iPad Mini 2 with sharper display 'faces delays'

The company is only now beginning to make the high-resolution screens for the device which could be released with limited stock, sources told Reuters.

Apple are yet to announce what changes will feature in the iPad Mini 2 but it has been widely expected to improve the quality of the display to catch up with rivals.

"Retina" is a term coined by Apple to indicate when a device has a high enough pixel density that the human eye cannot notice the pixelation from a typical viewing distance.

The displays are found in other Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook Pro and some iPads. Similar quality screens are currently found in rival tablets from Google and Amazon.

Sources told Reuters they expected Apple will either wait until early next year for a full-fledged launch of a retina display iPad Mini, or make a retina version only available in limited quantities before the end of the year.

Apple has faced growing competition in the tablet market as rivals look to muscle in on the space with new launches. The company shipped a lower-than-expected 14.6 million tablets in the second quarter last year, down from 19.5 million in the first.

Details of the new version of iPad Mini could be unveiled this month and some believe Apple may lower the price of the handset in order to boost sales in emerging markets.

"Right now the iPad Mini is more expensive than everyone else in the 7- to 8-inch tablet segment," said Arthur Liao, an analyst for Fubon Securities in Taipei.

"If it could reduce its price by even just $50, it would appeal to more consumers."

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iPad mini with Retina display 'out by end of 2013'

It is not yet clear whether the redesigned 9.7-inch iPad and Retina display iPad mini will launch simultaneously, Bloomberg said.

The next version of the iPad will be adapted to look more like the current iPad Mini, with rounded corners and thinner sides, one source told the news organisation.

Details on the new iPad mini were sparse apart from the addition of a Retina display, as featured in the current iPad.

A Retina display would also bring the new iPad Mini in line with other Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPod Touch and MacBook Pro. The current iPad Mini comes with a lower-resolution 132ppi screen from LG and Taiwan's AU Optronics.

Retina display is a brand name used by Apple for their liquid crystal displays, in which pixelation is imperceptible to the human eye. Other brands also offer higher resolution screens, marketed simply as high definition.

The Californian company will be hoping the potential double-product launch will boost tablet sales, after global shipment of the devices fell from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year.

Apple, still the market leader in the tablet-manufacturing sector, ahead of Samsung, shipped a lower-than-predicted total of 14.6 million tablets in the second quarter last year, down from 19.5 million in the first.

“A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally has helped both Apple and its competitors, said Tom Mainelli, a research director at the International Data Corporation.

“With no new iPads, the market slowed for many vendors, and that’s likely to continue into the third quarter. However, by the fourth quarter we expect new products from Apple, Amazon and others to drive impressive growth in the market.”

There have also been rumours online that the new iPhone 5S, expected to be released on September 10, will come with a protruding, sapphire button rather than the concave plastic one which currently features on the devices.

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Next-gen iPad Mini possibly delayed until 2014 -- report

Apple's iPad Mini

Apple's next-generation iPad Mini might not be available until 2014, a new report claims.

Apple doesn't plan to start mass production on its next-generation iPad Mini until the fourth quarter of 2013, DigiTimes reported on Monday, citing sources within Apple's supply chain. That would mean that the device won't launch until 2014.

The delay is due mainly to the Retina Display, which Apple plans to include in the iPad Mini, the site's sources claim. The display technology isn't difficult to produce, but Apple needs to build up a stockpile in the 7.9-inch size to get the right number of devices onto store shelves. Apple also reportedly is considering designing a nearly bezel-less front to the next-generation iPad Mini.

Although DigiTimes' sources are spotty, to say the least, the report comes weeks after Citi Research reported that a Retina version won't be available until next year. NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim shared the same information last month.

Those looking for a new iPad Mini, however, might not need to wait until next year: DigiTimes sources say that Apple plans to launch an updated version of its current slate in the second half of 2013. That device, however, will not come with a Retina screen.

Via: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57593719-37/next-gen-ipad-mini-possibly-delayed-until-2014-report/