Apple exec Phil Schiller defends $329 entry price of iPad mini

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller has publicly come to the defense of the $329 entry price of the iPad mini, saying he believes customers are willing to pay for quality that rivals like Amazon and Google don't offer.

At $329, the iPad mini is more expensive than the $199 cost of the 16-gigabyte Amazon Kindle Fire HD, or the $249 16-gigabyte Google Nexus 7. But Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, told Reuters that he believes Apple's new 7.9-inch iPad mini is a superior product that earns its higher price point.

"The iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category," Schiller said. "The most affordable product we've made so far was $399 and people were choosing that over those other devices.

"And now you can get a device that's even more affordable at $329 in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that."

GPS


The Nexus 7 was specifically called out by Schiller during his presentation at Apple's iPad mini media event on Tuesday. There he made the case for Apple's 7.9-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, which offers over a third larger display area than the 7-inch display on Google's tablet with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Schiller also noted that when Android controls are taken into account when browsing a website, the display area is 49 percent larger on the iPad mini in portrait mode than with the Nexus 7, and 67 percent larger in landscape mode.

For their part, analysts on Wall Street generally agree with Schiller's sentiment, as most have indicated they believe the iPad mini will justify its $329 price to consumers. In particular, Apple's build quality, hardware performance, integrated software and strong application ecosystem are seen as key advantages over competitors like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 241


    Why does he have to defend it? It's an Apple product. They know how to price them properly. 

  • Reply 2 of 241


    The problem is not that it's too high compare to Nexus7 or Kindle Fire HD. It's comparing with the iPad 4 for $499 and refurb iPad3 for $379 that's problematic!

  • Reply 3 of 241

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Why does he have to defend it? It's an Apple product. They know how to price them properly. 



     


    Because nothing generates hits more than a scandal. So when there isn't one, the media will trump one up 

  • Reply 4 of 241


    The ONLY reason this products is $329 and not $299 is because the iPod touch is $299.  

  • Reply 5 of 241

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Why does he have to defend it? It's an Apple product. They know how to price them properly. 



    Sure enough, there is the price for the components plus some margin on top and voilà there is the market price of the product. And the price is reasonable if you look under the hood. This iPad mini is built to perfection so yeah why and where did he have to defend what seems just right?

  • Reply 6 of 241


    Originally Posted by cpenzone View Post

    The ONLY reason this products is $329 and not $299 is because the iPod touch is $299.  


     


    That can't be said.

  • Reply 7 of 241
    "Why does he have to defend it? It's an Apple product. They know how to price them properly."

    Because some people don't understand math...

    A 7.9" iPad with a 4:3 aspect ratio has 40% more screen space than a 7" 16:9 Android tablet.

    We are measuring AREA. Diagonal length is deceptive.

    Who is being deceptive to customers?
  • Reply 8 of 241
    Apple certainly doesn't need my advice to succeed as a company, but to me, they underestimate how much difference there is in the mind of the typical consumer between a pricetag that starts with a "2" as opposed to a "3"...But what do I know!
  • Reply 9 of 241

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drobforever View Post


    The problem is not that it's too high compare to Nexus7 or Kindle Fire HD. It's comparing with the iPad 4 for $499 and refurb iPad3 for $379 that's problematic!



     


    You're actually comparing the iPad Mini to THAT junk?


     


    They're not even in the same league, User Experience-wise. And User Experience is everything. 


     


    The Nexus7 and Kindle Fire HD are FINISHED. The moment Apple unveiled the Mini, was the beginning of the end for the tablet competition, who are having a helluva time against Apple as it is. 

  • Reply 10 of 241
    This is just fine. The same cheapskates whining about the iPad mini's price are the same ones who complain about overpriced BMWs and Porsches, as they spit diatribe out the window of their Ford Pintos.

    The world needs ditch diggers, too.
  • Reply 11 of 241
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    I think he is right. The Nexus 7 is a very nice device, but in terms of build quality it's no iPad. The aluminium & glass make for a premium product and it is priced accordingly. $299 would have been nice but these will sell very well indeed at the current price point.

    Next year it'll probably drop once the Android devices continue the race to the bottom and hit $99
  • Reply 12 of 241


    It should have been $299.

     

  • Reply 13 of 241
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member


    OMG he actually just trundled out that "if people pay it, it isn't too high" bullish*t.  


     


    Very sad.  


    One can sell a lot of things at a ridiculously high price, that doesn't mean it's fair or right.  


     


    Also, ... did anyone else but me think the screen size comparisons were a bit dubious?  A lot of browsers do full-screen now.  Technically, Chrome on Android still doesn't, but removing the menu bars etc. as part of the "analysis" is still a bit disingenuous viewed that way.  


     


    It felt kind of dirty to me to present it that way. 

  • Reply 14 of 241
    pt123pt123 Posts: 696member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Why does he have to defend it? It's an Apple product. They know how to price them properly. 





    Yeah he really should come to AI to get some help running company.

  • Reply 15 of 241
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drobforever View Post


    The problem is not that it's too high compare to Nexus7 or Kindle Fire HD. It's comparing with the iPad 4 for $499 and refurb iPad3 for $379 that's problematic!





    that also killed the ipod mini...oh wait.


     


    Apple isn't going for cheapskates. They're going for the 10"-ipad-is-too-expensive-but-i-want-one-anyway demographics.

  • Reply 16 of 241
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Like I said yesterday, $329 is a fine price for the Mini.


     


    If you think that it's too much, then don't buy one, go buy something else. Apple is going to move plenty of iPad Minis at the $329 price point. You should be glad that the bogus 8GB rumor turned out to be false.

  • Reply 17 of 241
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member


    Phil- "Now let me compare this Nexus 7 to a device that is 40% more expensive... isn't it just magical how much better it is than a product almost half it's price?"


     


    What a dumb marketing technique.

  • Reply 18 of 241
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    OMG he actually just trundled out that "if people pay it, it isn't too high" bullish*t.  


     


    Very sad.  


    One can sell a lot of things at a ridiculously high price, that doesn't mean it's fair or right.  


     


    Also, ... did anyone else but me think the screen size comparisons were a bit dubious?  A lot of browsers do full-screen now.  Technically, Chrome on Android still doesn't, but removing the menu bars etc. as part of the "analysis" is still a bit disingenuous viewed that way.  


     


    It felt kind of dirty to me to present it that way. 





    what's fair or right? Last time I checked, the right to buy iPads at a fair price isn't in the constitution. If it's too expensive for you, don't buy it. The iPad mini is still closer to 8" than the 7" tablets out there.

  • Reply 19 of 241
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    Also, ... did anyone else but me think the screen size comparisons were a bit dubious?  



     


    Not at all. The Mini is a 4:3 tablet, those other shoddy Android tablets are 16:9. That makes a huge difference. 

  • Reply 20 of 241
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post



    This is just fine. The same cheapskates whining about the iPad mini's price are the same ones who complain about overpriced BMWs and Porsches, as they spit diatribe out the window of their Ford Pintos.

    The world needs ditch diggers, too.


     


    What an insufferable, stuck-up, series of wild assumptions you are making here.  


     


    Disagreeing about the price point of a single Apple product automatically makes a person some kind of trailer-trash ditch digger?  


    It would be funny if it wasn't such an outrageously insulting and bigoted thing to say. 

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