The wait for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 release date may have just gotten a little bit longer if the latest rumors about Apple's next set of tablets prove true.
The reason behind this reported delay stems from the fact that Chinese manufacturer Foxconn is out as Apple's iPad-producing partner, according to the International Business Times, noting Foxconn itself has hinted it's not leading the new slate charge.
The Apple-Foxconn split is reportedly "due to the unreliability" of Foxconn, which is said to have created woes for Apple with scratch-prone iPhone 5 handsets and up to eight million returns.
Foxconn is also producing Android handsets and even announced its own wearable tech that could compete against the long-rumored Apple iWatch.
While Apple's new, unnamed supplier remains unknown, the Cupertino-based company may need some extra time due to the switch.
Release date ring around the rosie
Of course, no one really knows when the follow-up iPads are due, especially as Apple itself has never claimed the tablets are in the works (though, come on, we know how its refresh cycle rolls). To that effect, we've heard months thrown out from the left and right.
The IBT report claims that previous predictions indicated an iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 release date in July, before iOS 7 even goes public.
Other release date rumors peg Apple's next tablets for an October launch, one year after the launch of the iPad 4 and iPad mini.
Today's report doesn't have a updated release time frame attached to either the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2, so the launch of these two tablets could possibly have been pushed back to October do the the Apple-Foxconn rift.
iPad 5, iPad mini features
While the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 launch dates are a big question mark at this point, there's a better indication as to what features we'll see from the forthcoming tablets.
Rumors have indicated that the iPad mini 2 will be refreshed with a Retina display resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels.
Behind its same 7.9-inch screen the heart of the tablet is likely to be the Apple A6X processor, an upgrade over the current model's A5 System on a Chip.
The iPad 5, meanwhile, may introduce the Apple A7 chip if the iPhone 5S doesn't beat it to the punch in September.
Its upgrade in processor speed may be accompanied by a downgrade in weight, as the full-sized iPad for 2013 is said to be 33 percent lighter than last year's model.
With rumors circulating that the iPhone 5S will launch in late September, it's only a matter of time before we start hearing about the new iPads coming down the non-Foxconn factory pipe.
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