Apple has made available its iPad Mini with Retina display for sale on its US store starting $399 and expected shipment dates listed as 1-3 business days.
Apple store went offline about 3 hours back – an indication of a major update or a product launch. The store was restored with the iPad Mini with Retina listing. The listing wasn’t expected of Apple – specifically because Apple doesn’t normally go about with a Tuesday launch of one of its major products and that too when it has itself affirmed that Retina display panels are in short supply and there could be shortage of the iPad Mini with Retina.
The launch followed a message leaked earlier whereby Apple notified its support staff through an internal online tool dubbed Global Service Exchange (GSX) used for processing repairs that the tablet will be launching today across the globe. The note indicates that the iPad Mini with Retina will be available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States starting Tuesday according to their local times.
The report first appeared on MacRumors, which was independently verified by 9to5Mac through its sources.
The iPad mini with Retina (aka iPad Mini 2) features the same internals as of the full-sized iPad including Apple’s new A7 chip, M7 motion co-processor, 5 MP rear camera and a 1.2 MP front one, and 2048-by-1536 Retina display.
