A bit of disappointment swept the tech community and consumer base when Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested on Tuesday, April 23 that we will not be seeing any new devices from the company until — at the earliest — Fall 2013. This proclamation comes on the heels of fervent anticipation for such exciting Apple products as the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, the rumored low-end iPhone and the iPad Mini 2.
The notion that we may now have to wait until September or October for the iPad Mini 2 may frustrate some, especially as we all can't stop wondering what the heck is going on with Apple lately, regarding its apparent slide from being the leader-of-the-pack innovator it once was.
With Samsung and Google pressing forward with more and more products throughout the year, we've all been waiting what seems like far too long for the next great thing from Apple. If these products such as the iPad Mini 2 aren't coming out sooner, consumers may very well end up finally giving up on the company altogether.
This is why we (and perhaps Apple) might be able to find some solace in the fact that perhaps at least one product we're looking forward to — the iPad Mini 2 — might actually be on the way sooner than Cook hinted.
"Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently confirmed that no new Apple products will be released before fall 2013," International Business Times confirms. "However, the sudden disappearance of previous iPads tells consumers otherwise."
It seems there has been a growing paucity of such tried and true Apple devices as the iPad 3, iPad 4, and, especially telling, the iPad Mini, in many stores. This may just be another matter of Apple cutting back on supplies, as it notoriously did with the iPhone 5. Or, this may be a bellwether for the fact that retailers know something we don't: that the iPad Mini 2 is on the way sooner than we're hearing from Cook.
"The iPad with Retina Display and iPad Mini suddenly disappeared in some retailers," IBT says. "One major retailer is now sold out of about half its iPad 4 configurations, with the iPad mini vanishing nearly as swiftly. Another is doing better but is also gradually marking more current iPad models as 'out of stock' as the month goes on."
Further cementing the notion that the iPad Mini 2, and perhaps also the iPad 5, may be on the way super-soon is the fact that IBT heard earlier this month that Apple and many retailers were already offering substantial discounts on the earlier iPad Mini and iPad iterations. In some cases, iPad and iPad Mini prices were discounted by nearly 30 percent.
"The price cuts hinted at a move by Apple to clear out inventory ahead of the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 launch, and the subsequent sell-outs of those same models all but confirm it," IBT says. "If the price cuts had merely been to catch up on inventory of laggard selling models, they would not have sold out. This means Apple's authorized price cuts were meant to clear out the inventory of retiring the iPad 4 in favor of newly introduced models."
As a reminder, here are the specs/features we can allegedly look forward to with the iPad Mini 2:
- 2048 x 1536 screen resolution
- 7.9 inch screen
- Dual-core A7 processor
- 10-hour battery life
- FaceTime HD camera
- iSight camera with 1080 pixels HD video recording
- Thinner screen that employs Sharp's IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) technology
What do you think? Will the iPad Mini 2 or iPad 5 be out sooner than Cook is suggesting? Why would he try to mislead consumers (not to mention investors who are already getting nervous these days)? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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