Apple may release the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 in July. Will the company release it without the new iOS 7 in tow?

Reports state that the tablets are ready for mass production for July launch.

Apple says iOS 7 will be ready in the fall, and early buzz from beta testers is that it is further along than expected and could be complete as soon as August. Apple has always tied its iPhone releases to the new version of iOS and never its new iPads, but that's been when the iPad was being released in the spring, a good six months before the next iOS was ready.

Now that the iPad launch schedule has been shifted to the second half of the year as of 2012, it's close enough to the annual iOS update that it would seem strange for Apple to launch the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 a mere month or two before iOS 7 is ready to be launched on it. Sure, it could be installed by users later.

However, launching it without iOS 7 would give would-be buyers an excuse to put off their purchases, and perhaps end up not making them at all in the end. Still, Apple faces bunching up all its mobile product releases in the same fall timeframe again, which last time around left it without anything to release in the spring and resulted in a backlash of criticism.

Another evidence that consumers may have to wait longer for the Apple tablets is because retailers restocked current models of Apple's tablet.

It was reported earlier that retailers have dwindling stocks of previous iPads that led to the speculations that the next generation of tablets are on its way.

However, third party resellers Best Buy and MacMall announced that they have the first generation iPad mini and fourth generation full size iPad back in full stock, with the original price points restored.

According to rumours, iPad Mini 2 is speculated to feature a screen with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. This is almost four times the resolution of the present iPad Mini and is equal to the fourth generation iPad which was released along with the iPad Mini last year. AU Optronics has been rumoured to be making displays for the iPad Mini 2.

Other specs include a more powerful dual core A7 processor and a 7.9 inch screen. It will also feature a 10-hour battery life, a FaceTime HD camera, and an iSight camera with 1080 pixels HD video recording. Apple is also trying to reduce the thickness of the iPad Mini 2 by using the Sharp's IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology in its screens.

The iPad 5, on the other hand, is rumoured to have no bezels, and the whole form factor has been made sleeker. Horowitz believes this design indicates that Apple will be calling on Sharp's IGZO screen technology. Sharp, however, according to Horowitz, has been struggling, and its ability to deliver components on time will play a key role in the release of the next iPad.