Retina iPad Mini Now Available for Purchase From Apple's Online Store

In something of a surprise move, Apple has begun accepting orders for the Retina iPad mini in the United States and several other countries as of midnight Pacific Time on November 12. Orders for the 16 and 32 GB Wi-Fi versions are currently shipping within 1 to 3 business days while orders for the 64 and 128 GB versions along with cellular models are shipping within 5 to 10 days.

The company did not give any early indication that it would launch the Retina iPad mini today, aside from a mention of the seemingly unlikely November 12 date on its GSX site for service providers just hours ago.

retina_ipad_mini_space_gray_silver
The quiet launch of the Retina iPad mini may be due to constrained supplies, as rumors have suggested that available quantities of the mini will be extremely low due to display production issues. Apple is unlikely to have enough supply of the tablet to meet demand.

Visually, Apple's Retina iPad mini is nearly unchanged from the original mini, though it is both slightly heavier and thicker. The tablet includes a Retina display with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, along with an A7 processor and the M7 coprocessor originally introduced in the iPhone 5s.

The entry-level 16 GB Retina iPad mini will retail for $399 in the United States, with an extra $100 for each increase in capacity and $130 for cellular connectivity.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

KylePowers Avatar
137 months ago
Holy crap forums are backup! That was loneliest ~18 hours of my life!

Ordered a 16GB Wi-Fi and 32GB Wi-Fi, both in white. 1-3 days shipped, estimated arrival of 11/20-11/22, but it's already moved from 'processing' to 'preparing for shipment', so hopefully I'll see 'em sooner :D

So all that stuff about Retina Mini's being in short supply was just Apple trying to fake us all out?
What? Of course it's in short supply. Only 16-32GB are shipping in 1-3 business days (not even immediate availability) and everything else is 5-10 business days. That implies constrained inventory to me, especially on a launch day.

EDIT: I got my order confirmation email at 3:05AM (EST) for those curious
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ElectronGuru Avatar
136 months ago
It does say 3-5 day dispatch, yet the confirmation email states delivery between the 26th November and 3rd December. I ordered it at 9:15am GMT, so maybe the email is wrong?
No hard info, but my impression is that this is essentially a preorder period, allowing them to preview demand. The dispatch is from the factory itself with a longer delivery time than normal launches were standard SKUs are already in country.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SamIchi Avatar
137 months ago
How does having a quiet launch helped with constrained supplies? So there's less media involved? In the end they'll produce as much as they can produce.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleMark Avatar
137 months ago
Thanks MR for the heads up.

Space grey 128GB WIFI & Cellular Mini - Ordered this morning.

I am pessimistic about the 5-10 day dispatch / delivery claim, given the alleged shortages etc, but we will see.…
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aniseedvan Avatar
137 months ago
I went into the MK (UK) store to return something at lunch and it was dead quiet. They didn't have them out on display (lady who helped me thought it would be that afternoon).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stu.h Avatar
137 months ago
Just ordered mine, however, the UK wasn't listed in the first countries to be allowed to order :confused:

----------

Just ordered one for my sister for Christmas, engraved as well - she'll love it :D

Im from the midlands also, where are you? I'm by the Merry Hell Centre..

With the engraving, won't that affect resale value somewhat?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature 1

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
macbook pro purple february

Best Buy Introduces Record Low Prices on Apple's M3 MacBook Pro for Members

Thursday April 25, 2024 7:41 am PDT by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...