The iPad 5 will have Retina display panel on release date and likely, the iPad Mini 2 will enjoy the same treatment, further bolstering rumours that the iOS 7 tablets are being primed up as Xbox and PlayStation replacements.

Aside from getting screen resolution boosts, Apple is also expected to bump up the processing muscles of the two iPads, which should give enough reasons for gamers to take the slates as serious gaming machines.

At best, the iPad will satisfy the urge for users to engage in mobile gaming without totally annihilating the traditional gaming industry. However, it is inevitable that as a viable gaming device the iPad will reshape the gaming landscape, injecting in the process a new lease in life for a tech sector that according to analysts is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Here so far are the solid indicators that Apple is headed to reinvent and conquer the gaming territory that promises billions of dollars in revenues.

New iOS 7 codes support high-end gaming with or without accessories

Beta one of iOS 7 has revealed that Apple is extensively prepping its iOS devices to accommodate higher form of gaming, clearly better from the current experience offered by the iOS 6 platform.

Apple has released the guidelines for app developers and iOS accessory makers, in which they will base their products. In particular, the tech giant has advised that game titles and gaming peripherals for future iPad and iPhone editions should adhere to the template. Navigating through the applications and controlling their functions should be based first on touchscreen then on approved companion products.

In one prototype accessory, a developer came up with a controller that is quite similar to the button configuration of Sony's PlayStation - the console and portable build, Gotta Be Mobile said in a report. This suggests that Apple is moving aggressively to create more market opportunities for its iPad offerings.

Component upgrades

As mentioned above, Apple engineers are hard at work to fire up the iPad capabilities so they will be more suitable to the demands of gaming. It appears that the company is attempting to convince even the hard-core gamers that serious play is not confined on a console that is tethered to a big TV screen.

Gaming on the 9.7-inch iPad 5 or the 7.9-inch iPad Mini 2 is equally immersive as to their console rivals - that seems to be the Apple goal in extending the functions of the iPad beyond web surfing, e-book reading, media playback and casual gaming.

According to analysts, it is likely that the two iPads will come with A7 powerhouse processing chips, which when paired with Retina will make the tablets 'the gaming beasts' that Apple aims them to be.

Compelling game titles

Apple's emphasis has always been quality and the tech giant is applying the same principle to its gaming foray by offering exciting titles that easily prod millions of iPad users out there to shell out some cash.

In taking over from the seemingly faltering gaming console, Apple is also redefining mobile gaming, which has been embraced by many for its loads of free gaming apps. The iPad (and iPhone) model gives equal premium to paid games and Apple is upbeat that its approach will pay off big time.

Because according to GBM, "consumers are willing to pay a premium price for premium entertainment," with the tech site quoting a top executive of game developing firm focused on the iOS platform.

Analysts believe that Apple will uncloak the slimmed down iPad 6 on the first week of September while the iPad Mini 2 will have to wait much later, likely between December 2013 and April 2014.