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Apple Inc unveiled new iPads and Macintosh computers in the second wave of Tim Cook’s biggest product push as chief executive officer, just ahead of the holiday shopping season.
The company on Thursday introduced the slimmer iPad Air 2 that measures 6.1 mm in width, as well as an iPad mini 3. The iPads have features including fingerprint security known as touch ID, with the iPad Air also sporting dual microphones for better audio. Apple said the iPad Air 2 is priced at $499 to $829, and the new iPad mini is $399 to $729.
Apple also showed a new 27-inch iMac with a retina display for better imagery. The computer costs $2,499 and ships on Thursday. The company also showed a new Mac mini, which starts at $499 and has faster processors.
“This is the strongest line-up of products that Apple has ever had,” Cook said at the event on Thursday.
Apple debuted the new products at its Cupertino, California-based headquarters after last month introducing the larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with a smartwatch and a mobile-payments system. Cook is taking a two-pronged approach to boosting growth by beefing up Apple’s best sellers, the iPhone and iPad, while investing in new areas that further immerse users in the company’s digital ecosystem.
Cook needs to ignite new interest in iPads after sales of the device declined for two consecutive quarters. The iPad’s global market share slipped 6.1 percentage points during the second quarter as Samsung Electronics Co and other smaller players nibbled at Apple’s lead, according to IDC.
“When you create a market like Apple did, all you can do is lose share over time,” Jean Philippe Bouchard, an analyst at IDC, said. “The low end of the market is just exploding.”
Holiday shoppers
An updated iPad on store shelves is also crucial in advance of the holiday shopping season, which is typically Apple’s most lucrative quarter. Consumer spending on electronics is projected to increase 2.5 per cent to $33.8 billion, the highest level since the Consumer Electronics Association began tracking it in 1994. The top items on tech wish lists, according to the association’s annual Holiday Purchase Pattern Study, are tablets. The last iPad was revealed last October.
In the financial third quarter, iPad sales declined 9 per cent to 13.3 million units from a year earlier, with revenue falling 8 per cent to $5.89 billion. Fourth-quarter results, which cover July through September, will be released on October 20.
Apple’s new iPhones, meanwhile, sold more than 10 million units during their debut weekend. The phones are reaching an additional 36 countries this month, including China, India and South Korea, and are on track to be in more than 115 countries by year’s end, Apple said in a statement.
China pre-orders
Cook said at the event that the past few weeks have been the company’s “biggest iPhone launch ever.” He added that pre-orders of the smartphone in China have set a record, without disclosing numbers.
Apple experienced snafus following the debut of the new iPhones, including complaints about how some of the handsets were bending and a new version of its iOS 8 mobile operating software that caused people to lose cellular service. At the event today, Apple Senior Vice-President Craig Federighi said almost half of the company’s customers are now using the latest version of the software.
Cook added that Apple will roll out Apple Pay, the new mobile-payments system, on October 20. He said an additional 500 banks have signed up to support the service.
| Apple steals own thunder with leak |
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The masters of suspense in Cupertino took the surprise out of their big iPad introduction on Thursday. |
Apple Inc, known for its strict secrecy ahead of product announcements, posted images and some details about its newest iPad tablets on its iTunes website briefly on Wednesday, quickly grabbing the attention of company enthusiasts on the internet before the information was removed.
