Apple [NASDAQ: AAPL] might be releasing its Q3 earnings today but a new report pegs the iPad mini and iPad mini with Retina display for 2014 at the earliest. The new rumor comes just a week after an announcement suggested that Apple would be indeed launching two iPad mini versions, though the lower-cost one would become consumer available at the end of this year and the Retina display version solely in 2014.
Ming Chi-Kuo, an analyst for KGI Securities with a knack (however spotty) for predicting Apple releases, told Apple Insider via a research note that he expects March or April of 2014 as the most probable launch date for both of Apple’s miniature flagship tablet versions.
While the analyst’s report conflicts with some from last week, a piece of gossip courtesy of the Wall Street Journal yesterday hinted that Apple may in fact, be testing a larger screen for the regular-sized iPad and possibly the iPad mini. However, the common consensus with the iPad mini’s troubles is incorporating the Retina display in the smaller device. The difference in size, roughly 2-inches, poses an issue in terms of pixels and aspect ratio. Should Apple make an attempt at an iPad mini with Retina display, the Cupertino electronics conglomerate would need to figure away to pack 3.1 million pixels into the 7.9-inch display as opposed to the easier to do 9.7-incher.
This doesn’t answer the reasoning behind Apple releasing two versions at the same time. For this, we’ll have to take a look at what the Steve J0bs-founded company is doing with its next-generation iPhone 5S. Apple is apparently gearing up to launch both a high-end iPhone 5S and a low-cost iPhone for those on more of a budget.
By breaking into a more affordable market, a move Apple has notoriously avoided since its conception, it’ll open up the increased likelihood of moving more products. The Apple faithful may cry foul at this one, as to some it may appear that Apple has lost its innovative spark that was nurtured and thrived under the late Jobs’s leadership. It’s important to note that since his untimely passing, the company he founded hasn’t produced a single brand-new product.
