There were a few tidbits of information from the most recent Asus Q3 2015 investor conference regarding ZenPad tablets and what the year ahead might look like. Asus CEO Jerry Shen mentioned a few strategic directions the company will focus on in 2016 with their tablets. Let’s look at some of the most interesting quotes.
“Next year our goal is that we will not launch too many tablets.” – Asus CEO Jerry Shen, Q3 2015 Investor Conference
We’ve been following Asus for a lot of years and one thing has been a habit. They love to release lots of products. It gives us lots to talk about and we love them for it. The question is whether they really mean it this time.
It’s worth mentioning that earlier this year we heard Asus suggest it was going to dial back the number of tablets for 2015. With the number of ZenPad models available this year, we don’t believe a reduction has really started. We are very interested in seeing if 2016 will be the year where there is a substantial reduction in ZenPad tablets. Asus certainly has good intentions of dialing back the number of models but let’s see what their offerings are like in 2016.
“As for tablets, since we are moving towards better experience, our goal for tablets next year is to remain stable. We don’t want to climb but we don’t look for growth either.” – Asus CEO Jerry Shen, Q3 2015 Investor Conference
The above quote seems to further support the move by Asus to reduce their table offerings. The quote also indicates that the next generation ZenPad tablets should have an increased quality and specs.
“For those low to mid priced products, we won’t launch them anymore. Well, actually, I should say that we won’t launch products with below par experience. We will focus on good experience but our prices will still be attractive and affordable.” – Asus CEO Jerry Shen, Q3 2015 Investor Conference
Jerry Shen first started to say that Asus won’t launch low to mid priced products anymore, but he corrected himself by saying Asus won’t be launching products with below par experience. I do believe that the mention of “products” is referring to tablets because it was during the ZenPad tablet slides presentation that Jerry Shen stated their plans. Jerry Shen was speaking about the ZenPad Theater and then immediately following that he said the part about not launching products with below par experience.
So what does this really mean? This is open to interpretation and obviously as we near 2016 there should be a few more details coming about new models of ZenPad tablets. If Asus is reducing the number of tablets and is set on good experience (our interpretation is that he means good performance) then that’s an endorsement of the ZenPad S 8.0 models. The ZenPad C 7.0 might be describes as below par experience largely based on the display resolution and 1GB of RAM. The ZenPad 7.0 and ZenPad 8.0 are good performers, but could benefit by a bump in screen resolution.
Right now it’s hard to say the future of certain models of ZenPad tablets. When Jerry Shen makes a statement about no launching products (tablets) with a below par experience, those sound like stern words. Performance wise the ZenPad S 8.0 are on a different level than the other models. Could this mean a ZenPad S 10 in 2016? Perhaps. The market doesn’t seem keen on the 7-inch size so perhaps Asus will decide between the ZenPad 7.0 and ZenPad C 7.0 series.
More than anything I believe in 2016 the ZenPad line-up will be featuring higher resolution displays and likely will have 2GB of RAM minimum. The design and build quality is excellent as it is now, so it really comes down to a bit of a resolution boost. Keeping prices attractive and affordable sounds good to us.
We’re excited to follow the evolution of the ZenPad tablets and we will be tracking as much information as possible heading into 2016. CES 2015 is in early January and let’s hope for a few sneak peaks on upcoming tablets and 2-in-1 designs from Asus. “for those low to mid priced products, we won’t launch them anymore…”
[source: Asus Investor Relations]
