Prolific iOS device leaker Sonny Dickson was hard at work this week, breaking the supposed iPhone 5S and 5C release week with a heavy dose of what appears as the iPad 5 completed frame, in pictures.

In the new batch of leaked images, Mr Dickson prominently displayed a tablet back casing with the familiar Apple logo printed on the middle portion of the shell, made of anodised aluminium, with three small holes on the upper left edges of the device covering, purportedly to accommodate the slate's control buttons.

Easily noticeable is the supposed iPad's slimmed down built, departing radically from the body design used by Apple with the iPad 4.

Somehow, the clear images from Mr Dickson support persistent claims, from analysts and bloggers alike, that global consumers will be getting a very different fifth-generation iPad serving on Q4 2013.

The upcoming iPad 5 will be looking more like its compact sibling - the iPad Mini, meaning its heft and weight will be considerably reduced. The rationale for the move is simple: the 7.9-inch Mini is outpacing the 9.7-inch iPad in sales, actually threatening its existence.

But Apple is not giving up on the original iPad just like that. Credited as the product that redefined the global personal computer market, the tech giant is bent in rekindling consumers' interest on one of its biggest milking cow.

And obviously, the best way that Apple engineers figured to sex up the iPad 5 is make it look exactly like the iPad Mini. Or more appropriately, almost exactly as the two gadgets differ in screen size.

In short, buyers can expect the fifth iPad to flash bezel surrounding its screen while retaining the immersive screen rendition, thanks to its A7X processing chips that will sufficiently fuel up the Retina-laced tablet screen.

It is also expected that the iPad 5 will carry on with the 2048 x 1536 screen resolution that Apple deployed with the iPad 4 in November 2012 but most of the inner components will be getting their share of bump ups.

And like all the other 'army of gadgets' that the tech titan is letting out starting September this year, the upcoming slate will stand on iOS 7, best described for its simplified interface and the bevy of killer features it will bring to the table.

But when exactly is the device coming out? According to analysts, the safest bet is early of mid-October uncloaking and together with the iPad Mini 2, also with Retina, the global commercial rollout is early November 2013.

There is a slim chance, however, that Apple will also preview the iPad 5 on Sept 10, in an event that could see the same launch day and release date for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

For more of the Sonny Dickson iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 images, click here and here.