Apple has a lot of options to play around with to control its manufacturing costs, or the "bill of materials" (BOM) and hence, both the final retail price and its all-important margins. The small iPad could start with just 8GB of storage; or opt for a less expensive touch screen that doesn't offer the high pixel density, and image quality, of its Retina display technology, as Gruber has speculated. Others have said that Apple won't offer cellular as an option.

Here's how Apple's current product pricing breaks down:

new iPod touch: Wi-Fi only 32 GB, $299; 64 GB, $399

iPhone 5 (with 2-year contract): 16 GB, $199; 32 GB, $299; 64 GB $399

new iPad: Wi-Fi only: 16 GB, $499; 32 GB, $599; 64 GB, $699; with cellular: 16 GB, $629; 32 GB, $729; 64 GB, $829