Exactly. Their last two big product reveals have been almost entirely defined by reference to Google/Android products: A 16:9 screen on the iPhone. A 7" tablet. Changing maps providers. And they're not even trying to hide this. (And, I should note, all of this is quite objectively a good thing for the market).

The premise of the article is ridiculous. Sure, Apple has built a great brand that they can leverage into huge sales for the iPad Mini. I have no doubt it will be the most successful tablet in its size class within a few months. But to pretend that this means the Mini's development wasn't driven by the existing competitors is just silly. Apple jumped into this market because everyone else proved it out first.

Proved it out? Do you have any data to back that up? Everything I've read says that the sales of 7" tablets by Apple's standards have been negligible.

Edit: And this is to say nothing of profits.

I really need "data" here? All I allege (to clarify the "proved it out" bit) is that the Kindle Fire/HD and Nexus 7 are (IMHO, undeniably) successful products in a market Apple wants to enter. You seriously disagree?

The announcement is for people in the press who want to hear how the product compares (and will complain if it's not brought up), and secondarily people who love Apple enough to take the time to watch the announcement. You will not see a single mention of the competition on Apple's site or in any of their promotional materials, because of exactly what this article explains: aspirational brands do not compare themselves to those brands beneath them, because it would tarnish the brand.

Most of international companies don't have mentions of competition on website and in optional materials. It's illegal to directly compare with competitors or ever call best without mention of specific set of characteristics in many countries.

TLDR: There in Russia we don't have "I am Mac vs I am PC" advertisements.

So are you saying despite that, Apple doesn't care about its competition?

I'm saying you don't talk to your kids the way you talk to your friends. Context matters. In a context where Apple must talk about the competitors, they do. In contexts where they don't, they don't bring it up. In presenting their lineup to consumers, they will absolutely never say "this is our answer to the Google X" when they could instead say "this is a bigger/smaller/'magical new' Apple Y."

>You will not see a single mention of the competition on Apple's site

It's not explicitly mentioning the Nexus 7, but this is at the top of the iPad Mini's 'design' page on Apple.com: http://i.imgur.com/7Mg92.png

Good catch. I think my point stands though.

I agree. That part of the announcement was very defensive. Haven't seen them talk about the competition that much since the AntennaGate presser, when they compared other phones' attenuation issues. And that's when they were in damage control.

Disclosure: Apple fanboy with enough AAPL shares to count on one hand

I would agree and disagree. I don't think they want to compete with the Nexus 7. I think they are afraid that the cheap tablets will eat away at their existing customers so the Mini is their way of saying "look we have that too".

I wrote this in a previous post: The iPad Mini is different than anything Apple has done before. For the first time Apple is NOT building a product to enchant brand new customers and grow their brand. Instead they are filling a hole that they feel was threatening to pull their customers into other ecosystems. "Don't mind those other, more affordable playgrounds. Pay attention to how we mill the shit out of this block of aluminum just for you."

I don't think this necessary means the article is wrong but that really depends on whether or not Apple has identified this exact issue.

What I mean is that most of Apple's actions seem to fall in line with what the article is suggesting. The one exception to this is, as you stated, the press conference. The press conference was designed around and addressed the exact questions that the press asks.

Now, what we don't see is Apple's website or TV spots filled with comparisons to the Nexus 7.

Why? Different target audiences.

I believe that Apple spent more time thinking about how not to compete with themselves (i.e. segment the product and price it just right to cause the least amount of ripples for the rest of the product portfolio) than thinking about the tablet competition. In terms of short term downside risk, there's more money at stake with the former than the latter.

Looking back through Apple keynotes and product launches, they have often compare their products to an incumbent. They did it with the iPhone, Macbook Air and now the iPad mini.

I would argue that the existence of the iPad mini itself proves the article false. Until the public proved that there was a widespread demand for a smaller, less expensive tablet, Apple ridiculed them.

Apple consistently ridicules form factors and products it doesn't have an offering for.

Steve Jobs famously ridiculed the idea of smartphones before they released the iPhone.