The oft-rumored iPad Mini is in the news yet again. This time two different ‘mainstream' publications, if you can call them that, the WSJ and Bloomberg, each have a report regarding Apple's supposedly upcoming tablet.
Mass production for the device will start in September. According to nameless officials at Apple's component suppliers, the Cupertino company has told them to prepare for mass production – which would certainly signify that Apple has made up its mind about launching the Mini tablet.
The new device's screen will be 7 to 8 inches diagonally, and the iPad Mini will arrive on the market before the end of the year. It may get announced by October, perhaps alongside the next-gen iPhone. The iPad Mini's screen will have a resolution lower than that seen in the new iPad.
If this is true, then Apple probably won't claim the Retina brand for this particular display. Common sense says that Apple's probably going to go with 1024×768, which has been used in both the original iPad and the iPad 2. Since the iPad Mini will be smaller, the pixel density will be higher than in those two tablets anyway, while, of course, not being anywhere near Retina territory.
At less than 8″ though, few consumers will probably consider the 1024×768 resolution a downside to Apple's new tablet.
Getting back to the size of the device, this is nothing new of course. The most rumored size so far would make the iPad Mini's display 7.85 inches diagonally.
