IHS: Apple 'leapfrogging the competition' with new iPad

Apple debuted the new iPad at a press event in San Francisco this Tuesday, wowing a gathered crowd with its super HD Retina display. According to market research firm IHS, that wow factor will propel the device's demand when it launches next week, leaving many would-be buyers waiting on back orders.

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"With the release of the third-generation iPad, Apple is leapfrogging the competition, resetting the bar for media tablet performance," said Rhoda Alexander, senior manager for tablet and monitor research, IHS. "We expect demand for the new iPad -- with its high-resolution, 2,048 by 1,536 display -- to outstrip supply for much of the year."

Analysts suspect the new iPad's predicted supply problems will stem from the inherent difficulty in producing its new key feature, the 2048×1536 QXGA Retina display. Manufacturing the cutting-edge screen is no mean feat, with early yields expected to be small. This could prove an early obstacle for the device considering how in demand the past two models were at launch. The iPad 2 faced its own shortages following its March 2011 launch, but still managed to sell more than one million units during its opening weekend.

Despite the potential supply hiccups, Alexander believes the new iPad will easily win back the bit of market share lost to competitors last quarter. For 2012, the analyst expects Apple to hold 61 percent of global tablet market shipments, a slim four percent increase from 4Q 2011. That margin will fall to 52 percent in 2014.

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Launched in November, Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet made strong debuts, attracting thrifty consumers with sub-iPad pricing. The two companies each grabbed single-digit market share in the increasingly competitive tablet business.

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