Any of you Android users tempted by the new iPad Mini?

[apolloa]

Apple CAN sell things cheaper, they just won't. The N7 has a HD display too. True Apple doesn't have the ads making them money that Google does but they could still make things cheaper. They are making BILLIONS. And this is the reason I don't own many Apple products.....they are over priced.

Exactly, and I do believe Apple makes more money then and is valued more than Google! Yet Google is doing fine and isn't going out of business anytime soon.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Why are people saying the iPad Air doesn't have stereo speakers then?

Because in reality those speakers just can't provide the same-quality stereo as those in, say, the Nexus 7 2013.

The stereo speakers in the latter are just GREAT when watching video.

It's a pity such a, for video, VERY important feature has still not been introduced to the new-gen iPads (Mini)s.

 

[tbayrgs]

Do you know why they up mark their devices so much? Because their are plenty of people happily throwing their money at them, if people stopped buying their products their prices would soon drop.

You nailed right here. Apple will charge less when people stop paying for their devices at their current prices.

 

[onthecouchagain]

You nailed right here. Apple will charge less when people stop paying for their devices at their current prices.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not but there is precedence of this happening no? Apple lowered their prices for retina Mac books. And have been with other macs due to continued declining computer sales.

 

[Vegastouch]

anyone who says crap like this hasn't used Windows 8

Agree. I like Windows 8. It has the best of both worlds. The same desktop version and you can use apps if you want. The Apps just need to get better.

 

[tbayrgs]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not but there is precedence of this happening no? Apple lowered their prices for retina Mac books. And have been with other macs due to continued declining computer sales.

No sarcasm and you're probably spot on. Mac sales have been lagging a bit so an appropriate price drop to try to spur sales, certainly likely. I just don't recall seeing many price reductions from Apple in the past because for the most part, they haven't needed them.

 

[MRU]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not but there is precedence of this happening no? Apple lowered their prices for retina Mac books. And have been with other macs due to continued declining computer sales.

That was not because of declining sales, it was just a case that displays are probably in greater supply and with time the part has become cheaper for apple to source / manufacturer.

It was clear with them keeping existing macbook pro's last year at normal price that they needed to keep the bottom line, but the costs of MBP Retina prohibited them from offering them at the bottom line pricing but keeping same profit margins.

Now that the part is cheaper they can finally start to lower the price differential and get rid of some of the older legacy models from the lineup.

Things haven't always gotten cheaper, mac pro's have fluctuated up and down with the newest 2013 edition being more expensive than any of the last few revisions.

The price of iPhone's too has pretty much increased slightly each year (unsubsidised pricing) forgetting the 5C which still is hardly cheap unsubsidised.


So really there is probably a mixture of factors that govern pricing, including parts / supplies and of course market economics. So the answer is really a combination of factors. 🙂

 

[Vegastouch]

That was not because of declining sales, it was just a case that displays are probably in greater supply and with time the part has become cheaper for apple to source / manufacturer.

It was clear with them keeping existing macbook pro's last year at normal price that they needed to keep the bottom line, but the costs of MBP Retina prohibited them from offering them at the bottom line pricing but keeping same profit margins.

Now that the part is cheaper they can finally start to lower the price differential and get rid of some of the older legacy models from the lineup.

Things haven't always gotten cheaper, mac pro's have fluctuated up and down with the newest 2013 edition being more expensive than any of the last few revisions.

The price of iPhone's too has pretty much increased slightly each year (unsubsidised pricing) forgetting the 5C which still is hardly cheap unsubsidised.


So really there is probably a mixture of factors that govern pricing, including parts / supplies and of course market economics. So the answer is really a combination of factors. 🙂

Im not sure what your trying to say but the bottom line is that Apple charges more than anybody else and always have. Their products look nice but they dont cost way more to make. If you think that is the case then you are fooling yourself. You ever seen inside of one? The iMacs use the same kind of memory as anybody else but they just charge more for it.
Just like Apple charges $100 for double the storage on a iPhone while Google charges $50. All that stuff still comes from China.

 

[Sensamic]

Im not sure what your trying to say but the bottom line is that Apple charges more than anybody else and always have. Their products look nice but they dont cost way more to make. If you think that is the case then you are fooling yourself. You ever seen inside of one? The iMacs use the same kind of memory as anybody else but they just charge more for it.
Just like Apple charges $100 for double the storage on a iPhone while Google charges $50. All that stuff still comes from China.

Exactly. And sometimes Macs have even lower specs than others, like 4GB RAM standard vs 8GB RAM on other PCs and still they charge more for it.

I accepted it just because I was tired of Windows and wanted OS X.

Someone explain me why my 2010 Mac Mini was 799€ when it came out, having Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM and having HDMI for the first time. I bought it just because I needed a small computer for media center connected to the TV.

799€!!!! Won't pay again that much for a Mac.

If someone says that price was normal for that kind of hardware in 2010 he is just crazy.

 

[MRU]

Im not sure what your trying to say but the bottom line is that Apple charges more than anybody else and always have. Their products look nice but they dont cost way more to make. If you think that is the case then you are fooling yourself. You ever seen inside of one? The iMacs use the same kind of memory as anybody else but they just charge more for it.
Just like Apple charges $100 for double the storage on a iPhone while Google charges $50. All that stuff still comes from China.

Apple has always over charged for memory upgrades but that is by the by because you missed the point of my post entirely....

I never stated Apple is cheaper than competition in my post. I was saying contrary to couch saying that mac book pros retina were reduced in price simply because of declining laptop sales... That there were other factors and Apple hasn't always reduced price with models indeed at times they have increased slightly. With that in mind read my post again 😉

 

[zbarvian]

So could Apple be Apple by making 100 billion as opposed to 200 billion?

Absolutely yes.

I haven't gone to business school, but I think maximizing profits should always be the aim. Things happen, look at RIM. If they had a little more money in the bank maybe they could've saved themselves or prolonged their demise. Times won't always be good for Apple, might as well start preparing now.

 

[onthecouchagain]

That was not because of declining sales, it was just a case that displays are probably in greater supply and with time the part has become cheaper for apple to source / manufacturer.

It was clear with them keeping existing macbook pro's last year at normal price that they needed to keep the bottom line, but the costs of MBP Retina prohibited them from offering them at the bottom line pricing but keeping same profit margins.

Now that the part is cheaper they can finally start to lower the price differential and get rid of some of the older legacy models from the lineup.

Things haven't always gotten cheaper, mac pro's have fluctuated up and down with the newest 2013 edition being more expensive than any of the last few revisions.

The price of iPhone's too has pretty much increased slightly each year (unsubsidised pricing) forgetting the 5C which still is hardly cheap unsubsidised.


So really there is probably a mixture of factors that govern pricing, including parts / supplies and of course market economics. So the answer is really a combination of factors. 🙂

By that rationale, if parts become more available and affordable for the iPad Mini, shouldn't the prices go down in the future?

And by that same rationale, you're trying to tell me the iPad 2 with its 2.5 year old processor, it's 0.7 MP back camera, it's 0.3 MP front camera, its non-retina screen, its 512 MB of RAM, its 16GB storage ... all these parts, the cost of manufacturing didn't go down? And that's why they're still selling it at $399? You don't think it's at that price point because people will, unfortunately, still buy it in droves?

EDIT:

Apple Continues to Sell the iPad 2 Because Customers Are Still Buying It

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/2...ipad-2-because-customers-are-still-buying-it/

 

[macred]

Once, months ago I was ready for a retina equipped mini. But my original mini is seeing less use, and iOS 7 is too buggy at the present. Now with my enthusiasm dampened, I'm taking a hard look before buying any more Apple gear. One year is a long time in the tech sector, but after squandering much of 2013, perhaps Apple will do something with 2014.

Now more than ever I'm appreciating Google.

 

[mattbaar26]

Im really happy with my Nexus 7 2013, but the multitouch issue is making me consider the new Mini, although I prefer Android 1000 times more than iOS.

Im gonna wait until 4.4 to see what new features it brings and if it fixes the multitouch.

One thing I really want is iTunes backup for my games. Im not rooted yet on the Nexus 7, but I really dont see how Titanium Backup is a good option... I bought the Nexus 7 because I wanted to play games more often than I did on my Nexus 10.

I hate the new Mini is more expensive than before. It just makes me appreciate even more what Google is doing with their Nexus lineup. The Nexus 5 will be even cheaper than the new Mini!

Google's Play Games app backups all your data. You can even sync your progress across devices

 

[Lloydbm41]

Give me an 8" Super HD screen, made by LG or HTC and running 4.4 with stereo speakers and a minimum of 32gb of onboard storage with 4gb of RAM. Price it at $350. I'll buy it.

 

[MRU]

By that rationale, if parts become more available and affordable for the iPad Mini, shouldn't the prices go down in the future?

And by that same rationale, you're trying to tell me the iPad 2 with its 2.5 year old processor, it's 0.7 MP back camera, it's 0.3 MP front camera, its non-retina screen, its 512 MB of RAM, its 16GB storage ... all these parts, the cost of manufacturing didn't go down? And that's why they're still selling it at $399? You don't think it's at that price point because people will, unfortunately, still buy it in droves?

EDIT:

Apple Continues to Sell the iPad 2 Because Customers Are Still Buying It

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/2...ipad-2-because-customers-are-still-buying-it/

No you are only looking at 1 part of what I said - I said there were many reasons and that part supplies were only part, there were other economic decisions.

You stated new mbp had come down in price likely because of lower laptop sales.

I stated that there were likely other factors and not just sales numbers alone. That as parts have become cheaper it allowed apple to phase out the non retina model and replace it with a slightly reduced price retina model. (given that it's only 200 cheaper and originally there was a 500 difference - it's still 300 more at base than the one phased out).

My point was Apple use many criteria to govern how much they sell something for and there isn't just 1 aspect that decides it.

 

[onthecouchagain]

No you are only looking at 1 part of what I said - I said there were many reasons and that part supplies were only part, there were other economic decisions.

You stated new mbp had come down in price likely because of lower laptop sales.

I stated that there were likely other factors and not just sales numbers alone. That as parts have become cheaper it allowed apple to phase out the non retina model and replace it with a slightly reduced price retina model. (given that it's only 200 cheaper and originally there was a 500 difference - it's still 300 more at base than the one phased out).

My point was Apple use many criteria to govern how much they sell something for and there isn't just 1 aspect that decides it.

Ah, then I think we're agreed. Price of parts and declining sales would affect Apple's pricing.

 

[apolloa]

I still would not say parts pricing affects Apple's RRPs because of the iPad 2. It must cost them literally peanuts to make now, yet for the same price of a 16gb model, £329, a new Surface 2 32GB is £359 so that's twice the storage and a Tegra 4 chip and a full HD screen, albeit with Windows RT and a rubbish app store, but still.
The older Galaxy Note 10.1 can be had for £349, and that Asus Transformer Book T100 is expected to cost around £350 in the UK.

And the ultimate proof parts pricing has nothing to do with it? That will be the fact that the brand new iPad Mini Retina with 64 bit A7 CPU etc and 16GB costs £319, LESS then the iPad 2 price.

 

[MRU]

I still would not say parts pricing affects Apple's RRPs because of the iPad 2. It must cost them literally peanuts to make now, yet for the same price of a 16gb model, £329, a new Surface 2 32GB is £359 so that's twice the storage and a Tegra 4 chip and a full HD screen, albeit with Windows RT and a rubbish app store, but still.
The older Galaxy Note 10.1 can be had for £349, and that Asus Transformer Book T100 is expected to cost around £350 in the UK.

And the ultimate proof parts pricing has nothing to do with it? That will be the fact that the brand new iPad Mini Retina with 64 bit A7 CPU etc and 16GB costs £319, LESS then the iPad 2 price.

We were more talking about apples entire product line and on this Instance the new Macbook pros. Of course parts coats do play a part or the iPad too and it's not really just about the ipad 2. Clearly that's priced because people are willing to pay for it at that price. But if we look at ipad mini retina we can see that newer components and more expensive parts / build costs have put up the price by $70.

The point remains there are multiple factors and you can not say only one thing alone governs the price Apple charges.

 

[onthecouchagain]

We were more talking about apples entire product line and on this Instance the new Macbook pros. Of course parts coats do play a part or the iPad too and it's not really just about the ipad 2. Clearly that's priced because people are willing to pay for it at that price. But if we look at ipad mini retina we can see that newer components and more expensive parts / build costs have put up the price by $70.

The point remains there are multiple factors and you can not say only one thing alone governs the price Apple charges.

I agree. This is fair. But I'd also believe (easily) that if iPad sales weren't what they were, apple would price it more competively. I'd believe this is a more affecting factor than parts in their pricing scheme.

Again. Look at their pricing tiers for higher storage. Clearly their pricing here is more about people's willingness to still fork over 100 dollars for higher storage versus the cost of storage being the same all these past 5 years.

I'd even go as far to argue that price of parts has little to do with pricing. Remember how much iPhone and iPads costs? Its a lot lower than what they're priced. Especially older models.

 

[NuggetSauce]

Im not sure what your trying to say but the bottom line is that Apple charges more than anybody else and always have. Their products look nice but they dont cost way more to make. If you think that is the case then you are fooling yourself. You ever seen inside of one? The iMacs use the same kind of memory as anybody else but they just charge more for it.
Just like Apple charges $100 for double the storage on a iPhone while Google charges $50. All that stuff still comes from China.

The whole memory upgrade price thing is a rip, and i'm sure Apple does have a higher profit margin than the competition, especially compared to something like the Kindle Fire which the Amazon CEO admitted is being sold at cost so they can establish themselves. How can you beat that?

But focusing on just specs is the exact reason why a lot of people don't understand why someone would buy a macbook air instead of a toshiba satellite that has an equivalent cpu, ram, gpu for $300 less.

Design, ecosystem, support, warranty, build materials, marketing/advertising cost, resale value, brand allure.

I've tried Android tablets, even the Surface Pro, still prefer the iPad. Critics seem to agree too. Clearly they must be doing something right with every single electronics company releasing a tablet trying to undercut them, yet we still don't have a true iPad killer.

 

[NuggetSauce]

I take that back. There is one iPad killer:

It will own your christmas stockings.

 

[MRU]

OK I picked up the iPad air 64gb today and I'm bored already. Given it to a relative for their chrimbo present.

 

[Schicksal]

Going back to the original question, no not really. It doesn't do anything that another device we already own doesn't already do. We have a...

- Media center PC (a bit redundant since the Blu Ray player handles Netflix and Hulu well) that serves as a DVR + games and whatever else one does on a desktop
- A MacBook Pro
- an iPhone 5 and soon to be also a Nexus 5

Given what we do with the laptop that can't be replaced with an iPad or tablet, and dealing with a smaller screen on a mobile for a longer period of time is in a way a bit of an encouragement to go outside or do something with someone already.

 

[slitherjef]

Yes. The thought has crossed my mind a few times. I did just order a nexus 5 and still think an iPad mini would be a nice companion.

I don't like the fact that the cellular connected iPads are locked to carriers even though it looks like they all have the same radios but different firmwares to enable that band for that carrier.