Apple’s new iPad Mini retina is in very short supply

Fewer than a third of Apple’s new iPad Mini retina models are currently available for in-store pickup, according to a survey of 172 Apple stores around the U.S.

Which means that not only is the Mini retina in hot demand, it’s also in very, very short supply.

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“With four capacity models (i.e., 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB) available in both Silver and Space Gray, only 27 percent of these eight different Wi-Fi models were available for Personal Pickup, according to our survey,” Cantor Fitzgerald’s Brian White said in a research note this morning. “In our view, this clearly points to a very constrained supply situation.”

The Mini “stealth launch” began seven days ago in almost-unprecedented secrecy with pre-orders on Apple’s website. And backorder shipping times quickly reached 5-10 days, with November 20-22 arrival dates most likely.

According to White’s 172-store survey, the least-available retina Mini is the 128GB version in space gray — only 7 percent of U.S. stores had orderable stock. The most available model is the silver 32GB model. The same constraints may not apply in other countries — a quick check of the Canadian Apple store indicates that the cheapest iPad Mini is still available to ship in the minimum 1-3 days.

According to White, Apple “must” make more iPad Mini retinas available for Black Friday shopping, in just a few days, so it’s possible Apple is withholding some models in order have more stock for the coming shopping weekend.