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DigiTimes: Cheapest 9.7-inch iPad Yet for 2018?

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DigiTimes reports Apple plans an "inexpensive 9.7-inch iPad" for 2018-- one with a price of around $259, making it attractive to more budget-conscious customers.

9.7inch iPadAccording to unnamed sources from the upstream supply cheain, the price point allows Apple to maintain its current quarterly 10 million unit iPad shipments. It also provides a weapon against the price competition from first-tier players such as Samsung, Amazon, Huawei and Lenovo. It should ship from Q2 2017, and will be aimed at the industrial and service sectors and as well as the consumer market.

As for who is making the tablet, DigiTimes suggests production is being outsourced to Compal Electronics, with Compeq and Unitech Printed Circuit Board taking care of PCB orders.

The maturing tablet market has brought declines to both the iPad and Android-based devices. Apple faces weakening iPad sales, while most second- and third-tier brand vendors have stepped out of the market. Meanwhile Chinese white box players have shifted focus to other product lines after Intel stopped subsidies for using its CPUs.

Go Apple Plans New Inexpensive 9.7-inch iPad for 2018 (DigiTimes)