According to a new survey, 45% of current U.S. iPad owners are “disgruntled” with the timing of the new new iPad (iPad 4) Announcement. Coming just seven months after the release of the new iPad (iPad) in March of this year, the new new iPad (iPad 4) features an A6 processor that Apple has stated will far outperform previous iPad generations.
The survey, conducted by Toluna QuickSurveys, polled 2,000 U.S. online consumers about their feelings toward Apple’s recent announcements. From the results, it appears that Apple’s brand may have diminished slightly in the eyes of U.S. consumers over the past year.
More than a quarter of survey respondents (26%) said they “believe Apple’s reputation has been tarnished by the iMaps fiasco.” Apple recently removed Google Maps as the default map app for iOS and replaced it with its own, inaccurate and incomplete, software. 45% of survey respondents also “believe Apple is an inferior company since current CEO Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs.”
U.S. consumers’ reactions to the iPad Mini weren’t stellar either. Only 14% of survey respondents stated that they will definitely buy an iPad Mini, and 32% said they would “probably” buy one. When consumers were asked which out of the iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, and Nexus 7 they would prefer, 46% said the Kindle Fire to only 40% that preferred the iPad Mini. The Nexus 7 was far behind with only 14% of survey respondents stating they would prefer the Google-branded device.