Apple's iPad lineup is helping cement the company as the world's top provider of personal computers. That's exactly why the company is putting so much time and effort into ensuring that each new device is the top of the line in terms of technology for public appeal. With Google touting its new, high resolution, Nexus 7 tablet, Apple has been forced to respond by researching putting its Retina display on the iPad Mini 2, according to sources at the Wall Street Journal.
It's not yet known what the resolution on the next iPad Mini will be but it will almost definitely be HD in order to keep the device competitive on the tablet market. The iPad Mini 2 was met with a surprisingly positive reaction from consumers who were right on board with the smaller condensed version of the company's flagship tablet. It's one biggest flaw, however, was its low-end display. Apple is looking to fix that problem by looking into Retina display screens provided by long-time rival Samsung. The company is also going to be getting them from Sharp and LG, but Apple's dependence on Samsung doesn't appear to be going anywhere, at least for the next round of mobile devices. Because Apple is only researching the idea of a Retina display it's possible that it won't appear on the iPad Mini 2. Sources claimed Apple's suppliers aren't planning to begin mass production of the new iPad Mini until the fourth quarter, according to 3G.Co.Uk. This means the device probably won't hit shelves until the end of the year.
Other news out of the iPad Mini 2 rumor mill has the device coming in a variety of colors. We've seen Apple play around with multi-colored backings to its mobile devices with the latest versions of the iPod Touch as well as the highly rumored, and highly likely, low-cost iPhone C. This would be a plastic backed iPhone for lower-income consumers that is reported to come in red, green, yellow, blue and white. Perhaps the company wants all of it's lower end devices to be multi-colored, leaving the regular iPad, Macbooks and iPhones as dual colored, to signify that they are the high-end models.
