Supply chain rumors take much of the surprise out of iPad/iPhone side
It seems to me that while everyone can speculate to their heart's content on what is going to be in the iPad 5 and Mini2, over the past few announcement cycles for these products, the intense focus on the supply chain, which results in photos of backs, cameras, touch sensors, etc. removes much of the surprise on these products. How many real surprises have we seen when the dust settles?
For this round, the biggest question seems to be retina or not on Mini2, with the supply chain seeming to say "yes, but tight supply through the end of '13". There seems to be room for the touch sensor on the iPad5, but they can design for an option and decide late whether to incorporate it. The choice of which processor, RAM memory size - somewhat nits - become the big unknowns. I think these factors will ultimately be driven by their strategy to differentiate the iPad from the Mini - how much price difference do they want, and how many features do they need to reserve for the big brother to support that difference?
That said, it seems like there is far less supply chain leaks around the Mac product line. Has there been prototype cases, or anything else spilled around the MBP line? or even the new MacPro? Is this due to less interest and less digging by the iPress, or are they different suppliers with tighter lips?
It would seem there is more room for surprises on the Mac side, but Apple may not do anything with that.
