Display Panel Shipment Plans Suggest Apple Will Offer iPad 2 Alongside iPad 3

[MacRumors]

The question of whether Apple will continue to offer the existing iPad 2 as a lower-cost option alongside the forthcoming iPad 3 has been the subject of a fair amount of rumor and speculation, but if new display panel shipment plans provided to Digitimes are correct, it appears that the iPad 2 will indeed live on.

According to the report, production of the "Retina" resolution iPad 3 display panels at 2048x1536 pixels will surpass that of the lower-resolution 1024x768 iPad 2 panels by the second quarter of this year, but Apple's suppliers will still push out approximately 25 million iPad 2 panels in 2012. That will be down from an estimated 48 million panels in 2011, but still a substantial number. Sources suggest that Apple's suppliers will also be pushing out approximately 40 million iPad 3 panels this year for a total of 65 million iPads between the two models.

With fewer than one million panels shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple will keep increasing the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad to 6.0-7.0 million panels in the first quarter and 10.0 million units in the third quarter of 2012, the sources pointed out.

In the meantime, Apple has downwardly adjusted shipments of iPad 2 panels from the peak of 16.0 million panels in the third quarter to 10.0 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and further to 7.0-8.0 million units in the first quarter of 2012, the sources indicated. Thus, the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad will surpass that of iPad 2 panels in the second quarter of 2012, the sources noted.

Digitimes has had a spotty record regarding Apple's product plans, but it does sometimes offer at least reasonably accurate information on production volumes from the company's supply chain. Consequently, it does seem likely that any volume of iPad 2 display panels approaching the rumored number would be indicative of continued iPad 2 production well beyond the introduction of the iPad 3.

Several reports have indicated that the iPad 2 will carry on at a lower entry price of $399 or perhaps even lower, a move rumored to be planned in part to counter Amazon's smaller Android-based Kindle Fire priced at $199. The iPad 3 is said to be set for a March debut and will reportedly offer LTE connectivity, a quad-core processor, and the high-resolution Retina display.

Article Link: Display Panel Shipment Plans Suggest Apple Will Offer iPad 2 Alongside iPad 3

 

[Small White Car]

Given Apple's success at selling 3 different iPhone models at once this doesn't surprise me. I'm sure they'd love the same kind of multi-year success with the iPad.

 

[Taeser]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle. It doesn't have that excessively big screen, that privacy invading camera, and it has that fragmented app store with only the apps I really need. Less clutter. Apple, step up your game.

 

[chirpie]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle. It doesn't have that excessively big screen, that privacy invading camera, and it has that fragmented app store with only the apps I really need. Less clutter. Apple, step up your game.

Privacy invading camera? What on earth are you going on about?

 

[jmpnop]

Thats a good move, it'll eliminate the competition. iPad 2 starting at $349 is just too good

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Good idea.

 

[davids8477]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle. It doesn't have that excessively big screen, that privacy invading camera, and it has that fragmented app store with only the apps I really need. Less clutter. Apple, step up your game.

I'm not paranoid - they really are watching me!

 

[GSPice]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle. It doesn't have that excessively big screen, that privacy invading camera, and it has that fragmented app store with only the apps I really need. Less clutter. Apple, step up your game.

And in other news, tin foil hats are still in vogue..

 

[charlituna]

Digitimes lack of reliability is so high that they are a total joke. Their information is totally suspect as is their analysis.

Assuming those numbers are anything close to true there are two possibilities.

1. Some model(s) of the iPad 2 will still be offered after the iPad 3 launches. it could be the 16GB only. It could be the wifis with the iPad 3 not having a wifi only option. It could be an 8gb model sold only on the education store. and so on

2. the iPad 3 will be launching later in the year with no iPad 2 models staying in production and these panels are for sales until that later launch date.

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle.

It is extremely unlikely that the iPad will ever go that low even on a refurb clearance so you can go order that kindle now and enjoy.

 

[3282868]

Some anticipate a smaller OLED iPad 3 with a larger LED iPad 2 until OLED panels drop in price. I could see this should OLED tech be utilized. Even I don't know yet.

 

[ELMI0001]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle.

Think of the people flooding their local Apple stores or calling Apple because of a $300 price drop! This dude is crazy. Go buy your Kindle and report back to us.

 

[Buckeyestar]

Privacy invading camera? What on earth are you going on about?

And in other news, tin foil hats are still in vogue..

Sarcasm meters must be on the fritz.

 

[benedetti]

I hardly believe in $350 iPad. The BOM for this device is ~$330.
Maybe they will discount it by $50.
IMHO retina iPads will carry prices at $599 and up.

 

[wolfshades]

Not sure this is a great move on Apple's part. I'll buy the 3 when it comes out, then turn around and sell my 64 GB iPad2 for less than what Apple is selling their's at, no matter what price point they set.

Wait a minute - didn't Apple do the same with their stock of iPhone 4 when the 4S came out too?

 

[jmpnop]

I hardly believe in $350 iPad. The BOM for this device is ~$330.
Maybe they will discount it by $50.
IMHO retina iPads will carry prices at $599 and up.

$330 is for iPad 2 32GB WiFi+3G which currently retails at $729. Apple has recovered R&D and other costs so they aren't going to incur any loss by selling 16GB WiFi model for $349. Moreover its not much for profit, its for destroying the competition.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Sarcasm meters must be on the fritz.

The propeller must have scrambled his brain.

 

[nutjob]

Think of the people flooding their local Apple stores or calling Apple because of a $300 price drop! This dude is crazy. Go buy your Kindle and report back to us.

I hardly believe in $350 iPad. The BOM for this device is ~$330.
Maybe they will discount it by $50.
IMHO retina iPads will carry prices at $599 and up.

It's Amazing how Apple's trained its customers to pay a premium. But the point is that the competition is at $200, and especially in this economy if enough people buy from Amazon, it gives them a beachhead into Apple's market. Regardless of features, which don't always mean as much to the average consumer, Apple has to compete on price.

 

[Consultant]

Thats a good move, it'll eliminate the competition. iPad 2 starting at $349 is just too good

iPad 2 already starts around $400 in refurb store, and original iPad is $300.

 

[Lesser Evets]

I would worry that this, being Apple, would make iPad 2 $499 and iPad 3 $799+... paranoid from decades of buying Apple.

Of course, they could just neuter the iPad 2 and rip out almost everything aside from the basics of iPad 1: no camera/s and less memory/battery. That might make it run down to a $350 price or below. If they could do a $299 iPad, it'd be worth it as a media watcher/emailer on-the-go. iPad 3 is shaping up to be more of a laptop or lifestyle machine which will start to take on laptop markets.

$299 for an iPad is probably a fantasy. That would destroy iPT.

 

[Macman45]

It's something of a departure I guess, but it does make sense. The ipad2 is far from being out of date, and if discounted it will continue to sell well.

The 3 rumours are interesting, that's some display too. Time will tell.

 

[InuNacho]

Set me up with a $100 - $200 cheaper iPad 2 and I'm sold.

 

[RalfTheDog]

It's Amazing how Apple's trained its customers to pay a premium. But the point is that the competition is at $200, and especially in this economy if enough people buy from Amazon, it gives them a beachhead into Apple's market. Regardless of features, which don't always mean as much to the average consumer, Apple has to compete on price.

Apple is not in business to sell for a loss. You can pay a garbage price to get bottom of the line hardware, however, that is not the market Apple should play in. Let the Fire and the Nook fight for the disposable market while Apple keeps the top.

 

[Cheebo]

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If they don't get the price below 199 I'll have to go go with the kindle. It doesn't have that excessively big screen, that privacy invading camera, and it has that fragmented app store with only the apps I really need. Less clutter. Apple, step up your game.

The Kindle Fire is a e-reader with some superficial tablet features. The iPad is a full fledged [Tablet] COMPUTER.

 

[Navdakilla]

Seems like a win win
I know a ton of people who wish they had a iPad2, but just couldn't afford it.

 

[*LTD*]

It's Amazing how Apple's trained its customers to pay a premium. But the point is that the competition is at $200, and especially in this economy if enough people buy from Amazon, it gives them a beachhead into Apple's market. Regardless of features, which don't always mean as much to the average consumer, Apple has to compete on price.

Apple has shown consistently that they don't need to.

Amazon sells a cheap tablet. And that's exactly what you get.

The real question is, how will the competition manage to compete with Apple? That's the real worry here. The also-rans haven't learned anything from Apple's strategy. Not only is there still (even from seeing all the junk at CES) no iPad-killer, there isn't even a credible device (or even platform) by the competition that can actually compete level-to-level with the iPad.