Apple is known for making devices that create almost religious fervor and demand. However, Apple may now be decided to streamline its hardware lineup to secure growth for its latest iPad mini, according to a report.
Rob Cihra with Evercore Partners wrote in a note to investors that he believes Apple will abandon the $400 iPad 2, because the tech company wants "clearer product tiers," AppleInsider reported. It shouldn't be surprising that it comes at a time when Apple is likely to debut its smaller iPad next week.
Cihra estimates Apple will sell 7 million iPad minis in the last quarter or 2012, and possibly 26 million iPads altogether for the holiday season. He means the minis and the latest version of the iPad, leaving the iPad 2 forgotten and ignored by shoppers.
It would seem likely that Apple would phase out its older iPad in favor of pushing its newest one. It may also have seemed that Apple would have been working to phase out the iPod, but recent commercials touting the product are probably evidence that Apple isn't. The difference is that there's already been another incarnation of the iPad, and the iPad 2 is now two generations behind. Remember the iPhone 4? Yeah, neither do we.
