Phil Schiller Defends iPad Mini Pricing Decision

[Steviejobz]

The very fact that he has to defend the price means it was overpriced. Same with iPhone 1 which was subsequently reduced.

[Porco]

The refurb market on these is going to be brisk.

[blackhand1001]

Originally Posted by haruhiko

less storage?

nope, the 16gb dropped down to 199 and a 32gb is now 249

[sweetbrat]

Originally Posted by MacFather

Nexus 7 - higher ppi, NFC, more RAM, quadcore, GPS, $100 less expensive...

Smaller screen, no real comparison on apps. It really all depends on what you think is important.

Originally Posted by scotty321

Phil Schiller can make all the comments he wants, but it's still too expensive for me and I won't be buying one. I already have an iPad 3 (thanks for making it obsolete so quickly, Apple!), and I would've added an iPad mini to the household if it was priced fairly at $249 (at most). But at $329, it emphasizes to me that it's a gadget that I absolutely do not need.

Your iPad 3 is not obsolete. It works just as well as it did on Monday. You're just not happy that it's no longer the newest and best, and that the changeover happened before you were expecting it. But it's still just as useful as it was before.

Originally Posted by scotty321

2. Why would anyone buy the iPad mini when they can get a REAL iPad for only $70 more? Makes no sense.

Because, believe it or not, some people actually WANT a smaller size. The mini will function just fine, and will fill a need for people that want to give them to kids (smaller screen makes it easier for smaller hands) or for people who feel the regular size one is too large or heavy for their needs. It doesn't match up with what you want, but there is still a market for it.

Sure, it would be great if it was cheaper. But there's still a huge market for it at the price that they're asking.

[rorschach]

They'll price it at whatever the highest price they think people are willing to pay like every company.

The only reason Apple will lower the cost is if they believe they are missing out on a substantial number of sales because it's too expensive.

[GeekLawyer]

Originally Posted by blackhand1001

First of all, Phil Schiller doesn't even know what he's talking about. He said the bezel of the nexus 7 is plastic. Its not. Its aluminum. He flat out lied on stage. Second of all, it has a better screen than the iPad, better cpu, twice the ram, and gps in all models. Its also a nexus device which means instant OS upgrades. The nexus series actually has a better track record for upgrades than even apple. The original xoom (it sold alongside the ipad 1) and the nexus s have full blown jellybean with google now and every feature, not stripped down versions like the iphone 4 and ipad 2 have. The back of the nexus 7 is a soft touch leatherette material and just about every review has praised the feel of it. Many actually prefer it over hard aluminum.

The iPad mini has one thing that the "Nexus series" will never have: iOS. That's the differentiating factor. It's about the OS and the ecosystem that supports that OS. You can quote specs, you can get into a lather about "leatherette," whatever. But what you can't do is deny that Apple has moved 100 million iPads, at higher prices than $329, and they'll sell as many of these new iPad minis as they can build.

[joseph2166]

Originally Posted by technopimp

Unfortunately, this is true. As much as we b1tch and moan, they will come back in January saying this was the "best selling iPad ever" (and it probably will be).

So, no reason for them to undercut themselves. More $$ for the shareholders, I guess.

I agree its a bit rubbish. They'll sell it for whatever they can get away with, but that's sort of how capitalism works.

[berniemakaveli]

To you people who are so disappointed it wasn't $299. It's a 30 buck difference. Really?

[mjtomlin]

Originally Posted by nfl46

Apple products have been overpriced for years, but yet people still buy them. This is nothing new. Apple could have lowered the price if they want, but they already know, its the holidays and people see $329 and iPad name and immediately want one.

And this is what's so telling of the $200 tablets on the market - no one wants to buy anything other than an iPad... so they HAVE TO sell it cheap.

The cost of Apple's products aren't solely in the bill of materials; the price includes, OS development, application development, manufacturing equipment, CPU/silicon development, networking infrastructure, and many, many other areas.

[futbalguy]

Originally Posted by Orlandoech

I have an iPhone 5, this was going to be for my 5 year old daughter who likes to watch netflix and play angry birds and maybe some reading. For 199, its a no brainer.

I think you are in the minority of buyers if you would buy a 5 year old a $200 electronic device. Anyways, at $199 they wont make much profit. Of course that would be a no brainer because it would be underpriced.

[rendevouspoo]

Originally Posted by haruhiko

less storage?

Nope. 32GB are rolling out for the price.

Originally Posted by GeekLawyer

Plastic, "cheap," Android, junk.

This is something that boggles my mind.
1) Plastic. So what? The back is a rubber-like material that prevents slippage. No scratches either. The aluminum is nice, but with a week it looks like hell unless you put an obnoxious case on. To each his own though.
2) Cheap. In what aspect?
3) Android junk. It's extremely laughable to claim JB is junk. JB and Google Now, as of right now, is better than iOS and Siri. Will it stay that way? Probably not, but thank goodness that there is someone out their forcing their hand or else it wouldn't hapen.

Having said all of that, what did people expect? Apple has never been one to compete with prices. As long as people are buying their product, why should the change it?

[Cory Bauer]

Here's the way I see it; Apple has been comfortable reducing previous-generation iPad hardware pricing by $100 over a 12-month period. Ergo, it stands to reason that the iPad 2 - reduced to $399 seven months ago - is $60 cheaper for Apple to produce today. That's $339. And I would have to believe that between the 2" smaller screen, weight and materials reduction - the iPad Mini should easily cost $40 less still. That's $299. So in what alternate reality can Apple justify asking $329?

[saving107]

All I'm hearing is "First Nerd Problems"

Apple is not making anyone buy any of there product, we have a choice and if the iPad mini doesn't fill your requirements, then don't buy it.

This is all quite simple. Buy the product that fits your budget and fulfills your needs.

[mdlee2009]

People tend to forget that Apple does everything for a reason, including their pricing. They are taking the most innovative and widely used tablet on the market and creating something brand new. They have taken plenty of time to see why smaller tablets have failed and applied that to the mini.

Apple never created products for the masses, like Microsoft has. They make high end products that last a long time. AND you have no idea how much they put into R&D to make this product, so $329 could be fairly priced from their stand point.

[rfahey]

I'm still a little baffled. I mean it's essentially a 7.9" iPad2...so why can't the iPad2 run Siri but the iPad Mini can?

[jrswizzle]

Sold my N7 so I'd be able to buy the iPad mini -

Sorry - I know all you complainers and whiners think I'm nuts, but that "quad-core, higher ppi screen, supposedly much smoother" Android device didn't cut it for me. Lost of crashing, up-scaled phone apps and an overall "meh" experience.

I don't buy Apple because of how much RAM the thing has or even for the ppi (though I was disappointed by the mini's res, I reserve the right to judge it for myself in person). I buy Apple because I chose the Apple ecosystem and everything that goes with that - superior efficiency, ease of use, superior customer service, superior app store etc...

In the time I had the N7 here are some things I never said and never crossed my mind:

"Man I could never do this on my iPad"
"This thing is so smooth - I'd rather use this than my iPad"
"Wow this thing has power - no lag"
"These apps are great! Much better than the iOS versions"
"Man I love the build quality of this device"
"This screen is fantastic - so clear and bright"

These are the things I DID say/think:

"I'll ignore the screen's lifting - even after I've exchanged it twice"
"Man, I wish I had an iPad that was this size..."

End of story.

[krye]

Yeh, but at $199, $249 those other tablets are utter junk.

The iPad mini is a killer device that makes no compromises. $349 is justifiable. You DO get what you pay for.

[Vorst]

Originally Posted by Orlandoech

I for one think its a rip off, $249 to $299 TOPS. Thanks to the overpriced, in sufficient hardware, especially resolution it made my buying the Kindle Fire HD that much easier.

I think if you look at the build quality esthetics, the service support and total functionality of the devices and I can't believe people say that. Only saying that the A5 chip is old tech, it is not an Ok product, is really unbelievable. If I use an iPAD today it is super fast, any model. I used an Android and most of them just feel not smooth at all, even with their high spec hardware. And I don't want to talk about quality apps for Android.

[ttexxan]

Its APPLE people will buy it even if came with free load of dung...Whats funny is they know it too

[definitive]

he can defend it all he wants, but the fact remains - it's a smaller version of an ipad 2, which is two generations old.

[Myiphone7]

Originally Posted by GeekLawyer

The price is fair. It's the lowest entry price for a new iPad.

Apple doesn't race to the bottom on price. They're in business to make money. (And some pretty amazing products.)

Yea and our business is not to get ripped on a bad deal.

[klover]

Originally Posted by blackhand1001

First of all, Phil Schiller doesn't even know what he's talking about. He said the bezel of the nexus 7 is plastic. Its not. Its aluminum. He flat out lied on stage.

N7 owner here; it's a plastic bezel, not aluminum. It is, however, painted grey.

[Ant.honey]

The price sucks for the display, chip and processor. Plain and simple. I do not think it will sell as well. It will sell, because it's Apple, but they've dumbed it down considerably and the competition gives you much more for less.

I wanted one, but now I won't be getting one. Sorry Apple.

All that said, the next generation will be loads better. The 1st adopters here will suffer. It's sad that Apple has created a product lower spec'd for more money that their competitors had over a year ago.

[happydude]

at first i was dumbfounded why they'd go with that price point. but the comparison of google and amazon's being sold at cost to lure people in for other revenue streams makes sense. apple must have made a cost/benefit weighing the $130 premium over how much they'd make from their cut of app/other media sales. would take a lot of those from every user to make up the $130 margin.

that said, i now think they've made a smart decision in the pricing. $330 seems to be a reasonable price for parents to shell out for the big ticket item for a holiday gift, and people who want an ipad but just a smaller version prob aren't too concerned about not having a retina display.

i'd still have preferred a retina packed into the thing, but whatevs, i'm not gonna buy one anyway. i'll leave it up to the millions who probably will to determine whether or not this was a successful device at an acceptable price point.

[AppleTV]

Originally Posted by scotty321

Phil Schiller can make all the comments he wants, but it's still too expensive for me and I won't be buying one. I already have an iPad 3 (thanks for making it obsolete so quickly, Apple!), and I would've added an iPad mini to the household if it was priced fairly at $249 (at most). But at $329, it emphasizes to me that it's a gadget that I absolutely do not need.

Welcome to Apple customer base...

Pretty sure those of us that have been buying apple products before they were super hipster popular have shelled out 5-10K on one unit before, so don't piss and moan over $100 please, go buy a nexus and stop complaining.