14 DAY TRIAL // Starting in September, supply volume of Apple’s rumored iPad mini will reach four million units per month, according to sources from the company’s upstream supply chain.
Cited by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, the sources reportedly said that “Apple's 7.85-inch iPad is estimated to reach four million units per month starting in September in order to prepare for demand from year-end holidays.”
Even though the media still refers to the iPad mini as a seven-inch tablet, it is far more appropriate to call it an 8-inch tablet (considering that 7.85 is much closer to eight than it is to seven).
Plus, the Cupertino giant has always been reluctant to design, develop, and sell a 7-inch iPad. Apple executives have vocally expressed this reluctance, but they never said anything about the 8-inch form factor.
Which is why Apple is both confirming the rumors, and denying them, at the same time.
Speaking of rumors, word has it that Apple’s iPad mini will have a thinner screen bezel (frame) to make room for a larger screen.
So, instead of taking the easy route and do a 7-incher, the Cupertino giant did away with some design elements and added 0.85-inches of real estate (on the diagonal), which translates into thousands of extra pixels, even if the display is not Retina-quality.
Should the product retail for $299 / €242, analysts believe competitors should be trembling in their boots right now.
Even though both Google and Amazon have even lower-priced offerings, Apple’s mini tablet is expected to sell with stellar numbers, just like any other gadget spit out by the company in recent years.
With the iPhone 5 launch almost certainly slated for early September, the iPad mini could be unveiled anytime between that month and early November.
There’s a question of whether Apple wants these two products rolled out in such a short timeframe, as they might cannibalize each other’s sales.