A couple of days ago after some rumors, Apple really did launch the 8GB iPhone 5c and reintroduced the iPad 4 which would be officially replacing the iPad 2 as the lower-cost iPad model. We’re sure many of you guys are wondering if by introducing these products, would it be able to generate sufficient interest to impact Apple’s profit margins?
Well we can only assume that that’s what Apple had in mind, but one analyst by the name of Gene Munster appears to be a little skeptical about Apple’s efforts. Munster admits that these “new” products will have a slight positive benefit for Apple over the next two quarters, but calls it “ultimately irrelevant” for the company’s June quarter.
He also disagrees with Wall Street’s estimation that Apple is expected to report a revenue of $38.7 billion which would be a 10% year-over-year growth, a number which he feels is too high. “Given that there are no meaningful changes to the company’s product line-up or identifiable seasonal trends heading into June, we believe it is unlikely we see the significant acceleration the Street is currently expecting.”
Perhaps we can understand his skepticism. After all the 8GB iPhone 5c was launched in only a handful of markets, such as China, UK, France, Germany, and Australia, with Apple skipping its home market in the US. Perhaps if Apple had targeted more markets, the 8GB iPhone 5c could do much better, but that’s just speculation on our part.
As for the iPad 4, its price of $399 puts it in competition with the Retina iPad mini which is priced the same as well, so we guess it’s a question of whether customers would rather pay less for a larger screen but for a heavier design, or pay the same amount for a smaller but newer iPad. What do you guys think? Will the 8GB iPhone 5c and relaunched iPad 4 impact Apple in a positive way?