To the surprise of no one that has consumed any form of media over the past week, Apple today unveiled a smaller iPad device, along with updates to a handful of the company’s core computing devices. The announcements follow the release of Apple’s iPhone 5 last month, and corresponding updates to its iPod lineup.
The most compelling offering this time around seemed to be the iPad Mini, which sports a 7.9-inch screen, shading towards the scale of similar 7-inch tablet devices running Google’s Android operating system, and well below the 9.7-inch size of the still available iPad. Thanks to the smaller screen size, the new model is a one-handed device compared with the full-size iPad, but still packs a strong feature set.
The move to the iPad Mini comes despite former Apple CEO Steve Jobs ridiculing the push by other device makers into the 7-inch tablet space. Current Apple CEO Tim Cook took a more direct approach to the 7-inch rivals, highlighting the extra real estate and usability the iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch screen provides.
The iPad Mini is powered by a dual-core A5 processor, includes a high-definition front-facing camera, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of recording 1080p video and runs Apple’s latest iOS 6 operating system. Wireless connectivity will include one model sporting various spectrum bands of Wi-Fi, while the other adds 3G/LTE support. The device also comes in colors similar to the recently launched iPhone 5, with pricing beginning at $329 for the 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi model, ranging up to $529 for the 64 GB Wi-Fi model, while the cellular connectivity option adds $130 to those prices.
Analysts noted that the new, smaller iPad could force a shakeout in the current tablet market, which is dominated by Apple. However, a number of players like Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Google have carved out a niche for themselves with 7-inch models priced at around $200.
“Amazon and Google could be the last ones standing against Apple in the tablet market in the coming years based on their ability to offset a loss on the hardware through content sales and advertising revenue, respectively,” explained Julien Blin, directing analyst of consumer electronics and mobile broadband at Infonetics Research.
Others noted that Apple would have had to have priced the iPad Mini at a sub-$300 price point in order to put real pressure on the other entrants, and that in pricing the device over that level could result in cannibalization of sales of the larger iPad.
“If the iPad mini is released at a price point which is competitive with Amazon and Google, Apple could potentially dominate the low end tablet market,” explained Frost & Sullivan research analyst Peter Finalle prior to the device launch. “An Apple iPad Mini priced at $300 or under, for example, would likely disrupt the competitive landscape for lower-end Android tablets and drastically increase Apple’s overall market share. On the other hand, a higher priced device would compete directly with the existing iPad and could cannibalize iPad’s sales.”
Research firm IHS ISuppli predicts a smaller iPad will double the current market for tablets in the 7-inch range to 34 million units sold in 2012, and a near-doubling in 2013 to 67 million units sold.
“The battle in the 7-inch space is highly spirited, with most of the other leading vendors already offering price-competitive products in this size range,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet and monitor research for IHS. “IHS predicts Apple will successfully position the smaller iPad as a device that will be attractive and easy to adopt for both new and returning customers. This will spur rapid sales growth and provide tough competition for other companies contending in this size range.”
New new iPad
Moving up the size scale, Apple updated its original iPad model with new hardware just months after rolling out the latest iteration. The new new iPad now sports a dual-core A6X processor with quad-core graphics that Apple claims provides twice the speed of the previous A5X processor. The latest iPad also switches to Apple’s Lightning connector that is also included in the iPad Mini and iPhone 5.
Apple is not charging any more for the upgraded iPad, which could ruffle the feathers of those that just picked up the now outdated model just a few months ago.
The iPad Mini and latest iPad models with Wi-Fi connectivity will be available for pre-sale beginning Oct. 26 and for sale beginning Nov. 2 in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The iPad models sporting cellular connectivity are set to land on the market “a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi models,” according to Apple.
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