Maybe, but with the Air's reduction in size and weight, the line now is definitely blurred. And with a mere 100 Buckaroos separating the two, I'll happily take either one.
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Apple 'Unclear' on Whether Retina iPad Mini Supplies Will Meet Demand
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Maybe, but with the Air's reduction in size and weight, the line now is definitely blurred. And with a mere 100 Buckaroos separating the two, I'll happily take either one.
Wow. I guess you have ZERO idea how a supply chain and production works. Demand is asymmetric. Especially for Apple products, the huge demand when the product is launch is unlike anything else.
You cannot simply tell your suppliers to have 10 million retina screens for the first 2 months and then cut to 3 million for the other 10. Factory product just doesn't work like that.
Could Apple just hold 2-3 months worth of iPad minis in their warehouse is and then sell in January so there is no supply issue? Sure. But that would be pretty stupid. They would miss the Xmas sales AND need to pay the cost of storage not to mention having their products out 2 months later than their competitors.
Generally, you don't want inventory sitting in your own warehouses too long.
Have you been to restaurants that are full and had to turn away customers for dinner? The issue isn't that they can't forecast demand (they KNOW they will be full every night for dinner). But they just cannot expand just for dinner service because the extra space is not required for the other times of the day.
Other companies don't run into this issue as much because very few companies ship in such numbers. And even those that do (Samsung in the phone market), it isn't one or two models driving these numbers. So with their models being released during difference periods, their demand is much more even throughout the year.
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Knowing Apple's tactic; I be willing to bet that Apple follows the same strategy in not having pre-orders on the Mini Retina. It will be the same as it is now for the Air. Dog eat dog at the Apple and Best Buy before the store opens to get one. Media TV must eat this up and the news producers must be hustling to get the reporters out at midnight to do a human interest story of the first day in line, etc...
I want an iPad Mini Retina but I not going to stand in line for one. I going pay someone to do that! LOL!
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Apple's minions in line to get the Mini Retina! Funny! I guess they get free coffee and a Danish until they run out of them.
I want an iPad Mini Retina but I not going to stand in line for one. I going pay someone to do that! LOL!
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Apple's minions in line to get the Mini Retina! Funny! I guess they get free coffee and a Danish until they run out of them.
read: "we don't know how many buyers (the large part, not the Apple core fans) are willing to pay the price we request for iPad mini"
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The rumour mill has been saying for months that the Mini Retina would be as rare as rocking horse ---- from the start. I'm happy to wait 3-6 months into the release cycle (or perhaps I'm lying to myself - I WANT ONE).
The rumour mill has been saying for months that the Mini Retina would be as rare as rocking horse ---- from the start. I'm happy to wait 3-6 months into the release cycle (or perhaps I'm lying to myself - I WANT ONE).
Yes, for many the non-Retina display was a deal killer. This is the iPad Mini that should have been released first. But processor technology and decreasing display costs make it only possible this year. Last year's first generation Mini was kind of a stop gap for Apple. Can you imagine the blogosphere's reaction if they didn't release a Mini last year?
Hmmm...
After 3 (or 4?) years of the iPad2 I'm ready to finally upgrade but don't know if I want the Air or Mini. I like the Mini for when I'm on the go, but when I'm home and stationary, I really don't like it and prefer the full size and with the Air being cut down it may be easier to carry around.
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What a freaking scam, they just want the photos of people waiting in long lines to give the "illusion" that everyone wants one. Why else would they stop allowing people to pre-order new stuff online? What a crock. I"ll never stand in line for ANYTHING.
If I can't easily get something, I'll wait six months or a year until I can simply walk into a store or go online and get something - same thing with the new game consoles. I'm not jumping through hoops to give someone $1k.
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After 3 (or 4?) years of the iPad2 I'm ready to finally upgrade but don't know if I want the Air or Mini. I like the Mini for when I'm on the go, but when I'm home and stationary, I really don't like it and prefer the full size and with the Air being cut down it may be easier to carry around.
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What a freaking scam, they just want the photos of people waiting in long lines to give the "illusion" that everyone wants one. Why else would they stop allowing people to pre-order new stuff online? What a crock. I"ll never stand in line for ANYTHING.
If I can't easily get something, I'll wait six months or a year until I can simply walk into a store or go online and get something - same thing with the new game consoles. I'm not jumping through hoops to give someone $1k.
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Very good guess - or Nov 11ish, before the new console launches, although people who can afford and wanted a new console already pre-ordered them, since it'll be "impossible" to walk in off the street and get them day one, so it probably won't impact iPad Mini sales.
One of the reasons Steve Jobs hired Tim Cook was his experience in supply chain management. The goal is to have almost no inventory, with products being produced and shipped quickly. Obviously with big product rollouts you can't do that, but you get the general idea.
Cook is probably telling the truth when he says he doesn't know. He probably doesn't know exactly what the daily production yield will be (though he has a very good idea) and he most certainly doesn't know what demand will be from the consumer, though there has surely been some research done on the subject. Planning necessary production for a new product release is nightmarishly difficult. Apple does a pretty good job considering.
I ordered a 5S on Wednesday and it shipped on Monday. So we're a little over a month in, and supplies are already improving markedly.
Cook is probably telling the truth when he says he doesn't know. He probably doesn't know exactly what the daily production yield will be (though he has a very good idea) and he most certainly doesn't know what demand will be from the consumer, though there has surely been some research done on the subject. Planning necessary production for a new product release is nightmarishly difficult. Apple does a pretty good job considering.
I ordered a 5S on Wednesday and it shipped on Monday. So we're a little over a month in, and supplies are already improving markedly.
Specious sourcing? I do not think the word specious means what you think it does. Exactly how many suppliers do you think are capable of cranking out those screens in sufficent numbers and quality to satisfy even the most conservative forecast?
As for availability, the iPad mini was roundly condemned at launch as a meh device since it was a shrunken iPad 2 with added Siri and at a higher price than hoped for. You couldn't buy it for love nor money in the UK to the extent that websites popped up showing where scant availability existed, updated in real time. Even though the price has gone up, the fact that it is now feature and spec commensurate with its bigger sibling is only going to boost demand yet further.
Looking forward to all the threads on here (How DARE Apple launch it in Switzerland when there are no supplies in Peoria!!!!, etc) and tales of woe trying to get one (damn scalpers!!!!).
That is my thought too. I have a 32GB Mini now that I run out of space on. I'm thinking an iPad Air instead of another Mini. With the case I already have on the Mini I'm expecting about zero weight difference if I go with just a smart cover on an iPad Air.
They should pull a Lucas/Kenner and sell empty iPad Mini Retina boxes with a coupon inside to be redeemed in early 2014 for an actual device.
This.
Though I think I'll be pretty lucky. I'm gonna go for the 64 GB Wi-Fi + LTE version, which should be readily available, because not everyone is going for the 2nd most expensive variation, especially since I live in Germany and I've known Germans to be quite
It's because of my line of work I made the comment. Going off what some gullible and nieve people on here (and other outlets) say you'd have people beleive that Apple designed the Mini with Retina display a couple of weeks ago. Further, you'd have folk beleive that they called the manufactures and just dropped it on their toes to have it ready by Christmas.
The ipad mini with retina display will have been finalised months ago and been in full swing production.
There will be enough to go round at Christmas. Apple are the organ grinders here and are not the sort of unprofessional company just throw something out there just to suck it and see.
Not having enough at Christmas would be a monumental Cock
Up. The sort reserved for companies who "don't understand the complexities of supply chain management"
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Except I can walk into an apple store now and buy a 5s with no issues at all How do I know? I did it yesterday
It's obvious throwing a retina screen on the mini is much more difficult and complex than what the "naive(nieve?)" seem to understand. Some people believe that it's just a matter of pulling a retina screen off the shelf. There's a reason the original mini did not come with a retina screen. I know it was a rampant belief on MR that it was because the mini was meant to be a lesser, base model to the 9.7" iPad (which is obviously not true since the mini 2 now has the exact same specs as the iPad Air). What's most obvious is that the technology and engineering required was a lot more complex than that.
As far as your prediction that Apple will have plenty of minis available for Christmas, well, I guess we'll see in about a month. My money is on VERY constrained supply all the way through the end of the year into 2014. Much worse than what we've seen with the 5S.
Supply constraints are fixed! Someone tell Tim!!
P.S. There are 3 Apple Stores within 30 minutes of me and not one of them have had any iteration of the 5S yesterday or today. That doesn't mean they didn't get any deliveries, it means they were purchased as fast as they arrived. They have had zero stock sitting on shelves.
Effective marketing is to constrain your product to the point that millions of people who want it can't buy it? And risk them going to a competitor's product? I understand the idea of creating the hype for a product and wanting it to appear "sold out" but there's a fine line there where you just end up shooting yourself in the foot.
I should clarify that I don't believe the constraints associated with the 5S and the soon-to-be released retina mini are a marketing ploy by Apple. I work for a Fortune 500 manufacturer and am very aware of the challenges involved with supply chain.
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I really want to pick a Mini up, but I question how often I'm going to use it since I use my iPhone for pretty much everything, and then my rMBP for photo editing and occassional web browsing.
I'm sure I'll have a lot of time to think this over since I don't anticipate the Mini's being readily available until after the holiday season.
I'm sure I'll have a lot of time to think this over since I don't anticipate the Mini's being readily available until after the holiday season.
And you would be wrong. After waiting for the mini to come out I opted for the 7" Kindle Fire HD. 64gb, LTE, Amazon Prime all for $450 or so. Since I'm already invested in both ecosystems the Kindle won. Mostly because I buy all my books and music from amazon and I can download prime instant videos to it. Price was just a plus.
I was thinking about the new iPad air but after the fiasco with iOS 7 downloading automatically to my iPad 2 I'm not real happy with Apple right now. If the Air doesn't have 2gb RAM I'm thinking I'll pass on it too. I always pass my iPads down to family members so everyone now has an iPad (a 1, 2 2s, and a 3). I also have a lot invested in their ecosystem. But I think I'll take a long look at the new Surface RT before I decide. My daughter-in-law just got one for work and it's pretty sweet.