Retina iPad mini update coming quick says analyst, chip boost in 2014
It would appear that the analysts at NPD DisplaySearch have run the numbers and decided that the iPad mini with full retina-quality display is well on its way. They've made it clear in their most recent report that the iPad mini's first big update will be appearing in the third quarter of 2013, if all goes well, with another update soon after. The second update, says NPD, will include not only a higher-definition display than the first edition – it'll have a boosted mobile processor under the hood, as well.
The first update to the iPad mini will likely come right before the Fall school season begins, this lodging the tablet directly into the minds of those prospective users looking to maximize the excellence of their backpack setup. This machine falls in line with users hoping to own their own piece of Apple equipment without going full-sized with the standard iPad. The main line iPad will have reached its 5th generation, more than likely, by the end of this year.
NOTE: This analysis suggests that the report from April 29th from KGI Securities was only referring to the 3rd-generation iPad mini. We shall see!
The iPad mini will be seeing a push to a new display technology, it's also said, including a possible inclusion of LTPS, the same technology used in the iPhone 5. LPTS is also known as low-temperature polysilicon, and it'll be sharpening up the iPad mini significantly. The first run of iPad mini units used the same number of pixels as the original iPad, allowing it to be a bit more dense than that first-gen tablet, but still falling well below the current-gen iPad with so-called "retina" display.
This set of predictions has the iPad mini with Retina display and higher-powered processor set for the first quarter of 2014 while the end of summer will be a likely plant-point for the iPad mini with just a bit of a display boost on its own. Meanwhile it's expected that a new low-cost iPhone may be appearing before the end of the year alongside a specifications-boosted iPhone 5S. Of course this is all speculation as Apple keeps its real plans under notoriously tight wraps.
[via CNET]