Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad Mini May be Cannibalized by iPhone 6 Plus, and That’s OK

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s release of the iPhone 6 Plus brought along with it the fears that the larger 5.5-inch screened iPhone would effectively cannibalize, or destroy the market for the iPad Mini, their 7.9-inch tablet. Speaking to Bloomberg, Piper Jaffray Senior Research Analyst Gene Munster agreed that would likely be the case, and there wouldn’t be much need for owners of the former to also buy the latter.

“Well we think that the five-and-a-half inch (screen), the 6 Plus, is going to cannibalize the low end iPad, and we’ve asked that question in our surveys today, so we should get a better, real mathematical read on what that cannibalization looks like, but it’s safe to say that there’s no real reason to get an iPad Mini,” Munster said.

That could’ve been a problem depending on how well the 6 Plus sells, which appears to be quite well from an early limited sample. Munster reported that from six stores their firm surveyed, the iPhone 6 Plus was the more popular of the two smartphone choices. However as Munster later added, the cannibalization of the iPad Mini is a good thing for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) anyway.

“Big picture is this: cannibalization is good for Apple because it’s higher ASP’s (average selling price) on the 6 Plus, and higher gross margins,” Munster said.

Potentially filling the void left behind by the soon-to-be devoured iPad Mini is a rumored 12.9-inch iPad that would be Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s biggest tablet yet. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is rumored to have another major event planned for some time in late October where they’ll be unveiling a further batch of new products they’ve cooked up.

Interestingly, despite the iPhone 6 Plus and the possibility of a larger iPad, being dubbed the iPad Pro, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still expected to unveil another new iPad Mini model at the event, along with a new iPad Air. So Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to think enough of a market will still exist for their lower-end, smallest-screened iPad to justify releasing a new one,  iPhone 6 Plus or not.

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