The latest report from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will delay its expected launch of a 12.9 (or 12.2)-inch iPad ‘Pro’ as it predicts a 50% decline for iPad shipments heading into next year. Specifically, KGI thinks Apple will sell just under 10 million units in Q1 2015 following a busy holiday season in the last quarter of this year. That would be a 54.5% drop from quarter to quarter with KGI predicting 21 million iPad units sold during the Q4 2014 Holiday quarter:
We forecast iPad shipments will fall 54.5% QoQ to 9.8mn units in 1Q15, given a lack of new applications, tablet market saturation and slow season… We believe that, in a major shift, while Apple (US) used to be able to use new form factor designs to boost demand, it has failed to do so this time around. The lighter and thinner iPad Air 2 will face strong headwinds in increasing sales in 1Q15, we believe; we also hold that this means that iPad, along with the entire tablet market, is faced with structural challenges characterized by a lack of new applications and market saturation.
Earlier reports claimed that Apple was on track to release the larger iPad “early next year,” but today Kuo said production issues will push back mass production of the device from the Q1 to Q2 of next year.
Kuo adds that Apple will take advantage of an oxide panel on the 12.9-inch iPad that will provide “spec requirements of high resolution, quick response and high color saturation.”
Several reports in recent months have claimed to share details of the yet to be announced iPad that will reportedly sport a display measuring somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-inches. Bloomberg and others reported that Apple was planning on release the device sometime in early 2015, while a report from The Wall Street Journal last month claimed Apple had postponed mass production of the larger iPad from December 2014 into next year as suppliers struggled to meet demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch.
Would you buy a 12-13-inch iPad Pro?
