Apple unveils revamped iPads to beat

Apple unveils revamped iPads to beat
back rivals
on october 22, 2013 at 8:41 pm in technology
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Apple unveiled upgraded
versions of its iPads Tuesday, with more power and
sleeker designs to ramp up competition against
rivals who now have a majority of the tablet market.
A slimmer version of its top-selling full-size tablet
computer, dubbed the “iPad Air,” was announced
along with a revamped iPad Mini with an improved
high-definition display.
The new iPad Air is 43 percent thinner than the
version it replaces, weighs just one pound (450
grams), and is “screaming fast,” Apple vice
president Phil Schiller said at an unveiling.
The upgraded iPad Mini has a high-definition
“retina” display along with faster computing power
and graphics.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said at the San
Francisco event that consumers still love the iPad
even though it no longer accounts for a majority of
global tablet sales.
“Everybody seems to be making a tablet,” he said.
“Even some of the doubters are making them.”
But he said that notwithstanding sales figures, “iPad
is used more than any of the rest, and not just a
little more, a lot more.”
The iPad “is used over four times more than all of
those other tablets put together, and this is what is
important to us. People use it, and what is even
more important to us, is people love it,” he said.
The two new iPads will be sold alongside the
existing versions, starting November 1 in more than
40 markets around the world.
The iPad Air will start at $499 and the new Mini
version at $399 for US customers. Apple will cut
the prices of the older iPad versions.
The new iPads feature the Apple-designed A7 chip
with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture,” Apple
said.
“iPad created an entirely new mobile computing
experience, and the new iPad Air is another big leap
ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you
hold one in your hand you will understand what a
tremendous advancement this is,” said Schiller.
The new iPads come on the same day Microsoft
began selling an upgraded version of its Surface
tablet, and as Nokia unveiled its own tablet
computer.
Industry tracker Gartner on Monday forecast that
global tablet shipments will reach 184 million units
this year — a 53.4 percent rise from last year.
The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet,
according to surveys, but its market share is being
eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating
system.
Apple is also under pressure to adapt to the
popularity of premium tablets with high-quality
screens in the seven- to eight-inch (18- to 20-
centimeter) range where the Mini competes.
Jan Dawson, analyst at the research firm Ovum,
said Apple’s latest “represents a good enough
boost to the previous version to trigger good
upgrade sales and get iPad shipments growing
again, which was a key objective for this launch.”
But Dawson said Apple is raising the price for the
new Mini, unlike competitors: “It seems as though
Apple is trying to push average selling prices for
iPads back up again after they’ve dropped steadily
over the past year… This is the clearest statement
Apple could have made that it is only interested in
competing in the premium tablet space.”
This means Apple’s share in tablets will continue to
fall as Android’s share rises over the coming years,
Dawson said.
Apple shares fell 2.19 percent to $519.17 after the
announcement.