New iPads could bolster Apple's lead in China’s tablet market
Authorities yet to approve models with combined Wi-fi and cellular connections, says insider
Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland are among 32 countries and territories where Apple’s newly launched iPads will be initially made available later next week.
Pre-orders for the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 at the online Apple Store start today. In Hong Kong, prices for the iPad Air 2 start at HK$3,888 and the iPad mini 3 at HK$3,088.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook pointed out that the start of pre-orders fell on the same day as Apple’s biggest iPhone launch on the mainland, with all three nationwide telecommunications network operators — China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom — launching the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The Wi-fi version of the new iPads will initially be available on the mainland. An Apple insider said the company was still in the process of getting approval from authorities to release the Wi-fi and cellular-network-enabled version of the new iPads.
The early release of the new iPad models on the mainland augurs well for Apple to strengthen its position in the world’s second-largest economy, where the iPad remains the top-selling media tablet since its first model was introduced to the domestic market in September 2010.
"I don’t see any vendor being able to upstage Apple in tablets in [mainland] China just yet, given its sheer scale and size, as well as the legion of loyal consumers waiting in the wings to lap up new Apple devices," Avinash Kalyana Sundaram, senior market analyst at technology research firm IDC, told the South China Morning Post.
Total tablet sales on the mainland are forecast to reach 28.4 million units this year, up from 25.9 million units last year, according to IDC.
The mainland’s top five tablet suppliers during the first six months of this year and for the whole of last year are Apple, Samsung Electronics, Lenovo, Huawei Technologies and Asus, in that order, according to IDC.
Apple on Thursday unveiled the latest iPads at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, where the company also announced that its Apple Pay mobile-payments system would roll out across the United States from October 20.
Philip Schiller, senior vice-president for worldwide marketing at Apple, touted the iPad Air 2 as "the thinnest tablet in the world", at 6.1 millimetres.
The device also weighs less than a pound, at 437 grams for the Wi-fi version and 444 grams for the model with both Wi-fi and cellular network connections.
Like the latest iPhones, the new iPads feature the "Touch ID" fingerprint identity sensor in its main button. This is a security feature that is also expected to help advance the use of the iPad in enterprises.
Touch ID gives iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users a simple and secure way to unlock the device with just the touch of a finger, as well as the ability to authenticate within mobile applications to better protect logins and data. It can also be used as a secure way to approve purchases from the online App Store, where there are 675,000 apps for the iPad.
Both the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 also have added colours – now available in gold, silver and grey – to help boost sales in the lucrative fourth-quarter shopping season.
Other features on the latest iPads include Apple’s Retina display with anti-reflective coating to reduce glare, the new A8X chip for faster processing, improved back and front cameras, and support for more 4G mobile frequency bands.
While Apple has remained strong in the mainland’s tablet market, it faces more competition in smartphones. Low-cost Android smartphones from the likes of Lenovo, Xiaomi, Huawei Technologies and Samsung Electronics have outsold Apple’s iPhone on the mainland in recent years.
The new iPhones with larger displays, however, could help turn the tide for Apple, despite these being premium-priced models.
The Post reported on Thursday that more than 20 million iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus models have been ordered through the Apple Store, mainland mobile network operators and e-commerce giant JD.com since pre-orders became available last Friday.