apple

IPad mini event prediction autopsy

23 October 12

I did pretty well here, but a lot of this was leaked. I just picked the right leaks.

iPad mini

Name: right.
7-inch tablet: right. I didn’t intend to mean a specific 7-inch size, I was was just being general.
WiFi/cellular/3 memory configs: right.
For Sprint: right.
Black and White: right.
Retina: wrong, although a higher res screen than iPad 2.
New backlighting: wrong.
Price: big wrong.
Ship date: right.

I think the biggest shock for me is the price. I know that doing a smaller full-featured iPad would have been very tough to offer at $199, but I do think Apple has just ceded to low-end tablet market. Maybe the iPod touch will fill the gap. We’ll have to wait and see, but as it sits right now, this may be a major tactical mistake.

Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro

Retina 13-inch MBP: right.
Similar specs to the 15-inch: right.
Price: wrong. Off by $200.

Next Generation iMac

New iMac: right
Thinner: right
Same style: right
Optical drive removed: right.
No chin: wrong.
128GB flash drive: right.
Bigger screen: wrong.
New sizes: wrong.
No retina: right.
Prices and configs similar: right.

I was off on the sizes, but right on everything else. I even took a flyer on a 128GB SSD drive, and got that right.

Mac mini speed bump

Speed bump: right.
No other major changes: right.

Apple TV

Apple TV software update: wrong.

But Apple did add an Apple Events channel, so I might be able to weasel out on a technicality.

And one less thing…

No new iPad: wrong
No new processor: wrong
Stealth: wrong

Well, they did it. Apple revised the iPad inside of six months. Why? I don’t have a good answer to this one, unless Apple wants to move the yearly iPad release schedule to October, instead of April, and needed a refresh to carry the iPad over for a full year. Otherwise, it seems like an unnecessary upgrade. The 3rd gen iPad isn’t that slow, and there really was/is no demand for a faster model. The lightning port doesn’t seem vital, either.

I was also wrong that the Mac mini revision and Apple TV would be a stealth update.

Addendum

Price change/Config change: wrong

Again, why update and not change the price or memory sizes? A little baffling.