Apple was planning to include a second microphone in the iPad mini, according to a new report from Sonny Dickson.
Dickson has obtained photos of a prototype iPad mini that clearly show an extra hole centered at the top rear of the device. He's uncertain why the second microphone was cut from the final product.
The current generation iPad mini only features one microphone on the the top of the device. Current generations of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad all have a second microphone that is used to improve audio quality during phone calls, shooting video, and using Siri, so it doesn’t make much sense for Apple to neglect that feature on the current generation mini.
Notably, schematic leaks and case leaks for the iPad mini all featured an opening for this second microphone. In fact, some cases sold on Amazon still feature the opening. This would suggest that it was scraped close to release. Dickson says that prototypes and shell models are stolen by Foxconn works and sold to case manufacturers for up to $6000.
Take a look at the photos below...
