It’s been less than a week since the the iPad mini reportedly shifted into the full-blown manufacturing stage, and a new report by The Wall Street Journal reveals just how massive that mass production is: According to sources in the component supply chain, Apple’s planning to have more than 10 million iPad minis manufactured during the last leg of the year.
By comparison, the same sources claim that Amazon only has half that many Kindle Fire HD tablets on order. Meanwhile, AllThingsD reports that the iPad mini’s design quality is just as high as its alleged manufacturing quality.
[MORE: 8 Things You Need to Know About the iPad Mini]
The website spoke with Tokepa analyst Brian White, who went to Taipei to speak face-to-face with Apple’s component suppliers. According to White, “The ‘iPad Mini’ could outshine the new iPad in terms of how the device feels in a consumer’s hands.”
His sources say manufacturing the iPad mini isn’t as easy as manufacturing its bigger brother, however. That could slow down supply of the tablet no matter how many are officially on order.
Overwhelming demand could produce other manufacturing difficulties as well; Foxconn workers were recently reported to have gone on strike due to the stress of meeting steep iPhone 5 quality and quantity goals, though the specifics are a bit murky.
The iPad mini reportedly sports a 7.85-inch non-Retina display, 4G LTE and an iPod touch-esque design. Apple is expected to announce the tablet on October 17th, but the company has yet to send out invites for the alleged launch event.
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