iPad Pro Shipments To Total Fewer Than 3 Million Units In 4Q15 – Digitimes Research

Digitimes Research’s Jim Hsiao notes that Apple’s new iPad Pro when equipped with a Smart Keyboard and Apple iPad Pencil will sell for in excess of US$1,000, rendering its price/performance ratio much weaker than that of the MacBook Airs or Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Pro 4 at similar price levels. Moreover, Hsiao notes that with OEM supply of iPad Pro Oxide TFT (IGZO) panels also faces shortages, with early days shipments of the device expected to total fewer than three million units in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Photo Courtesy Apple

Hsaio observes that while a 32GB iPad Pro with a keyboard and an iPad Pencil is priced at US$1,067, a 128GB 11.6-inch (non Retina) MacBook Air starts at US$899, and Microsoft’s forthcoming Surface Pro 4 and a keyboard together will be priced at a similar level as the iPad Pro combo, but in terms of hardware performance and enterprise usage conveniences, the iPad Pro is much weaker due to the limitations of Apple’s iOS mobile operating system as opposed to the Surface’s ability to run the full desktop version of Windows 10, as well as the iPad Pro’s lack of standard connectivity and expansion ports.

Hasio says the iPad Pro’s IGZO panel is currently supplied only by Sharp, with LG Display to begin ramping up a small volume od production begining in November, and no supply from Samsung until 2016. Consequently, he observes, Digitimes Research projects that even after Apple starts shipping iPad Pro in November, volume will be limited to between 2.5 and 3 million units in Q4/15

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