This could be the beginning of the end for rumours comcerning the iPad Mini, as Apple has announced it will be holding an event on 23 October, where it has “a little more to show us”. The invitations were sent out yesterday evening, confirming the recent rumour regarding the event date.

Talk of an iPad Mini began near the beginning of the year, and despite a steady rumour drip, the device has still failed to make an appearance at any Apple event since. This has led many to wonder if Apple really intends to release one, after all, the late Steve Jobs said you needed to sandpaper your fingers down to use a 7-inch screen on a tablet.

However, this could be the date of the big reveal, and it comes soon after an iPad Mini price list was leaked, putting the basic 8GB Wi-Fi model at around £200 and the top-of-the-range 64GB iPad Mini at £520. This would mean Apple is competing against Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets.

It’s not the only possibility though, as iPad Mini rumours have been joined by talk of a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, plus a restyled iMac desktop PC. They could all arrive together, or the event could be for something else entirely.

If it is for the above collection of products, Apple is doing its best to upset Microsoft, who will launch its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 software over the coming weeks, along with its Surface tablets.

We’ll know all there is after 10am San Francisco time on 23 October.