14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is once again said to be looking into launching more affordable products, as well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says that the company is working on new tablets that would be based on the same approach as the iPhone SE.
In other words, Apple wants to launch an affordable 10.8-inch iPad that could go live as soon as the second half of this year, possibly in October or November. Furthermore, another 8.5-inch to 9-inch iPad is coming in the first half of 2021, the analyst says in a note to investors seen by CNBC.
Apple launching cheap products isn’t something that happens too often, but the analyst says that Apple wants to use the same strategy that it used for the iPhone SE on these new products as well.
Cheaper iPads
In other words, these will be revised iPads coming with upgraded hardware, including the company’s latest-generation chips. This means the new models wouldn’t be substantially different in terms of design from the previous models, only that they’ll run on new-gen hardware for better performance.
“We predict that Apple will launch the new 10.8 inch iPad and 8.5–9 inch iPad mini models in 2H20 and 1H21, respectively,” Kuo explained.
“The two new iPad models will follow iPhone SE’s product strategy, and selling points will be the affordable price tag and the adoption of fast chips,” he continued.
At this point, Apple’s most affordable iPad is the 10-inch model that is available for $329, but it’s not known if the company is aiming for a price that’s even lower than that. If it does, then the company could eat up substantial market share from a category that’s currently dominated by cheap Android tablets, many of them coming from brands based in China.
Of course, these are just rumors for the time being, and a certain amount of skepticism is clearly recommended.