A new report out of the Far East claims that Apple's iPad mini 4 will see many of the same upgrades received by the iPad Air 2 last year, only compressed into a much smaller footprint. Meanwhile, a 2015 debut of the iPad Air 3 is said to remain a possibility.

The Japanese-language Macotakara said on Saturday that its industry sources are describing the iPad mini 4 as a shrunken version of the iPad Air 2, with plans calling for the adoption of many of the same specifications, notably a new 8MP iSight camera, A8-series processor, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Additionally, the new iPad mini 4 is rumored to see its thickness shaved down from 7.5mm to match the iPad Air 2's thickness of 6.1mm. It's also likely to gain the Air 2's laminated display with antireflective coating, according to the report.

Separately, the report looks to hedge recent rumors that Apple may forgo an upgrade to the iPad Air this year in order to reduce pressure on manufacturers who will be tasked with pumping out both a 12.9" iPad Pro and all-new iPad mini 4.