Apple’s iPhones have lengthy boasted spectacular water-resistance capabilities. Each handset since 2018’s XS era has been IP68 rated, the very best you’ll see on a client product, and particularly credited with the power 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 concept of dropping our iPhone within the tub or the bathroom, however the actuality is that it will in all probability be positive.
The iPad, nevertheless, is a special matter totally. For no matter motive, Apple doesn’t publish water-resistance specs for any of its iPads. This doesn’t essentially imply you possibly can’t get them moist, nevertheless it in all probability means Apple doesn’t suppose they’d do very nicely, which is a fear for holidaymakers who wish to learn eBooks by the swimming pool.
This may very well be set to alter. A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which focuses principally on upcoming OLED display screen upgrades, briefly alludes to a different change: the iPad mini is getting a redesigned case that’s higher in a position to stand up to liquid intrusions.
The fascinating half is that Apple isn’t merely copying what it does on the iPhone and utilizing that on the bigger gadget. As a substitute, the corporate is engaged on a complete 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 method than the iPhone’s water resistant design,” Gurman explains, “which retains holes however provides gaskets and adhesives to forestall injury.”
At this stage, the concept stays fairly obscure, each on when this mini may arrive and the way efficient the water resistance can 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 based mostly on previous habits (a 30-month hole between the fifth and sixth iPad minis; a three-year hole between the sixth and Seventh), it may very well be a protracted await the following mannequin, apparently code-named J510. That’s assuming Apple even completes the mission in time for the following mini, and as Gurman factors out, it may but change its thoughts and transfer in a special path.
One element Gurman is ready to touch upon is the value of the upgraded mini: it may value as a lot as $100 greater than the present mannequin, he says, which implies as much as $599. That value bump is especially brought on by the OLED display screen, however having a little bit of water resistance for the primary time might assist justify the price in the event you’re planning to take the pill with you on vacation.
