YouTube video claims to offer first look at narrower iPad 5

YouTube video claims to offer first look at narrower iPad 5

If a new YouTube video is to be believed, Apple's next iPad will trim down on the bezel as it borrows design cues from the iPad mini.

Unbox Therapy released a new YouTube video Monday which appears to offer a detailed, 1080p HD-quality comparison of the current iPad 4 alongside components for the next model.

Referred to as the iPad 5, the video certainly looks authentic enough, revealing an iPad mini-style redesign that ditches the sloped edges of earlier models in favor of a more squarish appearance that's ever so slightly thinner.

But this presumed iPad 5 is even smaller in another way, with the width reduced from 18.5 cm to 17 cm, making the tablet narrow enough for an average user to wrap a single hand around the device.

Big grains of salt

Assuming the components shown in the video are indeed real, owners of the current iPad 4 will probably be investing in a new case once the tablet hits the streets.

Narrower frame aside, the purported iPad 5 casing shows buttons on the right edge are placed slightly hi gher, with volume up and down separated rather than a single piece.

Also new are a pair of speaker grilles on the bottom again similar to the iPad mini, which implies that Apple's next tablet could arrive equipped with stereo speakers at last.

Apple appears to have pulled all of this off without reducing the size of the 9.7-inch Retina Display - now all that's left is confirmation that it's the real McCoy, which could come as early as next Tuesday's media event in Cupertino.

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