Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) current iPad devices sales are expected to see a steep decline in the first quarter. As per KGI Research, the total sales can decline by as much as 54.5% in the first quarter of 2015. Also, the much-anticipated 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’ launch can delay to the second quarter of 2015.
The expectations
The market as well as the customers are expecting Apple to launch the new ‘iPad Pro’ in the first quarter. However, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI believes that the 12.9 inch tablet will not be manufactured in time for being launched in the first quarter. Apple will face a time crunch to assemble and start the mass production in the first quarter of 2015.
As per Kuo, Apple is using oxide LCD technology to manufacture the high-resolution display of the new product. It will offer high color saturation and quick response time to the user. Even Apple used a 2-inch oxide TFT display panel in its latest iMac device. It even had a Retina 5K display.
The shipments
Kuo expects the overall shipments for current iPad models to fall sharply in the 1Q2015. The decline will be seen even after Apple has launched IPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2 recently. In the 1Q2015, the company will witness a seasonal drop in sales that can lead to a sales decline of 9.8 million iPad units.
The new devices including iPad Air 2 has failed to boost the demand. There is extreme proliferation in the marketplace due to which it won’t be easy for Apple and other tablet makers to boost their sales in the first quarter of 2015.
Apple, however, initiated some measures to enhance in enterprise sales in an over-saturated consumer industry. It deployed a special sales team to attract the interest of big corporations. It even associated with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) to provide industry-specific offerings to the enterprise customers.
