Cupertino, Calif. – Apple pushed back the U.S. availability date of the cellular-equipped versions of its iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad.
The Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of both the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad will ship “in a few weeks in the U.S. and in many more countries later this year,” the company said. When it unveiled the two products last month, however, Apple had said the Wi-Fi+ Cellular versions of the tablets would ship in the U.S. “about a week” after the Nov. 2 launch of the Wi-Fi models, with other countries getting the cellular versions sometime later.
CEO Tim Cook also said the company “practically sold out of [Wi-Fi] iPad minis” in setting what he called a record in sales of Wi-Fi-only iPads in the first three days of availability. “We set a new launch weekend record,” he said, and the company is “working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”
Demand for iPad minis exceeded the initial supply, the company continued, and although “many of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, some are scheduled to be shipped later this month.”
Apple said it sold 3 million Wi-Fi-only iPad minis and fourth-generation iPads in the first three days of availability in 34 countries, up from the previous three-day record of 1.5 million Wi-Fi only third-generation iPads in March. The comparison is an apples-to-oranges comparison, however, because the third-generation iPad was available only in the U.S. and 10 other countries in its first three days of availability.
