iPad 5 Release Coming Soon, Claims Case Maker

This morning Gumdrop cases is pushing an iPad 5 case for the new iPad that the company thinks will arrive on June 10th at WWDC 2013.

iPad 5 leaks point to a smaller, lighter iPad that looks like the iPad mini, and that’s what the new iPad 5 cases appear to support, even though the tire-tread design covers pretty much any hint of Apple’s design.

Gumdrop CEO Tim Hickman is no stranger to betting on Apple launches, and he’s back this time claiming we are in for an iPad 5 release at, or soon after, WWDC 2013 next Monday.

This morning Gumdrop cases sent out images for their iPad 5 case, claiming the rugged case will be available on June 10th, right after Apple announces the iPad 5. Hickman isn’t talking about where the iPad 5 details came from, but the company already has samples of the iPad 5 cases in hand and on the way to publications like CNet.

While there may be plenty of shoppers willing to buy an iPad 5 in the middle of the summer, we’re not sure users will have anything to put in this iPad 5 case for many months.

Read: iPad 5 Specs, Features & Dimensions Rumored

The latest iPad 5 rumors all point to a device that looks a lot like the iPad mini, with a narrower design and narrow bezels as well as a new design for the edges and back, but the rumors also point to a fall release, likely as late as October. One early leak of an iPad 5 case pointed to June, but the source later backed off the date.

In 2011 Hickman bet on the iPhone 5 arriving instead of the iPhone 4S, and started the process of making cases based on leaked specs and dimensions. When Apple took the stage and announced the iPhone 4S, the company had to scrap the designs, which Hickman stated came from three partners in China. The mistake cost Hard Candy Cases $50,000.

Gotta Be Mobile took a behind the scenes look at making cases for Apple products last year, when Marware let us in on how they start designing cases for an un-announced Apple product. Marware Director of Marketing Ronald Khadaran told Gotta Be Mobile,

“Usually at least a couple months before a rumored launch, there’s a certain point where you start to get a pretty good idea of the basic rumored elements.”

Rumors point to the iPad 5 launching before the iPad mini 2, which could help the larger tablet sales, but a release at WWDC, where Apple will show off a new version of iOS and talk about software features seems unlikely at this point.

Leaks an analysts agree on a release later this year, with claims that the iPad 5 will not launch at the same event as the iPhone 5S, but could arrive in October.