iPad mini With Retina Display Released Only Via Personal Pickup
Today Apple started accepting orders for the second generation iPad mini in the United States and in other markets. Unfortunately, due to “limited supply” and “high demand” the Retina iPad mini will be available only through the Personal Pickup service, for now. The Personal Pickup service lets customers buy the device of their choice through the Apple Online Store and then pick it up at any Apple retail Store that they choose. Since the Retina display iPad mini is only available through the Personal Pickup service, it means that customers won’t be able to walk into an Apple Retail Store and buy the second generation iPad mini from there; an online pre purchase is necessary for now. When Apple will be able to supply enough iPad mini with Retina display tablets to meet demand, walk in purchases will more than likely be allowed. Apple’s retail employees were notified of the current situation (the second generation iPad mini being sold exclusively through the Personal Pickup service) and the company’s website implies the same thing.
Things were different for the iPad Air, as Apple had enough supply available not just for the Personal Pickup service, but also in Retail Stores at launch. The fifth generation main iPad was released on November 1st and in the coming weeks it will also be available in several more regions. The second generation iPad mini was launched today without much fanfare (lacking even an official announcement from Apple). An interesting thing to note is that all check of Personal Pickup availability through Apple’s Online Store indicate that no stores have the Retina iPad mini in inventory. It is likely that stores will start stocking the second generation iPad mini during the following days; rumors also suggest that international stores have already received supply of the new iPad mini tablet.
In the United States, the WiFi Retina iPad mini will be shipped in 1 to 3 business days and the WiFi + Cellular model will be shipped in 5 to 10 business days. These are the pricing details for the second generation iPad mini: the 16 GB WiFi model will be $399, the 32 GB WiFi model will be $499, the 64 GB WiFi model will be $599 and the 128 GB WiFi model will cost $699. The WiFi + Cellular second generation iPad mini model starts at $529 for the 16 GB version, while the 32 GB version is priced at $629, the 64 GB version is priced at $729 and the 128 GB can be bought for $829.
It seems that the reason why Apple was so quiet is represented by the recently rumored supply issues of the tablet; not long ago we reported about the issues related to the production of the second generation iPad mini’s display panels and in the end it seems that even though it was released earlier than estimated, the rumors regarding iPad mini’s production problems were accurate. However, even though there was no official announcement Apple did issue a press release about the second generation iPad mini’s launch and you can read it here:
CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® announced iPad® mini with Retina® display is available starting today. The new iPad mini brings all the pixels from the 9.7-inch iPad to its 7.9-inch screen, delivering razor sharp text and detail in an amazingly thin and light design. It features the powerful and power-efficient Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, ultrafast wireless with faster built-in Wi-Fi and expanded LTE cellular connectivity, iOS 7 featuring hundreds of great new features and access to all 475,000 apps designed specifically for iPad.
“The response to iPad Air has been incredible, and we’re excited for customers to experience the new iPad mini with Retina display,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We think customers will love both of these thin, light, powerful new iPads, and we’re working hard to get as many as we can in the hands of our customers.”
Pricing & Availability
iPad mini with Retina display will be available starting today in silver or space gray. iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi models will be available for a suggested retail price of $399 (US) for the 16GB model, $499 (US) for the 32GB model, $599 (US) for the 64GB model and $699 (US) for the 128GB model. iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular models will be available for a suggested retail price of $529 (US) for the 16GB model, $629 (US) for the 32GB model, $729 (US) for the 64GB model and $829 (US) for the 128GB model. Additionally, the original iPad mini continues to be available at the more affordable price of $299 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $429 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model for either AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon.
Custom-designed polyurethane Smart Covers for iPad mini with Retina display and iPad mini are available for $39 (US) in a range of vibrant colors, including blue, green, pink, yellow, black and (RED). Additionally, a beautiful aniline-dyed leather iPad mini Smart Case is available in six rich colors, including yellow, beige, blue, brown, black and (RED) for a suggested retail price of $69 (US) for both models of iPad mini. Smart Covers and Smart Cases are available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Authorized Apple Resellers.
iPad mini with Retina display is available to order through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) to ship or through Personal Pickup at Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.
© 2013 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPad and Retina are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
About The Retina iPad Mini
The Retina display iPad mini features the same form factor as the first generation iPad mini and the same 7.9 inch display, but it now features a resolution of 2,048 × 1,536 and a pixels per inch density of 326, two times the resolution of the first mini Pad, and the same as the iPad Air’s but with a higher pixels per inch density. The second generation iPad mini also comes with the same A7 System on Chip that is being used in the recently released iPhone 5S and iPad Air. The dual core A7 System on Chip is the fastest ever made by Apple. It also makes use of a new 64 architecture and it is the first 64 bit System on Chip to be released on the mobile market. It offers many advantages over 32 bit chipsets one of them being represetned by the fact that the processor has to spend less time accessing comparatively slow system memory, which means it will speed up apps even if they aren’t 64 bit optimized. The new SoC also comes with a better GPUso you won’t have to worry about it being powerful enough to run the new high resolution graphics of the Retina display.
The iPad mini 2 also comes with the M7 motion coprocessor (there is one in both the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air). All the new technologies included in the second generation iPad mini (the Retina display and the new 64 bit System on Chip) make it a heavier and thicker tablet when compared to the first iPad mini. However the differences are not major (the first generation iPad mini weighs 308 grams and is 7.2 mm thick while the second generation iPad mini weighs 331 grams and is 7.5 mm thick) and most users won’t even notice them. The second generation iPad mini also comes with iOS 7 out of the box and it is available in two color options: white and silver and black and space grey.
