Apple Reveals Thinner iPad and Retina iPad Mini

Top-of-the-line tablet called the iPad Air was launched by Apple Inc. that is about 20% thinner when compared to its predecessor. The 9.7 inch device has a weight of about 1lb and is about 7.5mm thick and according to the company, it is the lightest yet full-sized tablet that can be found in the market today. Just like the company’s iPhone 5S, this device is also powered by the A7. This launch has come at a time when analysts have been predicting that Google’s Android OS is nearly ready to overtake the iOS platform of Apple Inc. as the bestselling tablet platform. A new version of the iPad Mini was also announced by the American multinational.

The resolution of this 7.9 inch has been improved and is very much like its larger version. Therefore, it is being referred to as ‘retina’ display for emphasizing the improved screen. Small tablets like the Google Nexus and Kindle Fire HDX have been announced by Google and Amazon respectively and they are known to have similar high definition displays. An analyst said that many had been of the opinion that the retina display should have been part of the first iPad Mini as well. Also, he added that it was inevitable for the company to lose its market share because there are numerous rival devices being launched.

The overall sector is growing, which is good news, but not necessarily for Apple. There is now a cheaper model of the iPad available in the market because the original iPad Mini will have a lower price, but the company isn’t willing to go to the low-end of the pool because that’s not where the real profit lies. The latest version of its Mac operating system was also announced by the iPhone maker. This new version is called Mavericks and will be available free of charge to those people who have been using OS X since it was launched in 2009.

This would be the first time the company wouldn’t be charging for making a major upgrade to the Mac OS. New leisure and productivity apps and also laptops were unveiled by the company at its October 22nd event, but it did not release a new TV set-top box as had been speculated by some people. As per the latest financial release of the company, 19% of its revenue in the nine months ending in July had been contributed by the iPad. Nonetheless, the company acknowledged that the amount of money it was earning had grown three times slower as compared to the unit sales because a large number of customers were opting for the iPad Mini instead of other models.

Apart from that, the iPhone giant also has to contend with the fact that it’s losing market share to other rival firms. In 2012, Apple had had a 53.9% share in the tablet market. It has been predicted that the Android OS will become the market leader this year with a 49.6% share while Apple has 48.6%. The gap is expected to increase next year.