It's been almost year exactly since the iPad mini was introduced by Apple. On Oct. 23, 2012, the world got its first glimpse at the 7.9-inch touchscreen tablet and soon after, the device was on sale. So when should we expect to see the prospective iPad Mini 2 on displays around the U.S., and how much will it likely cost? Let's look at last year for clues.
"iPad mini is every inch an iPad. With its gorgeous 7.9-inch display, iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad," said Apple senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller on the day the first generation iPad mini was unveiled. That was on Oct. 23, and soon after, on Nov. 2 the iPad mini and iPad 4 went on sale in the U.S.
Such a quick rollout is likely to happen again. Just last month, about 10 days after the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were revealed, the devices showed up in Apple Stores and retailers across the country. Taking that timeline as a guide, we could see the iPad mini 2 hitting the shelves as early as late October or, more likely, early November.
November 1, a Friday, is probably the best bet to see iPad mini 2's lining the shelves of your local electronics store.
As for the price? The iPad mini 2, as Latinos Post Tech reported, faces a lot of competition this year. Both the second-generation Nexus 7 and the new Kindle Fire HDX were unveiled and released before the Oct. 22 event. Both start at a pretty low price point: just $229.
However, don't expect Apple to feel pricing pressure from its competitors. In 2012, before the original iPad mini was released, several 7-inch tablets, including the first generation Nexus 7, went on sale for around $200. The iPad mini, however, went on sale for a $329 minimum, and the device still sold so well that Apple was concerned it might be eating into its own iPad profits.
The takeaway: after the iPad mini 2 is unveiled and it hits shelves in early November, don't expect an iPad mini 2 "c" (for "cheap").
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