iPad Mini: iPad mini retina in production

[fertilized-egg]

Originally Posted by wrkactjob

I want £1 for every iPad Mini Retina thread there is going to be, so I can retire and have enough to buy every new Apple product until I die as they all collapse on me.

I think the hysteria will reach new heights.

Looking forward to the "Should I buy my 2 year old the new retina mini?".

At least we went through all this already when iPad 2 had no Retina, albeit in a smaller scale:
Ipad 2 no retina display...... really ?
Passing on iPad 2...waiting for iPad 3

Then again I begin to notice almost all specific complaints about Apple's product cycle repeats over and over again, sometimes for more than a decade.

I bought my iPad 2 on the launch day after making complaints about no Retina, and couldn't be happier with its services in the past two years despite a "terrible" display.

[rrl]

And it will have a built-in stylus and run OS X. Yeah, baby!

[TJ61]

Originally Posted by wrkactjob

Looking forward to the "Should I buy my 2 year old the new retina mini?".

Waiting 'til your baby is born to give them in iPad is so last year. Why do you think they're making them smaller?!

Regards,
Tom

[lianlua]

Originally Posted by xofruitcake

The evidence is that no one has a tablet with size similar to 7.9 inches with resolution approaching 2048x1536 without weighting a tons.

And costing a fortune.

Originally Posted by onepremiere

Why not build the proposed direction for the device to start rather than producing, then obsoleting a display after only a few months.

Because (a) it's not just a few months, (b) the cost of stalling on the mini any longer exceeds the expense of retooling for a new model (which they'll have to do anyway within a year), and (c) the current mini's display is already more expensive than the competition and they need time and volume to bring down the costs on the touchscreen components.

For timing, let's say they are ready to scale in August 2013. A hypothetical iPad mini with the display couldn't ship until around November, and that's being pretty aggressive. For comparison, the displays in the current mini have been in volume production since at least early September, when the first parts leaks started to happen, and that was with an established process.

Further, with the Kindle and Nexus sales numbers, Apple just couldn't afford to wait any longer without risking a serious uphill sales battle. Contrary to what is often said, Apple has never shown a desire for 100% market share in anything (in fact if that were their goal, they'd make some very different product decisions), but they also won't bother on a market they can't be a significant presence in.

Cost-wise, it's just not there yet, and the GF2 touch panels, with their high cost and yield issues, along with the need to go full-blow GOA due to the slim frame, is just asking too much. $80 is quite a bit more than competitors are spending even on higher-density displays, and so they need time to bring the touchscreen part down $5-10, time to wait for panel prices to fall so that they could get the retina for ~$30 more, time to get the A6 hardware down quite a bit, and probably time for some battery engineers to do some magic.

Just look at Google if you're doubtful. They launched an aggressive Nexus 10 with a retina-class display. Wouldn't they have done the same for a 7" tablet if anyone could have supplied it, especially since they're not locked into a double-resolution model and could have gone with 1680x1050 or 1920x1200? It's not ready yet at any price, let alone one that works for the 7" market, even with an at-cost sales model.

[ixodes]

Originally Posted by phpmaven

word

MS

Redmond

[phpmaven]

Originally Posted by ixodes

MS

Redmond

Say what?

[gto55]

Maybe apple will use this new screen produced by Sharp
->> http://www.dailytech.com/Sharp+Aims+...ticle27819.htm
Since there are rumors spreading, about Apple buying Sharp to get more independance toward LG, Samsung... ( http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworst...-rescue-sharp/ )

[Dan14]

Originally Posted by reputationZed

Actually I think Apple had all intentions of launching the mini with a retina display. But then Bob, Tim, and Jony are sitting in the pub knocking back a couple of pints when Bob jokes they should just rehash the iPad2 hard ware. They all have a few laughs, but a few pints latter Tim's on the phone to Foxconn putting the kibosh on the retina. Next morning a very hung over Tim calls Jony asking "Did we..., no way..., were we that drunk?"

LOL! I bet that's exactly what happened!

[WilliamLondon]

Originally Posted by Yr Blues

Perhaps Apple used the non-retina mini to test its success before they invested in 7.9" retina displays.

Also, though, if they had come out with that display just 6 months post iPad 3 retina launch, what would they have done with the larger iPad? Offered the same resolution more expensively? They just achieved a big jump in functionality with that line, 6 months later, they'd have to achieve another big jump, otherwise they'd have two at different price points at different sizes same resolution and functionality. I'm pretty sure the larger one would have suffered in sales in that situation, and that's the one with higher margins.

[jessica.]

Either the majority of the people here are completely unfamiliar with the meaning of "Q4 2013" or they just can't read.

I'm pretty sure in standard terms that Q4 2013 is not spring or summer. /shrug

I glossed over it, but someone said that maybe the non-"retina" iPad was a test to see how this thing would sell and now that they have a general idea, they're willing to go further with it and give people the retina the device should have. Hopefully they keep the same price despite it cutting into their profits slightly.

[Shivetya]

Originally Posted by Moneymiike420

http://www.slashgear.com/ipad-mini-2...-auo-07255958/. Thou ask thou shall receive looks like we'll be seeing this in around 12 months from now..

feel even more justified in skipping the first generation of the mini, just bought my mom a refurbished iPad 3 ... shipped from CN yesterday for 379.... the screen is worth it alone and while I would like that smaller form factor for myself I can survive on just an iPhone or older iPad (hell I can survive just fine with an droid)

[onepoint]

I'd hold off on buying a retina Mini in Q4 2013 -- by then Apple will surely be closing in on NFC implementation. I'd say hang on to your original iPad until late 2014'ish, unless of course they've got Siri e-girl/boyfriend in the pipeline for 2015 by then...

carpe diem