Analyst Flip-Flops Again: Thinner iPad Mini in Late 2013, Retina Display in Early 2014

DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim is going back on statements he made back in May, when he said the next model of the iPad mini -- expected this fall -- would come equipped with a Retina display and an updated processor. In an added twist, before he made that statement, Shim said the Retina iPad mini would not ship before 2014.

Now, Shim writes that Apple will refresh its iPad mini line later this year, but the Retina display will not make an appearance before 2014.

Apple is expected to refresh its iPad mini in the second half of the year. The new iPad mini will continue to use a 7.9-inch display with a 1024×768 resolution, but it will use the iOS 7 operating system and an A6 processor, in a slimmer design than the current generation. Another iPad mini is also planned for production but not until early 2014. That device is expected to feature a QXGA (2048×1536) resolution display and the iOS 7 operating system.

It's unclear which DisplaySearch report is correct, though it's widely expected that Apple will ship a Retina-display equipped iPad mini at some point.

More notably, Shim does expect the iPad mini update this fall to bring a thinner case, regardless of whether it has a Retina display or not. Apple CEO Tim Cook did warn analysts and other Apple watchers to take rumors from the Apple supply chain with a grain of salt.

Apple is expected to introduce new versions of the iPhone, iPad mini and iPad this fall.