Oct 09, 2014 11:53 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Apple has confirmed its next event will be Oct. 16 and the company is widely expected to unveil a new line of iPads, as well as release the new desktop operating system.

The invitation, ironically stating "It's been way too long," is for an event at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. at 10:00 a.m. PT, which is 1:00 p.m. on the east coast, Mashable reported. Several news outlets have reported that Apple is set to unveil new installments in the iPad Air and Mini lines.

Leaked images apparently revealed the iPad Air 2 to be 7mm thin, the same as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Also like the new iPhones, the new iPads are expected to have the newer, faster A8 processing chip. The new tablets are also expected to be offered with a gold color option and the Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

As Bloomberg News noted, Apple's tablet sales have been in decline for the past two quarters and the company is need of a fresh breath in the market, a stark contrast from the device's first few years in existence. Apple may have further hindered their ability to sell tablets by developing their very own "phablet," the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

However, as Apple's iPhones continue to get bigger, so do their iPads. Unnamed sources within Apple's suppliers told the Wall Street Journal that a new 12.9-inch iPad will go into mass production in Dec. Apple is currently trying to keep up with the massive demand for the new iPhones, de-prioritizing the larger iPads.

"The top priority for the supply chain is to meet the overwhelming demand for the larger screen iPhones. The output of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus remains unsatisfactory," one person told the Journal. "It would be challenging for display makers to split resources and spend a few months to ramp up production for a new larger screen iPad now."

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