Hands-On With Apple’s Unique Dual-Microphone iPad Mini Prototype

According to our sources, Apple had originally planned to incorporate what appears to be a second microphone in the recent version of the iPad mini.

The photo’s below shows the prototype iPad mini with an extra hole centered, atop the rear of the device. It is unclear as to why Apple withheld the second microphone from the final product release, my guesses would be that it was axed out to cut down on cost, or to be preserved for a future generation iPad mini

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.