Since the first iPad Mini was uncloaked last year, challengers have been arriving in great numbers with little success, which will be the exact scenario tipped for in the aftermath of the iPad Mini 2 2013 release date.

The like of Samsung, LG and Acer have been trying to dislodge the Mini from its throne using slew of 7-inch and 8-inch tablet models but the iOS device, despite its mid-range specs and features, stood firm and ruled its growing market segment.

According to DigiTimes, the Mini was the top seller in the small tablet class that in 2012 accounted for some three per cent of the global tablet market. No mean feat for a product that only started retailing in the last two months of the same year.

And the same should be expected of the iPad Mini 2, which analyst said is touching down this year upgraded components, the highlight of which is the high-resolution Retina that is seen to double the first Mini's mediocre screen resolution.

Citing its sources from Asia's device supply chain players, the Taiwanese publication claimed that the small tablet class, specifically the 8-inch compact slates, will expand to 10 per cent by the end of 2013.

And there is only a single brand seen to dominate that same segment - Apple's iPad Mini 2.

Such forecast was based on intelligence from device vendors that the business model has become less profitable for manufacturers due to the accelerating retail price drops of iPad Mini rivals, which mostly are running on Android.

As a result, "vendors' component orders for their 8-inch tablets have recently started dropping as the devices' sales are falling short of original expectations," DigiTimes said.

The report implies that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 small tablet series, consisting of the 7-inch and 8-inch models, and Google's Nexus 7 will only repeat the lacklustre performances of their predecessors against the iPad Mini and in this year, the iPad Mini 2.

But what seems to puzzle this iPad rivals are the fact that their tablets are more powerful than the Mini yet the latter easily triumphed. The same approach will be replicated this year in tussling with the Mini 2. However, it is expected that the market will reflect the same result seen in 2012.

While Samsung and other tablet makers have been catching up with Apple in the international tablet duel, analysts declare that the iPad model remains superior to its ecosystem - better accessory support and larger collection of tablet-optimised applications.

And nothing much have changed this year, leading experts to conclude that the iPad Mini 2, boasting of Retina screen, faster processor with higher RAM provision plus killer features packed with iOS 7, will remain as the must-have small tablet for global consumers.

The iPad Mini 2 release date is likely to happen right after the Oct 15 media event that Apple is supposedly holding.