The younger and smaller iPad Mini sustained its Q4 2012 release date performance, racking up 12.5 million shipment units in the last quarter and outpacing the bigger and more powerful iPad 4.

The fourth-gen iOS tablet only managed to push seven million units in the March 2013 quarter, with the Mini creating a widening gap that amounts to a 64 per cent dominance of the total Apple slate shipment in the months from January though the end of March.

The trend, according to DigiTimes, reflects the shifting focus of consumers from the full-sized tablet class to the 7-inch plus kind. Along that line and amidst news of production glitches, it is likely that the iPad Mini will see a release date by August this year.

There are indications too that Apple will opt for a two-punch serving of its Mini tablet. A cheaper version, likely priced between $US200 and $US300 will be issued on August with pared down features such as 8GB of internal memory and minus the rear cam and no Retina.

The Retina display will have to wait for September to be carried by the premium version of the iPad Mini 2, which will come with faster processor, higher RAM provisions and the usual storage configurations found on the regular-sized iPad.

It will debut alongside with the iPad 5, which expert said is now patterned after the more appealing iPad Mini to save it from possible extinction.

The more affordable iPad Mini 2 will compete against the litter of Android rivals (and possibly Windows competitors later in the year) such as the upcoming Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 from Samsung and the second coming the relatively successful Nexus 7.

The latter, DigiTimes said, has attracted some four million buys in the past two quarters, which are figures not anywhere near the iPad territory but significant enough for Apple to take notice.

The premium iPad Mini 2, on the other hand, is set for an epic combat with Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.0, which is actually the overgrown version of the Galaxy Note 2 with less of the processing might and screen prowess.

However, the true competition of the iPad Mini 2, according to experts, is the original iPad now on its fifth iteration. There are observations that eventually, the 7.9-inch Apple slate will push its 9.7-inch brother out of business.

That would not be impossible, especially if future iPad Mini editions will be flexing the same iPad muscles, analysts said.