Despite numerous reports suggesting Apples second-generation iPad mini will ship later this year with a Retina display, one industry watcher believes the Retina-equipped version of Apples latest tablet wont launch until sometime in 2014. According to NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim, Apples next iPad mini will use the same display as the current model, though it will feature an upgraded processor and a slimmer design. The analyst also says Apple will launch a new Retina iPad mini in early 2014, though his claims are riddled with holes.
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First, it seems unlikely that Apple would launch a new iPad mini this fall and then a third-generation model in early 2014. Apple has grouped iPad launches closely in the past, but only when it offered a minor upgrade on the fourth-generation model that added Apples new lightning connector port and coincided with the iPhone 5 launch. The addition of a Retina display would hardly be a minor upgrade.
Beyond that, Apple is currently pushing developers to issue only Retina-compatible apps, and with the recent requirement that all screenshots in the App Store be optimized for Retina displays, it seems unlikely that the company would then launch a new device without a Retina display unless it ran into some serious manufacturing snags. Shim mentions no production problems in his report.
Finally, Shim has said numerous times that Apples next-generation iPad mini will feature a Retina display. As recently as last month, in fact, Shim said LG would begin mass production of Retina displays for the second iPad mini model either this month or in July.
http://news.yahoo.com/analyst-says-next-gen-ipad-mini-won-t-185012337.html
[More from BGR: Google Reader dies in two weeks here are all the best alternatives]
[More from BGR: A week with iOS 7: The search for innovation amid renovation]
First, it seems unlikely that Apple would launch a new iPad mini this fall and then a third-generation model in early 2014. Apple has grouped iPad launches closely in the past, but only when it offered a minor upgrade on the fourth-generation model that added Apples new lightning connector port and coincided with the iPhone 5 launch. The addition of a Retina display would hardly be a minor upgrade.
Beyond that, Apple is currently pushing developers to issue only Retina-compatible apps, and with the recent requirement that all screenshots in the App Store be optimized for Retina displays, it seems unlikely that the company would then launch a new device without a Retina display unless it ran into some serious manufacturing snags. Shim mentions no production problems in his report.
Finally, Shim has said numerous times that Apples next-generation iPad mini will feature a Retina display. As recently as last month, in fact, Shim said LG would begin mass production of Retina displays for the second iPad mini model either this month or in July.
http://news.yahoo.com/analyst-says-next-gen-ipad-mini-won-t-185012337.html
