Last Tuesday (23/10) Apple presented several new products, including iMacs, Macs mini and iPads, during the special event at the California Theater. But the main actor of the show was, for sure, the iPad mini, the new, smaller and thinner tablet from Apple.
THEFortune compiled several comments from analysts about the new device. Below, check out the ones we think are most important:
Mark Moskowitz, from J.P. Morgan: Launch of the iPad mini faces high expectations.
On Tuesday afternoon, Apple shares, classified as "overweight", retreated after the announcement of the iPad mini. We think the pressure was exaggerated. While the $ 330 entry model prices were higher than the $ 250 we estimate, the basic specifications were better than we expected. We think the iPad mini, along with the fourth generation iPad, highlights Apple's accelerated update rate for important devices and software. With the iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad, we believe that Apple does not intend to give up on the lucrative tablet segment low-end. In our view, the larger screen and functions of the iOS 6 on the iPad mini are good enough to steal the $ 200 tablet market.
Shaw Wu, from Sterne Agee: iPad mini, new iMac and iPads revealed.
This is not the first time that many have questioned the pricing strategy premium from NASDAQ: AAPL. We have seen it on iPhones, iPods, Macs and even on iPads. We can argue that AAPL has a strong history in pricing to improve the number of transactions and profit, unlike many competitors who need to lower their prices in order to have a chance to fight. We continue to believe that the iPad mini is the competition's biggest nightmare and that it will bring even more stock transactions. Many forget that $ 330 is still a much more attractive price than the $ 400 on the iPad 2 and the $ 500 on the iPad. We believe that some consumers who are considering the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD may consider the iPad instead. Keep in mind that competitors have had a hard time competing with the most expensive iPads, and we think the iPad mini that is $ 70 cheaper will make it even more difficult.
Katy Huberty, from Morgan Stanley: New products for the Christmas season.
Both the iPod mini and the iPad mini were launched two and a half years later and at a 17% discount from the iPod / iPad. In other words, Apple has experience in extending a product line to a smaller and cheaper format. Many may ask for the logic of updating the iPad less than a year before the last update, but this makes sense for three reasons: 1) Leave an old product on the market increases the risk of cannibalization by a cheaper iPad mini. 2) The New iPad (sic) did not sell as well as expected due to its limited updates compared to the iPad 2. Doubling the CPU performance with the A6 partially solves this problem. 3) Apple updated the original iPod when it expanded to smaller models, which accelerated growth.
Brian White, from Topeka: Mini mania started.
The iPad mini was the star of the show today (Tuesday) and we believe that the product will be an absolute success for Apple, with 7.9 inches of screen, being 23% thinner than the fourth generation iPad and also 53 % lighter. Prices start at $ 330 for the iPad mini Wi-Fi 16GB and start at $ 460 for the 4G LTE version. We played with the iPad mini today and felt that it was as good in our hands as we expected, especially because of the more refined aluminum housing, which includes the colors of the iPhone 5 (i.e., black and lead; white and silver). The device fits comfortably in one hand and can be carried inside the pocket of your sport jacket as we predicted during our tech tour in Asia. () We have no doubt that the iPad mini will be the favorite during the Christmas period, and we continue to estimate that Apple will sell 5-7 million units during the December quarter, insured by supply restrictions. In the coming year, we believe that the iPad mini will take off like a fire and eventually exceed sales of iPads (9.7 inches).
Gene Munster, from Piper Jaffray: The iPad mini confirms our belief in the iPad as a big part of evolution.
We believe that the main feature of the iPad mini is its price, followed by its size. While some investors still claim that this is a stop in technology innovation by Apple, we believe that this is how Apple evolves the market in which it is dominant, using the iPod as a historical precedent. The most basic iPad mini costs $ 330, slightly more than our expectations, but the higher price does not impact our thoughts on the demand for the iPad mini. In addition, we note that Apple announced iPad sales data, which implies that the iPad was weaker than expected in September. The data suggests about 15 million units in September, compared to our estimate of 18.5 million.
Ben Reitzes, from Barclays: It's up to Apple to expand its total market.
We believe that the launch of the iPad mini was in line with expectations, features and prices as anticipated. We expected the mini to have a slightly lower price, as the competition is $ 100 lower, with many starting in the $ 200 to $ 250 range. Having said that, Apple seems to be convinced that consumers want the iPad and its ecosystem, which has worked with high-end models. We believe that Apple can sell 5-10 million mini iPads during the December quarter, while cannibalization of other iPads will be 25-50%.
