What Apple will actually serve with the iPad Mini 2 on release date is likely more predictable as it is hard to imagine that the tech giant will stray away from winning formula that saw the compact iOS slate quickly becoming the dominant tablet in the world.

Compared to the regular-size iPad, which experienced diminishing allure in the eyes of global consumers, the Mini 2 can still count on a business model that requires no major revamp at the moment.

The size is definitely a hit with buyers, whether they were previous iPad owners or new adopters, and the body-build - thin, light and its 7.9-inch screen sandwiched by slim bezels around - made the first Mini virtually perfect.

All Apple has got to do with the second build is keep the cash-magnet features and push the upgrade buttons where it really matters. With this in mind, it should be safe to assume that the following specs and features - very realistic as they are - will be unveiled by Apple next month.

The winning form-factor

Why fix something when it is not broken? This, for sure, will motivate Apple to maintain the general iPad Mini look. Expect the Mini 2 sport the same sleek design, its edge-to-edge screen bordered by as little margins as possible on all sides.

But of course the past 12 months will have to bring in, if not significant then at least noticeable enhancements. So if the 2012 version was embodied as light and slim, this year would be lighter and slimmer and under its paper-weight case are more powerful components from the previous build.

Retina plus faster processor

It would make sense for Apple to carry on with the first Mini screen menu. It was decent but too remote for Apple's tradition of packing only the best. To live up to its reputation, the tech giant will finally scale down its Retina screen technology so it fits the smaller iPad. This is long overdue and there is no way Apple fans will tolerate another delay, and the company knows that.

And to fire up such fantastic tablet display, the Mini 2 will need a powerhouse, which likely will be the A7 CPU though not necessarily the 64-bit kind, which analysts believe will be reserved for the 9.7-inch iPad 5.

Same price points

Google was forced to hike the starting price for the 2013 Nexus 7 edition. What better way for Apple to undercut the Mini 2's main Android rival than to carry over with the first Mini's basic sticker price of $330, which gets a buyer a Wi-Fi only, 16GB iPad Mini 2, either in black or white finish.

The iOS 7 juggernaut

After only days of being available, Apple's iOS 7 has attracted hundreds of millions of upgrades and some nine million more in fresh iPhone purchases. These numbers are testament to the flood of killer features that the refreshed mobile platform has unleashed and that gadget users all over the world would want to immerse with.

And millions more would be added shortly after the iPad Mini 2 launch, that is for sure. The device is brimming with sex appeal already on the body-design and hardware composition alone. The rush to grab the Mini 2 is further heat up by the fact that deep inside this dynamo of gizmo rests a potent software that redefines what mobile computing is all about.

Together with the iPad 5, release date for the iPad Mini 2 with Retina is rumoured to take place on mid-October 2013, with Oct 15 as the earliest possible debut date.