iPad mini coming later this year, Samsung exec says Apple plans to launch a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet later this year according to an unnamed official at Samsung. While speaking with The Korea Times, the anonymous Samsung official said that Apple will likely spend a record $11 billion on Samsung-sourced parts for its various devices in 2012. "The amount of the current contract is around $9.7 billion," The Korea Times was told. The site's source continued, "The contract is expected to rise to $11 billion by the end of this year as Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.85-inch screen, and to sell more of its MacBook Air PCs using Samsung's faster solid state drive (SSD) storage." Apple's 7.85-inch iPad has been rumored on a number of occasions, and Samsung Securities mentioned the unconfirmed tablet recently in a confidential report. Samsung currently supplies a variety of parts for Apple's PCs and mobile devices, and the company is reportedly the sole supplier of Retina Displays for Apple's new iPad, which goes on sale Friday, March 16th. More news from BGR: - Dear Microsoft: You're doing it right - Apple sued over misleading Siri ads - Apple nearly as big as entire retail sector