Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Strong Performer: When Apple (AAPL) debuts its new tablets later this month, sales of a refreshed version of its 7.9-inch iPad Mini are expected to soundly top those of a updated 9.7-inch model, AppleInsider notes. Apple is widely expected to unveiled a lighter, thinner fifth-generation iPad, which will take design cues from the iPad Mini, including smaller bezels. The new iPad will replace the relatively heavy fourth-generation iPad, introduced last year. However, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani predicts that an updated iPad Mini with a Retina screen will outsell the iPad 5 by almost two-to-one during the upcoming holiday season — if Apple can produce enough Retina iPad Minis to meet demand. Daryanani estimates that iPad Minis will account for 65% of holiday tablet sales for Apple, while the standard-sized iPad will comprise just 35%. Rumors have circulated for months that Apple’s supply chain partners have had difficulty producing enough Retina screens to support an Retina iPad Mini launch this month. Other reports say that Apple is pushing forward with the Retina iPad Mini even with limited supplies to counter rising competition from rival 7-inch tablets. Most analysts now believe that Apple will launch an Retina iPad Mini this month, even if supplies are constrained.
Confirmation: Apple has issued invitations to members of the press for a special media event in California next week, TheVerge notes. The Oct. 22 event will be held at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. While Apple typically did not state the event’s purpose, the company is widely expected to show off new iPads, including its fifth-generation iPad and a refreshed iPad Mini with a Retina screen. The company could also debut its radically-restyled Mac Pro along with updated MacBooks and its new OS X 10.9 Mavericks. The invitations to the event featured Apple’s logo with the leaf above the iconic Apple reproduced and scattered in various colors. The invitations included the coy phrase: “We still have a lot to cover,” which some observers read as a hint that Apple might launch a line of iPad covers/keyboards similar to those that accompany Microsoft‘s (MSFT) Surface tablets.
Weak: Sources tell Reuters that Apple is scaling back orders for its new iPhone 5c in advance of the holiday shopping season. The company is seeing surging sales of its higher priced flagship iPhone 5s, which is reportedly outselling the colorful iPhone 5c two-to-one. According to recent media reports, Apple’s supply chain partners have seen orders for the plastic-backed iPhone 5c slices by as much as half in recent weeks, while orders for the iPhone 5s have reportedly been increased. The iPhone 5c contains essentially the same internal components as last year’s iPhone 5, which it replaced, but ditched that model’s aluminum case for a plastic back available in five colors.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
