There's been no shortage of rumors claiming that Apple is working on a smaller version of the 9.7-inch iPad ever since the original iPad's debut, but according to a new report, we may finally see such a device this fall. The folks at iMore claim that Apple will be launching a shrunken down iPad this October alongside the new iPhone that'll be priced between $200 and $250. The site doesn't have confirmation on the exact size of the tablet's screen, but its source does mention that the smaller iPad will be identical to the 9.7-inch iPad but shrunken down. That means we may see the device come to market with a 2048x1536 display similar to what's found on the new iPad. In order to get the price down to $200-$250, Apple will reportedly be providing less storage in this smaller iPad, with the $200 model purportedly packing 8GB of space.

This new report from iMore just refers to the device as a 7-inch iPad since there's no concrete word on the device's actual screen size yet, but a report from early last month claimed that Apple has a 7.85-inch iPad kicking around in its testing labs. Whether it's 7 inches, 7.85 or something in-between, it'd definitely be interesting to see Apple finally crank out the oft-rumored smaller iPad, especially if it does end up with a high-res display. The alleged $200 price point would also put the smaller iPad head-to-head with the Kindle Fire, which has seemingly been one of the more popular Android tablets around. Obviously nothing here is official until Tim Cook and Co. makes it so, but if the rumored smaller iPad does indeed launch later this year with a $200-$250 price tag, it could definitely have an effect on the tablet market. Any of you think you'd be interested in a smaller iPad as described in this new report?

Via iMore