Small Tablets Dominate Pre-Christmas Consumer Interest

A couple of years ago, Apple’s co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs famously dismissed the idea of making a tablet with a screen smaller than the original iPad’s 10 inch because it would be „too small to express the software“.

It may be one of the few misperceptions of a man with an otherwise impeccable feel for what consumers really want. It turns out that consumers do indeed want smaller tablets and in this case Jobs’ successor Tim Cook followed the advice Jobs gave him before passing the torch: "I never want you to ask what I would have done," Jobs reportedly said, “Just do what’s right."

In response to the growing competition from companies such as Google, Samsung and Amazon, Apple announced the 7.9 inch iPad mini in late October. The critical reception was overwhelmingly positive and many consumers appear to prefer the smaller form factor over the design of the full-sized iPad.