As the holidays approach, sources claim that Apple has ordered some 4 million iPad Mini 2 in November alone

A new DigiTimes report is citing Taiwanese supply chain sources, claiming that Apple has ordered enough components to assemble nearly 4 million individual units of the iPad Mini 2.

This number is, of course, only possible, because bottlenecks around Retina display supply have been allegedly removed. In case you're a tad foggy on the details, those were rumored to be in short supply long before the iPad Mini 2 was even launched, since Sharp and LG – the suppliers for the displays – were both reportedly experiencing low-yields. Now, we don't consider ourselves experts in display manufacturing, though industry sources claim that the process is more complicated when smaller screens are involved, and we can imagine that Apple's stringent screening process doesn't help, either.

Despite these setbacks, the report goes on to note that Apple has already ordered more units of the new 7.9-inch slate than last year's model. This means that it could be raining iPads this Christmas, a prospect that surely has Apple working extra hours. In case you're interested in picking one up, pricing for the new iPad Mini 2 starts from $399 for the entry 16GB, Wi-Fi only version, and goes up to the whopping $829 for the spacious 128GB variant with Wi-Fi and 4G. If you're feeling border-line, or would like to better research your options before committing, then our extensive, in-depth review should be your next stop.