Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook Speaks About The New iPad Air
IN PHOTO: Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook speaks about the new iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display during an Apple event in San Francisco, California October 22, 2013. Reuters/Robert Galbraith

No, Apple's iPad Mini will not succumb to the expected onslaught of Google's fresh high-end Nexus 9 slate, but the small iOS tablet could be gone soon and likely to be eliminated by forces within Apple.

When the iPad Mini 3 was introduced last month, the initial reaction amounted to one thing - the slight upgrade from Mini 2 will not merit a buy. Then the question was raised: Why Apple even bothered itself with the third Mini installment?

iPhone 6 Plus represents transition

The answer was partly hinted when Apple finally outed the iPhone 6 that came with a jumbo-sized variant named the iPhone 6 Plus. The latter device somehow underscored the company's gear-shift move - that is mainly upsizing the display panels of its iOS devices.

And the jump indeed was huge in the smartphone category alone. The regular iPhone 6 boasts of a 4.7-inch screen profile that readily overwhelms the iPhone 5S. On the other hand, the 5.5-inch 6 Plus dwarfs most of its competitors.

The statement being sent across is: Apple is truly going big.

Tablet upgrade

Screen supersizing, it turned out, will also impact on Apple's tablet. But not the original 9.7-inch iPad that was trimmed down last year and relabeled as the iPad Air. This year, the same screen size was retained with the Air 2 though the tablet became even thinner than before and the Touch ID fingerprint reader is now part of the package.

The device is also faster and mightier with the use of the 64-bit A8X processing chip, further enhanced by iOS 8.

No major iPad Mini step up

Surprisingly, as Apple really beefed up the second iPad Air the Mini 3 was far from awesome. Why the neglect? Tech blog site G4Games offered the answer - the third iteration will be the last and the device is set to be discontinued.

The report pointed to supply chain chatters from Taiwan as source of its information.

G4Games added that that Apple is training its sight on the emerging trend of larger screen display for devices, which is true for both the smartphone and tablet sectors.

The real iPad Mini killer

Besides, sales of the Mini tablet have been declining steadily so it makes sense that Apple would kill instead of rival products doing the honour. And it is not the Nexus 9 or the Galaxy Tab S from Samsung that will slay the iPad Mini. It is an upcoming Apple product that is rumoured to take the name iPad Pro.

Latest reports have indicated that the iPad Pro is a 12.2-inch tablet that far extends the functionalities of the regular iPad, thus making it a compelling tablet and laptop alternative, likely even bumping off the MacBook Air.

No confirmation yet from Apple but speculations are rife that the iPad Pro release date is scheduled anytime within the first quarter of 2015.