Apple’s current CEO–Tim Cook–is considered as one of the most efficient administrators in supply chain management. This time, he has been nominated as most powerful person in the U.S. wireless industry space as well. Undoubtedly, the CEO has brought the company to peak — which is currently sitting on hoard of cash. Being the CEO, Tim Cook has continuously been refreshing its all product lineups, and this time, we could easily see a slew of Apple’s revamped products in the market. On the other hand, the company’s former CEO–Steve Jobs–differentiated the company (compare to other technology companies) through visionary products. He believed that an innovative product would be a pillar of success for any technology company.
But, Tim Cook wants to differentiate Apple by premium products. This is the reason why he is continuously refreshing the company’s products’ lineups. However, the strategy has been successful so far, and it’s probably better in sense that the people don’t feel like they should wait for a long time to get their hand on the company’s new products such as, the new iPad and iPhone.
According to a Japanese site Macotakara, Apple could launch a bigger iPad (say fifth generation iPad) as soon as in March next year. The fifth generation iPad is expected to be more like the iPad Mini, a thinner and lighter Tablet. Apple just released its fourth generation iPad in October this year, and now, there’s a buzz about iPad 5.
However, it’s also said that the internal components of iPad 5 will be similar to its predecessor (iPad 4). The new iPad (iPad 5) will feature 4 mm, 17 mm and 2 mm smaller in height, width and depth than the current models. Of course, the company is trying to put pedal to the metal by launching out new iPad updates in every six months. The company is endeavoring to make sure that Samsung, Microsoft, Google and Amazon could not catch up in the Tablet market.
Six month ahead – since the launch of iPad 3, Apple launched fourth iteration of its iPad (iPad 4), which is virtually identical to the iPad 3 except the processor. The processor in iPad 3 has been bumped up to an A6X, which is claimed twice as fast as the A5X processor found in the iPad 3. Apparently, the company’s iPad 4 launch surprised everyone in October this year.
Apple is currently facing fierce competition from Microsoft’s new Surface Tablet. The Tablet (Surface) is expected to reach 1 million units figure by the end of this year. Although, the figure is quite low compare to the unit shipments of iPads in Q4 this year, but it could be threat for Apple’s iPad business. In other words, if Microsoft’s Surface Tablet does succeed to grab the attention of consumers and businesses, it would definitely be a risk to Apple’s Tablet shipments. It might be one of the reasons why Apple could launch its fifth generation iPad soon.
In addition to this, Apple could also implement “GF DITO” touchscreen technology in next iteration of Tablet with more power-efficient chips. The technology would help the company to make the product 23% thinner and 53% lighter than its predecessors (full-size iPad). In the past, the company’s product launches were distributed across the year. But this time, the company is more intent to launch the products (especially mobile products) periodically in very short span of time.
