Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched the iPad Air on Friday, and analysts have been running their checks to see how well the launch has been going. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) reported today that iPad activations have risen 200% over the last three days after the iPad Air launch. That’s compared to last year’s iPad launch weekend and suggests that this year’s launch was solid.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White ran his checks over the weekend and found stock-outs in some areas and also high demand for the first-generation iPad Mini.
Apple upgrades dominated iPad Air purchases
The analyst surveyed 106 iPad Air buyers in New York City and found that 73% of them were upgrading from previous iPad models and that 14% of them were moving from non-iPad tablets. He also found that 13% of them were buying a tablet for the first time.
The largest shift to the iPad Air came from the iPad 2; 31% of those surveyed said they were upgrading from it. Of those who responded, 18% of them were upgrading from the iPad 3, while 16% of them were upgrading from the original iPad.
Demand points to 16 GB silver models as most popular
According to White’s survey, 64% of those who bought the iPad Air preferred silver rather than Space Gray. Just 36% of those buying the tablet bought the Space Gray Model. In terms of capacity, 16 GB was the most popular by far, with 60% of those surveyed opting for it.
In addition to the iPad Air, White also noted strong demand for the first generation iPad Mini. The price of the smaller tablet was slashed from $329 to $299 when the new iPad Mini was announced. The new model won’t be out until sometime later this month, but White noticed that there was “strong traffic” around the older iPad Mini with the reduced price. Specifically, he noted demand for the first generation 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini.
iPad Air sells out in some areas
White did some checks of Apple Stores in New York and other parts of the country to see how available the iPad Air was. He found that some carrier models were out of stock at various stores, although there wasn’t “an across-the-board sell out.” He said the 128 GB iPad Air seemed to be out of stock in more areas than other models, although he suspects this was because of lower inventories rather than popularity.
He did note that most Apple Stores in the U.S. sold out of the iPad Mini over launch weekend last year.
Apple’s progress in China
White also looked at how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Air was doing in China. He reported that it sold out fast in Hong Kong, with the site reporting that the iPad Air still wasn’t available Sunday night. The China Apple store site indicated that all iPad Air models were at a five to ten business day ship time except the 64 GB Space Gray model, which was available with a 24 hour ship time.
White continues to rate Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as a Buy with a $777 per share price target.
