
Sources close to the Asian supply chain indicate that shipments of Apple's first-generation iPad mini remain strong. Consequently, the company is moving ahead with plans to roll out the second-generation iPad mini during the third quarter of this year.
As anticipated, the second-generation product will be largely differentiated from its predecessor by Retina display - an all-but-assured new attribute of the iPad mini refresh purportedly coming in late summer or early fall.
Japanese tech news sites CNYes and Macotakara indicate that iPad mini has seen a surprisingly consistent rate of demand since its introduction in late 2012. As a result, Apple's current expectations call for 55 million iPad mini units to ship during 2013.
Initially, Apple was expected to roll out an iPad mini refresh in the spring. But with demand not waning, Apple is now on course to release the second-gen iPad mini closer to the iPad 5's market introduction, which could also come during the third quarter, sources indicate.
Source: Makotakara
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