Analyst: Apple allegedly moving up date of next-gen Apple iPad mini production

Is Apple not selling the Apple iPad mini as much as expected? Is the lower resolution screen keeping sales down? These are some questions that Wall Street analysts have had to ponder. One analyst in particular, Doug Freedman from RBC Capital Markets, has done some leg work, checking out Apple's supply chain for the device and his research led him to pen, "iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content," which translated means that there is speculation that production on the next-gen iPad mini will start earlier than forecasted and that Texas Instruments will be a major supplier.

While Freedman did not clearly state that the Apple iPad mini will be released ahead of schedule, it is possible that the pixel density on the device,at 162ppi, is costing Apple sales. The full-sized third and fourth generation Apple iPads have had pixel density of 264 ppi, and while 300ppi is considered to be a Retina display, a tablet is held further from the eyes than a smartphone which is why the third and fourth gen iterations of the slate are considered to have a Retina display. There already has been speculation that the next generation of the Apple iPad mini would feature a Retina display. According to the rumor, the next iPad mini will have the 2048 x 1536 resolution of the fourth-generation Apple iPad, giving the next mini a pixel density of 326ppi.

As far as Texas Instruments is concerned, it is not clear what role the electronics company would play in the new Apple iPad mini, but the Cupertino based tech titan has been trying to lessen its reliance on arch rival Samsung. All of this talk about moving up production of the next Apple iPad mini comes even though Apple has yet to complete the global rollout of its first generation 7.9 inch tablet. Just the other day, regulators at the Chinese Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center approved the cellular version of the Apple iPad mini which is expected to launch soon via China Telecom and China Unicom.

source: AppleInsider