Maturity
is an asset in so many things. But it’s a bit of a dirty word to tech
companies when describing consumer appetite for their products.
Yet it is a maturing market that Apple may be coping with as it tries to reignite sales of its iPad tablet computing devices. On Thursday, Apple’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, unveiled the next generation of Apple iPads, the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3.
The
new devices have fingerprint sensors that could make shopping online as
easy as swiping a button. And in the case of the more expensive iPad
Air 2, it is also faster, has a better camera, and is thinner than last
year’s version. So thin, in fact, that Mr. Cook said it was skinnier
than a pencil. To make his point, Apple produced a video where a laser
beam shaved off bits of a pencil to make it as slender as the new
tablet.
“It’s unbelievably gorgeous and look how thin it is. Can you even see
it?” Mr. Cook said, holding the new iPad in front of an audience of
journalists and Apple employees at the company’s Silicon Valley
headquarters.
But
it is not clear that making the iPad Air 2 the Twiggy of tablet devices
will be enough to reinvigorate Apple’s iPad sales, which have slumped
recently.
Analysts
speculate that the new iPads, which will be available on Oct. 24, will
contribute to modest sales growth. What the new iPads will not do is
bring back the incredible, triple-percent growth in sales that the iPad achieved in its first few years, starting in 2010.
“That
was just crazy growth,” said Ben Bajarin, a consumer technology analyst
for Creative Strategies. “The iPad has normalized because it’s mature.
It’s not going to go back to 180 percent growth, but it is still
growing.”
Now
about that svelte look: Apple said the iPad Air 2 was 18 percent
thinner and 40 percent faster than the last one, a surprising change —
and a bit of an engineering feat — because Apple made the previous
version thinner and faster just last year.
The
iPad Air 2 also has a display designed to reduce reflections. The
tablet has 10 hours of battery life, same as the previous version. It
has a starting price of $500. The iPad Mini 3 starts at $400 — but it is
not thinner than the last version. Apple has added a gold color option
to both models.
The
fingerprint sensor in both tablets is called Touch ID. The technology
is used to log into the iPad in place of a typed passcode. It can also
be used to make in-app purchases with Apple’s new mobile payments
system, Apple Pay, which will be available Monday.
The iOS 8.1 system, the next update for the software system that runs Apple’s mobile devices, will also be available Monday.
Apple
has made big changes to its iPads more quickly than it has with other
Apple products, like the iPhone, which has typically been redesigned
every two years.
Why
the difference? For one, an iPad gives Apple’s engineers more physical
space to tinker around. And from a business standpoint, Apple has to do
more with the iPad to maintain healthy sales.
In
the second quarter, Apple’s iPad sales declined 9.3 percent compared
with the same period a year ago, according to the industry analysis firm
IDC.
And the worldwide market for tablet sales is starting to cool. While
shipments of tablets exploded from 18 million in 2010 to 207 million
last year, they are expected to increase just 11 percent this year,
according to another research firm, Gartner. Last year, shipments had
increased 55 percent.
But
the iPad is still Apple’s second-biggest moneymaker, accounting for
about 10 percent of its profit. That is a long way from the iPhone,
which accounts for about 70 percent of its profit, but still important.
So what should Apple do?
J.P.
Gownder, a technology analyst for Forrester, said an iPad with a much
larger screen, which is rumored to be in development, would have the
best chance to goose iPad sales to growth, though the new iPads would at
least convince people with older iPads to buy new ones.
However,
Mr. Gownder said the fingerprint sensors and reflection reduction on
the iPad Air 2 would be valuable to businesses. Field workers and
technicians could make good use of the anti-reflection feature and big
corporations could use fingerprint sensors for security, he said.
Apple
also made price cuts to some of its older iPads. The cheapest iPad is
now the original iPad Mini, which costs $250, a reduction of $100. That
move will be important for persuading people who were on the fence about
buying an iPad, said Creative Strategies’ Mr. Bajarin.
Shares of Apple fell 1.3 percent Thursday to close at $96.26.
Also
at the event on the company’s campus, Apple released its new Macintosh
operating system, OS X Yosemite. The software system, which is a free
download, has a new design with new icons and more vibrant colors. A
useful feature is called Continuity, which makes it easier to juggle
content across different Apple devices. For example, a user can be
making a presentation on a Mac, and then swipe up from the corner of an
iPad to resume working on the same presentation.
In
addition, the company said WatchKit, a tool kit for software makers to
use in developing apps for its coming smartwatch, would be released next
month. The Apple Watch, which Apple demonstrated last month, is still
on track for a release early next year, according to Mr. Cook.
In
other product lines, Apple released a new iMac, a desktop computer with
a high-resolution, 27-inch screen. Apple said the display has seven
times more pixels than a high-definition television. It costs $2,500.
And
the company released a new upgrade for its Mac Mini, the smaller
desktop computer, with a faster processor. It costs $500 and it is
faster than the previous version. But it is not thinner.
source:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/technology/new-apple-ipads-mac-computers.html?_r=0
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