Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to unveil the iPad Air 2 this month, and now it sounds like there will indeed be a gold model. Other color options are expected to be the same silver and gray that were available on the original iPad Air 2 last year.
Apple seeks to boost iPad sales
Bloomberg cites unnamed sources who said Apple will offer the gold iPad Air 2 in an attempt to improve tablet sales. The company has seen iPad sales decline this year, so it hopes that the popularity of the gold iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will translate into reignited excitement and increased sales for the iPad.
The addition of a gold iPad Air 2 expands the color choices of Apple’s iPads to cover the same options the company started with the iPhone 5S last year. The gold iPhone 5S was quite popular last year, and availability suggests that the gold iPhone 6 and 6 Plus may be very popular this year as well.
Apple has seen iPad sales fall over the last couple of quarters. In 2010 when the tablet was introduced, the company sold $5 billion worth of iPads. Two years later, sales had soared to $30 billion, and last year, they edged upward to just $32 billion.
Report matches previous iPad Air 2 rumors
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Apple will include a gold option for the iPad Air 2. Well-informed KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said last month that the company would use the same three colors for the iPad Air 2 as it did for the iPhone 5S last year. The analyst also said Apple may add the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to the iPad Mini with Retina display this year.
Other rumors we have heard about this year’s refreshed iPad lineup include an introduction date in mid-October. Also Apple isn’t expected to change much about the exterior design of the new iPads, although some supposedly leaked photos seem to show a small microphone next to the tablet’s rear-facing camera.
We’ve also heard that the iPad Air 2 will have the same or a similar resolution to the 2,048 x 1,536 resolution of the first iPad Air. The camera may be the same or similar to that in the previous model, although this year’s iPad is expected to support Apple Pay.
