On tuesday October 22, Apple released its new iPad Air and iPad Mini with a Retina Display. The successor to the iPad Mini, the iPad Air is a 9.7 inch device that is featuring a 20% decrease in thickness and a 29% decrease in weight. They are using the same name as their MacBook on purpose, since the name is already associated with a good feeling of success from the laptop. Apple was falling behind in the market for tablets; companies such as Samsung and Microsoft have jumped in and released their own products, cutting Apple's market share from 60% to about 33% in just a year. Samsung, Apple's direct competitor, has had their market share leap from 7.6% to 18% after releasing a frenzy of different tablets. Tim Cook, however, argued that the market share doesn't matter. The CEO of Apple is more concerned about the device usage, stating that people use the iPads 4 times more than other tablets.
Their prices however, are not so competitive. The iPad Air has been priced at $499 and the iPad Mini with retina display has been priced at $399, while the original iPad Mini has only dropped to $299. Apple has always wanted its tablets to represent the high end, premium side of products, but with Android tablets selling for $250 or less, these new iPads may not make the impact they need to get back some of the market. This shows that although they may win in the premium tablet sector, they will ultimately lose to other competitors who sell cheaper tablets and continue to lose their footing on the slippery slope they have found themselves upon.
However, there may actually be a large group of people who are quite willing to pay the extra $100-$200 for an Apple tablet simply because of brand and the premium nature of the product. For example, Apple's iPhone 5s outsold their 5c model when it was released because of the premium feeling associated with the product. In this case, Apple's brand itself may be the selling point of the new iPad Mini and iPad Air. The price gap between the new Mini and the Air is only $100, giving the feeling that if you're going to buy the Mini you may as well get the more high-end Air device since it's only a $100 difference. This may have a certain amount of truth to it, but it doesn't change the fact that the market is changing. Apple taking the route to remain a premium brand may not be the rest route to take considering the situation of the economy at the moment. People will continue to want to save money, and with rivals everywhere producing products that appeal to the larger of the markets, we will have to see if Apple is able to maintain its position as a top predator in a sea full of other sharks.
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