Apologies for having not read the past 18 pages of the thread...
They had the courage to drop "Air" from the name!!
They had the courage to drop "Air" from the name!!
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Apple Debuts New 9.7-Inch iPad With A9 Chip to Replace iPad Air 2, Starting at $329
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The air 2 was just too good to keep the air name. It needed to morph into the 9.7 Pro... Apple maybe didn't have the right foresight into it's branding plans back when releasing the original iPad Air. The phasing out of the Air name is a bit awkward for Macs and iPads...
I hope this thing still has the lamented display of the Air 2. All the other downgrades are perfectly fine for the reduced price.
This seems like a weird release for Apple, a slightly tweaked downgraded version of an existing product at a cheaper price point... Considering the power and features of an iPad and the killer apps on it... it almost seems like an impulse buy price now.
I just bought a refurb Air 1 for $239... having a bit of the buyer's remorse... boh...
I hope this thing still has the lamented display of the Air 2. All the other downgrades are perfectly fine for the reduced price.
This seems like a weird release for Apple, a slightly tweaked downgraded version of an existing product at a cheaper price point... Considering the power and features of an iPad and the killer apps on it... it almost seems like an impulse buy price now.
I just bought a refurb Air 1 for $239... having a bit of the buyer's remorse... boh...
Price point is good, but the product itself leaves a lot to be desired.
Yes, can you blame my expectations? I did have expectations and yes I'm underwhelmed. But look at the situation? Who's to blame here...
Well, Mr. President, it might actually be too technical for a simple mind like yours to understand.
Yes because Apple didn't promise anything, I could understand if they had set up an event or something but nothing was promised. I would like to have seen updates to the MacBook 12" the iMac and the iPad Pro 12.9" but we didn't and that's my thinking not Apple. There was no event but they will more than likely announce new stuff later on in the year at actual events.
As someone who needed a new iPad, I welcome this news. The timing is just right for me. The removal of Air in the name is not a big deal to me at all as I'm sure I would only ever call it my iPad anyway. The slight retreat in thinness will not even be noticed. I must say the comments here are bewildering. Such angst over a product bump. I used to enjoy reading the comments here. Now they are so overwhelmed with Apple haters predicting Apple's demise, while Apple continues to thrive.
Im not saying they will, it is more likely that they'll do it at a separate event but at this stage it is very possible. While there has been 3 hardware free WWDCs recently, there is no reason to think that it won't change this year. Especially considering the product situation. I'm hoping they make an announcement earlier but it would be unusual to hold an event soon after these announcements.... maybe they have so much to cover in the keynote, these had to come first
..... probably not.
Come on folks - wake the F up and smell the rotten tomatoes.
Apple is just giving you exactly what you don't want. A cheap iPad that's just backwards. They are SO CHEAP just to increase profit margins it's so clear. Every iteration they release a better/more advanced iPad. Except now they clearly bring back this junk. Sure it has an updated processor which is probably gimped as well. You take out the display, take even the rear camera flash - and don't expect the camera to be the same as the 9.7" pro with flash model or else you'd have no reason to upgrade to that model. well that and the pencil support.
Sure it's better than the iPad 2 but that junk was outdated 3 years ago. Yet they still sell it at full price until the suckers stopped buying it.
This company is run by a bean counter and it shows. It's great for investors because I guess apple answers to stock market con artists. iPad hardware was never really the problem it's the damn software that sucks. Year after year you get mediocre software and it's time to leave this pathetic ecosystem. The surface pro 5 can't come soon enough even a full laptop surface book 2 that can't be detached but has touchscreen is welcome than these new mbp with touchbar.
There is absolutely nothing apple wants more than to increase profits. If this isn't clear enough for you then you are really the type of person to keep spending on apple products because you feel it's innovative. Gimp here and there reducing this and that and sell for just a tad cheaper but underneath they are making more money than before on the same product. It's like subway sandwiches using the same crap to make a "better" sandwich for cheaper.
Apple is just giving you exactly what you don't want. A cheap iPad that's just backwards. They are SO CHEAP just to increase profit margins it's so clear. Every iteration they release a better/more advanced iPad. Except now they clearly bring back this junk. Sure it has an updated processor which is probably gimped as well. You take out the display, take even the rear camera flash - and don't expect the camera to be the same as the 9.7" pro with flash model or else you'd have no reason to upgrade to that model. well that and the pencil support.
Sure it's better than the iPad 2 but that junk was outdated 3 years ago. Yet they still sell it at full price until the suckers stopped buying it.
This company is run by a bean counter and it shows. It's great for investors because I guess apple answers to stock market con artists. iPad hardware was never really the problem it's the damn software that sucks. Year after year you get mediocre software and it's time to leave this pathetic ecosystem. The surface pro 5 can't come soon enough even a full laptop surface book 2 that can't be detached but has touchscreen is welcome than these new mbp with touchbar.
There is absolutely nothing apple wants more than to increase profits. If this isn't clear enough for you then you are really the type of person to keep spending on apple products because you feel it's innovative. Gimp here and there reducing this and that and sell for just a tad cheaper but underneath they are making more money than before on the same product. It's like subway sandwiches using the same crap to make a "better" sandwich for cheaper.
The air 2 was just too good to keep the air name. It needed to morph into the 9.7 Pro... Apple maybe didn't have the right foresight into it's branding plans back when releasing the original iPad Air. The phasing out of the Air name is a bit awkward for Macs and iPads...
I hope this thing still has the lamented display of the Air 2. All the other downgrades are perfectly fine for the reduced price.
i'm afraid you're going to be lamenting the display on the new iPad...
So if I replace my 16GB Air 1 and get a new iPad, the screen is gonna be worse? And without LTE, I don't get GPS? Now, what's the difference to the "Pro"? $270 (128GB, WiFi) extra for the Stylus thing? Is the processor faster in the Pro? I am so confused. And I'd say I'm keeping myself more up to date than the average consumer when it comes to Apple.
Assuming that the "7s" has the A10, then probably a few minor changes. Rumored possibilities:
- Fast charging.
- Wireless charging (may not be long range, but still…).
- Dual OIS on the "7s Plus."
That's the very reason why it jumps straight from 32GB to 128GB. But I do agree that Pro models should start at 128GB and I think we'll see that happen with the refresh this year...the iPad mini 4 storage change today confirms this.
Right now the trend has been that the highest iPad storage option is the lowest Mac (flash) storage option, but it's possible they could offer a 512GB option, it's certainly not a space issue. Personally I would like to see them increase the base 15" MBP storage to 512GB.
For a long time this IS how Apple announced new products. They don't announce what products and they don't officially announce when but the Apple Store goes down for "maintenance" there usually is a major product release.
You're right, Apple didn't specifically promise new computers, at least not exactly. All that's been said-very recently- is that Apple still considers computers an important part of their product line and that improvements are on their way.
Here was a chance for Apple to put substance to their recent 'computers are still important" statements. And what was announced? An upgrade, a price cut, a discontinued product and a name change. All for one product line, the IPad. Not what a lot of people were hoping for. Was a new iMac or IMac pro promised? No. But after 3 or 4 years of no upgrades and no timelines and no release dates but following a 'We still care' statement do you think it's unreasonable for people to hope that this 'event' would include news about computers?
Apple wants you to believe they replaced the Air 2, when in fact they dropped the cheaper competitor to the iPad Pro 9.7 .
This new "low-cost" iPad is the upgrade to the old iPad Air.
Funny how my local Bestbuy just sold out of Air2 models.
No. Improve the specs of a base model and lower the price. It's a smart move. People want iPads for a variety of reasons. Not everyone needs the features of the iPad Pro. In fact, many do not. They just want a dependable, stable product which the iPad provides. My original iPad Air is still doing fine. It would be nice if it could do more than picture in a picture (true split screen) but that's no big deal to me.
There's nothing to find fault with here. They didn't do a major media event, bring everyone together, and then only announce this update. No, they released it with little fanfare. There is no "is that all there is" factor to this.
There's more to follow, I'm sure. When there is then there will be an event, fanfare and much rejoicing.
So as many of us predicted it's a iPad Air 2 with an A9 chip. Except it's worse than that. It's an iPad Air with an A9 chip and the camera from an iPad Air 2. Wikipedia lists it as having 2 GB ram but do we know that for sure? Likely also has the 1st generation TouchID also. Fantastic inventory management - reuse all the old Air casings and Air 2 cameras lying around, save money using Air-era display process and save money on the CPU as even though the A9 probably costs more than the A8X they can shut down production of the A8X and make bigger margins of the A8 which has less cores meaning more $ from iPod Touch, AppleTV and iPad Mini. For those of us interested in pushing forwards it's not so good but as seems to be the way it's going.
At least the old iPad Air covers will work; I wonder if the full body cases will also fit.
At least the old iPad Air covers will work; I wonder if the full body cases will also fit.
iPad (5th generation): Faster single-core performance compared to iPad Air 2. Nearly identical multi-core performance compared to iPad Air 2. Slightly worse graphics performance compared to iPad Air 2.
If you don't care about these products, I would say that this is good news (if there is indeed an event coming up soon). This will allow Apple to focus their event on the MacBook and the iMac. I would also put money on an update to the iLife products and possible iWork. Mac event in the spring, then WWDC, then iPhone stuff in the fall.