RUMOR: Apple iPad 3 to launch this year at current prices; iPad 2 to be discounted, discontinued

“Apple is expected by many to break from its typical cycle of releasing new mobile device models annually when it launches the iPad 3 ahead of the holiday season this year,” Zach Epstein reports for BGR.

“The new iPad model will supposedly feature a high-resolution Retina Display,” Epstein reports. “A new report from Taiwan Economic News claims that Apple’s third-generation iPad could launch at the iPad 2′s current price points… and Apple will then discount the iPad 2 in order to clear inventory.”

Epstein reports, “Apple’s original iPad models were discounted by $100 each — and by as much as $300 by third-party retailers — following the launch of the iPad 2, and Taiwan Economic News cites anonymous industry executives in claiming that Apple may use a similar formula.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]

35 Comments

    1. Makes perfect business sense ….. Let me explain my thoughts:

      #1 … iPad 2 was not a huge upgrade from original – Apple already had most of the formula / specs written for iPad 2 before original hit the market ….

      #2 …. As you saw with iPad 2 Apple stole the show from XOOM as the iPad 2 launched right after the XOOM – Question: How many XOOM went unpurchased waiting to see what iPad 2 was?

      #3 …. iPad is simply an overgrown iPhone in a lot of respects and was actually on the drawing board first but they thought that would make a heck of a phone so the iPhone was born – And Jobs is both older and much wiser now – This whole iPhone – iPad iTouch was thought out and years in the making – Apple is having an all out assault on Windows and Android – and breaking with customary procedures is part of that

      $4 Based on yearly cycles how does one explain the new MacAir after only 8 months? Apple is mounting an all out assault no holes barred baby!

    1. You are 100% correct. These rumors are being tossed out to make potiential iPad 2 customers hesitate. This gives the wannabes time to try and convince people that they should buy their knock offs. If Apple were to leak a few stories about the iPad 2 being the hottest holiday gift this coming season may help shut down a few rumor mills.

  1. I don’t believe this at all. But lets just say they sense an iPod type of dominance opportunity by releasing this early to really kill off any kind of competition no matter how small it is

  2. iPad 3 (if at all in 2011) = “iPad2 pro”. ie same as 2 except for retina screen and perhaps flash mem bump. only avail as custom-order option for any current model (couple hundred $ add). too much risk to pre-stock 2x current model variations. there is a market for this but it is small % of overall ipad buyers. ios update will provide ability to “double-pixel” existing ipad apps and give option to developers to include retina-resolution (enhanced artwork, etc) versions… ie “ipadpro” apps. exact same evolution as was with iphone retina change.

  3. Apple’s unspoken promise to consumers is that they won’t feel cheated or robbed by products having a vastly different spec being released less than a year apart…

    When you buy your iPad (on day 1) you start saving for the next one which you’ll buy in approx 1 years time TO THE DAY.

    Apple isn’t gonna piss off the people who routinely buy the product as soon as it’s available.. These are the alpha consumers that buy apple products..

    Although apple never releases a time frame, consumers are safe in the knowledge that their purchase will be the TOP product for a minimum of 1 year… (if you buy on day one…)

    Apple unlike the other manufacturers is predictable once devices are released.. They keep their customers happy with top end products at affordable prices, and leaves them feeling happy with the purchase.

    This is always gonna happen as the competition hates to see apple doing so well, for the life of them they simply cannot compete! – underhanded tactics employed by piss poor companies!

    1. Except that’s exactly what Apple did with the iPad 2. It was released less than a year after the iPad 1, which brings me to a theory. The iPad 1 is a reference design; the iPad 2 was always Apple’s true intention. By releasing the first version, Apple wrong foots the entire industry knowing that competitors will slavishly copy it. The competition starts churning out copies but meanwhile the iPad 2 is already waiting in the wings: indeed, it was the day the iPad 1 was released. Companies spend millions developing and marketing their also-rans and then Apple drop the hydrogen bomb with iPad 2. Result: Apple ensure their dominance of the nascent tablet industry for the foreseeable future. This is the neatest example of the puck metaphor imaginable.

      I truly believe the iPad 1 was solely intended as an audacious sleight-of-hand to force the hands of the competition. They burn through a pile of cash creating a response, they all sell badly, then Apple sail over their heads with the iPad 2 leaving them in the dust. Who else but Cupertino could pull off such a brilliant strategy?

      =:~)

        1. Of course they made money but that does not invalidate my theory, which is all it is—a theory. It does, however, explain the rather strange reason for the iPad 2’s extraordinarily rapid release less than a year after the iPad 1. I can think of no other hardware product Apple has ever released that happened inside the usual yearly cycle.

          If I’m right, it just shows that Apple have a pair of brass ones the size of Africa 🙂

          =:~)

    2. There are a few uses for ‘obsolete’ ipads. Picture frames, movie or music players, games, internet, serving tray… I mean really the thing should last 10 years with no moving parts.

  4. I agree this is not going to see the day of light until next year.
    I honestly think these iPad rumors are started to quell sales of the current version.
    It makes absolutely no sense to release another version this year.

  5. I like the notion of an iPad Pro, and having it cost $100 to $200 more, while keeping the iPad2 available at current prices. Then, the two devices stay on separate refresh schedules. Thus, two iPad launches a year!

  6. Sold my iPad 2 at a profit a month after it came out. Downgraded to my trusty iPad 1, will upgrade the new one when it comes out. The wife has an iPad 2, it’s definitely a whole lot faster, but I use it as a news consumption devise, don’t really need the power… yet 😉

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