The Retina Display is almost certain to come to the next-generation iPad mini and bringing the Apple proprietary display to iPad mini 2 could raise the total parts costs by up to 30 percent.

It's heavily rumored that Apple is working on to bring its stunning retina display to the second-generation iPad mini and according to some market watchers, inclusion of this display on the 7.5-inch tablet would raise the product's overall bill of materials by more than $12.

"Apple may introduce the new iPad mini with resolution of 2,048 by 1536, and that would increase the device's production cost by more than US$12/unit. If the prices and specifications of all other components stay the same, the new iPad mini with a Retina display will carry component costs above US$200/unit," DigiTimes reported.

Upon Reina Display implementation on to iPad mini, it's not just the panel cost that is set to go up, but Apple will have to spend more on many other component parts including an upgraded LED backlight. As the Taiwanese publication notes, "If iPad mini adopts the Retina display, the dots per inch (DPI) will be higher and the brightness of the backlight modules will have to improve. This also means the number of LEDs used will increase, and therefore market observers believe the total cost for iPad mini will increase by more than 30 percent if it is equipped with the 7.9-inch Retina panel." The calculations are made upon the estimations by research firm IHS iSuppli which said the total material cost of entry-level iPad mini will be around $188/unit including the 7.9-inch panel that costs around $32/unit.

The iPad mini 2 is expected to upgrade its present 1024 x 768 resolution to the fourth generation iPad's 2048x1,536. However, it's not clear at this point whether Apple will increase the price of the upcoming iPad mini if the company goes for a Retina display model. It should be noted that the price of the 9.7-inch iPad remained the same when Apple equipped the device with an identical specs update.