The new iPad’s leaked photos is showing a slimmer tablet. The fourth-generation Apple iPad was released in November of last year, and in the same way, leaks and rumors abound before it was launched to the market.

Referencing the usual mystery and sequence of pending Apple product launches, the leaked photos possibly indicates that Apple will release the fifth-generation iPad sometime this year. The Christian Science Monitor notes that Apple does not use the usual numeric designations it gives for its phones. There is no iPad3 or iPad4, it has consistently used the term iPad, similar to its iMac and Macbook line.

The leaked photos of the possibly fourth-generation iPad, released by French tech site Nowhereelse.fr, will be thinner than its predecessors, but have the same overall design. The source for the leak, which Nowehereelese.fr said is the "first evidence of the imminent release of the next iPad," is an anonymous insider within the Chinese supply chain. Like many leaks and rumors, it is recommended that this be taken with a grain of salt.

Lance Whitey of CNET points out, however, that the French website does have a track record of releasing leaked photos and being right about it. The images it acquired of the iPhone 5 was right-on accurate. Apple has yet to comment on the issue regarding the leak.

The Nowhereelse.fr leak is also consistent with a DigiTimes report that predicts the “volume production” of the fifth-generation iPad would begin by July or August. Sources has told DigiTimes that the new iPad would be “thinner and lighter than the fourth-generation one and will adopt a slim bezel design, similar to that of the iPad Mini.”

The iPad Mini was launched together with the fourth-generation iPad. Sales of the smaller tablet has been brisk, enabling Apple to continue to dominate the entire tablet market in the U.S. and abroad with very healthy margins. Analysts predict, however, that 2013 could be the year that Android-powered sales will finally overtake the iPad.