It could be a lone debut for the slimmed down iPad 5 on October 22 after all as fresh reports suggest that the iPad Mini 2 with Retina is not primed for bulk shipment until next year, thus delaying its release date for a few more months.

And once the device is finally out, which likely would happen on January 2014, the thinner Mini 2 we all expect would not materialise. Instead, the 7.9-inch iOS 7 tablet will add a little bit of heft.

Blame it on the high-resolution Retina, according to Apple Insider, which cited Japanese blog site MacOtakara as the source of its latest report.

The Mini 2 will bloat from 7.2mm to 7.5mm with its width stretching a tad by 0.2mm, the same report said. As mentioned, the new dimension is forced upon by the inclusion of Retina display panel on the second build of the hugely popular iPad Mini.

So with the upcoming serving of a Mini 2 screen that boasts of denser pixels and a screen resolution of 2046 x 1536, slate shoppers will have to contend with the extra bulk, which by the way will be hardly noticeable.

Besides, it appears too that accessories like case covers should be readily available once the Mini upgrade hits the market. Note that these Mini 2 covers alerted MacOtakara to the supposed revised profile of the compact iOS slate.

And when exactly is the iPad Mini 2 coming out will happen?

If Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald is to be believed, the Mini 2 with Retina will likely skip out the rumoured Apple event on Oct 22. The safest bet for its release date would be the initial months of 2014, Mr White said.

What prompted Mr White to assume that the Retina-toting Mini 2 arrival will be delayed?

Apparently, the analysts' recent tour in Asia revealed that not many changes were made on the new accessories that were produced for the original iPad Mini successor.

"Interestingly enough, the accessories for a potential new iPad mini were not updated at the trade shows we attended," Mr White was reported by BGR as saying.

He added that there is chance that a second Mini will appear on Oct 22 and its internals have been bumped up but Retina will not be part of the package.

"We anticipate only a modest upgrade (like a faster CPU) to the iPad mini and without the Retina Display," Mr White declared.

"A major upgrade with Retina Display will not occur until 1Q:14," the analyst added, which is a view shared by Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities.

If anything, Mr White noted too that the Apple event will surely produce an iPad 5 that will bring forth "a meaningful overhaul."

Of course, his assessment will be validated on Oct 22, which until now is rumoured as the release date for both the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2.