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Why are people so convienced in a 6mo price drop/upgrade?
- Thread starter Simgar988
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I think it's very possible there could be a fall refresh. Why?
1. There are iChat strings in OS 4.0. The iPhone is rumored to get a webcam and that could include the iPad when it's updated to 4.0 in the fall.
2. The iPod touch will also be getting a camera this fall.
3. If storage goes as expected, the touch will have a 128GB drive and the iPad would have half the storage at a higher price.
4. A fall OS update could conveniently occur with a hardware upgrade.
1. There are iChat strings in OS 4.0. The iPhone is rumored to get a webcam and that could include the iPad when it's updated to 4.0 in the fall.
2. The iPod touch will also be getting a camera this fall.
3. If storage goes as expected, the touch will have a 128GB drive and the iPad would have half the storage at a higher price.
4. A fall OS update could conveniently occur with a hardware upgrade.
I agree with Dammit Cubs. An iPad refresh with camera would kill iPhone sales. You might see an iPad refresh next year when the iPhone has about 8 or 9 months on it but not sooner. Why would Apple shoot themselves in the foot with a new product (iPad) that they are trying to get uptake from. I call BS on this rumor.
It's going to be tricky managing the public's expectations when the iPad and iPhone have such commonality of features and yet different release points.
However, the fact the iPod Touch still lacks a camera may point to the iPad lagging behind the iPhone in terms of feature set.
However, the fact the iPod Touch still lacks a camera may point to the iPad lagging behind the iPhone in terms of feature set.
The iPad is selling well on a price that Apple has pushed to be able to sell it at. They won't lower the price in 6 months, I expect a yearly update but I'm not sure they are going to lower the price even then. Maybe they do as with the iPhone so the next iPad 128GB iPad will be what the 64GB iPad is today and so one.
I think Apple plans some iPad specific os enhancements such as improved file access and they aren't ready to have ppl run the sdk on iPad yet so they are holding off iPad updates until fall. I would not rule out a hardware update or price adjustment. Apple waited a long time into the laptop hunter ad series before adjusting MacBook pricing. I don't think they will leave iPad pricing untouched if other tablets are out for less money in the fall. As for a hardware upgrade like a camera or more memory, it's a crap shoot.
If I was convinced that aliens were going to destroy the earth in a week would that make you worry also?
A storage upgrade is a refresh albeit a minor one. There's nothing particularly enthralling about adding a $.50 webcam part either.
I don't know about a price drop, but I expect a product cycle less than a year. Why? The shorter the product cycle, the more the hype machine will be running and the more money they will make. A new product will sell a lot easier than a 8-12 month old product still on the shelf.
And don't compare this to the iPhone. The 1 year cycle of the iPhone is due to the cellphone industry and their restrictive contracts. Most people who buy an iPhone are locked into a 2 year contract. The potential population that can purchase a new iPhone is always constricted. And besides, can anyone name an Apple computing product, besides iPhone, that is on a 12 month cycle? Here, I'll help you:
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//
And don't compare this to the iPhone. The 1 year cycle of the iPhone is due to the cellphone industry and their restrictive contracts. Most people who buy an iPhone are locked into a 2 year contract. The potential population that can purchase a new iPhone is always constricted. And besides, can anyone name an Apple computing product, besides iPhone, that is on a 12 month cycle? Here, I'll help you:
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//
If anyone remembers the iPhone price drop was quick. I think they realized they weren't going to get the amount of sales they were hoping for at the original pricepoint so they dropped the price and gave those who bought the iPhone early at the higher price a credit.
The iPad was priced aggressively so they could sell a lot of them quickly.....seems to have worked. I don't see them dropping the prices anytime soon. If anything they may boost memory, drop the 16 and sell the 32 at $499. Maybe add a 128 version to the mix. I don't see that happening until fall as mentioned. I wouldn't anticipate any major hardware updates until next year though. Just my opinion though.
The iPad was priced aggressively so they could sell a lot of them quickly.....seems to have worked. I don't see them dropping the prices anytime soon. If anything they may boost memory, drop the 16 and sell the 32 at $499. Maybe add a 128 version to the mix. I don't see that happening until fall as mentioned. I wouldn't anticipate any major hardware updates until next year though. Just my opinion though.
That is the exception, rather than the rule about Apple pricing behavior.
More than any other computer maker, Apple holds the line on pricing. This is their one misjudgment. Note that they also had a 2 year contract to help defer the price drop.
So this time, it is nothing but wishful thinking.
Realistically expect ZERO price drop in the first 6 months.
I expect next year the refresh model might add a camera and keep the price the same.
Exactly. Apple put a product on the market without any sense of what people would pay and quickly adjusted the price to increase sales. That burned the early adopters who got some compensation in the form of iTunes credit. It has never happened again. The iPad is selling just fine. No need to adjust pricing or product.
The next generation of iPhone announcement is way behind schedule (likely due to the iPad). They'll be pushing into the fall to get a new model out and, if the Verizon rumors of late are true, they don't want to divert a lot of attention away from the next release which will undoubtedly cause a huge migration of users from AT&T needing all new hardware and existing Verizon users buying for the first time. That would be Apple's next big coup.
As I wrote in another thread, I believe all the evidence points to some sort of iPad upgrade or price change in the fall coinciding with iPad OS4 release and the holiday season.
Yes Apple is selling hundreds of thousands of iPads. I'm sure that they'd like to sell millions of them. It just makes a lot of sense that they would try to clear out some stock during back to school and then release a refreshed and/or downpriced model for the holiday season.
I'm not talking anything major, but perhaps they simply include the 3G features in the normal price, perhaps they add a front camera (I doubt rear camera), or perhaps they discontinue the 16GB model and drop the price points for the remainders.
I think a good point to think about is how the iPod Touch doesn't have a camera yet. Well I think it will soon. There's no easy way to get the iPod Touch (or iPad) to 128GB of storage space. a 64GB flash memory card costs more than $100 as Apple's wholesale cost. They won't be doing that for a while. So if Apple wants to keep their prices, but can't increase the flash storage, then one thing that they will probably do for the iPod Touch is include a camera. One thing they will probably do for the iPad is include a forward camera.
And "fall" could be 7 months from now. Nobody who buys an iPad now should care. Nobody thinks, "oh I should have waited seven months for the next model". If you like the iPad now at current prices, you shouldn't hesitate to buy. Just don't be pissed when there's a refresh or price drop of some kind in the fall.
A lot of people on the forum hold this misinformation that Apple updates all its hardware exactly once a year. This is false. Maybe it updates the physical hardware that often, but it also has hardware-unrelated pricedrops and if you look at the MacRumors Buyer's Guide you see that most things are either updated or pricedropped every 200 to 250 days.
Yes Apple is selling hundreds of thousands of iPads. I'm sure that they'd like to sell millions of them. It just makes a lot of sense that they would try to clear out some stock during back to school and then release a refreshed and/or downpriced model for the holiday season.
I'm not talking anything major, but perhaps they simply include the 3G features in the normal price, perhaps they add a front camera (I doubt rear camera), or perhaps they discontinue the 16GB model and drop the price points for the remainders.
I think a good point to think about is how the iPod Touch doesn't have a camera yet. Well I think it will soon. There's no easy way to get the iPod Touch (or iPad) to 128GB of storage space. a 64GB flash memory card costs more than $100 as Apple's wholesale cost. They won't be doing that for a while. So if Apple wants to keep their prices, but can't increase the flash storage, then one thing that they will probably do for the iPod Touch is include a camera. One thing they will probably do for the iPad is include a forward camera.
And "fall" could be 7 months from now. Nobody who buys an iPad now should care. Nobody thinks, "oh I should have waited seven months for the next model". If you like the iPad now at current prices, you shouldn't hesitate to buy. Just don't be pissed when there's a refresh or price drop of some kind in the fall.
A lot of people on the forum hold this misinformation that Apple updates all its hardware exactly once a year. This is false. Maybe it updates the physical hardware that often, but it also has hardware-unrelated pricedrops and if you look at the MacRumors Buyer's Guide you see that most things are either updated or pricedropped every 200 to 250 days.