With a starting price tag of $329, Apple’s iPad mini was initially dismissed as too pricey to attract budget-conscious consumers drawn to Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which, at $249 and $199, respectively, were significantly cheaper. But the device proved wildly popular, and has since established a new mainstream price band between the tablet market’s high end ($499 and up) and its low end ($249 and down). And it unquestionably expanded Apple’s tablet market share.

That Apple should take a similar approach to the iPhone should surprise precisely no-one.