True to form, and our earlier prediction, the Core Group hasn’t disappointed; the company announced that the iPad Mini with Retina Display will be available on local shores as from tomorrow.

This is some welcome news, particularly for those who may have been sitting on the fence with regards to upgrading or purchasing a new iPad before the festive season and New Year. Indeed the iPad Air and updated iPad Mini garnered first and second place respectively in our top 5 tablets of this year.

Good news for some, more waiting for others

The only caveat here is that not all versions of the iPad Mini with Retina display will be available locally, at least not yet. However, starting with the good news, the models that will be available include the silver iPad mini with Retina display 16 GB Wi-Fi, and the silver or space grey Wi-Fi + Cellular versions, priced at R5 000 and R6 600 respectively.

Then, the space grey 32 GB iPad mini with Retina display with WiFi + cellular has been priced at R7 900. Of the 64 GB versions, only the Wi-Fi iPad mini with Retina display (in both colours) will be available, and will cost R7 500.

Absent, but incoming

Alas, the 32 GB Wi-Fi only (R6 300), 64 GB Wi-Fi and cellular (R9 000) and both the Wi-Fi only 128 GB model (R8 900) and the Wi-Fi and cellular 128 GB model (R10 500) will not be included in tomorrow’s launch. However, as the released prices for each may hint, these shouldn’t be too far behind, and Core has stated that the missing iterations will be “coming soon.”

We suspect the wait won’t be too long. For those pondering a new iPad, the decision as to whether to opt for portability or go with the larger screen size may be the most difficult part of their acquisition.