the iPad mini 2 is on sale now at the Apple Store, defying rumours that the tech giant would be forced to delay the slate due to manufacturing problems and stock shortages. At the time of writing, the space grey and silver-white models were both in stock in all storage iterations. However, some models are in short supply already, it seems
Order the space-grey Wi-Fi-only model in either the 16GB or 32GB flavour and you’re looking at a paltry wait of between one and three days before it’s dispatched. But if you want any the Wi-Fi-only 64GB or 128GB models or any of the 4G-capable editions, you’re warned to expect a wait of between five and ten days.
Choose the silver-white iPad mini 2 in any storage option and it's the same story, with delays of between five and ten days for it to be despatched in every iteration except the Wi-Fi only 16GB and 32GB iterations. As with the space-grey colourway, these ought to sent out within three days of reciept of your order.
No UK carrier has yet started selling the device, which may or may not down to Apple wanting to ensure it hoovers up the lion's share of custom from the early-adopter market.
Or it may be because Apple hasn’t yet got the stockholding required to furnish carriers with iPad mini 2 tablets while continuing to sell them through the Apple Store.
Priced from £319, the iPad mini 2, or the ‘iPad mini with Retina Display’ to give the tablet its official title, features the same brawny A7 and M7 processors as its big brother and the same pixel density.
The appearance of the fresh take on the iPad Jnr at the Apple Store has surprised some tech-watchers, after months of rumours that the company faced stiff challenges reproducing the eye-stroking qualities of its Retina Display on a smaller scale.
Apple's apparent inability at the launch event to name a concrete availability date for the device added fuel to the speculation. Just yesterday, reports emerged that the tablet may not be released in November.