Apple Expected to Update Entire iPad Lineup Next Year

[Surf Monkey]

Largest company in the world, obviously doing something right. Selling them by the truckload. But sure, tell us how they should really run the company top-down.

I mean, you get that we’re on a forum that’s all about discussing these things, right? If the approach is “Apple knows best so shut up” then what’s the point of any of it? I supposed we’d be happy to just shut down MacRumors and read Apple press releases from now on? All comments about Apple products gleaned exclusively from Apple marketing materials?

I don’t get the hostility. You don’t have to agree or disagree with anyone here. Making it a personal confrontation seems counter productive.

 

[danwells]

If Apple would allow it, I'd go with an iPad Mini paired with an Apple Watch - skipping the iPhone completely.

I suspect there is enormous pressure from cellular carriers NOT to allow that. The phone companies want to keep their revenue from one phone line per person instead of one per household! Various forms of WiFi calling are effective enough that they're getting scared of people dropping lines (without even mentioning that a data-only device is much cheaper to have on cellular than a phone). Phone company profit margins depend on one (lucrative) phone per person...

 

[Surf Monkey]

But they have iCloud subscriptions to sell.

This has been their strategy for over a decade now. They equip computers with pathetically small on board storage and press you to buy iCloud.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I suspect there is enormous pressure from cellular carriers NOT to allow that. The phone companies want to keep their revenue from one phone line per person instead of one per household! Various forms of WiFi calling are effective enough that they're getting scared of people dropping lines (without even mentioning that a data-only device is much cheaper to have on cellular than a phone). Phone company profit margins depend on one (lucrative) phone per person...

They’d like you to have more than one line per phone per person actually.

 

[return2sendai]

At what point do the MacBook Air and iPad Pro merge into a single product with a detachable keyboard?

At no point

 

[rukia]

It's hard to increase iPad sales with new features until the use case(s) are changed. Given iPadOS limitations the vast majority of the market uses iPads solely for video consumption. It's often used for watching content on the plane, road trips, and restaurants by parents who want to distract their kids. Until this changes upgrading the SOC, shaving off weight, improving the screen, etc isn't going to slow the long term sales decline. The market segments that benefit from a portable touch screen such as pilots, graphic designers, etc. are too relatively niche to drive volume at the scale that a ~$3T company needs.

 

[Howard2k]

I mean, you get that we’re on a forum that’s all about discussing these things, right? If the approach is “Apple knows best so shut up” then what’s the point of any of it? I supposed we’d be happy to just shut down MacRumors and read Apple press releases from now on? All comments about Apple products gleaned exclusively from Apple marketing materials?

I don’t get the hostility. You don’t have to agree or disagree with anyone here. Making it a personal confrontation seems counter productive.

No hostility at all. Like I said in my first post, I’m quite sure you’re actually capable of discerning the differences between the devices. You’ve been here since 2010. But hostility for the sake of hostility, or complaining about products for the sake of complaining about products - what’s the point? I distinctly stated that it wasn’t a personal knock.


You explicitly stated:

The problem is how to differentiate them.

So either you are having problems differentiating them, or you‘re not.


If you are having problems differentiating them, then I think you need to do some more research on the products before purchasing, and I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
If you’re not having problems differentiating them, then it’s the faux-complexity thing and I’m not really sure why that’s your argument.

Maybe you’re just looking to argue for the sake of arguing. I’m not sure, but I’m sure MR like the clicks regardless.

You‘re the one who reacted with the angry emoticon

 

[Unregistered 4U]

At what point do the MacBook Air and iPad Pro merge into a single product with a detachable keyboard?

They day when folks stop buying iPad Pros and require them to have macOS compatibility to run the macOS apps they don’t have.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Maybe ability to run some Mac apps on iPad Pro finally?

If a developer builds an iPad Pro version and puts it on the App Store, that can be done today.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I realize y'all are just whining about wanting lower prices. So whine about wanting lower prices instead of trying to tell Apple to make their low end higher without raising the price.

I read a post awhile back where someone mentioned being on a fixed income. Once I looked it up, I understood why a large number of long time users are far more sensitive to price than they once were.

 

[YonTom]

With the terrific iPad Mini 6 and the generally long legs of iPad (not so quick to "long in tooth" like its little brothers), I'm looking forward to upgrading to iPad Mini 9 or 10 about 5-6 more years from now. The jump to this 6 was from an iPad Mini 2, after about 8 years.

But I'd reconsider this plan for an iPad Mini PRO, basically iPhone Pro Max in an iPad Mini form factor, even if priced like existing iPad Pros. Else, this 6 keeps right on rolling for perhaps the balance of the 2020s.

I would not call the current iPad Mini 6 "terrific". I own one and LOVE the form factor, but it has ample room for improvement. Off the top of my head:
- (Way) faster processor
- (Way) better battery life
- (Way) better standby time (iPads used to have 30 days of standby time but mine now dies within a couple of days)
- Smaller bezels
- Better display (XDR would be awesome)

I'm guessing not a lot of people would be willing to pay the premium for all those features on a small iPad (I would), so Apple will continue making small incremental changes to whip up a little excitement but keeping this as a budget/non-Pro device...

 

[zakarhino]

It's time to kill the Air. Rather, kill the 'iPad' and make the Air the new base 'iPad'

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I miss the old Apple,..the one that innovated with customers in mind. Not the corporate hog only beholden to its shareholders it's become. Gurman is 100% right when he says that the only lever Apple has, is to raise prices..

They do innovate with customers in mind, it’s the main reason why half of the iPads bought today are by customers that haven’t owned Apple devices before. For those that don’t like what Apple makes, they’re not Apple’s customers, and Apple are not attempting to satisfy those that aren’t customers in the least.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

iPad Pro Ultra, here we come!

 

[nawnp]

So when they don't update a single iPad all years the expectation is they must have been holding them all for next year, that tracks.

 

[Fuzzball84]

They need to put a 12 inch display on the iPad mini! It’s a no brainer, that screen makes so much more sense.

 

[Tagbert]

They have taken a massive hit in the education sector. Would be nice to see them expanding into school systems like they use to. But chromebooks have demolished iPad sales in that segment.

the problem with education is that it is so tied into the software to manage devices and students. Apple has never shown an interest in that kind of thing. Just selling cheap iPads doesn't cut it.

 

[Tagbert]

This has been their strategy for over a decade now. They equip computers with pathetically small on board storage and press you to buy iCloud.

I have plenty of storage on my phone but I still sign up for iCloud for backup and file sharing with my other devices. I'm always amazed that people don't sign up for the base iCloud plans like 50GB for $1 or 200GB for $3 just so you have a backup of your photos. I've had friends who lost their phones and the only copy of their photos. It's pretty cheap for insurance.

 

[Fuzzball84]

the problem with education is that it is so tied into the software to manage devices and students. Apple has never shown an interest in that kind of thing. Just selling cheap iPads doesn't cut it.

I agree… and is also the reason Macs are avoided by a lot of businesses.

Why buy a Mac, when you can buy PC with definitive software support (longer term support versions by Microsoft and Linux), hardware support including service manuals… and so much more customization of software, hardware and upgradability.

 

[Pezimak]

I’m wondering if the next iPad Mini will actually get the same chip as the 15 Pro, I mean if it doesn’t it won’t be able to play Resident Evil Village despite it being a brilliant size for gaming, don’t see why it can’t have the same chip for its price. Otherwise I think it’ll just get a new screen controller chip to reduce the jelly effect. And fingers crossed a 128GB option.
Air will get M2 probably, and again 128GB would be nice.

Pros I think may see a redesign, thinner bezels lighter weight? M3 and latest WiFi etc. Maybe OLED?

 

[Fuzzball84]

I would not call the current iPad Mini 6 "terrific". I own one and LOVE the form factor, but it has ample room for improvement. Off the top of my head:
- (Way) faster processor
- (Way) better battery life
- (Way) better standby time (iPads used to have 30 days of standby time but mine now dies within a couple of days)
- Smaller bezels
- Better display (XDR would be awesome)

I'm guessing not a lot of people would be willing to pay the premium for all those features on a small iPad (I would), so Apple will continue making small incremental changes to whip up a little excitement but keeping this as a budget/non-Pro device...

Your mini must have a serious hardware problem if you think it’s slow, has big bezels, has bad battery life (including standby, two days???), and a poor display.

Are you sure you bought a genuine iPad mini? As none of that describes the iPad mini 6 I have… that can remain in standby for weeks and runs every App on the App Store without any issue.

 

[crawfish963]

Needs to be less confusing:

iPad 10.2”

iPad Air 10.9”/7.9”

iPad Pro 11”/13”

 

[eropko]

I have plenty of storage on my phone but I still sign up for iCloud for backup and file sharing with my other devices. I'm always amazed that people don't sign up for the base iCloud plans like 50GB for $1 or 200GB for $3 just so you have a backup of your photos. I've had friends who lost their phones and the only copy of their photos. It's pretty cheap for insurance.

Or they don't trust iCloud after all the leaks.

 

[Fuzzball84]

iPad Pro Ultra, here we come!

iPad Pro Maxi Max

It has a 90 inch screen, fits on a trailer and its battery lasts 3 months. Powered by A18 Pro maxi max processor with a whopping 2 GB RAM and 32 GB storage (base model). Upgrade to 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage costs 67 thousand dollars.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Needs to be less confusing:

iPad 10.2”

iPad Air 10.9”/7.9”

iPad Pro 11”/13”

Remember when they still sold the MacBook Air but released an even thinner and lighter MacBook Retina 😂

Their lineup names often don’t make any sense