Apple’s new lower entry-level price for the iPad is paying off, particularly in education markets, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. During the financial results conference call Cook said: “We’re actually thrilled with the results that we’ve seen”. Cook suggested that the lower priced entry-level model “unlocked some education demand.”
Cook also noted: “In several other countries there was a marked change in demand at that price point”.
Based on Cook’s reaction to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty’s question about “the potential to move to lower price points on the iPad over time and see significant incremental demand”, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber concluded: “The $399 wasn’t intended simply as a way to get people in the door to be upsold to higher-priced new iPads. It was meant to sell, to expand the iPad user base in price-sensitive markets.”
However, despite the successful experiment, cheaper iPads may not be on the way as yet. Cook says that the company is still learning about “the elasticity of demand and the $399 price point”. Cook noted that the figures this quarter may be warped slightly: “The new iPad was supply constrained last quarter for the full three weeks or so it was shipping and is actually still constrained. And so the mix of the new iPad to the iPad 2, we’re not certain of what that is yet.”
16-year-old Blogger Matt Richman points out that the average selling price of the iPad was $558.57 in the just past quarter, which is 8 per cent less than it was last quarter. He concludes that the iPad 2 “must be selling very well”.
Oppenheimer revealed that, in the US, K-12 schools were now buying twice as many iPads as Macs, despite the fact that Apple’s conventional computer sales still set a new sales record for the quarter.
UK schools that are interested in the iPad’s potential in education may be interested to learn that on Wednesday 16 May, UK Apple Premium Reseller Square Group is running an event on the benefits of the new iPad in education. The event will demonstrate ways in which the iPad can transform both teaching and learning in the classroom, in a way that improves student engagement and results.
The event runs from 10am to 1pm at The Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, 183 Euston Road, London. Register now to reserve your place.
Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.