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iPad mini 2 release date may be pushed back down to Retina display

The iPad mini 2 may be delayed if Apple adopts a Retina-style screen for the small tablet, according to fresh reports.


Apple has nailed down exactly what the iPad 5 will be like, but has not yet decided whether to update the iPad mini with a Retina screen, according to DigiTimes.

The site writes that if Apple decides to use a high pixel density screen, the iPad mini 2 is likely to be delayed until “the end of the fourth quarter” – as opposed to being released alongside the iPad 5 in September.

DigiTimes appears certain that the iPad 5 will land in September, citing sourced “from the upstream supply chain”.

As reported elsewhere, the site writes that the full-size iPad will feature a slimmed-down screen bezel, as well as improved battery life.

All these nuggets come with a pretty serious caveat – they come from DigiTimes. The site is one of the most Apple notorious rumour-pedlars on the internet, and many of its predications and assertions turn out to be less than entirely accurate.

iPad mini 2 Retina reports

In June 2013, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim claimed that a Retina version of the 7.9-inch tablet will not arrive until 2014.

However, further conflicting reports are not hard to find. Also in June 2013, ETNews reported that Samsung would produce the display panels for Apple’s 2013 tablets, including a Retina iPad mini 2 screen.

The claimed panel is a 7.9-inch screen like the current model, but has a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels rather than 1,024 x 768.

This is the same resolution as the iPad 4, which would give the iPad mini 2 an impressive pixel density of 324 ppi.

That is roughly the same density as the iPhone 5, although pixel density in tablets tends to be far lower than that of the top mobile phones.