New iPad mini 2 leak suggests no Retina display after all

Apple's iPad mini 2 may not come with a Retina display after all, according to a newly leaked image...

Anujeet Majumdar|Oct 18, 2013, 14:16:52 IST

Apple’s October 22 event, which is around the corner, is expected to come with a few new additions to the iPad line-up. And speculation is rife that a new iPad mini will also be seen, this time coming with a higher-resolution Retina display. A new leak, however, seems to indicate that the new mini may not come with the new panel after all.

The leak, coming from CTechCN, comes with an alleged image of the iDevice and states that the tablet is 6.81mm thick. While this mean that the new tablet is 0.4mm thinner than the original, the measurement makes it unlikely that the second generation device will be getting a higher resolution screen.

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The original mini comes with a 7.9-inch screen that comes with a pixel resolution of 1024x768. Estimates for the new screen had hinted at the mini 2 coming in the same size but with a bumped up 2048x1536 pixel resolution. The larger panel, however, is said to require a slight increase in thickness to be accommodated. The leaked image, according to the source, shows that the opposite has happened. Instead of seeing a thicker iPad mini 2, we are seeing a thinner one, which could indicate that the resolution will remain unchanged. A newly leaked image suggests that the iPad mini may not sport a Retina display (Image credit: CTechCN)

A newly leaked image suggests that the iPad mini may not sport a Retina display (Image credit: CTechCN)

Leaked image hints at iPad mini not sporting a Retina display (Image credit: CTechCN)

There is no way to validate the leak, although the source claims the model in the leaked image to be a space-grey version of the new tablet. Another feature that the report has stated to be in the new mini is the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. There has not been any confirmation from Apple whether the new tablet will come with the feature, though.

Quite a few reports in the past have indicated that Apple is having trouble getting Retina displays for the its new tablet offering in time for the October event. The latest leak seems to corroborate this, meaning that we may see the Retina display-bearing mini 2 sometime next year. Apple has been tight-lipped about this, meaning that we will have to wait a while to know for sure what the company has in mind.