Summer's over and that can only mean one thing: The new crop of Apple mobile hardware will soon be upon us! What does the new iPhone have under the hood? When will the iPad Mini be announced? We've got your answers right here...so long as you like your answers to be unconfirmable, that is.

iPad Mini

Image courtesy of Gizmodo UK. 

The general consensus reached amongst the fanboy population, pundits and technology writeers since our last rumor roundup is that, despite the fact that we've seen no real proof of it, and that Steve Jobs loathed the idea, the iPad Mini will be announced sooner than later.

While it was originally thought that Apple would unveil the iPad Mini during the company's September iPhone event, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple (and his beard) have hinted at a more likely scenario: That the diminutive tablet will get its first showing at a seperate event in October.

It makes sense: The only thing that Apple sells that's more profitable for the company than the iPad is the iPhone. Releasing a new iPhone and a new iteration of the iPad at the same time could lead the products drinking each other's milkshakes. It's far better from a financial standpoint for the company to provide a little bit of a buffer between releases so that those with a desire to buy both products won't have to choose between one or the other.

How much will it cost? Only Apple knows. But it makes sense that Apple would want to position it as a competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7. The two tablets consitute the only real competition that Apple's seen for the iPad since the device was introduced in 2010. In a recent interview with CNET, IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander said that she believed the iPad Mini could sell for $299, which would provide Apple with a tidy profit margin. However, she said that she could also envision the device selling for $249. At that price, Apple wouldn't be making as much money, but they'd be able to eat into the sales of Amazon and Google powered devices, which is pretty much the point of a smaller iPad in the first place. 

iPhone 5

How does a whole A6 system on a chip grab you? 9to5Mac researcher Sonny Dickson recently posted what appears to be a picture of the now familiar purported iPhone 5 Logic Board, with one notable change: It's got an A6 chip attached to it. Is it a Photoshopped piece of tomfoolery? Maybe some false technology planted by Apple to lead snoops off the trail of their real hardware? The image might be a fake, but we're willing to believe that an A6 chip could soon make an appearance. The A5 chip is getting a little long in the tooth, after all, and given the that the iPhone is Apple's flagship device, there's no better place to reveal a new chipset than to bake it into the handset's high tech innards.

Image courtesy of iLounge

It's worth mentioning that that 8-pin dock connector that's got ever iOS device user on the planet up in arms has seen some more circumstantial evidence crop up recently. iLounge has posted spy shots of what is purportedly an 8-pin connection cable of the sort that could ship with the new iPhone.

So, does this mean that all of our old iOS accessories are now useless? Maybe. Maybe not. A lot of accesory manufacturers gamble on iPhone and iPad rumors in an effort to have their wares to market in time to coincide with the launch of a new Apple product. The cable could very well be an example of such an attempt. 

As we warn you every time we talk Apple rumors, unless it comes directly from Apple, take everything you read with a grain of salt. Be paitent: all will be revealed in just a few weeks.