Apple's Asian suppliers have orders for 10 million of the unannounced iPad Minis for the fourth quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That's about double the number of fourth-quarter orders for its main rival, Amazon's Kindle Fire, sources told the WSJ.
Topeka Capital analyst Brian White says however that complexities of building the smaller tablet may hamper production.
"The new 'iPad Mini' is more challenging to produce than prior iPad iterations," White told All Things D. "We believe supply will initially be constrained."
RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani expects 8 million iPad minis to be sold in the fourth quarter, according to Apple Insider.
Sales of 21.6 million regular-sized iPads have already been forecast, driving Christmas sales of the entire iPad line to around 30 million.
The WSJ said last week that mass production of the 7.85-inch iPads was under way at two Asian suppliers. A formal unveiling of the Mini is expected on October 17.
The smaller iPad will cheaper than its big sister ,challenging the Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7 tablet, which startat $199.
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