In late 2014, Apple was rumored to terminate the entire iPad Mini line the succeeding year, AppleInsider reported. At the time, it was believed that the Cupertino giant had set its eyes solely on the iPad Pro, the 12-inch tablet also known as the iPad Air Plus.

As in the case of smartphones, the market may have shifted its preference to larger tablet screens -- one possible explanation why Apple could ditch the iPad Mini brand.

The iPad Mini 3 provides one good instance. The tablet arrived only in October, but it's immediately judged as one of 2014's flop devices. As told by The Times of India, the addition of Touch ID and a gold color option seem to be its only changes. The rest of the tablet's specs are at least identical to its predecessor, the iPad Mini 2.

Devices tend to appear in surplus when their sizes, specs and features are repeated over and over again.

For these reasons, recent reports have countered earlier hearsays. This time, the iPad Mini 2 is thought to stay, while the original iPad Mini and iPad Mini 3 are touted to get out of the market. The iPad Mini 4 is purported to arrive, so we're seeing three new iPads should rumor mills hold absolute truth: the iPad Pro, the iPad Air 3 and the iPad Mini 4.

However, with Apple's lack of word, such insights may best be taken with a grain of salt. If earlier speculations are to be believed, the last Mini tablet could be the iPad Mini 3, but today's appearance of iPad Mini 4 rumors only suggest otherwise.

Word along the grapevine has it that the new iPad Mini debuts alongside the iPad Pro, International Business Times noted. According to the outlet, the devices are expected to come out in April, packing a slew of improvements.

The iPad Pro is allegedly similar to the iPad Air 2, News Everyday wrote. However, the outlet indicated that it's going to be "a lot thinner and lighter," so we're up to wonder how the actual device would look like.

Well, Apple itself has branded the iPad Air 2 as "impossibly thin," though it's not the world's thinnest tablet at this point. Still, "a lot thinner" sounds very intriguing, because if this bears truth, Apple will have to craft a tablet slimmer than 6.1 mm.

Citing information from Mac Fan, The Fuse Joplin wrote that the iPad Mini 4 comes with an A8X processor and 2 GB of RAM. The outlet is convinced that the tablet retails "the same price" as its predecessor, so we'll definitely be on the lookout.

For more information on current iPad models, head over here.