14 DAY TRIAL // Because of limited production of the iPad mini’s new Retina display, supplies of the second-generation device are expected to be extremely low, leaving Apple unable to fulfill demand.
Looking at supply data, research firm IHS has learned that shipments of the new iPad mini with Retina display will fall below four million units in the fourth quarter, maybe even lower.
By comparison, Apple shipped around 9 million iPad mini units around the same time last year.
“With demand for the new mini in the fourth quarter expected to equal or exceed the nearly nine million units of its predecessor model, supply and demand will be severely out of balance,” IHS said, according to DigiTimes.
In other words, Apple will lose millions this year if Retina display production doesn’t kick into gear. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Retina display supply is expected to improve “substantially” in the first quarter of 2014.