Apple cutting iPad mini shipments to prepare for next generation version: Report

If a Digitimes report is to be believed, Apple is going to cut shipments of iPad mini in the second quarter of 2013. The publication cites its industry sources to report that Apple has cut its shipments of the iPad mini to between 10-12 million units for the second quarter. According to the report, the cutback may be as high as 20 percent in April and the shipments may continue to decrease gradually throughout the quarter to bring total shipments to as low as 10 million units during the quarter.

The report claims that the reason of the cut is Apple's efforts in adjusting its reserves for the next-generation iPad mini, which is likely to be released in the third quarter, as per its sources. The report does't rule out the increased competition from other 7-inch tablets as another reason for the cut in shipments.

It's not that easy to predict new products by shipment cut rumours and Apple procures components from multiple sources with varying supply rates. So the rumour has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

However, other reports have also suggested that the next iteration of iPad mini is likely to be made available in the third or fourth quarter of the year. Paul Semenza, an analyst with DisplaySearch, a global market research and consulting firm focusing on the display supply chain, had said that it speculated that the Retina version of the iPad mini with a resolution of 1536x2048 pixels, and pixel density of 324ppi, might go into production in the third quarter of 2013, with availability expected in the third or fourth quarter, as per a guess based on supply chain data.

Another report had predicted the launch of a refreshed iPad mini in april but had said that it's unlikely that the next generation iPad mini would feature a Retina display as Apple doesn't usually release iPads that cost more than the existing ones or have an inferior battery life compared to the current models.