The Retina display on the iPad Air is more expensive than previous generations. Research firm IHS Supply recently did a teardown of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s latest tablet and discovered that the most expensive feature on the new generation tablet is the 9.7-inch screen.
iPad Air comparison with older iPads
The previous generations of the iPad used 84 LED lights for screen brightness. The iPad Air uses 36 LED lights to get the same level of brightness. Not only that, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also uses optical film layers to distribute light across the display. These thin layers enable Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to use less LEDs which makes the entire gadget lighter. The iPad Air is about a pound lighter than previous versions.
IHS reported that the touchscreen display costs about $133 for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and $90 of that is the display alone.
Details of iPad Air
IHS shared their findings with AllThingsD, which offered the following details: “For the touchscreen bit, there’s a new type of sensor known as a cycle-olefin polymer(COP) sensor that sits underneath the outer layer of Gorilla Glass that users touch. What used to require two layers of glass, Rassweiler says, now requires only one. As a result, the whole assembly measures out to 1.8 millimeters thick, versus 2.23 millimeters on the third-generation model.”
IHS also discovered that the tablet’s LTE chip can support all wireless carriers in the United States. This is an improvement that’s not even on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s current smartphones.
As for estimations, it’s expected Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will achieve 45 percent gross margin with the 16GB Wi-Fi exclusive version and 61 percent on the maxed out 128GB LTE version.
It’s evident that the Cupertino-based tech giant is making some real strides in the tablet market. And that’s a good thing for the future of the company. Last week, we shared a report that although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still in the lead, Android is picking up momentum. Fortunately for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the iPad Air should keep them ahead of the pack, at least for now.
