Apple's pricing strategy: prioritizing profit over market share.

On October 22, Apple released several new tablet models. The industry noticed that instead of decreasing, the overall price level of Apple's tablets had increased. IDC and other institutions pointed out that tablets under eight inches are replacing ten-inch tablets as the mainstream in the global tablet market. Apple is sacrificing market share to maintain its high profit margins.

Tuesday, Apple launched two new tablets and reduced the price of older models. However, overall, Apple’s tablet prices were higher. The iPad mini with a Retina display was priced at $399, higher than the previous $329. The price of the old iPad mini only dropped by $30.

Apple's pricing strategy once again shows that Apple does not care about the low-end tablet market. Apple has also repeatedly stated that the iPad is positioned for the high-end tablet market. Currently, most Android tablets on the market are priced below $250, far from Apple's tablet prices.

Media pointed out that without a doubt, Apple's new tablets will sell well, but Apple has lost the opportunity to reshuffle the tablet market and make up for its lost market share.

Jan Dawson, an analyst at British technology market research firm Ovum, said that the pricing of Apple's new tablets once again indicates its focus on the high-end tablet market. This means that manufacturers like Google and Amazon have gained significant market space in the sub-$400 tablet segment. In the future, the share of Android tablets will continue to grow while Apple's share will continue to fall.

When Amazon launched the Kindle Fire and when Google launched the Nexus 7, these tablets and their reasonable prices quickly won over a large number of consumers. In the past, Android phone apps running on seven-inch tablets performed poorly, but now more and more developers are creating software specifically for seven-inch tablets.

In fact, the trend toward seven- and eight-inch tablets becoming mainstream is not only evident on the Android platform; it is reported that in Apple's tablet sales, the iPad Mini accounts for two-thirds.

Tom Mainelli, an analyst at technology market research company IDC, pointed out: "In the last few quarters, the global tablet market has started to shift from 10-inch screens to screens under eight inches."

At Tuesday's launch event, Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed that users spend four times as much time on iPads compared to all other tablets combined, but time spent does not equate to sales. In terms of sales, Android is the big winner.

Nowadays, the average selling price of global tablets is declining. Analysts believe that the demand for seven- and eight-inch tablets will be the largest in the future. American media points out that facing Android tablet manufacturers cutting prices to expand market share, Apple is going against the trend by increasing the price of the iPad product line by 20%. In fact, as the configuration and functions of Android tablets continue to improve, their cost-performance and appeal can offset the so-called "Apple tax."

Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at U.S.-based market research company Moor Insights & Strategy, said that there are various high-configured seven-inch Android tablets available on the market today, but the extra $100 for Apple tablets represents "Apple premium," which "still has many people willing to pay this premium."

American media pointed out that in the smartphone market, Android phones attack all segments of the market, from high-end to low-end, defeating the iPhone to become the dominant force. If Apple doesn't pay attention, the same scenario may play out in the tablet market where Android takes the throne.