Skip to main content

Is Apple’s iPad invincible?

Image used with permission by copyright holder

I was at an Intel sales event this week with a bunch of analysts, and several of us got to talking about Apple, and how confident the company was in the iPad. Despite an army of competitors emerging this year, Apple remains assured that they’ll all look second-rate compared to the iPad and iPad 2. Apparently there is method to their madness, and a number of us have been hearing other OEMs complain that they just can’t get a comparable product to market for anywhere near the same price. They do plan to have smaller products to market at a lower price, but we are working from a rumor that says Apple has a strategy to deal with that problem as well. In addition, a number of us have heard of yet another enhancement the iPad 2 is likely to get.

Let’s talk iPads today!

Recommended Videos

Apple owns the 10-inch market

Apparently, at the core of Apple’s confidence is the belief that they have virtually locked up the vast majority of 10-inch touchscreen capacity through this year. Only Apple thought that tablets would be successful early on, and apparently no one (who is talking) did the same. As a result, you have a lot of vendors bidding for a constrained resource, and that has caused the price of the remaining capacity to skyrocket. This means that no one can get close to Apple’s price, even if they forego profit. Apple has effectively locked them out of the market.

A lot of screen manufactures did build 10-inch displays for netbooks, but they stopped selling in high volumes, and because theses displays are in the wide-screen format, they don’t lend themselves to much of anything else that is selling in high volume. If someone gets a smartbook right, that could lead to a good opportunity, because these screen manufactures are almost giving the non-touch screens away. I’m not holding my breath.

The 7-inch counter strategy

The counter strategy from a number of OEMs has been to build a 7-inch tablet and sell it at a lower price to compete with the iPad. We saw the beginning of this when Samsung reduced the price of the Galaxy Tab sharply, and started to sell them in higher volumes as a result. Still, at best the Galaxy may have sold 10 percent of what the iPad did, and even that number is likely way overstated. In effect, the Galaxy became what the Zune was to the iPod: a nicely built, but largely uncompetitive offering in a market Apple literally owns.

Countering the counter strategy

Even this small advantage may go away when the iPad 2 ships. Apparently, Apple is considering dropping the price of the entry level iPad to equal the price of many of these 7-inch tablets. That would once again give folks a choice between something big from Apple, and something small from Samsung, for the same price. I expect most will continue to choose the Apple.

HP’s wild card

HP is expected to launch the new Palm Tablet in a few days (February 9). HP has historically been just as aggressive as Apple is in terms of locking up supply for a new product well in advance, and because HP sells far more PCs, it actually has more bidding power than Apple does. There is a chance that HP already tied up screen capacity to make a real run at Apple’s iPad dominance, but it would appear to be the only one, and even that possible advantage is just speculation. The company co

ld just as easily be SOL like every other competitor.

A Retina iPad?

Several of my peers are convinced that Apple will launch a new, high-end iPad that will have a very high-resolution Retina Display sometime this year. Apple likes premium offerings, and because no one can seem to create a product anything like the iPad for a similar price, Apple actually has the value product this round. That would mean Apple is inclined to create a better premium product and drive people to it, while the lower-end offering with the less-attractive display is used for volume, and to assure Apple continues to dominate this segment. If Apple does this, much as it did with the iPhone 4, it will likely double the resolution over the base model with this display. On the other hand, Apple doesn’t like a complex line, which means that if it does a high-end display, it may drop it into the entire iPad 2 line of products.

Wrapping up: Apple has every reason to be optimistic

In the first half of the year, only HP and possibly Research in Motion (RIM) have the positioning to take a bite out of Apple, and few (as in none) believe that RIM has the chops to do this. HP likely is anticipating Apple’s move and should be able to provide a surprise, but “could” and “does” are two very different words. HP, to my knowledge, has never upset Apple’s apple cart before. With the iPad expected to come out before June and possibly as early as March, we’ll know on Feb. 9 whether HP even has a shot. I think HP has a long shot, but my peers don’t even give them that much.

In the end, Apple appears to have a good reason to be confident.

Rob Enderle
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rob is President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, a forward-looking emerging technology advisory firm. Before…
Best tablet deals: iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Fire, and more
Front face of Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.

Whether for work, play, or anything in between, a new tablet can make a nice addition to your device lineup. They’re perfect for kids, professionals, and content creators, and most brands have a tablet to offer for every price point. Tablets also make great tech for some savings, as even the best tablets will see a discount pretty often. There are a lot of tablet deals going on right now and among them are some of the best Samsung tablet deals, best iPad deals, and best Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals we’ve seen. There are even some Amazon Fire Tablet deals and Kindle deals to check out. Below you’ll find what we feel are the best tablet deals to shop right now, as well as some information on why each might best suit your tablet needs.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (32GB) -- $128 $185 31% off

If you need an Android tablet for simple tasks like browsing the internet and watching streaming shows, the affordable Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite may be enough for you. Its 8.7-inch screen is decent with WXGA+ resolution, while maintaining portability so you can easily hold the tablet in one hand. Its internal storage is limited at 32GB, but you can expand it by up to 1TB using a microSD card. For the clumsy ones, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is perfect for you because it's protected by a sturdy metal frame.

Read more
Today only: The 4th Gen iPad Pro with M2 is $600 off
The front and back of the M2 iPad Pro.

Not long ago, we lived in a world without the Apple iPad. While it was a scary time, we’ve since had close to 15 years of iPad releases, and Apple shows no signs of stopping. One of the best versions of the popular tablet is the 4th Gen iPad Pro with Apple’s M2 chip. As luck would have it, this model is on sale at Best Buy today:

For just a few more hours, when you purchase the 4th Gen M2 iPad Pro (Wi-Fi w/ 2TB), you’ll save $600. At full price, this iPad sells for $1,900. This is one of the most insane iPad deals we’ve seen this week, so you definitely don’t want to miss this markdown!

Read more
Here’s every iPhone and iPad that supports Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple's WWDC 2024 keynote was one of the biggest ones that the company had made in years. During this keynote, the company showed us what we'd be getting in iOS 18, which includes some big user-requested features like more home screen customization, RCS messaging support, and more. But that's not all — this is the first iOS that brings AI into the iPhone with Apple Intelligence.

Apple Intelligence, as Apple calls it, is a powerful suite of AI tools that will help make your life even easier. From new writing tools and summarization features to image generation and the ability to create unique emojis, Apple Intelligence definitely looks impressive.

Read more