The 7.9-inch tablet will cost £269 in the UK, making it more expensive than rival slates such as Google's Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, but the marketing executive insists the product is "affordable".
© PA Images / Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
© PA Images / Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
He told Reuters: "The iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those devices.
"And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that."
Apple's market strategy traditionally involves profiting on hardware sales, while doing little more than breaking even on iTunes. Amazon takes the opposite approach, barely breaking even on its Kindle hardware.
The iPad Mini, which was unveiled alongside the fourth generation iPad earlier this week, will be available for pre-order on Friday (October 26).
> A history of tablet computers in pictures
Watch a video introducing the iPad Mini below:
