Apple Event Tidbits: USB 2 Transfer Speeds for 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 256GB Storage Option for 12.9-inch iPad Pro

[jclardy]

Ugh, the slow lightning port is super disappointing, as it essentially means Apple is never going to do anything with external storage on the iPad, since now a "Pro" product has an ancient slow USB2 connection as the fastest port available to it.

 

[Marx55]

Apple should build standard ports like USB in all apple devices.
Besides a Mac tablet.

 

[MacHiavelli]

At this rate, they should have just buried Apple with Steve.

Total mess.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Almost sounds like an Accountant is running the place?

 

[M5RahuL]

iPad Pro as a laptop replacement lol..nice try Apple!

Today's event was.., imo, snooze-worthy at best!

 

[btrach144]

12.9" iPad Pro has USB 3 transfer speeds but no ambient sensor
9.7" iPad Pro has ambient sensor but USB 2 transfer speeds
iPhone 6s has 3D Touch but camera protrudes
iPhone SE has no 3D Touch but camera is flush

I'm sure there are many more discrepancies. Wtf is going on, Apple?

Yes! I was thinking the same thing. The only difference between the two iPad Pro should be screen size and I guess battery life. I don't want the current 9.7" because I want USB 3 speeds and I don't want the 12.9" because I want the true tone. Doesn't matter though with the $100 price increase, I refuse to buy it till they lower the price. Voting with my wallet 🙂

#torn

 

[bretm]

Disappointing the iPad Pro 9.7 does not support USB 3 transfer speeds.

Yes but USB 3 doesn't get 625 mb/sec! Try 170 or so. And that's if you're using something like a 7200 rpm drive. Most I've seen is about 200.

 

[alllexx]

Disappointing the iPad Pro 9.7 does not support USB 3 transfer speeds.

Its a really weird combination of feature choices across devices.

 

[Mactendo]

Sound like they put all the features into a hat and just pull one at a time out and pin it to a random product. There is no red line in their products. Consider yourself lucky if the iPhone pro isn't a 9.7" inch device with antennas because the paper piece from the hat said "no antenna bands".

Antennas are sold separately.

 

[Gudi]

iPad Pro prices in Germany

689 entry price
+180 storage upgrade
+150 cellular upgrade
+169 keyboard
+109 pencil
= 1.297 €uros

That's literally twice as much as I paid for my iPad Air 2 64GB LTE.

 

[Piggie]

They must be getting the USB2 speed Lightning chips made at the same factory that makes the 5400rpm drives for $1500+ iMac's

 

[trifid]

USB 2, what the.. what year is this 2000? And on iPad "Pro"? on 256GB? This is April fools prank right?

 

[autrefois]

Ugh, the slow lightning port is super disappointing, as it essentially means Apple is never going to do anything with external storage on the iPad, since now a "Pro" product has an ancient slow USB2 connection as the fastest port available to it.

There isn't any product that Apple ships that doesn't make it seem like they are trying to squeeze money out of their customers. There's always some low spec that it's ridiculous to include in a modern device, some obvious feature that other devices in its class have but that you can't have no matter how much you pay, or some expensive adapter you have to buy to actually use the darn thing or get basic connectivity with other devices.

They keep making things thinner and thinner and use this as an excuse for having subpar features and getting people to buy adapters. I realize Apple is a company and that they have to make money. But do they have to do so in a way that is so blatantly disrespectful to their legacy and to their customers?

 

[madsci954]

For the people who like small phones good for you. Now please leave us larger phone inclined people alone.

I'm still waiting on the "4 in phone is still too big, bring back the 3.5" crowd.

 

[RedOctober]

Yeah....Nah. There's absolutely nothing surprising any more from Apple, it's just rehashing the same old, same old with newer tech (loosely speaking). The Android crowd are more innovative.

 

[keysofanxiety]

C'mon, what is this. Little issues like this are wholly indicative of a larger problem in mentality at Apple. It's like if you buy a Windows laptop. Get a top spec one, but they've skimped on the webcam. Or poor thermal design. Or rubbish/off centre trackpad. Plastic casing, cheap looking matte-LCD. Disappointing battery life. There always seems to be a 'catch' with buying other devices, no matter what price point you enter at, which contributed to pushing me towards Apple in the first place.

More and more I get the feeling that now I'm watching out for these catches with new Apple products, rather than appreciating what they can do. Just make the lineup consistent and be willing to shave the tiniest bit of profit for a much better product. I no longer have any faith that Apple have made the best possible product for that price.

 

[AliMacs]

I'm still waiting on the "4 in phone is still too big, bring back the 3.5" crowd.

That iPhone SE body is much more attractive that the ugly piece of dung iPHone 6. I swear the antenna bands are so nasty and the entire phone needs to be like this iPhone SE but larger. I cannot go back to anything less than 5". If I'm going to shell $500 for a phone, I need for it to be able to surf the Internet. Seriously doing anything useful on a 4" screen is just pathetic. they can make an S7 smaller than an iPhone 6S with longer battery life and the screen is 5.1" vs 4.7" - who the hell wants to pay $500 for this???

 

[B4U]

Sounds like a great update for my iPad 3 still happily running iOS 6...
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That $100 does buy you a faster CPU and GPU plus a better display so there is some tangible "everyday" value in moving to the Pro over an Air 2 if you desire / need 128GB.
[doublepost=1458600565][/doublepost]

The iPhone SE is 0.3 inches thicker than the 6s and that allows the camera to lay flush (as it does on the 5s, which was also 0.3 inches thicker).

And there is no reason for the 6s to be so slim...they could have made it as thick as the 5s and give us a larger battery.

 

[jayducharme]

wonderings why in this day and age Apple needs to be cheapen it's products with USB 2 and camera bumps :-/

I always have a case for my iPad, so the bump won't make a difference to me. As for the USB 2 speed, that's Lightning for you. I'm actually fine with that, since my lightning accessories will still work with it. I wonder if wireless speeds would be faster than USB 2?

Does anyone know whether the iPad Air 2 Smart Cover will work with the new iPad Pro?

I would think that the Smart cover should technically fit. The full iPad Air 2 cases would probably need extra speaker holes, however.

 

[keysofanxiety]

And yes, Apple's product line is a mess. The naming scheme itself is enough to give any consumer a headache. When Steve Jobs came back and talked about scrapping the hundreds of products Apple had to made it easier for consumers to understand. 4 computer products. Portable and desktop - a Pro and consumer version for each.

I doubt Cook could fluently name the current product line, and certainly couldn't distinguish between their features in any great detail.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm not sure why anyone would expect USB 3 on a pro device that can cost over $1000 and launched a day away from calendar 2Q of 2016. Besides, as I've been chastised today, Apple executives never make bad decisions because they are part of a company with one of the largest market caps on the planet. Therefore, it has been proclaimed: USB 2 is cool and USB 3 is garish marketing, unlike attaching a "pro" moniker to a consumer device. /s

 

[AliMacs]

And yes, Apple's product line is a mess. The naming scheme itself is enough to give any consumer a headache. When Steve Jobs came back and talked about scrapping the hundreds of products Apple had to made it easier for consumers to understand. 4 computer products. Portable and desktop - a Pro and consumer version for each.

I doubt Cook could fluently name the current product line, and certainly couldn't distinguish between their features in any great detail.

this is what happens when marketing drives product development. Phil Schiller is the biggest donkey in the business. Pro this Pro that and yet they gimp on the USB interface. Jesus, at this rate Samsung is really killing it with their phones. High speed wireless charging, quick charging 2.0, water resistance, beautiful material designs, killer cameras front and rear, sd card options, everything but the kitchen sink thrown in.

 

[xgman]

Yes, this usb news is totally disheartening. And why, to save a few cents? It makes no sense. sigh ...

 

[Jjaro]

I just want to eventually see Mac OS X on the iPad as an option. I could see this happening, especially when Apple is commenting that they expect people to switch to the iPad from a PC. Plus a windowed mode was just found in the new Android N preview, so it's possible.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/this-is-android-ns-freeform-window-mode/

 

[HailstormX]

Over all a pretty boring / predictable keynote... For a second I thought they would have a one more thing.... I liked the changes for the iPad 9.7 but the little inconsistencies against the 12" iPad Pro is kinda frustrating. iPad Pro should be iPad Pro the only difference should be Color / Storage / Screen size and if it has cellular. All the other features should be the same. They do that with the phones iPhone 6S and 6S Plus (better camera etc).

The iOS 9.3 / 10.11.4 software updates are pretty solid. Its nice that they release every at once. Last complaint I really wish they didn't pitch the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement and then not say anything on mac hardware. I hope they get some skylake macbook pros out the door soon. Geez the next version will be out by the time they actually ship something .... kinda tired of seeing the macbook pro's a generation behind. Miss the mac being the priority.