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Apple Launches New 10.5-Inch iPad Air With A12 Bionic Chip and Apple Pencil Support, Starts at $499

redheeler said:
Sure, it's not hard to follow if you're already familiar with all these products and their features / shortcomings.

But do you think an average person can tell you which of these supports the Apple Pencil 2? Or why the iPad mini is more expensive / better than the iPad despite being smaller?

This is what we mean by confusion. It's good to see Apple refresh the iPad mini and keep the same price (a rarity nowadays), but Apple's iPad and MacBook lineups have both been getting increasingly fragmented.
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I think we're underestimating the quintessential "average user", but you're totally on point.

E.g. if you want to have two iPads in your household, a "regular" and a "Pro", you simply cannot have interchangeable pencils and peripherals. This is incredulously against the seamless ecosystem mentality Apple has been building for years, which had started to unravel when they started shipping phones that charge with USB-A and laptops that only feature USB-C.
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sracer said:
The direction seems pretty clear to me. Rather than have a single tier of devices, they have 2... a basic tier and a pro tier. Those who want a basic tier are not "insulted" by the non-Pro models. Those who want a pro tier with a distinction have the Pro models...which are very unique and will never be mistaken for the base models.

Seems to me the only ones who are "insulted" are the ones who want an iPad Pro at a base iPad price.
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What I find insulting is that the two tiers have mutually exclusive peripherals and adaptor sets. Completely mercantilistic and user unfriendly.
 
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fokmik said:
its the new air...the 10.5" ipad pro had quad speakers and promotion, this 10.5" air doesnt, so its not an update from the pro 10.5" but from the 9.7" air 2
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It's either an updated iPad Air 2 with a larger display or a slightly stripped 10.5" Pro (with a new CPU). It's a bit mix and match.
 
otternonsense said:
I think we're underestimating the quintessential "average user", but you're totally on point.

E.g. if you want to have two iPads in your household, a "regular" and a "Pro", you simply cannot have interchangeable pencils and peripherals. This is incredulously against the seamless ecosystem mentality Apple has been building for years, which had started to unravel when they started shipping phones that charge with USB-A and laptops that only feature USB-C.
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What I find insulting is that the two tiers have mutually exclusive peripherals and adaptor sets. Completely mercantilistic and user unfriendly.
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Different physical sizes necessitate different cases and keyboard cases. The pencil difference sucks but that is their way of keeping the iPad Pro differentiated (inductive charging for pencil, magnetic 'storage' of pencil).
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otternonsense said:
Here's one: what does Air even mean when the newer iPad Pros are slimmer and lighter?
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Air today simply means below Pro.
 
Every update from any Apple device is welcome! I don't understand however why they're only starting with 64 GB in the iPad Air. Even smartphones are starting with 128 GB today... Come on Apple 64 GB is very meager for a tablet.
 
PickUrPoison said:
Lightest: MacBook
Cheapest: MacBook Air
Fastest: MacBook Pro
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I think a better description for the Macbook line would be

Macbook: A middle of the pack, overpriced for what it is (it should not be lightest, since that is why they name the other "Air")
Macbook Air: 20% more expensive with no innovation. So "Air" that features actually vanished.
Macbook Pro: Fastest - It was design so fast that it is the worst ever design Macbook.
 
Another Lame upgrade of just internal components. Tim Cook's "amazing" innovation...:(

Are they bendable?

It will be much better, if we would be able to use a MAcOS rather than the iOS on the ipad.
The document management in iOS is really bad.
 
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dannyyankou said:
It’s basically the 10.5 inch iPad Pro with a new processor and a new name. Why change the name?
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I think it's because the Pros have FaceID and USB-C. It didn't make much sense probably to have a 10.5" Pro and the 11" Pro. So, Apple kept the old 10.5 Pro until now because Apple hates to get rid of products.

Now, the lines are cleaner: the Pros are the really high-end computers, the Air the middle of the line, and the iPad the base unit most people will get.
 
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terandle said:
Not sure who the iPad Air is for. Basic tablet goes to the 9.7 and enthusiast tablet goes to the 11.
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For me, for one. I have an air 2 that is getting quite long in the tooth. I kept my ipad 2 for 3.5 years and my air 2 for 4.5 (so far). I want my next one to last as well. Buying the base model, with an a10, in 2019 is not likely to result in a good user experience 3+ years from now. It’s also a step BACK from my 4 year old tablet in terms of screen tech.

But I don’t want to pay $800+ for a pro when I have no intention of using this to replace my Mac. New model is the sweet spot for sure.
 
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otternonsense said:
E.g. if you want to have two iPads in your household, a "regular" and a "Pro", you simply cannot have interchangeable pencils and peripherals.
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This is the most ridiculous complaint I’ve heard so far. The only reason one might have multiple iPads in a household is for individual users (like our family has between myself, my wife and my kids). I’ve never found myself needing to “share” pencils or peripherals. Everyone has their own.
 
Why call this down date even update?
Many figured out that the old 11.5 had way more better tech inside.

It’s disgusting that media doesn’t call it by name. New down striped iPads!
 
HJM.NL said:
Every update from any Apple device is welcome! I don't understand however why they're only starting with 64 GB in the iPad Air. Even smartphones are starting with 128 GB today... Come on Apple 64 GB is very meager for a tablet.
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Not quite as much of a joke as 32 GB would be but 128 would be optimum but instead its fork over 150 bucks for 256 that virtually no one needs.
 
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New cases available.
Cases.PNG

Cases1.PNG
 
centauratlas said:
Tim needs to recall the large number of Macs back in the 1990s. Simplify it.
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It wasn’t confusing for me. I bought a Power Computing Powerbase 180 for about half the price of a comparable Mac. It was ugly but the Mac at that wasn’t a beauty either.
 
rui no onna said:
Has there been any info on the amount of RAM? Granted, I'm guessing safe enough to assume the floor is probably 3GB (same as XR).
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Apple been very frugal on RAM! It is penny cheap too. RAM is the only thing Apple has to make you upgrade when their iOS is at 15 and it swapping stuff to load to work. I think for the price, it will be only the same 2GB as the 2015 Mini 4. Hopefully, I am wrong and Apple is generous and gives us 4! If it is 4GB, I will buy another iPad!
 
The Apple product line continues to be a mess. Why would you get rid of the headphone jack on the iPhone but not on the iPad? It makes no sense. Why even bother having the fingerprint button when they are clearly moving away from that technology. Remove the headphone jack and the button, and make all your devices have the same port. Oh, and can they make their lightning headphones work with all there products!
 
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Why is the naming of apple products so hard what’s wrong with this?
iPad
iPad Mini
iPad Pro
iPad Pro Max/Plus/Big One
All can use the pencil (no matter the generation) and all can have a Smart Cover (just different sizes)
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_MiikeyMike_ said:
Why is the naming of apple products so hard what’s wrong with this?
iPad
iPad Mini
iPad Pro
iPad Pro Max/Plus/Big One
All can use the pencil (no matter the generation) and all can have a Smart Cover (just different sizes)
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Also all have Face ID, all same connector Lighting or otherwise.
 
The only confusing aspect is why have an Ipad and Ipad air, where the Ipad is the cheapest model? Seems strange to me.

I'm excited about the mini but not so much about that price.
 
HJM.NL said:
Every update from any Apple device is welcome! I don't understand however why they're only starting with 64 GB in the iPad Air. Even smartphones are starting with 128 GB today... Come on Apple 64 GB is very meager for a tablet.
Click to expand...

Not everyone needs loads of storage. I have 64 gig on my phone and I’m only using 26 gig. 128 would be complete overkill for me. Hell even 64 is tbf.
 
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