iPad Mini Shipments Already Cut in Half

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has yet to announce the existence of the iPad Mini, but analysts are already making their predictions for how many will appear on store shelves.Topeka's Brian White told Fortune that manufacturing the iPad Mini will be "no walk in the park for suppliers.""Similar to the iPhone 5, we sensed that suppliers have found the specs around Apple's 7.85-inch 'iPad Mini' to be a challenge and yields have been frustrating," said White. "In our view, this is the reason the 'iPad Mini' is 4-6 weeks behind our original launch expectation that we discussed in June. Despite continued yield challenges, the supply chain feels the much anticipated iPad Mini is on track to reach acceptable volume levels for a launch over the next month. That said, we believe that supply constraints will initially hold back the full sales potential during the first month or so of the launch."White expects Apple to ship five to seven million units at launch. Previous reports suggested that Apple would ship as many as 10 million units.These analyst predictions and supply chain sources are eerily similar to the reports that surrounded the release of the iPhone 5, which tended to focus on the number of units Apple could ship and sell.Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ