According to an interesting new report from DigiTimes today, Apple is set to use somewhat less expensive parts in the iPad 3 to keep its pricing competitive with upcoming Android tablets.
While the retail pricing remained the same, Apple reportedly spent more money per unit on components for the iPad 2 than for the original iPad, due mainly to the inclusion of a camera, and a lack of supply of touchscreen panels. With this in mind, Apple is apparently looking to cut costs the next time around.
According to the report, Apple is now more willing to investigate additional suppliers for their components – including being more willing to ship circuit modules from Taiwan-based IC houses – in order to reduce the total material bill for the iPad.
Some of this price cutting may be due to Apple wanting to include a Retina display in the next iPad, which will cost more than the screens they have used in the past.
While I expect Apple to remain the same or lower price point on their iPad 3 as they did with the iPad 2, it appears that doing so might see Apple taking a few price-based shortcuts in their next-gen tablet in order to retain the current retail pricing.
