iFans who have been eagerly anticipating the launch of the second-gen iPad mini will have exercise a little more patience as the release appears to have been delayed to November.
According to an International Business Times report, the iPad mini 2 (which will purportedly tout the Retina display) will not release in August as estimated earlier, but November. The report attributes the delay to manufacturing issues.
"IPad Mini 2 with Retina screen display may be released as late as November this year due to manufacturing issues, according to the latest reports," reports IBTimes.
Recently, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that in his opinion, the iPad mini 2 would not release alongside the iPad 5. Kuo also estimated that the shipments of the new iPhone would begin as early as July and iPad mini 2 in August.
"Earlier we estimated that shipments of the new iPhone would begin in July (FDD version) and September (TDD version), while iPad mini 2 would hit the market in August," noted Kuo a few days ago. "Currently, market consensus for shipments of iPhone 5S, low-cost iPhone and iPad mini 2 is July, July, and August, respectively. But in light of publicly available information and our knowledge of technological trends, we now think all three products will begin shipments later than our previous expectation and market consensus."
Kuo also opines that the technical issues with the smaller but higher resolution display for the iPad mini 2 are resulting in a delay, and are tied to the design and manufacturing problems.
Rumors suggest that 7.9-inch iPad mini 2 will have screen with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, which is four times that of the iPad mini. Reports also suggest that AU Optronics will be manufacturing the iPad mini 2 display. The tablet will likely have the faster A7 processor, improved camera and a 10-hour battery life.
The iPad mini is quite popular with consumers and the second-gen variant with its higher resolution could even outsell bigger brother, iPad 5.
