Back in January, a handful of photos of what was alleged to be the fifth-generation black iPad's rear shell surfaced, showing how the device would take design cues from the iPad mini to offer a smaller form factor with narrower side bezels and more rounded rear edges. An additional photo appeared in late April, but otherwise leaks of the device's rear shell have been scarce. A variety of cases designed to fit the expected iPad 5 form factor have also been appearing in recent months.
FanaticFone now shares some new photos of an alleged fifth-generation iPad rear shell, this time in the silver color that would presumably be paired with a white display assembly as on the iPad mini. The photos highlight several features of the part, including separate volume buttons as opposed to the single rocker button on the current iPad, dual speakers flanking the device's Lightning port along the bottom edge, and a narrower lip for the display assembly than seen on the current iPad.
The report also claims that the Apple logo on the part is silver as on the iPad mini, although it is not clearly shown in any photos. Only the black rear of the Apple logo insert can be seen in a photo of the inside of the shell. A second photo of the shell's bottom edge shows a bit of the logo, but out of focus and at a significant angle, making it difficult to see.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Err... does the Apple logo cutout look really strange to anyone else or just me?
You aren't seeing the cutout, you're seeing the back of the black plastic that's been molded into the cutout. The inside of the iPad 4 looks the same way:
No need for a flash. No one sane takes pictures with iPads.
No one sane says that no one sane takes pictures with iPads.
Decent camera, very powerful processor and big screen for photo editing, perfect for taking pictures and editing them on the go.
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And as always, Apple will praise the "stunning, new design" of the iPad 5 - even though the entire Apple community can obviously see it's based off the iPad mini.
If other companies get praise for "stunning new designs" based on older Apple products, why can't Apple?
