If Apple follows its historical pattern, the new iPads will be out November 1, which is the week after the announcement.
It's going to get a new shell that's more like the current iPad Mini. It will be thinner, lighter, and smaller than the current big iPad.
The inside of the iPad is also going to get some major changes.
Apple is expected to add the "A7" chip, which is its latest, greatest chip. The A7 is in iPhone 5S and it supports 64-bit architecture. What is 64-bit architecture? Well, it brings desktop computing power to mobile devices. For the iPad, this could be huge. The iPad is fast becoming consumers' primary PC, so making it more powerful just makes sense.
Color options are expected to be silver/white and "space gray"/black. Those are the colors Apple is using on the iPhone 5S. It's unclear whether Apple will do a gold iPad.
The iPad Mini is expected to get a "Retina" display.
Retina is Apple's terminology for a high definition screen. Apple better have a Retina display because every other company making a tablet has a higher definition display than Apple.
Will the new iPads get fingerprint readers?
This is unclear. We have heard little to no rumors about it happening, so our inclination is to think it's not coming. Apple may be struggling to make enough finger print readers for the iPhone 5S, and therefore it will not want to up the production for the iPads.
Supply of the Retina iPad Mini may be limited.
There's been a lot of talk that Apple might not even be able to release an iPad Mini with Retina this year because it's struggling to make the Retina display. We know believe it will happen, but we think the supply is going to be limited initially. Expect the Retina iPad to be tough to get this holiday season.
Will Apple cut the price of the current iPad Mini?
Historically, Apple drops the price of last year's model and sells it along side this year's model. We don't know if Apple will do that with the iPad Mini. But, it would be a smart move to sell last year's iPad Mini for $229. Google and Amazon have super cheap tablets. Apple could compete with them.
What about an iPad Maxi?
There's talk out there that Apple is planning a really big iPad — 12.1 inches. We're skeptical it happens, but if it happens, it's not happening this year. It's also possible there's some confusion out there. There are also rumors of Apple doing a 12-inch laptop, which we don't expect next week.
Other stuff?
Apple's iPad event isn't just about iPads. Expect it release its new desktop computer software, OS X Mavericks. We also expect it to officially launch the Mac Pro.
OK, twist our arm, there's some more gossip...
The rumor is that Apple is going to update its Apple TV. It might have some sort of motion-tracking technology a la Microsoft's Kinect. Apple is NOT expected to release a full-on television, though. Just an update to the hockey puck. But there's been very little chatter on the TV, so it would be a real surprise.
