"In retrospect, should Apple have waited for the A6 processor?" Alexander says. "They may have pushed it, which required the update at this point."

But it's hard to fault Apple, she adds. "They had spectacular sales in the first and second quarters of this year, just dominated the market, recaptured sales they had lost the previous year."

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Regarding disgruntled customers, Alexander expects Apple will take a customer service hit. But Apple can offset this by giving customers a deal, perhaps letting them trade in their third-generation iPad for credit towards a fourth-generation iPad or iPad Mini.

"You can do this occasionally," Alexander says. "If you do this repeatedly, you'll have a problem. You'll lose some of the value people place on the brand," adding, "Apple can't refresh the iPad in March because it would be unsettling to customers."