The Best Evidence Yet That Apple Isn't Going To Improve The Weak Screen On The iPad Mini

Apple may not upgrade the screen on the iPad Mini this year, says Mark Gurman at 9 to 5 Mac.

A developer sent Gurman code inside iOS 7 that lists all the devices supported by the new iPhone/iPad software.

In the code, there are references to an iPad Mini that is faster, but not one with a better screen.

It's a little wonky, but for devices with a "Retina" display, Gurman says there are "hooks to images at a '@2x' mode." In the code, the new devices Gurman's source spotted lack the @2X hook, so he believes the new model lacks a Retina display. (Retina is Apple's marketing term for super sharp display.)

There are clues in the code that the new iPad Mini is running on an A6 chip, which is a more powerful chip than the current iPad Mini.

There are reportedly technical challenges for Apple to produce an iPad Mini with a Retina display.

This is kind of shocking since Google just put out the Nexus 7, a small tablet with a super sharp screen that costs $100 less than the iPad Mini.

Apple going another year without a high resolution screen is a bit baffling. It's just giving the competition opportunity to take more share of the tablet market.

The iPad was once seen as Apple's next great business, the heir to the iPhone. It's definitely a fantastic business for Apple, but it's nowhere near as lucrative as the iPhone, and its growth has gone negative.

Another non-Retina iPad Mini won't help Apple fight this trend.