We haven’t yet seen a leak of the iPad Mini’s components to the degree we’ve seen leaks of the back panels and bezels of what is alleged to be the next generation iPhone. Curiously though, Chinese case manufacturers have begun selling cases specifically made for the rumored 7 inch iPad. GizChina has collected (and liberally watermarked) photos of iPad cases that have been recently sold in China.

How many watermarks can fit on one leak?

These cases, for a product Apple has neither announced nor acknowledged, include precise openings for access to the volume rocker, headphone lack, and the rotation/mute toggle. There are even clip-on hard plastic covers for the new iPad’s back panel, which would have a lower tolerance for error than the soft plastic cases which could be stretched if their numbers are a bit off.

A manufacturer of a pleather case even included a rendering of the supposed iPad, complete with a mini dock connector and speaker grills that resemble the chassis of the next generation iPhone. The case even includes holes for the front and rear-facing camera.

I would be interested in knowing where the manufacturer got the render from. Is this a fanciful rendering based on rumors, or is this a rendering of the next iPad’s based on leaked designs? These cases all seem similar enough.

I hope this plastic case fits…

The rendered iPad features a bezel which is far thinner at the sides than the top or bottom of the screen, which resemble the iPod Touch more than the current 9.7 inch iPad. This similarity to the iPod Touch was predicted by a rumor from last week. At the very least, these case manufacturers have confidence in the rumor’s veracity.

Hopefully these covers go on sale online, so we can add them to our collection of ‘iPhone 5′ cases.

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