iPad 5 to beat iPad mini 2 to market in Q3
According to the latest internet rumour, Apple will launch the next full-size iPad in the third quarter of 2013 ahead of the second generation iPad mini.
The report comes from Digitimes, so should be taken with a little more than a pinch of salt, but the website has been known to be right on Apple’s plans in the past.
As per earlier reports, the iPad Air will apparently be 20 to 30 percent lighter than the iPad 4 thanks to a new thinner touch panel design. It’ll also have a thinner bezel, rather like the iPad mini.
It’s claimed by “Taiwan-based supply chain makers” that the new-generation iPad will enter production in July-August, whilst production of the iPad mini 2 has been postponed to the September to November period.
This delay on the iPad mini 2’s part is apparently a deliberate move on Apple’s part. It’s said to be a response to the hugely adverse impact the iPad mini had on iPad 4 sales when the two were launched simultaneously last year.
That’s one theory, at least. Other “market watchers” claim that the supply chain simply can’t meet the demands of mass-producing two new iPads at the same time.
It’s believed that the iPad mini 2’s main new feature will be a Retina display, which would bring its screen resolution up to the standard of the rest of the iOS range.