Apple is going for the gold and adding the new color option to its iPad lineup to spur sales, according to anonymous sources, as the company's tablet sales dropped from 16.7 million units to 13.3 million in the last quarter.
Mirroring the iPhone's color palette, anonymous sources allege Apple is rounding out its lineup with the expected refresh of the 9.7-inch iPad line.
While the sources told Bloomberg Apple was planning to paint its full-size iPads gold, previous rumors alleged the company is preparing to unveil refreshes of the iPad Mini and iPad Air series in October when it releases OS X Yosemite. The Air and Mini are expected to be fitted with Apple's new A8 processors, as well as the Touch ID sensors necessary for Apple Pay.
Going by the series of insider claims, the 9.7-inch iPad will take its coat of gold until it gets its true refresh at some point in 2015.
Sales of the iPad line have stagnated when looking at the big picture and they have began to trail off when examining the last few quarters, dropping by 19 percent in Apple's third quarter. Back in July, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors in a prepared statement he was aware that iPad sales were a bit disappointing.
"iPad sales met our expectations, but we realized they didn't meet many of yours," said Cook. "Our sales were gated in part by a reduction in channel inventory and in part by market softness in certain parts of the world."
But while demand for Apple's iPads has been waning, the tablet market in general has been thriving and enjoying marked growth. Research firm IDC reported in July that the tablet market had grown by 11 percent in the previous year.
Declining iPad sales have been attributed to several factors. One of the most compelling reasons is the assertion that Apple and Samsung has exhausted the market for high-end tablets, with late adopters of tablets now seeking budget-friendly devices rather than luxury equipment.
Despite the decline in sales, Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, says Apple's tablet sector is large enough to weather drawn out dips in sales.
"No, I don't think they are in tablet trouble," said Dawson. "The user base is growing, the business is still enormous -- it would be a Fortune 100 company all on its own -- and it's very profitable."
