iPad Mini Expected to Hit Store Shelves on November 2
Tech blog Geeky Gadgets recently reported receiving a tip from a retail insider that Apple will launch the upcoming iPad mini on Nov. 2 in both the US and the UK. The unnamed source, “someone close to a major UK retailer” leaked information to the blog site regarding the launch of the iPhone 5, which turned out to be correct.
According to Geeky Gadgets, the iPad mini will be available for pre-order later next week, most likely Friday, Oct. 26 (the blog points out that the source was not “100 percent sure this would be the exact preorder date”).
The information coming in from the supposed reliable source may just be speculation based on Apple’s previous events. The third-generation iPad followed a similar timeline, as did the iPhone 5. However, Apple doesn’t exactly follow a precise guideline when it comes to the iPad.
In 2012, the first-generation iPad was announced on January 27, preorders began on March 12 and the iPad went on sale for the first time on April 3.
In 2011, the iPad 2 was revealed on March 2. Preorders were not available for Apple’s tablet for some reason. The second-generation iPad hit store shelves on March 11.
Earlier this year, Apple announced the third-generation iPad on March 7 with an immediate preorder following the event. The new iPad went on sale March 16.
Based on previous iPad launches, we may be able to preorder the smaller device immediately following the announcement, or not get to preorder at all. We may see the iPad mini on store shelves a week and a half after it is announced, or we may have to wait more than a month like we did with the first-generation iPad.
For that matter, the iPad mini may not even be revealed on Oct. 23.