Wall street journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Wall street journal - Essay Example It has also been equipped with Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint reader. The Touch ID allows users to purchase items within apps by using Apple Pay payment services in addition to also acting as a security feature (Wakabayashi, 2014). In July 2013, Apple announced that it would work with International Business Machines Corp so as to develop iPad and iPhone apps that would cater to the workplace. By positioning the iPad as a possible PC replacement for the newly emergent generation of workers, Apple is noted to be aiming at attempting to answer the existential question noted to be facing tablet computers as technology continues to evolve. As smartphones continue to grow bigger with more powerful processors and larger screens, this trend is noted to be visible in Apple’s own products as is demonstrated in the case of the newly released iPhone 6 plus which comes with a 5.5-inch display that is nearly encroaching on iPad Mini’s 7.9-inch screen. Having been the first tablet computer in 2010, Wakabayashi (2014) points out that the iPad was largely a runaway success but demand for the product has started to gradually slow. A key reason as to why the sale of tablets is gradually decreasing is that people that own iPads are not replacing their tablet computers nearly as often as they tend to swap their phones. It is estimated that about 46% of the iPads that are currently in use are the original iPad and iPad 2 that were initially introduced in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The new iPad Air 2 is largely expected to help drive what will be â€Å"an upgrade cycle† among the currently existing owners of iPads. Other than the iPad Air 2, Apple also plans on unveiling a new iPad Mini 3, that will come with Touch ID as well as a new iMac personal computer. To compete with lower priced rivals that run Google Inc’s Android operating system, Apple cut the price of last year’s iPad model down to $299 while that for its previous iPad minis was reduced to $249. Apple is also