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

Tuesday November 12, 2013 12:01 am PST by Juli Clover

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.

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Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

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KylePowers

79 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

Rating: 3 Votes

ElectronGuru

79 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.

Rating: 1 Votes

SamIchi

79 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.

Rating: 1 Votes

AppleMark

79 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.

Rating: 1 Votes

Aniseedvan

79 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).

Rating: 1 Votes

stu.h

79 months ago

Just ordered mine, however, the UK wasn't listed in the first countries to be allowed to order :confused:

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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?

Rating: 1 Votes

MJedi

79 months ago

Ordered a white 32GB Wi-Fi+Cellular (Verizon) the moment it went live. It shows shipping in 5-10 business days. Did anyone else get an earlier shipping time for the cellular version?

Rating: 1 Votes