Apple's iPad mini with Retina display on sale from £319

7.9-inch device features an updated processor and sharper screen

Three weeks after it was officially announced Apple has finally put the updated iPad mini with Retina display in the online Apple store.

Prices begin at £319 for the Wi-Fi only of the 7.9-inch device and at £419 for the version with Wi-Fi and cellular access.

Four different memory options are available for each model at 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB priced at £319, £399, £479 and £559 for the Wi-Fi only iPad mini. The cellular enabled version is £100 more expensive at each configuration.

The 16GB and 32GB models are both listed as shipping within one to three business days, but the minis with larger internal storage will take five to ten days to ship.

The mini’s bigger brother, the 9.7-inch iPad Air, went on sale at the beginning of the month, but there were rumours that the updated mini would not go on sale until next year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said at an earnings calls on 28 October that “it’s not clear if [Apple] will have enough” stock of the iPad mini 2, and despite the new mini appearing in Apple's stores it’s still unclear how long supplies will last.

Like this year’s iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, the updated iPad mini uses Apple’s new 64-bit A7 processor and an M7 co-processor to monitor data from the device’s movement sensors.

The new Retina display will also bring the mini’s screen resolution in line with those of rival 7-inch devices like such as Google's Nexus 7. The 2013 version of the 7-inch Android tablet has a pixel density of 323 ppi, compared to the iPad mini with Retina display's 326 ppi. At this level of sharpness individual pixels cannot be discerned by the human eye.