Why the iPad Mini is priced just right.

[iSingandiDance]

I think the $329 price aligns right up with the fact that Apple products offer you an experience and convenience not found in similar products. READ: you cannot get the accessibility to the App Store, familiarity and reliability of iOS and it's further iterations, a 10-hour battery life, or the pedigree that comes along with owning an Apple product as you would get with any other 7 inch tablet.

Apple has created an entire ecosystem from the ground up with which many are terribly familiar and one that affords them the right to price such a product so high. Their track record has proven you get what you pay for - and then some. Their products seem to create their own niche markets. No different with iPad mini. It will be pushed as a consumer-driven ultra-portable device, but will inevitably finds its way into a new sector that wasn't even thought of.

It will, in essence, come to have a life it's own apart from its sister device, iPad, and the company that breathed life into its existence.

 

[Southernboyj]

I think the $329 price aligns right up with the fact that Apple products offer you an experience and convenience not found in similar products. READ: you cannot get the accessibility to the App Store, familiarity and reliability of iOS and it's further iterations, a 10-hour battery life, or the pedigree that comes along with owning an Apple product as you would get with any other 7 inch tablet.

Apple has created an entire ecosystem from the ground up with which many are terribly familiar and one that affords them the right to price such a product so high. Their track record has proven you get what you pay for - and then some. Their products seem to create their own niche markets. No different with iPad mini. It will be pushed as a consumer-driven ultra-portable device, but will inevitably finds its way into a new sector that wasn't even thought of.

It will, in essence, come to have a life it's own apart from its sister device, iPad, and the company that breathed life into its existence.

So if my calculator can run the App Store and iOS... than it's worth $329. No, the specs are subpar.

 

[onthecouchagain]

"At $329, it is believed that Apple will duplicate the 58% to 103% gross profit margin it enjoys on the third-generation Apple iPad." - Phone Arena.

Just right.

 

[iSingandiDance]

So if my calculator can run the App Store and iOS... than it's worth $329. No, the specs are subpar.

Sure, if it can also get you ten hours of battery life while surfing the web, watching video, listening to music, playing games all while fitting in the palm of your hand. Or in your purse, satchel, coat pocket, glove compartment. Does it also come backed with the reliability of a company that changed how we consume media? Lets not forget the fact that the competition pales in comparison.

You like to look at and view specs, while frankly, usability, user experience, and convenience are much, much more important. I would rather pay the $130 premium than purchase a device that is wholly unfamiliar to me and doesn't even begin to offer what I need as a consumer.

$130 shouldn't break you if you're truly investing in such a device and not using it as a place holder until the future iterations release.

 

[gmanist1000]

I think the $329 price aligns right up with the fact that Apple products offer you an experience and convenience not found in similar products. READ: you cannot get the accessibility to the App Store, familiarity and reliability of iOS and it's further iterations, a 10-hour battery life, or the pedigree that comes along with owning an Apple product as you would get with any other 7 inch tablet.

Apple has created an entire ecosystem from the ground up with which many are terribly familiar and one that affords them the right to price such a product so high. Their track record has proven you get what you pay for - and then some. Their products seem to create their own niche markets. No different with iPad mini. It will be pushed as a consumer-driven ultra-portable device, but will inevitably finds its way into a new sector that wasn't even thought of.

It will, in essence, come to have a life it's own apart from its sister device, iPad, and the company that breathed life into its existence.

I just don't think it aligns up with the other products Apple offers.

 

[iSingandiDance]

I just don't think it aligns up with the other products Apple offers.

How so?

 

[zhenya]

I just don't think it aligns up with the other products Apple offers.

It absolutely does. They would have had a hard time charging less than $299 for it when the Touch is priced there. If it had a retina screen, it would have needed the faster graphics chip, and it would have had to be priced higher still and probably been heavier to accommodate a larger battery.

Do I wish it had the better screen and chip at this price point? Absolutely. But my wish doesn't change the fact that the price and specs slots perfectly into the rest of the lineup.

 

[brig2221]

So if my calculator can run the App Store and iOS... than it's worth $329. No, the specs are subpar.

I think people are missing the point regarding the specs. Apple doesn't want to sell the mini to the same people that are buying the full size iPad. Let's say both models (mini and regular) share the same profit margin of 40%. Completely unheard of in the tech world, but routine for Apple.

Here are their profits:

16 Gb Mini- ($329*40%)= $131.60 profit
16 Gb Full- ($499*40%)= $199.60 profit

Full version gives Apple over a 51% gain in profit.

The point is this. Apple needs to compete in the smaller tablet market, but they also need to make profits (unlike Amazon and Google) on their hardware. However, they also can't price the unit too low and give it too many similar hardware options as it's big brother, or they would cannibilize sales of their full size units which carry a much larger amount of profit for them.

So, they price them lower by full standards, by not so low that they can't maintain their profit margin. This makes them a full $70-$130 more expensive than their competitors. As far as hardware goes, the iPad 2 hardware is more than up to the task for doing almost anything a person would want, but not fast enough for the power users to want to purchase, which is key here.

Based on the mini running an A5 vs the full size version running an A6X with Retina display, the choice for you is simple, shell out more money for the full size unit, exactly what Apple wants.

For those group of people that are more price sensitive and don't need a tremendous amount of horsepower under the hood, the iPad mini is a great way to expand Apple's customer base. They will still make good money off the hardware as it's priced high enough to maintain their margin, and if they are lucky, they get them introduced into the Apple ecosytem, and they will be purchasing full size iPad's and Macbook Pro's in the upcoming years.

That's the way I see it anyways.

 

[aw2575]

Sure, if it can also get you ten hours of battery life while surfing the web, watching video, listening to music, playing games all while fitting in the palm of your hand. Or in your purse, satchel, coat pocket, glove compartment. Does it also come backed with the reliability of a company that changed how we consume media? Lets not forget the fact that the competition pales in comparison.

You like to look at and view specs, while frankly, usability, user experience, and convenience are much, much more important. I would rather pay the $130 premium than purchase a device that is wholly unfamiliar to me and doesn't even begin to offer what I need as a consumer.

$130 shouldn't break you if you're truly investing in such a device and not using it as a place holder until the future iterations release.

I completely agree with you. However, it isn't even a $130 premium, it is $80. The 16gb nexus 7 is $250. You also need to take into account the materials used in the device. The fact that the iPad mini is not plastic is almost, if not worth the $80 difference to me. I have a nexus 7 and while I enjoy it and agree it is a nice device, I will gladly sell it and replace it with an iPad mini for all the previously stated reasons. This is just my opinion, not really trying to argue one is better than the other.

 

[wolfpackfan]

You like to look at and view specs, while frankly, usability, user experience, and convenience are much, much more important. I would rather pay the $130 premium than purchase a device that is wholly unfamiliar to me and doesn't even begin to offer what I need as a consumer.

$130 shouldn't break you if you're truly investing in such a device and not using it as a place holder until the future iterations release.

Well said.

 

[Southernboyj]

Sure, if it can also get you ten hours of battery life while surfing the web, watching video, listening to music, playing games all while fitting in the palm of your hand. Or in your purse, satchel, coat pocket, glove compartment. Does it also come backed with the reliability of a company that changed how we consume media? Lets not forget the fact that the competition pales in comparison.

You like to look at and view specs, while frankly, usability, user experience, and convenience are much, much more important. I would rather pay the $130 premium than purchase a device that is wholly unfamiliar to me and doesn't even begin to offer what I need as a consumer.

$130 shouldn't break you if you're truly investing in such a device and not using it as a place holder until the future iterations release.

The Nexus 7 does everything you stated.. only it has a MUCH higher pixel density, and instead of an old dual core processor, it uses a quad core Tegra 3. Oh it's also $130 cheaper. 1 thing I do like about the iPad Mini is the 4:3 aspect ratio on a 7" tablet. This is pure personal preference though.

EDIT: Don't go fanboy rage on me though, I'm not saying the iPad Mini sucks.. I want one, I just really wish it had higher ppi.

 

[brig2221]

The Nexus 7 does everything you stated.. only it has a MUCH higher pixel density, and instead of an old dual core processor, it uses a quad core Tegra 3. Oh it's also $130 cheaper. 1 thing I do like about the iPad Mini is the 4:3 aspect ratio on a 7" tablet. This is pure personal preference though.

Comparing Apples to Apples, the 16 Gb Nexus models is priced at $249, so the price different is $80, no the $130 you quoted, which seems a lot more reasonable to me.

 

[Southernboyj]

Comparing Apples to Apples, the 16 Gb Nexus models is priced at $249, so the price different is $80, no the $130 you quoted, which seems a lot more reasonable to me.

The 16GB is dropping to $199 next week and at $249 will be a 32GB Nexus 7. So the 16GB will be $130 different and 32GB will be a $180 difference.

 

[aw2575]

The Nexus 7 does everything you stated.. only it has a MUCH higher pixel density, and instead of an old dual core processor, it uses a quad core Tegra 3. Oh it's also $130 cheaper. 1 thing I do like about the iPad Mini is the 4:3 aspect ratio on a 7" tablet. This is pure personal preference though.

EDIT: Don't go fanboy rage on me though, I'm not saying the iPad Mini sucks.. I want one, I just really wish it had higher ppi.

Yes it may have higher pixel density, but as an owner of a nexus 7, I know that it is nearly impossible to take advantage of that due to virtually no native tablet apps. Having to use upscaled phone apps defeats the purpose. Again, yes, the nexus is a nice device, but there are major caveats to it as well.

 

[Southernboyj]

Yes it may have higher pixel density, but as an owner of a nexus 7, I know that it is nearly impossible to take advantage of that due to virtually no native tablet apps. Having to use upscaled phone apps defeats the purpose. Again, yes, the nexus is a nice device, but there are major caveats to it as well.

I agree, but for me personally, I use a tablet for browsing the web, watching videos/movies, and occasionally reading books. There are very few 3rd party app's I use a lot. So that isn't bothersome to me. I hope a YouTube app gets released for iPads on iOS 6 soon. I'm going to buy an iPad Mini and see how the display is, if it's good I'll keep it. Because I really like the form factor and aspect ratio of it.

 

[iSingandiDance]

Yea I truly believe the lack of a retina screen will become a non-factor when people actually start to use the Mini.

Amazon and Google tablets may go the way of the Touchpad once Apple drops the price - if not before.

 

[rockyroad55]

Yea I truly believe the lack of a retina screen will become a non-factor when people actually start to use the Mini.

Amazon and Google tablets may go the way of the Touchpad once Apple drops the price - if not before.

The ppi is still better than the iPad 2 so that's good. The size is really nice for women and their purses or doctors and lab coats.

 

[urkel]

I think the $329 price aligns right up with the fact that Apple products offer you an experience and convenience not found in similar products. READ: you cannot get the accessibility to the App Store, familiarity and reliability of iOS and it's further iterations, a 10-hour battery life, or the pedigree that comes along with owning an Apple product as you would get with any other 7 inch tablet.

I have a feeling you'd be writing the exact same praise for Apples pricing if it were $399, $429 or $529. Nevermind the specs being 2 generations old, Apple can do no wrong.

 

[CapnJackGig]

The last thing we need are sheeple making excuses for Apple's pricing. Have some self-respect.

 

[treyjustice]

So if my calculator can run the App Store and iOS... than it's worth $329. No, the specs are subpar.

I don't think the specs are subpar. I'm sure it will run anything in the app store perfectly fine. I'm still using my iPad 2 and it runs everything perfect. Sometimes even faster than my mothers ipad 3. Now I agree not having retina sucks but I don't hold it against them.

 

[iSingandiDance]

I have a feeling you'd be writing the exact same praise for Apples pricing if it were $399, $429 or $529. Nevermind the specs being 2 generations old, Apple can do no wrong.

Not at all. I would invest that towards a MBA or an iMac.

I don't hold Apple in this high regard. I just want a smaller version of the iPad - at a reasonable price.

 

[Southernboyj]

I don't think the specs are subpar. I'm sure it will run anything in the app store perfectly fine. I'm still using my iPad 2 and it runs everything perfect. Sometimes even faster than my mothers ipad 3. Now I agree not having retina sucks but I don't hold it against them.

You're right, it's completely reasonable to put a display on it in near 2013 with the same resolution of the original iPad from 2010.

 

[raccoonboy]

Are you Tim Cook's personal publicist?

 

[LizKat]

You're right, it's completely reasonable to put a display on it in near 2013 with the same resolution of the original iPad from 2010.

Sheesh, so don't buy it if you are so offended by its spec. One more first-world problem solved!

 

[iRabbit]

I'm as big an Apple Fan as anyone, but I don't think it's "priced just right"

$249 would have been agressively competitive. $299 was what I hoped, and what seemed realistic. $329 is just "ok". Worth the cost of entry, but with a little hesitation.

And I think there should only be a $50 price different between the 16 and 32gb models at this point. Prices of storage are not what they were a few years ago... they've gotten cheaper. Not worth the $100 increments, IMO.

$299, $349, $449 would have been perfect, IMO, as their price structure (wifi only). $100 more for their respective cellular models.

I think PART of the problem was they priced themselves into a corner, since the newest iPod Touch starts at $299, and they couldn't have the iPad Mini be the same price... hence the very odd $329.

Just my thoughts.