Will Apple Release a 7-inch iPad in 2012? No, And Here is Why
Will Apple release a 7-inch iPad in 2012? It’s an interesting question, for sure, and one which has re-captured my attention from thoughts I had way back when the Amazon Kindle Fire was announced. You see, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that there is a market for smaller sized tablets with the HTC Flyer, original Galaxy Tab and more recently the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet drawing up interest from consumers; but is it really ‘Apple-like’ for the Cupertino based technology giant to release a product to bridge the gap between its current portfolio?
Well to go against a very recent post from Digitimes, which stated “Apple is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 in addition to a new iPad scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter”, I personally think the question this post poses has one very clear answer; NO Apple will not release a 7-inch tablet, and here is why:
1) The Apple iPad brand is here to stay, will continue to sell millions, and is a safe bet when putting money on the tablet holding the majority market share as far as 2015 with thanks to impeccable marketing and competitive pricing.
2) Apple hates fragmentation even within its own product line, and would rather keep their portfolio simple just like the design of their software, hardware and business infrastructure.
3) Steve Jobs (may he RIP) branded smaller sized tablets “useless unless you include sandpaper so users can sand their fingers down to a quarter of their size.” Now I’m not a time traveler, however I would highly doubt Apple would ever go back on what their former CEO stated right there.
4) Apple are happy with their iPad as it sells well and further adds appeal to its brand. On top of this, the majority of iPad users are happy with the size of their tablet, and if they want more function can jailbreak ipad 2 if they so please.
If you take two minutes to combine the four points above (that the iPad brand is ridiculously strong, Apple hates fragmentation and Steve Jobs thought 7-inch tablets we’re useless) you pretty much have a majority vote for Digitimes lacking merit here. I’m open to a blasting though, so feel free to fire your birds at my castle. Long live 10-inch tablets.
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If Apple definitely stays our of the 7-inch market, that would be interesting for sure. There is definitely a whole market segment out there that likes the idea of a smaller tablet. That would likely mean that Android would dominate the 7-inch market. Since Android-based phones already outnumber iphones, Apple has to consider if it wants to ignore the market share battle in a potentially large segment of the tablet market.