Apple Retina iPad Mini Release Date Nears: Target’s Product Listing Suggests Nov. 21 Launch

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced, during the unveiling of its new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, that the fifth-generation full-sized iPad would be released on Nov. 1 while the second-generation smaller iPad would be available later that month.

Now, a product listing on the website of a U.S.-based retailer has suggested that the highly anticipated Retina iPad mini may arrive in the third week of November. According to the product listing on Target.com, the new iPad mini with Retina display would be released on Nov. 21, although Apple is yet to make any official announcement regarding the availability of the device.

MacRumors, which first spotted the product listing, said that the new iPad mini release date “could be a simple guess” by Target, but it is also a logical launch date for Apple as it comes just one week before Thanksgiving. However, the website also stated that it is still unclear why Apple would choose to release the iPad mini on Thursday, given that the company typically launches new products on a Friday.

Meanwhile, reports are saying that Apple may face supply constraints of the Retina iPad mini at launch and the company may not be able to meet demand for the new tablet initially.

“It's unclear whether we will have enough for the quarter or not,” CEO Tim Cook said on Monday. “We know how many we will have, but you really don't know the demand until you start shipping.”

Analysts are also suggesting that the Retina iPad mini could face tight supply constraints ahead of this year’s holiday shopping season as Apple is expected to encounter problems with producing the high-resolution displays for the tablet.

For the Retina iPad mini, Apple brought all the 3.1 million pixels (2048x1536 resolutions) from the 9.7-inch iPad to its 7.9-inch screen. The device is powered by A7 an chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture.