Retina iPad Mini Launch Supplies Set to Be 'Ridiculously Tight' Until Early 2014
Following concerns expressed during the lead-up to this week's Apple media event that the company would be unable to launch the Retina iPad mini in any significant volume before the end of the year, supply chain analysts continue to expect very low supplies of the device when it launches next month.
Shortly after Apple announced the new Retina iPad mini, IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander noted that supplies will indeed be "severely constrained", according to CNET.
"The supply for that product is severely constrained," said Rhoda Alexander, director of Tablet and Monitor Research at IHS iSuppli.
"We don't expect to see meaningful volume until first quarter [of 2014]."
Alexander expanded a bit more in comments shared by The Telegraph yesterday, calling the supplies "ridiculously tight" at one-third the levels seen for last year's launch of the original iPad mini.
Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet research at IHS electronis and media, said: "The supply of the Retina Mini is going to be ridiculously tight in the fourth quarter.
"Apple’s 2013 iPad shipment growth is shaping up to be comparatively modest and the shift in launch cycles has played a major role in the slowdown."
Production of the Retina display panels for the new iPad mini is said to be the bottleneck for Apple, with Apple's suppliers needing to optimize processes for building displays with the same number of pixels as the full-size iPad but at the higher pixel density of the iPhone and iPod touch.
Alexander is certainly not the only analyst to be predicting tight supplies of the new iPad mini, with KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo making similar claims. Kuo's modeling has Apple shipping only a little over 2.2 million Retina iPad mini units during the fourth quarter due to those low supplies and a mid-quarter launch, compared to nearly 6.6 million units of the non-Retina iPad mini.
Apple's own announcements have also suggested low availability of the Retina iPad mini, with the company introducing the device at Tuesday's event but declining to announce an exact launch date in specifying only "November". And with the iPad Air launching on November 1, it seems clear that Apple is struggling to produce the new Retina iPad mini in quantities sufficient enough to allow it to launch as the holiday shopping season kicks off at the end of November.
Popular Stories
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models feature a LiDAR Scanner next to the rear camera that can be used to measure a person's height instantly in Apple's preinstalled Measure app.
To measure a person's height, simply open the Measure app, point your iPhone at the person you want to measure, and make sure they are visible on the screen from...
Apple in late October began testing iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates, providing betas to both developers and public beta testers. As of now, we've had four total betas, with the fourth beta having been released earlier this week. iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are expected before the end of the year, and we thought we'd try to narrow down the launch timeline.
With only four betas released since...
The next-generation MacBook Pro models could feature faster RAM, according to a recent report from a reliable source.
MacRumors Forums member "Amethyst," who accurately revealed details about the Mac Studio and Studio Display before those products were announced, recently provided information about Apple's upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The new machines are expected to feature...
Apple plans to publicly release iOS 16.2 for the iPhone in mid-December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update remains in beta testing for now, with at least eight new features and changes already uncovered so far.
iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide...
Mass shipments of Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset may be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to unspecified "software-related issues," according to the latest information shared today by tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple headset render by Ian Zelbo Kuo said mass shipments of components for the headset are still likely to begin in the first half of 2023, but he believes that mass...
With the launch of iOS 16.1, Apple rolled out a Emergency SOS via Satellite, which is designed to allow iPhone 14 owners to contact emergency services using satellite connectivity when no cellular or WiFi connection is available. The feature was put to the test in Alaska today, when a man became stranded in a rural area. In the early hours of the morning on December 1, Alaska State Troopers ...
While we're still around nine months away from Apple unveiling the iPhone 15 lineup, rumors already suggest that the higher-end Pro models will have even more exclusive features than usual compared to the standard models next year.
There are currently at least five features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17 Bionic...
With Black Friday and Cyber Week shopping events winding down and the calendar flipping over to December, our attention is starting to turn to 2023 and all of the Apple news we're expecting to see.
This week saw an alleged benchmark leak for an "M2 Max" chip expected to make an appearance in upcoming Macs like the MacBook Pro early next year, as well as fresh rumors about the iPhone 15...
Google is continuing on with its attempt to convince Apple to adopt the RCS messaging standard, publishing a new "it's time for RCS" blog post. Promoted heavily by Google, RCS or Rich Communication Services is a messaging standard that is designed to replace the current SMS messaging standard.
It provides support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, and bigger file sizes, ...
Due to production issues at Apple supplier factories in China, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are backordered and basically out of stock at every store. If you were planning to gift or receive an iPhone 14 Pro model for the holidays and didn't already get one, you're basically out of luck because they're gone until late December.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Top Rated Comments
iMac
iPad
iPad mini
iPhone
Channel inventory / supply chain is supposedly someone's strength at Apple :confused:
-- Push notifications bought be here, loving that feature!
Right here!
Sorry. I couldn't resist. Haha.
Seriously, though. The A7 should be plenty.