Component Suppliers Say Apple Has Ordered Parts for 10 Million 'iPad Minis' in 4Q 2012

[MacRumors]

While some sources have indicated that production challenges with components for Apple's forthcoming "iPad mini" will limit launch supplies of the device, The Wall Street Journal now reports that many component suppliers are moving ahead to meet Apple's plans to build more than 10 million units of the device during the fourth quarter.

Some component suppliers to Apple in Asia say they have received orders to make more than 10 million units of the smaller tablets in the fourth quarter. That is roughly double the order that were placed for Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets in the same quarter, these suppliers say.

The figure indicates that Apple believes demand for the product will be strong, despite stiff competition in the market.

Mockup of 7.85-inch "iPad mini" (courtesy of CiccareseDesign)​

Just last week, the publication reported that mass production of the iPad mini had begun ahead of an introduction said to be coming at a media event sometime this month. One recent rumor has claimed that invitations for the media event will be going out this Wednesday, with the event presumably following approximately one week later.

Article Link: Component Suppliers Say Apple Has Ordered Parts for 10 Million 'iPad Minis' in 4Q 2012

 

[Allenbf]

iWant

 

[needfx]

iExpect?

 

[Technarchy]

Maybe this is real afterall

 

[Lordskelic]

I am SO curious what the price of one of these bad boys will be.

 

[mac3973]

when will they be refreshing "the new iPad"?

 

[MyMacintosh]

iSkeptical

 

[Wiesenlooser]

I would wait for the second gen with a retina display, but i will prefer this size over the regular ipad.

And finally, my little 3 year old sister would leave my iphone alone and kept playing angry birds on this thing.

 

[samcraig]

Price will be everything.

If not priced competitively - even if a better device, they won't sell as "hot" as a full sized iPad.

 

[ipedro]

Give me one in powder blue, one in cherry red and one in slate black (home, car, office).

 

[Northgrove]

I imagine a surprisingly low price for being Apple. If there's something Tim Cook knows his **** about, it's this. I'd go as far as to say that the low price will be the main attraction of the mini. I think Apple really wants to kill the lower end in the tablet business, and that they'll try to do it with an agressive pricing strategy to the point of being a device selling with their lowest profit margins yet. They'll have one device precision targeted for this, and they'll try to leave absolutely no room to compete. $199-$250 perhaps?

 

[sammich]

You guys are getting heaps of usage out of those mockups, aren't you?

 

[bse3]

The figure indicates that Apple believes demand for the product will be strong, despite stiff competition in the market.

Hehe, he said "stiff".

 

[basesloaded190]

when will they be refreshing "the new iPad"?

Next year.

 

[lincolntran]

iHope - for retina display and A6.

 

[steve-p]

Price will be everything.

If not priced competitively - even if a better device, they won't sell as "hot" as a full sized iPad.

Maybe they are intending to price it aggressively, and that's why they think demand will be strong. However, as well as expanding the iPad market to customers with smaller budgets, it's bound to cannibalise sales of the full size iPad to some extent.

 

[Gwenog]

I am SO curious what the price of one of these bad boys will be.

Yeah I want to know this too, so I'll be tuning in man. But something tells me it's STILL gonna be worth sticking with my iPad 2 / iPhone 5 combo till they debut a mean, lean iPad 4-ish next year.

 

[Decorative]

I do not know why there are still skeptical people out there but this is getting more and more exciting. I really can't wait for this - it will be my first iPad!

 

[Skika]

249$

 

[Allenbf]

This is the iPhone 5 leaks all over again. We kept seeing the leaks and people said "not real, it's not happening" and guess what? It was real.

This is no different, it's real and I'll be pre-ordering one the day it's available for order. Black and slate.

 

[World Citizen]

No no no


This will be the remote for the AppleTV (40" screen including Apple iOS)

- Browse content while watching TV
- type on fullsize keyboard instead of crappy remote
- SecondScreen for TV program makers
- Browse content on you mac and play on TV
- Live debate and chat about current TV content
- Itunes DJ type of content playlist


This would be THE solution for browsing content and inserting TEXT and so on...

PLEAS MAKE THIS!!!!!

 

[zunex]

iFeelGood Hope that iPad Mini will be unveil very soon

 

[iapplelove]

seems like they won't have them in time for october so why not just release with the next ipad in march

 

[ericinboston]

It will be interesting to:

1)See the price of the Mini
2)Compare its features and price to the iPod Touch



The cheapest Touch is now $299 which is ridiculous. The cheapest iPad is $499. I would expect Apple to price the Mini at $399...it has to be cheaper than the iPad to make people want to save the $$$ vs. the features lost yet more expensive than the Touch (which essentially is the iPhone and the iPad already minus 1-2 key hardware features).

Lastly, keeping this all in mind:

1)When would we expect to see a next iPad Regular? Is Apple going to have similarly named products yet different release cycles? If so, that seems confusing. If not, seems like people have to wait til Nov 2013 for new iPad Regular.

2)I would assume the iPad Regular doesn't drop in price next Nov 2013.

 

[shiseiryu1]

It's possible...

249$

If they price it at $250 they'll fly off the shelves. If they go higher (say $299 or above) then demand will be a little weaker. Apple is known for higher prices, however, if everyone remembers the original iPad was considered to be priced very aggressive when it was announced.