Why Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPad Mini can be a big flop
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad Mini has become the talk of the town. We have already heard what analysts have to say regarding iPad Mini. According to analysts, Apple can sell upto 6 million iPad Minis this holiday season. But recently a consumer survey was carried out by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk and we have some interesting results on our hand.
This survey was carried out from a total of 1012 UK tech fans and 42 percent people suggested that iPad Mini would be a mistake by the fruit company, and this tablet can be company’s biggest flop yet.
Surprisingly, only 6 percent of total participants think that iPad Mini is a good move by Apple, while 9 percent said that a 7-inch tablet was much needed. 21 percent said that this new device is “not at all necessary”.
54 percent participants are looking to grab the shiny new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean powered Google Nexus 7 tablet which comes at an affordable price tag of $199. This tablet from Google comes with impressive tech specs and therefore has been added to wishlist of many people.
George Charles, Marketing Director at VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said:
“It comes as no surprise to me that Apple might already be thinking about a smaller iPad and a cheaper offering for consumers, but this poll suggests it might not be well received at all.”
Now turning our heads towards what John Gruber from Daring Fireball has to say about this new device from Apple.
He says that he’s heard from “little birdies” in the Cupertino area that Apple is working on a smaller iPad with a screen size of 7.85 inches diagonally and resolution of 1024 × 768 pixels.
On Monday, Gruber has written one long blog posts where he have shared his views and arguments on why Apple shouldn’t build iPad Mini.
Some of the points that he has discussed are:
- We should call this device as 8-incher and not 7-incher as it comes with a size of 7.85-inches which is closer to 8-inch size. He further adds that most of the 7-inch tablets have failed to impress and we don’t need any 8-inch tablets at this moment.
- The new iPad’s resolution is less than current generation of iPhone and iPad. Apple will definitely try to lower the costs and the company will most probably won’t use Retina display in this new iPad. Besides, the company usually adds Retina display to devices after 2 or 3 years only.
- iPad can be priced around $199 and still make a decent margin of 25%. Or the company can sell it for $249 and earn a lot more profit margin. Google’s Nexus 7 is already priced at $199 and therefore Apple will need to price this new tablet competitively. This won’t leave a chance for competition to sell their products.
- Gruber refers to something called Fitts’s Law to prove that tap-target size on this 7.85-inch device is within Apple’s 44-point pixel guidelines.
Gruber’s thoughts are indeed interesting. He has clearly explained his stance on this new and smaller iPad.
Of course all these discussions are done by looking at rumors in town and expected screen size and other tech specs of iPad Mini.
Since when did Apple ever do a survey of it’s customers to decide what to make?
Hint- never.
If Apple chooses to enter the ‘smaller-tablet’ field, you can be darn sure it was a well thought out strategy. I suggest you short Amazon, and anyone else trying to make money in this field, should Apple enter it.
1) this is all based on a survey of 1012 UK tech fans. Oi!.
2) Tech fans always have an affinity for Android.
3) Tech fans are bringing up technical specs as their point of comparison.
4) You left out a very interesting point that Gruber made -�
“Keep in mind too that Amazon still only sells the Kindle Fire in the U.S., and Google is only selling the Nexus 7 in three countries — and outside the U.S. it won’t have music, magazines, or TV shows. Even if this iPad Mini doesn’t ship until October, Apple will likely beat Amazon and Google to market in much of the world.”
Apple has been leaving money on the table up until this point because users have been looking for a tablet with a lower price point. The only way other manufactures have been able to compete is to make a smaller device at a lower price point. Well, Apple is now coming back to claim the money that it left on the table for the other manufacturers
I agree with your comment; very well stated.
It doesn’t have to sell millions to be a success. It’s a repeat of the iPod strategy where they had a model covering all the price points and left no room for the competition to compete. The Kindle Fire got a lot of attention because it sells for $199 and is much cheaper than the iPad. If there was a version of the iPad at the same price point then customers would have a much harder decision to make and are more likely to choose the iPad. Also, it’s said that Amazon sells the Fire at/or below cost and they can’t keep that up forever. So basically it doesn’t really matter if they sell a ton of iPad minis or not if it squeezes out the competition and keeps potential customers from going to other tablets in the market.
Come on, do you think 1012 UK tech fans represent the potential target audience? Obviously not.
Why do you state that Gruber thinks Apple shouldn’t build a smaller iPad? Did you actually read the article? Even the points you quote do not give any arguments at all.
It’s not that important. The iPad mini is not a new product, it’s an additional screen size for an existing product. It it’s not successful (they can drop it and competitors will probably not have succeeded either). If it’s too successful and cannibalizes the bigger iPad too much, they will just raise the price for the next version.