Apple’s newest hardware is here for a lot of device lineups, including the iPad, which has seen the launch of the new iPad Air and the second gen iPad mini with Retina display. The new devices are all shiny and cool, boasting the latest in hardware and software both, but that doesn’t mean we can forget the old ones just yet. Although the iPad 2 and iPad mini are rather old now, they’re still continuing, albeit at a lower cost for the first-gen iPad mini. The iPad 2 will continue to sell for a price of $399, while the first-gen iPad mini will continue to retail at a new starting price point of $299.
The iPad mini (the first-gen one) has seen a drop in price, although it’s for the basic, 16GB Wi-Fi only model. The other ones will cost respectively more. At the same time, both the iPad 2 and the iPad mini will be retailing at $100 less than the current models, which the Cupertino company is selling at $499 for the new iPad Air (16GB Wi-Fi model) and $399 for the second-gen iPad mini (again the 16GB Wi-Fi only model). The price drops become effective immediately if you buy from an authorized Apple retailer, or the fruit company itself.
It remains to be seen whether Apple made a wise choice to continue selling both these devices. While we completely understand the choice behind the original iPad mini, which is merely a year old, it is a fact that iPad 2 represents hardware that’s almost two years old now.
With the launch of the iPad Air, Apple has discontinued the 4th-gen iPad with Retina display, and it had already discontinued the iPad 3 when it unveiled iPad 4 just six months after the launch of the former. Hence, the only available device right now is iPad 2 and that naturally saw a reduction in price.
From a consumer perspective, however, it doesn’t make much sense to spend $399 on hardware that’s not only too old, but also, considerably laggy and incompatible with various new apps. In fact, the way I see it, this might incite people more to go for used iPad 3 and 4 being sold through portals like eBay and Craigslist, or worse (for Apple), switch over to Android tablets, with which the market is brimming.
It’ll take some time for the effects to materialize for a proper analysis, but for now, despite the price drops, things don’t look too good for Apple with this rather-strange move.
You may also like to check out:
- Apple iPad Air Announced: Features, Availability, Price
- Apple iPad mini 2 With Retina Display Announced: Everything You Need To Know
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