Apple Said to Add Gold Option to IPad to Goose Sales

According to the inside sources, Apple is about to introduce a new color option in gold for the full size iPads and this comes as an effort to boost a category that’s posted declining shipments this year. Many people are anticipating new version of Apple’s 9.7-inch iPads to be uncovered this month and in order to make things more interesting, they will come in gold color option adding to the silver and gray available for the lighter iPad Air.

These color options somewhat fall into line with those of the iPhone 5s which comes in color options of silver and gold backs for models with a white faceplate, and space gray for those with a black front. When asked about this matter, spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, Teresa Brewer, declined to make any comments.

As far as the sales are concerned for the iPad they have been seeing a declining trend since the past two quarters. The sales soared from $5 billion when the product was introduced in 2010 to $30 billion in 2012 as compared to the $32 billion figure which was generated from sales last year. As a result of the happenings, Apple shares fell less than 1 percent to $100.60 as of 9:31 a.m. in New York.

Since last October many have been waiting for newer developments by Apple in the iPad line but the company hasn’t advanced towards a new model. Consumers have been switching to the larger screen phones instead of iPads and now they options in bigger screens such as the iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5 inch screen. A poll by RBC Capital Markets following the release of the two Apple phones showed that approximately half the consumers who were part of the poll purchased the 6 Plus. They certainly preferred the larger screen as opposed to the 4.7 inches.

This isn’t the first time Apple is making use of a color palette of its device to attract more sales. We can all remember the candy colored Macs which began to sell in 1999. As far as the success story of this strategy is concerned, there have been varied levels. As noted by RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani, sales of the iPhone 5c, a lower-end model introduced in 2013 that came in a range of bright colors, were disappointing.

However, it is important for Apple to focus on its line of iPads now as it simply cant be put to rest like this. We think that larger screen iPads would be the next milestone that Apple would/should most likely achieve.

source: bloomberg