While we don’t expect to see a new iPad mini unveiled at tomorrow’s event, rumors of its renewal have been around for months. The most recent is a supposed photo of the case of this future iPad mini showing the repositioning of the volume buttons to accommodate the Apple Pencil.
A redesign that we hope for this fall
The photo in question comes from the Twitter user @MajinBuOfficial, and clearly shows an iPad mini with the same design as the iPad Air, but with a fundamental change. As seen in the photo below, next to the unlock button with Touch ID, the two volume buttons appear that would traditionally be placed on the right side.
The reason for placing them there is make room for the Apple Pencil, which given the small size of the iPad mini, occupies the entire side of the iPad. This is, in fact, the best location, because if Apple had placed the buttons on the left side, as we would see them on an iPhone, for example, when we use a case that supports the iPad on that left side, we could not press them.
The truth is that the change in the distribution of the buttons is something that remarkably surprises us and something that, in addition, we did not see in the renders that Jon Prosser leaked a few months ago or mentioned in other rumors or leaks. Seen the seen, however, for physical reasons Clearly Apple will need to figure out the location of the buttons and Apple Pencil if, in the end, the iPad mini is compatible with it.
For now we must take this supposed leak with some caution, although it is true that it opens the doors to a very real question: will the iPad mini be compatible with the Apple Pencil? If so, we will see what happens with the volume buttons.