iPad 5 Release Date Coming Soon, Silver Rear Shell Appears in New Pictures

The iPad 5 release date should be coming soon as the tablet's silver rear shell is shown in new leaked pictures.

These images show the device with a silver casing and are consistent with a previous report that stated that the next-gen full-sized iPad will feature the same touch panel technology as the current iPad Mini.

Apple suppliers have confirmed that the company is using the same technology in order to make reductions to the weight and size of the tablets, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The technology made the original iPad mini thin and it is currently being produced by Asian suppliers for the full-sized next-gen model.

What people interpret to be a normal screen is actually multiple layers that consist of touch sensors between the liquid-crystal display and the outermost cover glass. The iPad mini uses a film-based touch panel that is thinner and lighter than the glass-based touch panel found on the fourth-generation iPad.

Due to the iPad mini's success, Apple will employ this same technology on the full-sized model. The iPad 5 and iPad mini are also expected to resemble each other closely in terms of their look.

New pictures of parts used for the new iPad have surfaced earlier this month and are said to the actual front panel and digitizer for the device. The part resembles some of the past leaks showing that it will have narrower bezels making it similar to the iPad mini model.

It also features flex cables running along one of the long edges of the panel and ending in connectors in roughly the same location on the current iPad. The connectors themselves are a bit different from what is found on the current model.

Apple has been making some technological changes to achieve a smaller form factor for the new device. This could be the reason why these parts feature different connectors.