Neil Hughes
Apple's newly launched high-end iPad Pro is expected to make a big splash for the company, with one analyst forecasting the 12.9-inch tablet to be a $2.4 billion revenue opportunity in its first three months alone.
Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets believes Apple can sell 3 million iPad Pro units in the first three months. His prediction was revealed in a note to investors on Tuesday, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider.
Even if the average selling price of the iPad Pro were to come in at $800, that would imply $2.4 billion in revenue with 3 million units sold. The iPad Pro's starting price is $799 for a 32-gigabyte model, while 128 gigabytes costs $949, and a cellular-capable high-end model is $1,079.
To Daryanani, that would mean $600 million in operating profit for Apple in the first three months of the product's lifespan, adding between 8 and 10 cents in incremental earnings per share to start calendar 2016.
Calling his forecast conservative, Daryanani said his predictions assume gross margins in the 33 percent range, which would be low for Apple. Last quarter, Apple's company-wide gross margins were at 39.9 percent.
Daryanani sees the iPad Pro serving as a big boost for Apple's iPad business — his estimates call for $2.4 billion in revenue to represent roughly half of total iPad revenue for Apple's March quarter, for example.
RBC has maintained a price target of $150 for shares of AAPL, along with an "outperform" rating.
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I hope Apple does sell the hell out of the iPad Pro over the next three month, just to hear the jaws hitting the boardroom tables in certain tech companies up and down the west coast, if nothing else.
[quote name="Macky the Macky" url="/t/190329/ipad-pro-predicted-to-drive-2-4b-in-near-term-revenue-for-apple#post_2810127"]I hope Apple does sell the hell out of the iPad Pro over the next three month, just to hear the jaws hitting the boardroom tables in certain tech companies up and down the west coast, if nothing else.[/quote] I agree, but really don't like when these guys make projections with no idea what Apple intends to do. I like what Jobs did with the release of the first iPhone. By claiming to only hope to get 1% of the market to be successful, he could low ball the pundants.
[quote name="Macky the Macky" url="/t/190329/ipad-pro-predicted-to-drive-2-4b-in-near-term-revenue-for-apple#post_2810127"]I hope Apple does sell the hell out of the iPad Pro over the next three month, just to hear the jaws hitting the boardroom tables in certain tech companies up and down the west coast, if nothing else.[/quote] I just finished reading Jason Snell's iPad Pro review. Towards the end he said: "The iPad Pro does not exist to give comfort to Mac users." That's exactly the feeling I got reading reviews from long time Mac users who are just occasional iPad uses. Microsoft Surface is all about making legacy desktop PC users feel comfortable. iPad Pro is clearly not. I hope this things sells really well just to shut up all those who claim you can't get real work done on a device that can't run x86 apps.
It seems obvious to me after demoing, then buying an iPad Pro that the graphic tablet market that's currently owned by Wacom Cintiq is about to get turned on its head. Cintiq was the gold standard in the design industries, but compared to the iPad Pro they now look heavy, slow, poorly designed and built, buggy, expensive, and antiquated. And while we all loved the "drawing feel" of the Cintiq, the iPad Pro is far better in every way. Perhaps Mr. Daryanani has factored in the professional designer market in his projection. If not, he should. Sorry, Wacom. No hard feelings, its just business.
"The iPad Pro does not exist to give comfort to Mac users."
That's exactly the feeling I got reading reviews from long time Mac users who are just occasional iPad uses. Microsoft Surface is all about making legacy desktop PC users feel comfortable. iPad Pro is clearly not. I hope this things sells really well just to shut up all those who claim you can't get real work done on a device that can't run x86 apps.
One can't know now, but if the iPad Air 3 supports both 3D Touch and Pencil, that would create a heck of a Pencil market, not to mention sell a lot of iPad Air 3's.
I also would note that MS doubled down on the desktop with Surface, but I'm yet to see any life in mobile, which is where the bulk of Apple innovation is occurring.