It's been barely a year since Apple came out with the iPad Mini 3 and rumors have come out that the Cupertino-based firm is preparing a thinner and sleeker mini tablet soon. Photos of a silicon casing for the rumored iPad Mini 4 was leaked online and it hinted of the possible design for the upcoming mobile device.

Renonwed tech and gadget tipster @OnLeaks recently came out with images believed to be the silicon case made for the upcoming iPad Mini 4.

It seems the look didn't change much as the silicon case still sported three cutout holes at the bottom for the two speakers and lightning charger cable. There are also buttons for volume adjustments on the side of the rear casing.

While the photos do not have exact measurements of the casing, it is expected that the new tablet will sport a thinner hardware. Based from the leaked photos, the mute/orientation switch, which has been in all previous iPad Mini devices, seemed to have been removed in the same way the iPad Air 2 was designed.

Better specs and features?

Many followers of the device are hoping that more upgrades will come to the upcoming iPad Mini.

Some users were disappointed when Apple came out with the iPad Mini 3, which for all intents and purposes, retained many of the internal specifications of its predecessor, noted Tech Times.

iPad Mini 3 was still outfitted with the A7 processor, 1GB of RAM and M7 co-processor. The only new feature was the addition of Touch ID and the luxurious gold color.

It was still inferior to the iPad Air 2, which was donned with a 64-bit A8X processor, 2GB of RAM and M8 motion co-processor. Both devices debuted in October 2014 at the same time.

While Apple has yet to confirm reports of the upcoming iPad Mini 4, a recent change on its online store listing hinted of the possible arrival of the device soon.

In June, Apple has quietly removed the original iPad Mini from its list, which led many to believe that a new addition to the family is coming this year.

If rumors are true, then Apple users can finally see the iPad Mini 4 arrive this fall with the iPad Air 3 and iPad Pro.