Wall Street Journal: iPad mini production underway in China
updated 05:57 am EDT, Wed October 3, 2012
WSJ claims Apple has started iPad mini production in China
The Wall Street Journal has corroborated reports suggesting that Apple has started production of its rumored smaller iPad mini. On Monday, Macotakara cited sources from Foxconn’s Brazil factory that also said that production of the iPad mini had begun. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Asian supply chain sources, iPad mini mass production has also commenced in China as well.
The Journal’s sources also confirmed earlier reports indicating that the display would be 7.85-inches, although it would be a lower resolution than used in the larger third-generation iPad. Some reports indicate that it will have the same resolution as the iPad 2, which has a 9.7-inch display with a 1024x768 pixel resolution.
However, as those same pixels will be packed into a smaller display, the pixel density will be significantly higher than the 132ppi of the larger tablet. Keeping the same resolution as the larger iPad 2 will also make it easier for developers who will not have to accommodate another resolution. However, it is not expected to match pixel density of the third-generation iPad, which runs at 264ppi, but will fall somewhere in between the two.
Reports of iPad mini production beginning dovetail with other iPad mini launch rumors indicating that Apple will produce as many as 10 million iPad mini tablets in the fourth quarter of this year, with media invitations for an imiment launch expected to go out on October 10. Fortune suggests that the iPad mini event will then take place on October 17 with the tablet launching on November 2.
