Retina display panel will not arrive with the iPad Mini 2 this year, a new report said. Instead, consumers should expect the 7.9-inch iOS 7 tablet to sport a new look and a faster processor under the hood.

According to NDP DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim, Apple has no plans to rush the release of an iPad Mini version that will double the screen resolution of the current build, which is 1024 x 768.

The more realistic scenario is for the second-gen Mini tablet to "to use a 7.9-inch display with a 1024 x 768 resolution," Mr Shim was reported by CNET as saying in a recent research note provided to investors.

The absence of Retina and the subsequent disappointments, however, will be mitigated with Apple using the recently unveiled iOS 7 mobile operating system, which will be paired with a faster processor, possibly an A6 CPU, the same report said.

It is likely too that Apple engineers have improved the iPad Mini 2 body-build, further slimming down from its current thickness of 7.2mm.

"It will have a slimmer design than the current generation," Mr Shim said on his note.

Those holding out for the Retina-laced iPad Mini will have to wait a little longer, the analyst wrote, offering too his prediction that "another iPad mini is also planned for production but not until early 2014."

It's worth the wait though as the same slate will "feature a QXGA (2048 x 1536) resolution or Retina display and the iOS 7 operating system," said Mr Shim

His assessment echoes the earlier projections made by KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo and Citi Research's Glenn Yeung that for 2013, Apple is serving the so-called iPad Mini, flashing a tag price of no more than $US249.

Mr Shim's note also touched on the 9.7-inch iPad 5, production of which, according to him, will commence soon this quarter.

Deemed as beneficiary of a body redesign that will make it a virtual iPad Mini clone, the iPad 5 will be released simultaneously with the former, which analyst said would be an event right smack for the 2013 holiday quarter.