A Reversal in Price Trends
Samsung Electronics’ mobile products are becoming more and more expensive. It is now an old saying that Apple products are expensive and Samsung Electronics products have excellent cost-performance ratio. As Samsung is expanding its product lineup with high-end models, the overall price is on the rise. On the other hand, Apple is focusing on minimizing the price increase when launching new models.
Apple officially launched 5th-generation iPad Air models on April 19. Their prices are 779,000 won for the 64GB/Wi-Fi support model, 979,000 won for 64G 5G model, 979,000 won for the 256GB Wi-Fi model and 1,179,000 won for the 256GB 5G model.
These products are cheaper than the Samsung Electronics Galaxy Tab S8 released in February. The starting price of the Galaxy Tab S8 is 849,200 won for the 64GB Wi-Fi model. When comparing the models of the two series with the same capacity, prices of both models are the same, or Samsung Electronics products are slightly more expensive. Based on a 256G model, the Galaxy Tab S8 Wi-Fi is priced at 979,000 won and the Galaxy Tab S8 5G 1,179,200 won.
Between the models of the highest specifications, the Apple product is slightly more expensive than Samsung's. As for the Wi-Fi models from the companies, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is priced at 1,378,300 won and the 5th-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro is sold for 1,379,000 won. Between the 5G models, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra model is 1,578,000 won, and the 5th generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1,579,000 won.
Every time Samsung Electronics releases a new product, it raises its price significantly. This is because the company is employing a high-end product strategy by adding a top-level ultra model to a basic model and a plus model in addition to a new product. The Galaxy Tab A line is an entry-level product currently in the 300,000 to 400,000 won range. In the case of models of the Galaxy S8 series released in 2022, their prices increased by about 100,000 won compared to the previous models by adding 5G function support to the long term evolution (LTE) system. The Galaxy Tab S7 LTE costs 929,500 won and the Galaxy Tab S8 5G 1,049,400 won based on 128GB capacity.
On the other hand, as for the 5th generation iPad Air model, the Wi-Fi model has the same price as its predecessor and the 5G model about 30,000 won more expensive. The 5th generation model shows greatly improved performance. It is loaded with the M1 Chip developed by Apple. A Geekbench performance test of the chip showed a single-core score of 1,711 and a multi-core score of 7,233. It also found that the 5th generation iPad Air model matches the 11-inch top model of the iPad Pro released in 2021.
Apple shipped 57.8 million units of mobile products in 2021, taking the top spot with a 34.2 percent market share according to market research firm IDC. Samsung Electronics shipped 30.9 million units, accounting for an 18.3 percent market share. The two were followed by Lenovo with a 9.1 percent share and Amazon with an 8.6 percent share.