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More iPad Mini Retinas coming; shipments could double in Q1

iPad Mini Retina shipments should jump in the first quarter of next year, as supply catches up with demand.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers
2 min read
Don't expect to walk in and pick up an iPad Mini Retina at an Apple Store -- at least not at the moment.
Don't expect to walk in and pick up an iPad Mini Retina at an Apple Store -- at least not at the moment. Apple

The iPad Mini Retina will see limited availability this quarter, according to two analysts, but that should double in the first quarter of 2014.

In the wake of Apple's low-key sales launch of the iPad Mini Retina and its limited distribution -- currently it is available only online and for personal pickup at stores -- supply will continue to be constrained this quarter, according to IHS iSuppli and KGI Securities.

Rhoda Alexander told CNET on Tuesday that she expects production of about 2 million Mini Retina tablets in the fourth calendar quarter -- on the low end.

"When you think about some of the releases where they sold that many iPads in a weekend," that's not a lot, she said, adding that Apple could potentially push that to four million.

Alexander added that if demand is high, delivery dates could go from days to weeks.

As of Tuesday evening PT, Apple's store page indicated that most models would ship in three to five days. The 16GB and 32GB W-Fi models are the only two that show one- to three-day waits for delivery.

KGI Securities, via AppleInsider, also chimed with an iPad Mini Retina forecast.

Shipment for the iPad Mini Retina should double in the first quarter of 2014, according to a KGI Securities forecast.
Shipment for the iPad Mini Retina should double in the first quarter of 2014, according to a KGI Securities forecast. KGI Securities via AppleInsider.

KGI forecasts about 2 million Retina Mini units in the fourth quarter (2.26 million to be exact) but sees this more than doubling to 4.58 million units in in the first quarter of 2014.

The iPad Air, on the other hand, is expected to see shipments of more than 10 million in the fourth quarter, but that will drop off sharply to 6 million in the first quarter of 2014 as Retina Mini supply catches up to demand.

The supply of the new Mini is relatively small due to limited production runs of the 2,048x1,536 resolution display that boasts 326 pixels per inch -- one of the highest of any tablet to date.

Watch this: iPad Mini with Retina display: Apple's little tablet gets a big boost