This latest report comes from , which says "two people with knowledge of the plans" have claimed that Apple will unveil a smaller, cheaper iPad by October in order to compete with Amazon, Google and Microsoft's new tablet devices.

There are no specifics about the screen size of Apple's rumoured tablet in the report, but Bloomberg estimates that it will be between seven and eight inches diagonally, significantly smaller than the current 9.7in iPad models. The anonymous sources did say, however, that it wouldn't have the third-generation's Retina display, but will have the same amount of pixels as the second-generation iPad.

Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc said that the price point of Apple's new tablet will likely be around £160, roughly in the same range as .

The launch of an iPad mini would be "the competitors' worst nightmare," said Wu in an interview. "The ball is in Apple's court."

Ovum Ltd analyst Jan Dawson explained that competitors have aimed for areas that Apple has not yet dominated. at users who want to continue using Windows software (perhaps the reason the company hasn't brought its Office suite to iOS).