Fortune reports that the source for this information is a “major Apple investor.” The timing sounds about right: Apple prefers Wednesdays for events. And a mid-October announcement — and the ensuing press coverage — would naturally set the stage for holiday sales.

Apple hasn’t confirmed the existence of a smaller iPad product, of course, but pictures of components said to belong to a 7.85-inch iPad have been leaking out for a few months.

The company held an event in mid-September to announced the iPhone 5, more details on iOS 6, and a slew of new iPods. Apple did not include a new iPad in that presentation. It’s possible Apple didn’t want the smaller iPad to get lost in the shuffle of announcements and prefers to hold a separate event to emphasize the device’s importance. This holiday, competition is going to be fierce for shoppers looking to pick up a 7-ish inch tablet, with Google, Amazon and Microsoft competing for their attention and dollars in the next few months.

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