iPad mini pics published on Twitter

Photos purporting to show the iPad mini have been published on Twitter just a day before invitations for the grand reveal are expected to arrive.

Australian Sonny Dickson, a researcher for 9to5Mac, has published the photos on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Some of the snaps show the device against a standard iPad and an iPhone, giving perspective to the size of what Dickson claims is the iPad mini. He also has several shots that show the same Lightning port as found in the iPhone 5.

Though Apple has remained tight-lipped on the existence of the iPad mini, the device is generally expected to be unveiled this month, with rumours of press invites to the event expected to arrive on 10 October.

According to recent reports, Apple has ordered more than 10 million iPad minis to be made in the fourth quarter of this year.

Whether the device that appears in Dickson's photographs is the real deal, we remain sceptical, particularly as it resembles the Chinese dummy version that appeared in a video demonstration last month.

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