The iPad mini 3 was formally unveiled last week, and for those struggling to find a reason to upgrade, one leading retailer has suggested the new gold colour scheme could play a part.
While the iPad Air 2 has wowed us with its across-the-board improvements and slimmer form factor, the iPad mini 3’s disappointing updates extended only to the addition of a TouchID sensor and a new gold finish.
Despite the less than impressive refresh, the iPad mini 3 has not come down in price. Instead Apple has slashed the price of the near identical iPad mini 2, a move we would expect to dramatically eat into sales of the new device.
According to John Lewis, however, these minor improvements won’t perturb people from upgrading. Instead, the retailer believes the new gold finish could act as a form of prestige in owning the latest model.
“There is still going to be this drive to have the very latest iteration where perhaps the gold models will play a part,” Will Jones, a Tablets and Computing Buyer with John Lewis, said.
Speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews he added: “I think that people are going to be really attracted to the gold iPads and there is going to be a certain amount of status around it.
“It is going to make it apparent that you have the latest iPad and I think that will drive an extra incentive to upgrade to the latest model.
“I think the gold could be a driving factor.”
Having previously made waves on both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6, this is the first time Apple has brought the gold finish to its tablet line. Both the iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2 will pair their new golden hues with traditional silver and space grey options.
With Apple having confirmed its new tablet lines would go on sale this week, John Lewis has narrowed down the tablets’ launch to this Wednesday.
“We will start selling the new iPads in store on Wednesday,” Jones stated.
“I think the 4G versions might be a little bit behind that but certainly the Wi-Fi only models are launching on Wednesday based on our current information.”
Read More: iPad Air 2 vs iPad mini 3
