Target is offering a $100 discount – actually a $100 gift card – with any purchase of the iPad Mini 2 or the iPad Air, prompting fresh talk of each device’s respective successor.
It’s long been suggested that the iPad Mini 3 had been pushed back to a 2015 launch date, simply because Apple had much bigger fish to fry. What with the iPhone 6, the iPhone Air and the iWatch on the cards, analysts warned that the third-generation Mini hadn’t been invited to the 2014 party for purely logistical reasons.
However, there’s once again reason to believe that the device could well be on the cards for an early debut as yet another sign of current inventory clearance efforts has emerged. It’s not what you’d call a fire-sale as such, but Target is nonetheless suddenly offering a gift card worth $100 to anyone buying a current-generation iPad Mini or iPad Air.
And yes – that does mean the Retina iPad Mini 2, not the old one.
There is of course a caveat attached to the deal by way of the fact that it ends today – July 12. It’s a tempting enough deal in its own right, but in conjunction with reports that the new-generation iPads are set to go into full production before the end of the month, you can’t help but wonder whether Target knows something we don’t.
These kinds of clearances often tend to be accurate signs of an imminent device launch, which in the case of the iPad Mini 3 once again adds credence to talk of 2014 arrival.
In terms of what to expect when and where the newbies touch down, it’s looking like a tale of incremental upgrades as opposed to anything truly revolutionary. With no new screens, no big changes to form factor and no quantum leaps forward in styling, it’ll be down to one or two performance tweaks and the addition of iOS 8 to make all the difference.