The smell of pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween candy in the air mean only one thing in the world of retail; winter is coming, and with it, the holiday shopping season. The rush of people bustling about to acquire goods for the celebrated, consumerist holiday season send joy into retailer’s hearts (and wallets). The holiday shopping season is a pretty big deal for companies, to say the least, and Apple is no exception. They may be facing a hitch this holiday season, however; it looks like the improved version of the iPad Mini, possibly with retina display, may not happen until after the new year.

According to Apple’s supply chain, the gear up for improvements to the iPad mini’s display had not begun until this month. This implies that improvements will not be finished, much less widely available for production and consumption, until after the holiday shopping season has ended and reluctant gift recipients are slinking back to stores with receipts and too-large sweaters in hopes of some store credit.

It is also unclear if retina display will even be a for sure deal when the new iPad mini is finally released; since work on it has only just begun, it is very likely that it could take a lot of time and tinkering before Apple is ready to release it to the public. There is special emphasis on the problems the iPad mini might face in terms of gaining bulkiness because of the power needed for it to perform with a retina display.

Apple’s apparent lack of a new gizmo this holiday season, combined with competitors with cheaper, higher display quality gadgets, may just mean a disadvantage for the company’s revenue once Christmas time hits. But, perhaps the wait might be worth it. After all, patience is a virtue, and will most certainly deliever. Perhaps this is best said by the folks over at ibtimes.com; “Apple holds itself to incredibly high standards, but so do consumers. It’ll be a major disappointment if Apple can’t release an iPad mini 2 with Retina display by the end of 2013, but if the tablet isn’t ready, Apple won’t release an unfinished product just to sate consumer demand.”

[Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]