Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White believes Apple is on the cusp of something big with its upcoming iPad refresh, says a report in AllThingsD. The new iPads, along with a banner holiday season, could translate into lucrative sales figures for the Cupertino company.
Speaking with his supply chain sources, White believes Apple will redesign the iPad 5, making its slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. This streamlined form factor along with some new and powerful innards will make the new iPad a smash hit, especially among current iPad owners who are looking to update their tablet device. White writes,
“Given our research in Taiwan over the past few days, we believe the iPad 5 has the potential to be a significant iPad upgrade cycle. Apple did little in the way of changing the look and feel of the past couple of iPad iterations, we believe Apple’s sizable installed base, with 155 million iPads shipped through 3Q:FY13, is ready to purchase a new full-sized iPad.”
As result of his supply checks, White raised his target on Apple share to $777, though he did not venture to guess a figure for iPad sales for the quarter. Apple will announce its quarterly earning for the current quarter on October 28th. These new iPads won’t affect this quarter’s earnings, but will affect the important holiday quarter at the end of the year.
[Via AllThingsD]