Apple looks to reinvigorate its tablet range

In a bid to see off the competition in the ever increasing tablet market, Apple has been looking to reinvigorate its range with the launch of two new models.

Its new iPad Air 2 is the thinnest tablet computer on the market, the manufacturer has claimed. Unveiled officially in October, the device has a thickness of just 6.1mm (0.24 inches), making it 18 per cent thinner than its predecessor.

A number of new features have been added to the updated model, such as a fingerprint sensor and an anti-reflective screen. It also boasts a faster A8X processor – an improved version of the chip found in Apple’s latest smartphones.

Unveiled alongside the new iPad Air 2 was the latest version of Apple’s compact offering, the iPad Mini 3. Whilst this device comes equipped with the same sensor technology as its larger sibling, the Mini 3 runs on the slightly less powerful A7 processor and has a lower-resolution rear camera.

[themecolor]Market grows as iPad sales fall[/themecolor]

These releases mark the latest move in Apple’s drive to boost sales of its tablet range after a slight lull. A recent report showed that 13.3 million iPads were sold in the second quarter of 2014, representing a year-on-year drop of nine per cent. This comes despite increases in the sales of both iPhones and Mac computers.

The global tablet market saw growth of 11 per cent during the same period, further highlighting Apple’s own decline. According to research from IDC, Asus and Lenovo saw some of the biggest improvements.

It has been suggested that the drop could be explained, to some extent, by the release of the iPhone 6 Plus. With a screen measuring 5.5 inches, it’s Apple’s largest smartphone yet.

IDC research analyst Jitesh Ubrani was quoted by iwebstreet.com as saying: “Given that Apple’s launched larger iPhones, it needs to find a market that the iPad Mini fits into.

“It was a response to the market as a whole moving to smaller tablets. And now that ‘phablets’ are growing in not just screen size but also in market size, unless Apple carves out a special place for it, we expect sales of the Mini in particular to be cannibalised quite a bit.”