More signs are emerging that Apple has indeed spawned a killer device in the iPad Mini, eating away sales and market turfs that previously were enjoyed by the gadget that started the global tablet phenomenon.

In a new report, Taiwan-based DigiTimes has indicated that that Apple has downgraded its shipment targets this year for the 9.7-inch tablet, a move that apparently is the tech giant's reaction to sliding sales of the original iPad.

The next iPad shipment was reportedly slashed by close to 50 per cent by Apple, the reports said, pushing down its earlier goal of 60 million to 33 million units.

Conversely, Apple upgraded its projected 2013 ship outs for the Mini, kicking it up to 55 million units from the earlier estimates of only 40 million.

It is understood that the adjustments have been conveyed to Apple's numerous manufacturing partners in Taiwan and China, DigiTimes said, somehow disrupting the tech giant's supply chain.

Expert have been pointing out that the iPad Mini, based on the reception it generated since its global release in Q4 2012, could prove as the much-anticipated iPad killer, a fete that rival Android tablets have failed to accomplish.

While Apple has kept its silence on the matter, its pronouncements and decisions lately somehow supported the notion that it is shifting to the more compact iPad version.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has admitted earlier this year that the iPad Mini was able to attract some 23 million buys by December 2012, adding that higher sales would have been registered had the Mini inventory was able to meet the phenomenal demands.

In the same vein, however, Mr Cook refused to entertain the possibility that the iPad Mini will cause the eventual demise of the iPad. Analysts noted that the bigger tablet 2012 refresh was revealed and retailed at the same time the Mini was unwrapped but nobody seemed to notice or care.

In an apparent sign that Apple is reading the trend and making the necessary adjustments, the upcoming iPad 5 is likely to take on the same body design that made the iPad Mini an instant global hit, according to leaked specs and analysts' predictions.

The two tablets are believed set for a worldwide rollout on mid-2013.