14 DAY TRIAL // As it is preparing to unveil a new version of its diminutive tablet computer, Apple has reduced its iPad mini shipment orders for the second quarter of 2013, according to industry sources from Taiwan.
The cut is between 10-12 million units, according to trade publication DigiTimes citing unnamed sources within Apple’s supply chain – “multiple sources who provide various components for Apple's iPad mini,” the publication states.
For April, the decrease is quantified at 20%, and the number could change throughout the second quarter of 2013 “to bring total shipments of the iPad mini to as low as 10 million units during the quarter,” the same sources reportedly said.
The Taiwanese publication specifically mentions a new version of the tablet computer as one of the key reasons for this reduction in orders.
“Apple's cut comes as it is adjusting its reserves for the next-generation iPad mini, which is likely to be released in the third quarter,” those same sources reportedly added.
The insiders also said that another major reason why Apple has been forced to cut orders is “increased competition from various 7-inch Android tablets.”
Numerous analysts have been speaking to Apple’s suppliers and concluded that Spring 2013 will witness the introduction of an upgraded version of the iPad mini boasting a high-definition Retina display.
Other enhancements are likely to be made in the processor department. Currently, the iPad mini sports the same A5 chip Apple used in the iPad 2, but the next iPad mini could employ an A5X chip, or even the A6 SoC used in the iPhone 6.
A fifth-generation full-size iPad is also expected to arrive this year. The iPad 5, as journalists call it for writing convenience, is reportedly slated to launch in fall.