iPad 2 marked as discontinued at Target?

iPad 2 have been marked as discontinued at Target according to a source who sent TiPb the above screens. Though these only show the 16GB iPad 2 3G on both Verizon and AT&T as being discontinued, our source maintains none of the current SKUs are long for Target's shelves.

That implies that we will not be ordering more, which implies a new iPad is forthcoming rather soon (October-ish, say). Either that or Target's exiting the iPad business, which seems unlikely. A lot of the cases have gone clearance too.

TiPb previously heard that while Apple was considering moving it up to a fall release, iPad 3 had been pushed back again to spring, perhaps because the 2048x1536 Retina Displays couldn't yet be made cheaply enough at sufficient yield rates.

If that's accurate, and the discontinued status isn't a glitch in the system, what this portends for current iPad 2 SKUs, or Target's iPad business is uncertain.

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.