The coronavirus means it’s the perfect time for Apple’s new iPad Pro, says analyst
Factories are opening in China again and people are working from home, meaning the new Apple iPad Pro might be perfectly timed
But with many people now confined to their homes, consumers might be looking for new gadgets to help occupy their time.
“It’s not a very bad time for the new iPad Pro to be released to the market,” said Ethan Qi, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.
But will there be enough iPads for everyone? Qi said the pandemic isn’t likely to put severe strain on iPad Pro supplies. Monthly iPad demand is typically in the hundreds of thousands, according to Qi, and manufacturing capabilities in China have already started recovering.
Counterpoint’s Qi also said that Apple likely already has products in stock for markets where the new iPad Pro is being launched first.
“It takes about a month from manufacturing to distribution,” Qi said. “So it should [have been] February when Apple already received the product.”
Apple said it doesn’t have a comment on the pandemic’s impact on the supply of the new iPad Pro. The tablet has been available to order online since March 18 in 30 countries and regions, and it will be available in stores starting this week, according to Apple’s website.
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