Apple iPad mini now available on official store in US and UK

Apple is back, this time with some good news for users waiting to pick up the revamped iPad mini. The company announced on Tuesday that it has begun selling the new Retina display-bearing mini tablet in the US and the UK, keeping to its word of making the device available “later in November”, according to a report by the Guardian.  The company, however, has still not indicated which other countries the new tablet will be immediately available in.

Apple, last month, had said that the iPad mini would be sold in more than 40 markets worldwide. There is still no word on when the revamped mini will be available for purchase in India. The tablet, which was announced at the company’s event on October 22, can now be picked up from the international Apple store. The revamped iPad mini can now be bought either in a space grey or a silver-coloured finish. The base 16GB Wi-Fi model starts at $399 (Rs 25,420 approx) while the base 16GB Wi-Fi+ Cellular variant starts at $529 (Rs 33,700 approx) for US customers. The company has promised free shipping with the deliver of the device needing between “1-3 business days.”  The old iPad mini is still being sold at $299 (Rs 19,040 approx).

New iPad mini can now be picked up through the official online store

Apple’s senior Vice-president of worldwide marketing, Philip Schiller, said, “The response to iPad Air has been incredible, and we’re excited for customers to experience the new iPad mini with Retina display. We think customers will love both of these thin, light, powerful new iPads, and we’re working hard to get as many as we can in their hands.”

Chief Executive Time Cook said recently that he expects demand to exceed supply for the iPad mini during the key holiday sales period. During Apple’s earnings call in October, the Apple head honcho said, “It’s unclear whether we have enough for the quarter or not. We know how many we will have, but you really don’t know the demand until after you start shipping and so we will see how it goes.”

Such comments from Apple, though, hint at a possible strain in the supply chain being present. This also matches up to previous reports claiming that Apple was facing difficulties producing the Retina screens in a large quantity. Apart from the new Retina display, the revamped mini comes with a whole lot of changes, the foremost being the new A7 64-bit desktop-class architecture and the M7 motion co-processor. Check out our comparison between last year’s model and the new one to find out all the differences.

(With inputs from agencies)