The growing seven-inch tablet segment, competition from rivals and the desperation to safeguard its top slot in the consumer electronics division have driven Apple to launch the iPad Mini.
Analysts have cited Apple’s growing ‘insecurity’ and falling market share as key reasons for its foray into the seven-inch tablet space.
Over the last few quarters, Apple has been losing market share to rivals both in the iPhone and tablet space.
A report from IDC shows that Google’s Android had about 68 per cent share in the global smartphone market last quarter, as against Apple’s 17 per cent market share.
Key segment
“It seems like Apple is trying to get into the volume game now. This is, however, straying from Steve Jobs’ strategy – where the focus was never on market share. The focus was to innovate and get into high-profitability segments,” said Abhishek Chauhan, Senior Consultant, ICT Practice, Frost and Sullivan (F&S).
Priced at $329, Apple has tried to pack almost all the functions of the original iPad into the 7.9-inch mini version. Analysts think Apple may cannibalise its own products with the launch of the mini-iPad
Samsung with its Galaxy Tab, Google with its Nexus and Amazon’s Kindle Fire are already present in the seven-inch tablet segment.
The seven-inch tablet space is going to become an important segment in the next five years, according to analysts. “It’s a good move by Apple to get into this category as it is a high-growth space,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst, Gartner.
Gartner has classified tablets into three categories – utility, basic and premium. The utility category has limited features and is priced below $200. The basic segment is very good for consumption of media and can cannibalise PC sales. The premium category is the 10-inch category, which is good for creating content and can cannibalise PC and Ultrabook sales. The mini-iPad falls in the basic category (7-inch tablets), which is a high-growth category.
“Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab are already doing very-well in this seven-inch segment. In India and other emerging countries, the price-point of the mini-iPad could translate into some sales. However, India has never been a priority market for Apple,” said F&S’ Chauhan.
Pricier than rivals
The iPad Mini has been priced very strategically – a little above iPod Touch and a little lesser than the iPad.
Though it may seem ‘well priced’ according to Apple standards, if compared with rival models in the seven-inch space, the ‘Mini’ is priced quite steeply. Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 are available for $199 and the Google nexus 7 is available for $263.