Apple Inc. is not only increasing iPhone 6 screen size but also doing the same to its iPad. It is believed that the new iPad will be Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) biggest iPad and will go into production in next year’s first quarter.
According to a few reliable sources the new Apple iPad screen will be 12.9 inches whereas the current screens are measured at 9.7 inches or 7.9 inches.Apple started to work with its suppliers to tap the market for devices and gadgets with bigger sized screens about a year ago.
This will be yet another exciting time for Apple because its iPad sales have gone down for the last two quarters in a row. It seems that Apple’s battle with Google for the top spot will never end; when iPad sales went down Google operating system for tabs emerged as the best seller of 2013 reducing iOS powered iPads’ market share to 36% only, which was a decrease from its previous figure of 53%. Google captured 62% of the market share.
It is believed that iPad mini will also see some changes to its size and dimensions. iPad falls only behind iPhone in being Apple’s biggest product.
It won’t be wrong to assume that these drastic changes are mainly due to Apple’s results for the third quarter, which weren’t exactly satisfactory. The quarter saw 13.3 million iPad sales which were less than the figures attained in the same quarter last year; these sales figures also fell short of analysts’ estimates of 14.4 million. iPad sales were not the only disappointment; iPhones also failed to capture its market and sales missed the predicted figure of 36 million and attained a value of 35.2 million; even though this figure was a jump up, but still missed the mark. Overall profits for the company went down to $6.9 bn.
Apple’s new iPad’s main targets will be businesses, government and schools as the main users and buyers of its bigger iPads. According to an IDC analyst, Jitesh Ubrani the bigger iPads are expected to offer better performance.
The market so far has shown mixed reactions about Apple diverting from its traditional screen size for both iPhone and iPads. A few segments of the market believe that changing screen size won’t be enough for the company because many smaller sized gadgets are doing quite well; these include the Kindle Fire (measuring 7 inches) and Google tablets.
The stock market seems to be responding well to Apple’s many upcoming launches. The company’s stock went over $100 value indicating investors’ faith in Apple’s ability to bounce back. Apple CEO Tim Cook also announced that the company will have quite a busy time towards the end of this year.
In today’s market Apple’s stock started the trading session by opening at a value of $101.02 and is currently trading at 101.84. The total market cap of the stock is 609.56 B; whereas its range over 52 weeks has been between 63.89 and 102.17. Stock’s inst. Ownership is 62%.
Even though no one is saying it out loud but these are crucial times for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL); this phase could be called a revamping phase for the company. Therefore all eyes will be on this year’s September event and the months that follow the new launches.
