iPad mini 2 back on track for October launch?

Contrary to some earlier reports, new information allegedly coming from the supply chain in Taiwan suggests that the Retina display iPad mini 2 is back on track, with claims that Apple will release it in October, rather than 2014 as some previously said.

According to Taiwanese tech news daily Digitimes, LG Display is manufacturing the Retina display panels for the new tablet and is on course to deliver two to three million of them a month in preparation for an October release date.

The site also claims its industry sources say the iPad 5 is also coming along nicely, with LG expecting to ship two-and-a-half to three million 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 Retina display panels a month in the third quarter of 2013. Just over half of those, it says, will be used for the iPad 5, while the rest will be used for previous models.

Digitimes sources also said that the new iPad 5 would be lighter and thinner, and have reiterated the commonly held belief that it will use just one light tube in its backlight instead of two.

It looks like this is one story that could bounce back and forth for a while.