Apple sets the stage for event on October 23

A common trend with Apple events is that it takes a lot of efforts to set up the venue. At the time of the introduction of the iPhone 5, Apple decorated the building colourfully. A closer look revealed that the decorations were Apple’s widgets stretched horizontally. With the Apple iPad mini event scheduled to take place today, the brand is expected to unveil the iPad mini along with other products. Apple has gone with a minimalistic approach while designing the California Theatre.

According to a report by CNET, “Unlike its events at the Moscone Center or the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco, the outside signage here is minimal. Apple has simply put "Apple Special Event" on the outside marquee, along with colorful posters donning the company's logo”.

Located at the California Theatre

Apple, in recent times, has used the Moscone Center or the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for unveiling big products. However, as the tagline of the event goes, 'We’ve got a little more to show you', Apple has kept the décor for the event as simplistic as can be and the only highlights are the colourful posters with Apple logos.

When Apple introduced the iPhone 5, Apple employed a very colourful theme. While this may be just the concept or colour scheme used for the event, it also implied that Apple was planning to showcase a product that comes in a variety of colours. This assumption was true when they debuted the 2012 range of iPods.

With the minimalistic design used at the California Theatre, it could definitely imply that Apple will showcase the iPad mini as this tablet, though a new product is lower down in the pecking order in comparison to the regular sized iPad.

Colourful posters within

According to an earlier report by Cnet, “Apple is holding the event at the California Theatre in San Jose, Calif., just a block away from the courtroom where its major trial with Samsung took place”. This event is scheduled to take place next today, which is a deviation from the usual Wednesday announcements Apple tends to host. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific Time, which would be 10:30 p.m. IST.

As far as the rumours of the iPad mini go, it appears that the Cupertino-based brand is not holding back any punches with this smaller iPad, and launching it in various storage capacities such as 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and the top-of-the-line model at 64GB of internal storage. The cheapest model, a 16GB Wi-Fi only version is believed to retail for approximately $329.

That being said, Apple has been losing its market share in the tablet segment to the likes of Amazon with its Kindle Fire, and Google with its Nexus 7 tablet. For Apple to stay in the run, and cater to a customer base that would want a smaller tablet, Apple would have to launch a 7-inch tablet to cement its throne as the leading tablet manufacturer. The Google Nexus 7 tablet is faring exceedingly well in the market and rumours suggest that a 3G version of the tablet may also be in the works. Apple would need to step into this segment to battle the increasing competition from other manufacturers.