midst the iPhone 5 release and iOS 6 Maps drama, it’s easy to forget that Apple is also expected to show off the iPad Mini sometime in October. Now we have our closest look yet at what the iPad Mini may look like, thanks to Japanese gadget blog Mac Otakara.
The video below features a mockup of the iPad Mini being shown off to the tune of some dramatic music. In particular, it gives us an idea of the iPad Mini’s scale and size — rumors say the tablet will sport a 7.85-inch screen. Above, you can see the mockup compared to a 15-inch MacBook Pro.
We first saw some iPad Mini mockup photos right before Apple’s iPhone 5 conference, where the small tablet was first rumored to appear. Now it seems we can expect the iPad Mini in October. Bookmarking service Instapaper also noticed some potential proof of the iPad Mini in its server logs.
At this point, it seems pretty clear that Apple needs to jump into the smaller tablet arena somehow. While the iPad is the undisputed king of 10-inch tablets, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 are quickly carving out their presence in the 7-inch arena. Given how much consumers are hot for small and cheap tablets, Apple would be crazy to stay out of this market.