Apple's rumored 12.9-inch 'iPad Pro' pushed back to Q2 2015, current models to see steep sales decli

Posted:
in iPad edited November 2014
While many anticipate Apple to release a larger 12.9-inch iPad early next year, the company may be forced to push back launch until the second quarter, one analyst says.




According to a research note obtained by AppleInsider, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the 12.9-inch tablet, which some have taken to calling the "iPad Pro," will not be ready in time for a first quarter debut as many expect.

Kuo says Apple is employing oxide LCD technology for the larger iPad's high resolution display, affording quick response times and high color saturation. The company most recently deployed a large-format 27-inch oxide TFT panel in the iMac with Retina 5K display. Citing a time crunch on component production and assembly, the analyst doesn't expect iPad Pro to enter mass production until the second quarter of 2015 at the earliest.

As for current iPad models, Kuo expects overall shipments to fall dramatically in the first quarter of 2015, despite Apple's recent iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 releases. For the three-month period ending in March, a seasonal drop in sales and tablet market saturation will drive iPad shipments down to 9.8 million total units, a fall of 54.5 percent quarter-over-quarter, he said.

Kuo believes Apple has failed to boost demand with its new iPad Air 2 form factor, a major shift from previous generations that saw increased consumer interest with each successive design iteration. With proliferation in the marketplace, tablet makers could be facing an uphill battle that may not be easily surmounted with simple spec bumps, new form factors or price cuts.

To deal with an over-saturated consumer market, Apple recently ramped up its efforts in enterprise sales, with reports saying the company is fielding a sales team dedicated to wooing the interest of big corporations. Apple also partnered with IBM to deliver industry-specific software and services using iOS hardware.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 97
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    What happened to the Breaking tag?
  • Reply 2 of 97
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    How does one push back the release an unannounced product that doesn’t exist yet? Only Apple can do this. They are geniuses. And doomed.

  • Reply 3 of 97
    He is of course pulling all of this out of his ass.
  • Reply 4 of 97
    rogifan wrote: »
    What happened to the Breaking tag?


    Ming-Chi broke it.


    If the device is well done, that's fine. That also puts me at around 18 months with my Air, ideally, which will make it worth upgrading.

    As for the sales decline, it's hard to say. Ultimately, some people lack the imagination to understand the wonders of a tablet.
  • Reply 5 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    People are much better off if they ignore all analysts.

  • Reply 6 of 97
    I don't think there is anything wrong with sales, besides the fact that people expect a huge change every year. Phones get upgraded about every 2 years on average, but computers don't. The iPad is kind of a mix between both, but falls more into the computer category. It'll never sell as much as the iPhone, but I think it'll always have some sort of sales, and be the leader in the tablet space.
  • Reply 7 of 97
    justp1ayin wrote: »
    I don't think there is anything wrong with sales, besides the fact that people expect a huge change every year. Phones get upgraded about every 2 years on average, but computers don't. The iPad is kind of a mix between both, but falls more into the computer category. It'll never sell as much as the iPhone, but I think it'll always have some sort of sales, and be the leader in the tablet space.

    It will be the leader.

    That being said...there has been a good point made by some smart people, and it's that even though the iPad came out after the iPhone, it was conceptualized before it. Perhaps the cannibalization was inevitable.
  • Reply 7 of 97
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    What happened to the Breaking tag?



    It's been changed to "Breaking Wind".

  • Reply 9 of 97
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member

    If current iPad's are on a sales decline, it won't be too surprising.  Neither the iPad Air 2 or the iPad Mini 3 were very good upgrades.

  • Reply 10 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    As for the sales decline, it's hard to say. Ultimately, some people lack the imagination to understand the wonders of a tablet.

     

    His numbers don't even make any sense.

     

    He expects iPad Mini 3 shipments to drop 6.3% from Q4-14 to Q1-15 and he expects iPad Air 2 shipments to drop 47.4% in that same time frame. That makes no sense at all.

     

    If anything, people are buying far more iPad Air 2s than they are buying iPad Mini3s. Almost nothing got changed in the newest gen Mini 3, while the iPad Air got a huge upgrade. And I think that many people who wanted a new Mini are just picking up Mini 2s, because it's $100 cheaper, and they'll just do without the Touch ID.

  • Reply 11 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post

     

    If current iPad's are on a sales decline, it won't be too surprising.  Neither the iPad Air 2 or the iPad Mini 3 were very good upgrades.




    The iPad Mini didn't get much of an upgrade, but I'll have to disagree with you about the iPad Air 2. It was a huge upgrade.

     

    I'm wondering what planet people are living on that don't believe that the iPad Air 2 was a substantial upgrade. It even went beyond most of the rumors and speculations.

  • Reply 12 of 97
    Apple sold 26M and 16M iPads in its previous Q1 & Q2.

    If it sells 21.5 and 9.8M iPads over the next Q1 & Q2 it will be shocking.

    If it does not, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo will have a credibility problem.

    The rumored "iPad Pro" can't be pushed back because even the rumor has never suggested Q1 introduction.
  • Reply 13 of 97
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    It's phablets that are going to kill iPads.
  • Reply 14 of 97
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     



    The iPad Mini didn't get much of an upgrade, but I'll have to disagree with you about the iPad Air 2. It was a huge upgrade.

     

    I'm wondering what planet people are living on that don't believe that the iPad Air 2 was a substantial upgrade. It even went beyond most of the rumors and speculations.


     

     

    I think the iPad Air 1 was much more of an upgrade to the iPad product line than the current Air 2 offering...  We all figured Touch ID was coming.   We all figured it would be thinner (almost always is).  We all figured it would the A8.  We all figured it would be slightly lighter.  Etc.  

     

    The batter capacity is lower than Air 1.  Not sure why you think it is such a great update...

  • Reply 15 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hentaiboy View Post



    It's phablets that are going to kill iPads.



    No way.

     

    An iPhone 6+ may be large sized for a phone, but it's still pretty small compared to a full sized iPad, and can't even compare, not to mention that iPads are significantly more powerful than any iPhones.

  • Reply 16 of 97

    Unless the iPad Pro is more than just a bigger iPad Air, I am failing to see how it can be a truly great product. I would much rather buy a Surface Pro 3 than a larger iPad.

     

    The iPad Pro almost seems like an attempt by Apple to create greater sales for the iPad than what the market may support. I believe that the iPad, when it first came out, had massive sales because there was a decade worth of pent up demand for a device like it. The huge opening year sales, combined with the unrealistic 2 year replacement cycle of phones (only possible due to hidden costs) misled all of us into believing the steady state market for the iPad should be bigger than it is.

     

    I just hope the same thinking won't damage the Apple Watch.

  • Reply 17 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post

     

    I think the iPad Air 1 was much more of an upgrade to the iPad product line than the current Air 2 offering...  We all figured Touch ID was coming.   We all figured it would be thinner (almost always is).  We all figured it would the A8.  We all figured it would be slightly lighter.  Etc.  

     

    The batter capacity is lower than Air 1.  Not sure why you think it is such a great update...




    Nobody knew if it would have an A8 or A8X, and nobody knew that the A8X would be as powerful as it is, with triple core CPU and eight core GPU. The iPad Air 2 has the power of many laptops now. 

     

    For the first time in an iOS device, it has 2 GB of RAM.

     

    Just about every aspect of the iPad has been improved upon, including better WIFI, better Display, better RAM, better CPU, better GPU, better thinness, better weight, you name it.

     

    I see the original Air as a bit disappointing, because Apple didn't bother to make an A7X chip for it, and it just uses the same chip that the iPhone 5 has.

  • Reply 18 of 97
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post

     

     

    I think the iPad Air 1 was much more of an upgrade to the iPad product line than the current Air 2 offering...  We all figured Touch ID was coming.   We all figured it would be thinner (almost always is).  We all figured it would the A8.  We all figured it would be slightly lighter.  Etc.  

     

    The batter capacity is lower than Air 1.  Not sure why you think it is such a great update...




    The fact that you 'figured it was coming' doesn't make it less of an upgrade.

  • Reply 19 of 97
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    apple ][ wrote: »

    Nobody knew if it would have an A8 or A8X, and nobody knew that the A8X would be as powerful as it is, with triple core CPU and eight core GPU. The iPad Air 2 has the power of many laptops now. 

    For the first time in an iOS device, it has 2 GB of RAM.

    Just about every aspect of the iPad has been improved upon, including better WIFI, better Display, better RAM, better CPU, better GPU, better thinness, better weight, you name it.

    Exactly. And the Air 2 is proof that anyone who said iOS doesn't need 2GB RAM are full of shit. I rarely run into Safari tab reloads now. With the 1st gen Air it happened all the time.
  • Reply 20 of 97
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

    Nobody knew if it would have an A8 or A8X, and nobody knew that the A8X would be as powerful as it is, with triple core CPU and eight core GPU. The iPad Air 2 has the power of many laptops now. 

     

    For the first time in an iOS device, it has 2 GB of RAM.

     

    Just about every aspect of the iPad has been improved upon, including better WIFI, better Display, better RAM, better CPU, better GPU, better thinness, better weight, you name it.


    Yes, but people like to have their minds. blown. Incremental upgrades just don't cut it. People want a total mind blowing redesign. Something totally new and revolutionary. How you do that is  another question. Drugs, perhaps?

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