VietNamNet Bridge – While iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have quickly become popular in Vietnam, the next-generation iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 have not been selling well.

Although they have been in the local market for two weeks, sales have been slow, according to distributors.

Duc, the owner of Shopdunk, a mobile phone shop in Hanoi, said: “Demand for iPad Air 2 is equal to 40 percent of the demand for iPad Air which hit the market last year. The demand for iPad mini 3 is even lower.”

He also said that most iPad Air 2 buyers wanted the yellow version, with 4G and 64 GB capacity.

The owner of another shop in Hanoi confirmed that though iPad Air 2 has a “reasonable price”, the products have been selling more slowly than last year’s iPad Airs.

“In general, this year’s iPad  Air 2 is far less hot than the iPhone and last year’s iPad Air,” he said.

“iPad Air is already very good. So the owners do not intend to have new versions,” he explained. “iPad Air remains a good choice for those who are now looking for tablets, especially as the iPad Air is cheaper than the iPad Air 2.”

Some observers said the iPad market in the country was no longer hot because of many reasons, including the appearance of low-cost models run on the mobile Android operating system.

To satisfy basic demands like reading information, surfing on internet, listening to music or making calls (with 3G connection), people would rather buy Android tablets for VND3-4 million rather than an iPad mini which can cost VND6-7 million.

While iPhone users tend to upgrade their phones, owners of iPads often do not. Therefore, distributors are mostly targeting new iPad users.

The next-generation iPads are reasonably priced in the domestic market. An iPad Air 2 16 GB wifi sells for VND12 million, while an iPad Air 2 16 GB 4G sells for VND15 million.

The prices are lower for iPad mini 3s – VND9 million for the 16GB wifi version and VND12.5 million for 16 GB 4G.

Right after the new iPads appeared in Vietnam, the prices of iPad Air and iPad mini Retina dropped slightly. However, the price of iPad mini Retina remains relatively high, about VND8 million for 16 GB wifi version. The old-generation iPad Air now can be bought for VND9.7-10 million.

NLD