Rumours claimed that the alleged April release date of iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 will further delay the launch of Apple's smartphones iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S.

It has been roughly six months since Apple unveiled the fourth generation and iPad Mini, but the devices are now offered at a discounted price. It seems that Apple is moving towards a six-month product cycle.

According to rumours, almost 30 percent being slashed off the price of iPad's and iPad mini's, the clearance sale by the retail giants on tablet's third anniversary is a clear cut indication that Apple is all set to hit the market with a new and updated iPad for the customers.

This is fuelled by the speculation that the release iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S will be postponed due to US carrier T-Mobile's delayed availability of the current iPhone. It has been less than a week since T-Mobile announced the long-awaited release of the iPhone 5 on its network free of contract. The smartphone will make its debut with T-Mobile on April 12. Pre-orders for the handset began for the iPhone 5 on Friday.

With the delayed availability of the handset in T-Mobile, Apple may not release the successors of the handset yet. Rumours claimed that Apple is set to unleash iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S in June.

According to reports, iPad Mini 2 will 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.