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

[homegrownhero]

So basically they rebranded the iPad Pro 10.5 and call it an iPad Air now?
And still uses 1st-gen pencils.

Apple still the undisputed king of recycling, I'm glad.

 

[lartola]

So basically they rebranded the iPad Pro 10.5 and call it an iPad Air now?
And still uses 1st-gen pencils.

Apple still the undisputed king of recycling, I'm glad.

I thought the same at first, but no. It was not quite a simple rebranding they did, there are differences. The 10.5" iPad Pro had four speakers and a better display than this new iPad Air does. The processor in the Air is also slightly newer than the one in the older Pro (A12, same as the iPhone XS, in the Air vs an A11X in the old 10.5" Pro). And the new iPad Air has 3 GB in RAM vs 4 GB in the older 10.5" Pro.

 

[PickUrPoison]

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).

Given that the $799 Pro has 4GB, and the $329 entry level has 2GB, I think that’s the smart assumption; I also assume it’ll have 3GB RAM. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it’s 4GB, but I don’t think it will be. TouchID 2 is a given, for the mini 5 as well.

 

[jeremiah256]

Point taken. As you say, 'Air' now means something to the consumer (i.e. light and mid-range, 'good enough for most people' etc.), but it's a terrible name in terms of making Apple's product lineup make any sense.

Apple will absolutely release 'A' SoC Macs.

What will they call them? Will they just be 'MacBook'? That's Ok, but what about the Air?

Riffing on your example, how then would you describe the difference between the Air (I assume it'll be intel powered until it's EOL) and the new A class MacBooks to the average consumer?

And what about the 'iPad' i.e. the most basic iPad? Now let's assume that the new 'MacBook' will not be basic. If not, the naming scheme will just not make much sense across the lines.

I assume though that eventually the line-ups will make way more sense in time as Apple transitions away from Intel in Macs.

Mind you, this is the company that just launched the XS, XS Max and XR... And the iPad Air!

Unfortunately, we're in a transition period. Apple does not update each and every one of their products at the same type, so we're going to get these types of discrepancies from time to time.

At this point in 2019 MacRumor's Buying Guide is listing the iPad, iMac, MacBook, and the Mac Pro as 'Don't Buy'. The MacBook Pro as a caution, and the iMac Pro as a neutral, so half of Apple's line is currently out of date.

As for categorizing, there are always exceptions, but a poster on this board describes the MacBook as generally, a device for the casual user, and I'd agree. It's the device both for the executive that only uses it for business trips, and your aunt and uncle when they load up the mobile home and take off for a one month trip to Florida.

Students, pros without heavy computing needs, and someone who just wants a computer? MacBook Air. Need more power? MacBook Pro.

The iPads are a totally different beast and where the action is. The new iPad Mini is more powerful than my iPad Pro 9.7" from 2015. Assuming the base iPad also gets an updated CPU this year, each one of these is a computational monster that can run anything in the App Store equally as well as the other. And I really think that needs to be emphasized - almost all the iOS devices are equally fantastic, equally capable devices.

We all may have our preferences, but if you are looking to purchase an iOS device, you really can't go wrong.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Except the mini users upgrade would go from an A8 to an A12 so yes it’s a massive upgrade

I think this tells us that this mini probably won’t be updated for another 3 years. If they were going to update it in a couple years, I think they might just as well have used the A11.

Not sure about the Air, but no reason it can’t do the same. I’m going to guess a 2 year cycle, though; I suppose it will depend on how well it sells. But it could very well be that the mini outsells the Air, who knows. One thing’s for sure: with an A12 it’ll have more years of useful life than did the A8. The mini 4 is noticeably slower than my 6s, even though they both have 2GB of RAM. I’ll be glad to get TouchID 2 as well

 

[evrard]

Man, I can see how confusing getting an Apple Pencil is going to be for the average customer. Two products both called Apple Pencil and the newest iPads don’t support the newest Apple Pencil? That wasn’t a very smart move.

Should of, at the very least, delayed the the launch of the 2nd generation pencil.

 

[Bin Cook]

Learned nothing from the iPhone pricing debacle then?

Just another release that makes people wish there was a viable competitor. The public desperately needs another vertically integrated tech company to oppose Apple.

 

[Whathappened]

Focus Tim, Focus, you can do this

Focus on what? Increasing Apple’s value to heights Steve Jobs never dared to dream of?
Mission accomplished I’d say.
You Forum nerds are just an irrrelavant minority that can never be satisfied.
Why bother?

 

[PickUrPoison]

Does anyone else see the disingenuousness of pencil 1, not pencil 2? Sheesh Apple! Various varieties of pencil is not really necessary at all.

There are tens of millions of iPads in the installed based that use Pencil 1, so they’re going to be available for at least 5-7 years. For iPad Pro, Apple made a wireless charging Pencil 2 that attaches magnetically. It requires new charging components in the iPad and furthermore it is not backwards compatible with the older first/second gen Pros or the 2018 iPad, which all use Pencil 1.

I guess you’re saying Pencil 2 isn’t necessary but it is a better version, according to artists and others who’ve used it. The 2018 iPad Pros don’t have Lightning so something had to be done, since Pencil 1 charges using the Lightning port

 

[Rookbird]

Apple’s product lines are starting to get very convoluted, just like it was before Steve Jobs return. Apple needs to learn from their past. Forget the past and your doomed to repeate it, same in business as well as life.

You need to focus on your core products and not let them get convoluted. The more convoluted your product lines get the less attention your products get and instead of having several really good products you end up with a bunch of just average or even below average products.

 

[Tozovac]

Again: everything requires a little research to be sure it is worth spending one's hard-earned money on. If one jumps on an iPad Air for $199 without looking at Apple's site to at least see what the regular price is (and if that comparison doesn't elicit a little critical thinking as to the $300 price difference), then nothing is going to help that person.

You ignored basically the entirety of my post in two separate responses. You have not told us a better naming convention that does not require SOME background knowledge or minimal research. Does naming the watch Series 3 help anything without knowledge of the Series 4? Does naming a TV Samsung Q7 alleviate any need for research? Does naming an iPad "iPad (2018)" help right now--in March 2019? Without the willingness to do even minimal research into each of those products, I submit that the answer to each is: no.

Sorry, didn't ignore it on purpose. Note though, that I didn't mention the watch in my posts -- if Series 4, Series 3, etc., is the naming convention Apple uses/used, then GREAT and there's the answer to your question for me. Why not call the new iPad Air the iPad Air 3 instead of iPad Air? For the watch maybe they learned their mistakes from the iPad/iPhone naming conventions.

Same for: why skip iPhone 9 just for marketing reasons, as well as introducing "iPhone xR" with an Xs after over a decade of (mostly) using increasing digits for models. And Xs Max instead of sticking with the historically-used Plus. Dumb just dumb. Dumb. At least Apple's not alone - I can't tell apart the Mercury car division's models or Acura's without looking them up. BMW at least still does it right even if their styling hasn't fully recovered from Bangle's ugly stick over a decade ago.

For your Q7 example, I can't tell if you're saying the Q7 name is used across multiple years of different models, or not. But Apple's officially going from iPad Air --> iPad Air 2 --> iPad Air is dumb but should be no surprise since look how we got there: iPad --> iPad 2 --> The New iPad (instead of iPad 3) --> iPad with Retina Display (instead of iPad 4) --> iPad Air, and so on into the Pros. Just causes doubt about which is different than which, and creates the need to do more research/actions than should be necessary when just trying to differentiate models that look all so alike. Just dumb IMHO.

At least OSX goes with 10.x *and* a silly but different animal or mountain name for differentiation.

And thankfully there's wikipedia to help keep things straight. The iPad Pro naming convention looks even worse. Six Pro models all called iPad Pro, different sizes, different years. Some real Geniuses thinking differently alright.

 

[S3R6i0]

iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad, iPad Mini.

Not hard to follow...

If you want to be technical about it, it goes Pro, then default, then Air and Mini duke it out amongst themselves for the coveted last title. The iPad Air blows the iPad out of the water tech wise and is more expensive. I think it's a little redundant adding the Air moniker to it as well considering they're tablets.

 

[trip1ex]

i guess too many were buying the cheap ipad so instead of having an updated cheap one they made a more than updated semi-expensive one priced halfway in between the top and bottom.

Confusing moniker because Air before meant top of the line iPad. Now it means middle of the road.

With laptops it meant lighter weight and thinner

 

[titans1127]

Definitely considering the Air over the Mini for the screen size mainly and can't decide if I want to trade my 10.5 Pro into Apple for $350 in credit because it is essentially hassle free compared to listing on ebay and dealing with getting less money after fees or deadbeat buyers that dont pay and waste my time.

 

[Haribokart]

Definitely considering the Air over the Mini for the screen size mainly and can't decide if I want to trade my 10.5 Pro into Apple for $350 in credit because it is essentially hassle free compared to listing on ebay and dealing with getting less money after fees or deadbeat buyers that dont pay and waste my time.

Why would you trade in a 10.5 Pro for the new Air which is essentially the same product with a worse screen, less speakers and 1GB less RAM?

 

[titans1127]

Why would you trade in a 10.5 Pro for the new Air which is essentially the same product with a worse screen, less speakers and 1GB less RAM?

Battery life has been garbage on this refurb I was given as a replacement last summer along with a wonky touchscreen so I'd rather just move on. I have no real use for a "Pro" machine either so its really just wasted features for me.

 

[Haribokart]

Battery life has been garbage on this refurb I was given as a replacement last summer along with a wonky touchscreen so I'd rather just move on. I have no real use for a "Pro" machine either so its really just wasted features for me.

Interesting, so refurb batteries suck? This would change my plans if so.

 

[666satan666]

Guys, I have a serious question.
How bad will pro 10.5 be in 2-3 years?

 

[titans1127]

Interesting, so refurb batteries suck? This would change my plans if so.

I think it was bad luck more than anything. I have never had battery issues in the past with any reburb Mac's I have purchased from Apple

 

[PickUrPoison]

Yeah if that's confusing I can imagine these people trying to figure out if 3 twelve packs for $12 is a better deal than 3 six packs of 16.9 ounce bottles for $10 or 5 two liter bottles for $6 is a better buy.

Never understood the whole confusing argument. The average mortal can easily differentiate between them.

It’s mostly just concern trolling. It’s really three models to differentiate, since the mini can’t be mistaken for any of the other four. Similarly, what’s the chance of somebody accidentally buying the $999+ 12.9” Pro?

So we’re left with three models of similar size. The highest and lowest base prices were already established before the 2019 Air was re-introduced:

• $299/329 9.7” iPad. Entry level education/kids/budget-friendly model with decent specs for the price

• $799 11” iPad Pro. The most expensive model, with the best specs. Really nice, but expensive

Between those upper and lower starting points, there’s a rather large spread of about $500 where the “Goldilocks” version that’s jusssst right will be positioned. Apple decided on $499, so $170 more than the entry level model, and $300 cheaper than the 11” Pro. Compared to the $329 base model, the Air has an excellent screen, an A12 vs. A10 processor, 3GB vs. 2GB RAM, 64GB vs. 32GB storage, has a better FaceTime camera, is 6.1mm thick vs. 7.5mm and is also just a bit lighter, 12g less (about 1/2 oz.)

The great screen, 3GB RAM and A12 (vs A10) alone are worth the extra $170 to me. Three to five years from now, the extra RAM and two generations newer processor will give it at least two extra years of life compared to the $329 model. Plus, the great screen will be enjoyed from day one, and for the entire life of the device. But Apple will likely sell far more of the $329 iPad than the Air, because price is often the overriding factor.

 

[derekamoss]

This in no way will be a customer service nightmare....

 

[PickUrPoison]

There was a time when apple put out one product each year, and it was simply the best. Then ‘grownups’ took over

So maybe only the 11” iPad Pro would be sold at the “old Apple”. No $299 model for education, parents with kids and the budget-conscious? No $499 Air or $649 iPad Pro? No 12.9” Pro? No iPad mini? Just “one size fits all”, like AirPods? (I’m sure some customers wish AirPods were available in multiple sizes.)

Why are some posters so concerned that other customers are too stupid to manage choosing a few different options (but not them, they’re tech savvy and smart enough to understand lol). Personally, I like it the way it is. I think choice is good. There’s not always the ideal combination of features to suit everyone, but the odds are that more customers can be satisfied by three options rather than one.

I know it triggers the OCD in some to have a MacBook that’s lighter than the MacBook Air, or a iPad Air that’s 6.1mm instead of 5.8mm so it can also be thinnest iPad and not just the lightest. But actual customers are OK with the MacBook being 2 lbs while the MacBook Air weighs in at 2.75. And real customers are also OK with that iPad Air that’s 0.3mm “too thick”. All the branding folks don’t need to get fired

 

[Abazigal]

There was a time when apple put out one product each year, and it was simply the best. Then ‘grownups’ took over

That's because the Apple of 2010 only had the resources to maintain 1 iPad a year.

Apple did what made sense for them at the time given their size and the resources at their disposal then.

Just as Apple is doing what makes sense for them now given their current size and resources at their disposal.

Or did you think that Apple could have grown to their current size just by continuing to offering one iPhone and one iPad model every year?

 

[Steve121178]

Interesting, so refurb batteries suck? This would change my plans if so.

I've had my iPad Pro 10.5 from new & battery life has become far worse since iOS 12.1.3 & 12.1.4 were released. Before then it was as good as the day I bought it. I've also noticed severe battery degradation in my iPhone 7 that I use as my secondary phone since updating it to 12.1.4. Before 12.1.4 it would easily last a full day.

It's not right and the cynical side of me thinks it's almost being done on purpose, i.e. Blatant planned obsolescence via software.

 

[Tozovac]

It’s mostly just concern trolling.

Not really. For those of us who appreciate referring to prior iPad models unambiguously, for what whatever reasons they may be, having multiple differing models over the years named “iPad,” “iPad Air,” and “iPad Pro” to the point where users like us have to add a digit or nickname for differentiation that’s inconsistent across websites or resources is just dumb and very unnecessarily overly-simple and confusing (as is typical of Apple to indulge in overly unnecessary minimalization nowadays). Sure, George Foreman can name five of his sons George, but why do 99.9999% of people not choose do something like that?
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This in no way will be a customer service nightmare....

Exactly. Heck, a nightmare for customers first and foremost.