Thinner iPad, Retina display iPad mini on deck for holiday season
Apple is preparing to end the year with a fresh line-up of its iPhone and iPad devices in efforts to take the December holiday season by storm.
According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant will release new versions of its popular tablets around November, in line with last year's release.
The full-sized 9-inch iPad will fit into a thinner body, while the smaller 7-inch iPad mini will feature a high-resolution Retina display as seen in earlier larger iPad models.
The December quarter is the most important three-month period of the year for Apple, where sales are typically far higher. Last time around, iPhone sales carried Apple's first quarter, drumming up 47.8 million smartphone sales, up from 37 million from the same quarter a year earlier.
Meanwhile, worldwide tablet shipments slowed in the second quarter, according to latest IDC figures, putting further pressure on the iPad maker to counter the effects of "tablet fatigue."
An iPhone event is also slated for September 10, according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal. It comes just months after iOS 7, Apple's latest mobile operating system, was unveiled at its WWDC 2013 developer conference in June.