 (as we have been calling it so far) will be much lighter and slimmer than its predecessor.

According to Kuo, the new iPad will adopt the design from iPad mini and introduce a narrow border design in the 9.7-inch iPad.

The narrow bezel design was introduced by Apple in iPad mini to give its users more display area in a smaller tablet. Since the border was narrow, the company introduced a new touch-sensitive software based on GF2 technology to avoid accidental touches on the screen.

If Apple reduces the bezel width in the iPad 5, it will surely bring this advanced software in the next tablet.

In an interview with Apple Insider in October 2012 at the time of iPad mini's launch, Kuo expected Apple to put GF2 touchscreen technology into the iPad 5. GF2 is already used in the iPad mini and helps to make it 23 per cent thinner and 53 per cent lighter than the iPad 2.

Kuo also predicts the iPad 5's arrival in the third quarter of this year. The second-generation iPad mini might also come in the market at the same time

As far as iPad mini 2's specifications are concerned, Kuo expects a high-resolution Retina display to be a major update.

During the last year's interview, Kuo had said that he thinks Apple may feel pressure from Microsoft's new Surface tablet, especially considering that the fourth-generation iPad will be of the same weight and thickness as the third-generation model.

"Though the iPad mini is expected to be successful, we think launching the lighter, thinner 9.7" iPad as quickly as possible matters more for Apple strategically," Kuo had explained.