Apple Launches 128 GB iPad with 1-3 Day Shipping

apolloa said:

Hmm, £639 or £739 for a 128GB iPad, or a MacBook Pro for £999! You have seriously got to want the iPad portability to spend that much, especially considering the apps and power a Windows Pro running tablet can get.

Then again I spent £599 on a 32GB iPhone 5 so I'm as much a mugg as anyone who buy's a 128GB iPad

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Or a MacBook Air for £849/$999! It's a high consideration - MacBook Air vs iPad 128gb.

IshyBishy said:

Or a MacBook Air for £849/$999! It's a high consideration - MacBook Air vs iPad 128gb.

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Yeah but the low end Air 'only' has 64GB of storage, and even that is criminal on a computer! But yeah a fully fledged computer or a tablet...

Avatarshark said:

Do we really need 128GB iPhone, what are you doing with the 64gb? Or are you suggesting it for suggestion sake?

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I need a 128GB iPhone because all my game apps are taking up the space.

I just got one an AT&T 128GB from Danbury Apple Store. They said it was the first one they sold (or at least that is what the sales person said .

Avatarshark said:

Do we really need 128GB iPhone, what are you doing with the 64gb? Or are you suggesting it for suggestion sake?

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No one needs 128gb or 64gb or 32gb... we WANT. It's a luxury. For myself, since my iPod Classic died I've been waiting for the iOS line to eventually reach relatively high capacities like this. My 64gb iPhone 4S has replaced the phone + iPod that I used to carry around. What can I say-- I've become spoiled.

I assume I'm in the minority of people who want that much storage. For those that argue that this goes the opposite direction of cloud storage-- I don't want to be dependent on a data connection to access my music. I think it's ridiculous to have to pay extra for data to access my own content if I don't have to, and I don't always have a solid signal / fast enough speed to do so.

Avatarshark said:

Do we really need 128GB iPhone, what are you doing with the 64gb? Or are you suggesting it for suggestion sake?

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Actually, I would love a 128GB iPhone because I tend to capture a lot of video using Filmic Pro and I am constantly copying videos to the mac to free up space.

vartanarsen said:

I dont understand why people are paying for fixed storage.

Just get the camera kit. Get any array of SD cards (including 128 Gigs). Install iFile (for easy selection and viewing movies right from), and carry your entire HD movie collection with you at all times, without taking any space on a 16 gig iPad......and no internet needed.

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That sounds convenient.

Wingsnbeer said:

An iPad for $799 / $929? That definitely falls into the category of having more money than common sense.

If I were pulling strings at Apple we'd have a 16GB Retina Wifi iPad with an SD card reader for $499.

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Common sense to you, maybe. But your needs don't represent everyone else's.

Also, SD cards are poor replacements for the flash storage inside a tablet or laptop. SD cards are slow, unreliable and fragile.

Just my cynical opinion, but I think Apple found a way to sneak a price increase in on the unwashed masses while blunting the effect of the Surface Pro.

I do not expect prices to drop when the iPad 5 is released, but instead I think we'll see an iPad 5 starting at $599 with 32GB and going up from there. They will still sell the 16GB iPad 4 at $499.

Keep in mind that businesses don't pay full list. When you buy several hundred or more of any one thing you get a price break.

For small businesses who need a 128GB iPad, the additional $100 is just another cost of doing business.

brentsg said:

That sounds convenient.

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LOL. Plus, my collection would require a 2TB iPad. Or 20 SD cards, Very convenient

///M Powah said:

I need a 128GB iPhone because all my game apps are taking up the space.

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A lot of people would stuff a 128GB phone up with apps and music, but would you be prepared to pay £799 or $499 plus a service plan, or the phone cheaper but no doubt on a horrendously expensive 2 year plan, for the privilege of 128GB?

In fact for £799 you could say the argument of a phone or a Apple computer is even more relevant!

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Rafterman said:

Common sense to you, maybe. But your needs don't represent everyone else's.

Also, SD cards are poor replacements for the flash storage inside a tablet or laptop. SD cards are slow, unreliable and fragile.

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Auhuh, is that so? So how come EVERY digital camera, bar cameras linked directly up to a computer in a studio, uses flash memory cards then? You know those professional journalists with 20, 30 grands worth of camera gear that have ultra fast flash cards that are also very durable.
That is an utterly false statement you have made there!

SD cards can be fast, reliable, you just need to stop buying the cheapest ones you can find.

Northgrove said:

Can't wait for the 256 GB at $899!

Seriously though, I think this is an odd moment to introduce this. Yes, it should have been introduced already, way earlier. But today it almost feels too late with iCloud, Netflix, Spotify, Dropbox, all that. I don't exactly have a growing library of mp3 files these days. Sure, it's nice if you have a conservative data plan, but I can't say I'm without WiFi for weeks at a time too often.

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When cellular data is as consistent, reliable, and affordable as landline internet, then perhaps the need local storage will diminish on my part. For now, I'd rather not hassle with it if it's inexpensive enough to bump up the local storage (flash will only continue to get cheaper, and so then the question of "why not" becomes harder to argue against.)

Okay, guys,

The iPad and an MBAir are two completely different devices; they are not equivalent. Their capabilities are close, and some things can be done by both.
But they are not held the same, the OS is not the same, they are not used the same way.

For those that don't need the extra power and prefer the iPad's use attributes, a laptop is not an alternative. On the contrary, tablets are a laptop alternative, instead of the other way around. Same thing occurs with a laptop vs desktop comparison. A laptop can replace a desktop, but not the other way around. Tablets just add a third tier to this logical structure. You could build a way more powerful PC for the cost of an Air. However, you wouldn't be able to use it the same way.

By extension, a laptop and tablet are portable, but a tablet is more so. A laptop requires you to set it down to use it. Period. Not so with a tablet. For this reason, the use applications become more flexible than a laptop. You can set down a tablet, but you don't have to.

Tablets have been called "post PC" devices for a reason. The Air is effectively a PC.

Extra storage on a tablet means the same thing as everywhere else: more room to store what you need. I don't understand why a tablet has to be cheap for it to be a good value. Don't get me wrong, I want things as cheap as I can get them too, but that is a different subject altogether.

So, if you got a grand to spend for a computing device, ask yourself what you do with it, and more importantly, how you do it, then choose between an iPad or an Air. Both are sound values, and both sacrifice something.

So, is it running iOS 6.1? Does evasi0n work with it? Is this the first Apple device with a 0day jailbreak?

melendezest said:

Tablets have been called "post PC" devices for a reason. The Air is effectively a PC.

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Exactly, an iPad is NOT as capable as a MacBook Air yet their is NOT a big price difference between the two now, hence them being compared in this thread.

32 fb is the perfect amount for me

melendezest said:

Tablets have been called "post PC" devices for a reason. The Air is effectively a PC.

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Tablets are only called "Post PC" by a few tech reporters.

Most people call them computers just like they call everything else a computer. Either that, or they call it an iPad regardless of the OS.

Post-PC is just marketing.

I just have ordered 3
Its tax deductable. The old ipad crap goes to ebay.

DaveWil said:

128gb = $799
256gb = $899
512gb = $999
1TB = $1099
2TB = $1199
4TB = $1299
8TB = $1399

Yea I think the 8tb would be nice.

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Heh. If only this is how it worked with SSDs in the MacBook Pro lineup. Doubling to 512gb is $500 more, and tripling that 256gb to 768gb = $1000 more. Makes double the space for $100 more on the iPad seem pretty reasonable

Avatarshark said:

Do we really need 128GB iPhone, what are you doing with the 64gb? Or are you suggesting it for suggestion sake?

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Progress is progress. More storage shouldn't be a "need" thing, it should be expected, especially with the continuous drops in flash storage pricing. They can implement 128GB in an iPhone for the same price as a 64GB a year ago, maybe even less. That reason alone is worth updating the storage on the iPhone down a price tier.

Oh, and there are some people here like me who enjoy their media. I have 90 gigs of music alone and currently only sync half of it to my 64GB iPhone 4S. Also, with new phone tech, everything else (apps, resolutions, program files, etc.) are getting bigger as well.

When iPhones first came out, they were offered in 4, 8, and 16 gigabyte models. People had the "need" mindset for storage back then, but I personally can't fathom using a 4, 8, or even 16GB phone. Progress is good...

Sy7ygy said:

This just isn't like Apple, not with iOS devices.

Subtle spec bumps/ adding new space options are usually all part of a generation incremental announcement.

I guess I am asking WHY wasn't this introduced when the 4th Gen was released?? It would have been a far more persuasive deal.

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It was exactly 5 years ago (February 5, 2008) that Apple added a 16gb iPhone to their lineup (originally available in 4 and 8gb varieties) and a 32gb iPod Touch to their lineup. Mid-cycle. So this isn't unprecedented... but having 4 different capacity tiers is new for iOS devices.

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HenryDJP said:

I'm not saying the pricing structure they have in place is "fair", what I was saying is they know their business structure very well, obviously. Very rarely have I seen Apple change the pricing structure recognizing that they made a mistake. In fact, the original iPhone is the only one that I know of that they made a drastic reduction in the price structure right away. They were new to the cell phone business and didn't know how to price a subsidized phone correctly.

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Did they? Or did they just make it look like the pricing structure changed? A 16gb iPhone 5 is, for all intents and purposes, $650. The original iPhone was not subsidized that I know of. (Which makes that $600 seem even more steep).

MacRumors said:

[...] Stock levels have, however, generally been good on the full-size iPad, which has reportedly seen a significant drop in demand as consumer interest has shifted to the iPad mini.

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And the iPad mini doesn't even have a Retina display.
I think there's a fair chance that the iPad mini may not get a Retina display for years.
Eventually it will, but there's no pressure on Apple.

Why no pressure? Because the bigger, more expensive iPad already has a Retina display.
You want ultra-sharp graphics? You get the big iPad. You want more portability and lower price?
You get the mini. Apple gives you a clear, easy choice. It's what they do.
And judging by iPad mini sales, the lack of a Retina screen hasn't had any negative effect.

I think eventually the iPad mini will get a Retina display. Display technology, like
any semiconductor technology, always comes down in price over time as materials and
manufacturing processes are improved. But I wonder how much more time, effort, and money
Apple is willing to invest in legacy LCD technology.

Some day, Apple's investment with Sharp on advanced OLED technology and production processes
(all gloriously patented, by the way) will be ready for mass-production.
I suspect we'll see a Retina iPad mini after that has all been worked out.
And maybe Retina MacBook Airs and iMacs as well.

Michael Goff said:

Tablets are only called "Post PC" by a few tech reporters.

Most people call them computers just like they call everything else a computer. Either that, or they call it an iPad regardless of the OS.

Post-PC is just marketing.

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Agreed, it is marketing. But I think it is an accurate description of the devices based on their use. In other words, many people are finding that they do not require the devices that were traditionally considered PCs to do the "computing" they want to do.

I was simply alluding to the term as a differentiation (in the way Steve Jobs used it) from said devices.

A smartphone is a computer. It is also a "post-PC" device. No one I've encountered calls their phone a computer.

We could argue the use of the terms to no end.

But the point I was trying to communicate is that tablets and "traditional" computers, such as laptops, are in different categories and they are not equivalent. Value would be assigned depending on the individual's needs and purpose for using the device.

SockRolid said:

And the iPad mini doesn't even have a Retina display.
I think there's a fair chance that the iPad mini may not get a Retina display for years.
Eventually it will, but there's no pressure on Apple.

Why no pressure? Because the bigger, more expensive iPad already has a Retina display.
You want ultra-sharp graphics? You get the big iPad. You want more portability and lower price?
You get the mini. Apple gives you a clear, easy choice. It's what they do.
And judging by iPad mini sales, the lack of a Retina screen hasn't had any negative effect.

I think eventually the iPad mini will get a Retina display. Display technology, like
any semiconductor technology, always comes down in price over time as materials and
manufacturing processes are improved. But I wonder how much more time, effort, and money
Apple is willing to invest in legacy LCD technology.

Some day, Apple's investment with Sharp on advanced OLED technology and production processes
(all gloriously patented, by the way) will be ready for mass-production.
I suspect we'll see a Retina iPad mini after that has all been worked out.
And maybe Retina MacBook Airs and iMacs as well.

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ipad mni retina may be offered at $400 in US

At that price, it compares very badly with a microsoft surface pro, which is a fully functional computer and a tablet all in one.

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melendezest said:

Tablets have been called "post PC" devices for a reason. The Air is effectively a PC.

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Indeed. They are mostly rubbish and only useful for media consumption.
This includes both ios and android tablets.
The MS surface pro is the way forward because it provides the best of both worlds.