iPad 3 to Change Tablet Pricing, Analysts Say

If Apple releases not one, but two separate versions of the iPad 3 this year, as previously rumored, the company’s pricing strategy may change, according to a Digitimes analysis.

After talking to people in Apple’s supply chain, the Taiwanese publication learned that “there will be two versions of the new iPad, one targeting the high-end segment and the other the mid-range.”

Analysis at Digitimes Research now believe the two new tablet models will both feature the A6 processor, which has been rumored to a six-core SoC (system-on-a-chip).

The high-end version will have a high resolution panel (2048x1536), while the mid-tier model will boast the same pixel count as found on the iPad 1 and 2 - 1024x768, according to the report.

With their introduction, Apple is believed to plan a price cut for the iPad 2 and continue to produce the tablets. For Wi-Fi only models, customers will either pay $299, $349 or $399 at the most, according to the analysis.

Apple is said to have switched to IGZO displays for the next generation of tablets, and that these screens require more powerful backlighting, something that is currently being arranged for.

Apple needs this aggressive pricing on its iPads mostly because of the Amazon Kindle Fire, an attractive $200 tablet PC that runs the Android operating system and boasts a 7-inch display.

Apple’s next tablets are said to double the battery-power of the current generation of iPads (which go up to 10 hours), but that may not translate into doubled battery life with a 6-core processor, more backlighting and other potential enhancements.

An event scheduled by Apple for later this month is believed to hold no iPad 3 announcement. In fact, there won’t be any hardware announcement, according to reports. The event is said to be publishing/advertising-related.