NPD anticipates Retina iPad mini display production in June or July
updated 09:36 am EDT, Tue May 7, 2013
Claims new Minis in Q3 2013, Q1 2014
Production of Retina displays for a new iPad mini should start in June or July, says NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim. Elaborating, Shim claims that LG Display will be the parts' major producer, and that Samsung will continue to be omitted from the Mini display chain. "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," he says.
Shim expects the new Mini to have a 2048x1536 screen, giving it a pixel density roughly equivalent to the iPhone 5, which is rated at 326ppi. The figure may be needed to keep up with rival tablets, since the Nexus 10 is already rated at 299ppi, and Shim claims that both the 7- and 8.9-inch Kindle Fires will be getting 300ppi-plus displays. By contrast the 9.7-inch iPad uses a 264ppi screen; the first-generation Mini sits at just 163ppi.
The analyst anticipates a second-gen Mini shipping sometime in the third quarter. He predicts, however, that Apple will ship a third-gen model in Q1 2014, simply upgrading the processor.
