The facts are trickling in slowly but steadily, even though we’re still in rumor territory…
Per CNET and The Mac Observer, Apple will start up production on the Retina Display version of the iPad mini in June or July, according to NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim. He also said the displays for the new iPad mini will come from LG and not Samsung.
“Samsung is currently not in the iPad Mini and they won’t be in the next generation. LGD is becoming a much bigger supplier than before,” Mr. Shim told CNET.
He said the new model will sport a 2048 x 1536 resolution 7.9-inch display, which is on par with the iPhone 5’s resolution. That also puts the display at the high end of what our eye can discern for resolution improvements.
“We’re going to start to see a bunch of tablets with a pixel density over 300,” he said. “At a certain point it will be hard to discern that improved image quality.”
If so, a June production window would accommodate a September Retina Display iPad mini product launch, which probably aligns with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s comment that there won’t be any big product announcements until fall.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.