Will iPhone 5 And iPad Mini Launch The Same Day? No, Says John Gruber

By now, most Apple insiders have come to a consensus that on Sept. 12, Tim Cook will take the stage and announce the iPhone 5 to the world, with the device going on sale nine days later. And most people have assumed that the iPad mini would share the stage with its mobile cousin.

But according to professional Apple speculator John Gruber, the 7-inch smaller iPad will actually be announced a month later.

"First, an iPhone event, focused solely on the new iPhone and iOS 6," Gruber writes. "Then, the iPhone ships nine days later, and there's another wave of iPhone-focused attention as the reviews come out. Then, in the first or second week of October, Apple holds its traditional 'music event,' exactly along the lines of the events at which they've been debuting new iPods for the last decade."

Gruber believes that the iPhone is so important to Apple's business model -- the phone alone makes as much money as all of Microsoft -- that the tech giant would never weaken its king product's day in the sun.

"But the more I think about it," he writes, "the less sense it makes for the iPhone to even share the stage at the announcement with any other product. The iPhone is too big, too cool, and garners too much attention - and it's in Apple's interest to keep that attention undiluted."

While all of this is unconfirmed (even the widely believed Sept. 12 date), many in the tech world swear by Gruber's predictions. But ultimately, we'll just have to wait an see if he's right.