Apple reaffirmed to launch Retina iPad mini, slimmed down iPad on Tuesday

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reaffirmed rumors that Apple will be releasing a next-generation Retina version of the iPad mini, as well as a thinner, redesigned iPad, at an upcoming special event planned for Tuesday.

Mockup
Second-generation iPad mini mockup by Martin Hajek.


Citing sources from Apple's supply chain, the WSJ reports that a new Retina display-toting iPad mini will debut at Tuesday's media event, siding with a number of industry watchers who believe Apple can overcome apparent supply chain constraints with the high-resolution panel.

While analysts and mainstream media alike agree that Apple will likely unveil a redesigned fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad next week, the second-generation mini has been the source of much debate. The main concern is whether Apple's supply chain can manufacture a sufficient number of 7.9-inch Retina-quality panels.

Earlier in October, Reuters suggested that Apple may face severe supply constraints of its next-gen iPad mini if the company chose to launch the device this year. The report cited sources as saying low yields from Apple's display suppliers, LG Display, Samsung and Sharp, were holding up production of the tablet. This aligns with a prediction from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's prediction, who said low display yield rates would delay mass production of the next-gen iPad mini until October.

If Apple is able to meet anticipated demand for the unannounced mini, however, the tablet is forecast to outsell its larger brother nearly two to one over the lucrative holiday season.

Interestingly, a look Apple's indirect channel inventory showed high levels for the current non-Retina iPad mini, suggesting the model may be carried over after Tuesday's announcement. Alternatively, the company could have simply dumped remaining direct channel inventory to reseller channels ahead of the new models' anticipated debut.

As for the full-size iPad, the WSJ reiterated claims from an August report that said the fifth-gen tablet will employ GF2 thin-film screen technology to make the device slimmer and lighter than its predecessors. The larger iPad is also said to feature a redesign with thinner bezels and rounded corners, bringing it more in line with the current iPad mini.

All speculation should be laid to rest on Tuesday, when Apple is widely expected to announce the new iPad and iPad mini, possibly alongside OS X 10.9 Mavericks and new Mac products. AppleInsider will be at the event providing live coverage from 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    I take a confirmation over a whisper any day
  • Reply 2 of 35
    Let hope the info one iPad Mini Retina is accurate.
  • Reply 3 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Harry Wild View Post



    Let hope the info one iPad Mini Retina is accurate.

    And the price is not exorbitant...

    As well as no big increase in weight (thickness matters less to me, in terms of a mm plus or minus).

  • Reply 4 of 35
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    I might try this rumour stuff.

     

    I heard from a source that there will be an iPad c, unashamedly plastic in a range of colours, it will have the same cpu as the old iPads and will be cheap, if it isn't cheap it will fail except for selling more than any other tablet out there, which doesn't count for anything but production will be cut in a few weeks or maybe it will rise, whichever it will be a fail anyway.

  • Reply 5 of 35
    hill60 wrote: »
    I might try this rumour stuff.

    I heard from a source that there will be an iPad c, unashamedly plastic in a range of colours, it will have the same cpu as the old iPads and will be cheap, if it isn't cheap it will fail except for selling more than any other tablet out there, which doesn't count for anything but production will be cut in a few weeks or maybe it will rise, whichever it will be a fail anyway.

    You are you are correct! The negative press releases have already been written and last minute coordination of release dates are being approved.
  • Reply 6 of 35
    My lawyer's dentist's cousin (twice removed) has it on good authority that something will be announced by Apple on Tuesday... Fingers crossed!
  • Reply 7 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    You'd think if no retina mini was coming Apple would have leaked something to their preferred outlets. Having WSJ report that its coming a day before the event and then not announcing one would not be good. Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?
  • Reply 8 of 35
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    rogifan wrote: »
    You'd think if no retina mini was coming Apple would have leaked something to their preferred outlets. Having WSJ report that its coming a day before the event and then not announcing one would not be good. Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?
    Why?
    The WSJ is no longer the respected publication it once was. That said there is nothing keeping Apple from going retina in the iPad.
  • Reply 9 of 35
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member
    rogifan wrote: »
    You'd think if no retina mini was coming Apple would have leaked something to their preferred outlets. Having WSJ report that its coming a day before the event and then not announcing one would not be good. Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?

    This kind of thing happens every Apple release. Analysts and reporters promise the moon. Apple instead releases the best product that's actually possible. Analysts claim apple is losing its touch. Share prices fall while Apple collects record profits. Repeat.

    Also, I doubt that Apple would be inclined to leak any info to the WSJ given the number of smear jobs they have put into print in the past.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    eideardeideard Posts: 428member
    C'mon guys. Let's move to the next level of "concern" we get to waste time on among TV geeks.

    Between Samsung, Sharp and LG, their factories in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China - look at all the permutations available for comparative criticism, buying choices. When I bought my most recent TV, it came down to intelligence letting consumers analyze serial numbers which indicated where the display was manufactured. :-]
  • Reply 11 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    You'd think if no retina mini was coming Apple would have leaked something to their preferred outlets. Having WSJ report that its coming a day before the event and then not announcing one would not be good. Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?

    Well, maybe they did, and the 'market' wants to punish Apple by:

    a) ignoring repeating those rumors

    b) build up their own rumors of imminent deployment of retina mini, boosting prices.

    c) Short the stock immensely today on margin. (no serious player puts money into the market more than a couple days, if not a couple hours)

    d) wait until it's apparent apple isn't releasing a retina AND the market has some small buyers panic and sell

    e) release the kraken and in 72 point font release "NO RETINA MINI, AAPL MARKET COLLAPSES" into their media channels

    f) wait until you see a a 3% drop.

    g) buy back your shorts

    h) $$$.

     

    The power of buying ink in barrels and electrons by the megawatt.

  • Reply 12 of 35
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    Damn you AI and your click-bait...you got me.

  • Reply 13 of 35

    It says WSJ.

    nothing to see here folks.

  • Reply 14 of 35
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    You'd think if no retina mini was coming Apple would have leaked something to their preferred outlets. Having WSJ report that its coming a day before the event and then not announcing one would not be good. Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?

     

    The WSJ and AllThingsD, along with Jim Dalrymple, appear to be Apple's preferred communications channels for controlled leaks. I don't think any "rumor" from the WSJ or AllThingsD the day before a product announcement has been incorrect. Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of AllThingsD are severing ties with News Corp. in December, though, so it remains to be seen where Apple will head in the future.

     

    That said, what we don't know yet is how much supply there will be of the iPad mini. That's the one I want. For the 3rd and 4th iPads, and last year's mini launch, supplies were plentiful and so were sales. If rumors are right, supplies of the larger iPad should be plentiful while the mini might be tight.

  • Reply 15 of 35
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bananaman View Post

     

    It says WSJ.

    nothing to see here folks.


    ??? The WSJ typically reports controlled leaks the day before announcements. 2 years ago, they "leaked" that there would be no iPhone 5 (just a 4s).

  • Reply 16 of 35
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Unless this WSJ report (and the one from a month or so ago) are Apple leaks?

    Well, the headline reads that Apple reaffirmed this. I must've missed the first affirmation.
  • Reply 17 of 35
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    The WSJ story is behind the paywall. Another interesting story is linked there, however, by Farhad Manjoo.

    He says he thinks Google's strategy with Motorola and their new phone is to drive down smartphone prices in general, and so take revenue away from Apple and Samsung.

    He thinks their Android strategy makes sense in the light of this theory: cripple your competitors who are making money by selling real goods by giving away the real goods, so you can make money off the eyeballs of users.

    If Manjoo is right, it means that Google's Nexus 7 tablet is designed only to make Apple's iPad mini look like a ripoff.

    The burden of describing in detail why the iPad mini is better than the Nexus 7 now falls on us, if we want to see good beat out evil in this twisted competition with Google.
  • Reply 18 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post

     

    I might try this rumour stuff.

     

    I heard from a source that there will be an iPad c, unashamedly plastic in a range of colours, it will have the same cpu as the old iPads and will be cheap, if it isn't cheap it will fail except for selling more than any other tablet out there, which doesn't count for anything but production will be cut in a few weeks or maybe it will rise, whichever it will be a fail anyway.


     

    A lot of different iPad Mini C colors to "cover"...yes, yes. I'd actually buy a cheaper version of the Mini. 

    Or is Apple releasing a gold Mini?

  • Reply 19 of 35
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post



    The WSJ story is behind the paywall. Another interesting story is linked there, however, by Farhad Manjoo.



    He says he thinks Google's strategy with Motorola and their new phone is to drive down smartphone prices in general, and so take revenue away from Apple and Samsung.



    He thinks their Android strategy makes sense in the light of this theory: cripple your competitors who are making money by selling real goods by giving away the real goods, so you can make money off the eyeballs of users.



    If Manjoo is right, it means that Google's Nexus 7 tablet is designed only to make Apple's iPad mini look like a ripoff.



    The burden of describing in detail why the iPad mini is better than the Nexus 7 now falls on us, if we want to see good beat out evil in this twisted competition with Google.

     

    Well commoditization isn't exactly a new concept. Apple is trying to keep their products unique and the question will be whether their innovation and ecosystem are enough to command a premium price that garners profits. At some point when all the prices of the parts that make the phone are reduced though, Apple either has to pass that on or include some new parts that demand the higher price. It has been noted that the profit margin on the "S" versions of iPhones is typically higher due to reusing many items for a second year. However Apple included 64 bit processor, fingerprint scanner and better camera sensor as an example. Apple will need to do this with this iPad revision as well. I'm anxiously wanting a Retina iPad mini for Christmas.

  • Reply 20 of 35
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post



    The WSJ story is behind the paywall. Another interesting story is linked there, however, by Farhad Manjoo.



    He says he thinks Google's strategy with Motorola and their new phone is to drive down smartphone prices in general, and so take revenue away from Apple and Samsung.



    He thinks their Android strategy makes sense in the light of this theory: cripple your competitors who are making money by selling real goods by giving away the real goods, so you can make money off the eyeballs of users.



    If Manjoo is right, it means that Google's Nexus 7 tablet is designed only to make Apple's iPad mini look like a ripoff.



    The burden of describing in detail why the iPad mini is better than the Nexus 7 now falls on us, if we want to see good beat out evil in this twisted competition with Google.

     

    Will never work.  Once you establish yourself as a premium brand you can somewhat insulate yourself from the "race to the bottom" antics of your competitors.  Much like Target can run as many sales as they want Nordstrom's will be unaffected because they clientele are different. 

     

    Apple's biggest task is to maintain premium status. 

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