If you have a glance at the calendar, you’ll realize that no less than 6 months have passed since the iPad Mini was released and it would time for an updated version. Fans are waiting for the second gen model and meanwhile the iPad Mini demand decreases.
DigiTimes took notice of that trend, reporting that iPad Mini shipments are expected to decline by as much as 30% during the second quarter of 2013. Upstream sources in iPad Mini supply chain expect the decline to be at 20% to 30%, all because the public awaits the new model. Apple has also reacted to this, by reducing the reserves for the existing iPad Mini from 15 million units to about 10 to 12 million for the first quarter.
The component suppliers are also adapting, with LG Display supposedly expecting panel shipments estimates to reach 3.5 million units in April, down from 5 million units in the previous month. In spite of the reduce demand, Apple hopes to ship 55 million iPad Minis this year and they probably secretly included the Retina version in these figures, as well, I guess.
