iPad Air 2 Said to Have Limited Supplies; 27-Inch Retina iMac Due in 2014

Kuo has also claimed that the rumoured 27-inch iMac with Retina Display will be ready to ship before end of this year, while he tips that the new iPad mini with Retina will not be a major upgrade from last year's version.

He goes on to suggest that the iPad Air had a larger "contribution to Apple's sales and earnings" last year, the reason the company has limited development resources for new iPad mini. Notably, Kuo, in-line with a recent report, suggest that the Apple is working on a new 12.9-inch iPad.

(Also see: New iPad Tablets Expected to Boost Apple's Share in Premium Segment)

MacRumors quotesKuo, "Of the new products, we think the market will be more interested in iPad Air 2. However, as the poor yield rate of anti-reflective coating cover lens has delayed mass production, we estimate 2014 shipments of iPad Air 2 of 7- 9mn units, lower than the 12mn units of the then-new iPad Air shipments in 2013. We thus expect iPad Air 2 to contribute less to the supply chain than iPad Air did last year. We also don't expect the event to boost supply chain shares much."

Last week, a report citing people familiar with the matter claimed that Apple suppliers delayed the production of a larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro to early next year as they were struggling to produce enough new iPhones to keep up with demand.

About the 27-inch Retina Display iMac, Kuo claims that the company will begin shipments by the end of 2014, while the rumoured 21-inch iMac with Retina Display can be expected to arrive by the second half of 2015.

Kuo notes, "The delay between the two models is because of how difficult it is to develop two different sized high resolution panels at the same time."

Further, Kuo corroborates a recent report to rubbish the rumours from last month that signalled Apple might introduce its rumoured 12-inch Macbook Air with Retina display at the October 16 event. He details that Apple has been waiting for Intel's Broadwell chips for making noteworthy upgrades in its laptop range. Previous rumours hinted the anticipated 12-inch Retina Macbook Air laptop would flaunt a thinner design than its current version.

The October 16 event might revolve around the launch of new iPad models along with a new iMac with a 5K Retina display, a new Mac Mini, and the release of OS X Yosemite.