It’s just one day before Apple’s October 16 media event, and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has weighed in with speculation about supplies of the iPad Air 2, and the 27-inch Retina Display iMac that Apple is expected to debut at the event. Kuo sees supplies of the iPad Air 2 as constrained, expects the new iMac to be available by the end of 2014, and repeats his earlier assertion that the new iPad mini won’t see a big upgrade.
Kuo, via MacRumors:
Of the new products, we think the market will be more interested in iPad Air 2. However, as the poor yield rate of anti-reflective coating cover lens has delayed mass production, we estimate 2014 shipments of iPad Air 2 of 7- 9mn units, lower than the 12mn units of the then-new iPad Air shipments in 2013. We thus expect iPad Air 2 to contribute less to the supply chain than iPad Air did last year. We also don’t expect the event to boost supply chain shares much.
Kuo goes on to again assert that the iPad mini won’t see a significant upgrade, due to Apple concentrating its development resources on the 12.9-inch iPad.
Kuo sees the 27-inch Retina Display iMac beginning shipments before the end of this year, while the 21-inch models will arrive sometime in the second half of 2015. Kuo suggests the delay is due to difficulties in developing two different sizes of the high-resolution panels used in the computers at the same time.
Kuo closes his report by corroborating reports by others that new MacBook models, including the much-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air, won’t make an appearance at tomorrow’s event, as Apple is waiting for Intel’s new Broadwell chips before making any significant updates to the MacBook family.
Apple is expected to debut the iPad Air 2 – and possibly an updated Retina iPad mini – alongside updated iMacs, including a 27-inch model sporting a Retina display, at their event, coming up on Thursday, October 16. MacTrast will be live-tweeting the event, with all the information about the announcements immediately following the event.
