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Apple Launches New 9.7-Inch iPad With Apple Pencil Support, $299 for Schools and $329 for Consumers
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Honestly the fact that this crayon stylus won’t roll off of the table sort of makes it better than the Apple Pencil imo lol
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Maybe I’m looking at the wrong product then.
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Maybe I’m looking at the wrong product then.
Smart Connector is a solution looking for a problem to solve.
Bluetooth keyboards have been out for years and the batteries on them last 12-24 months. Connectivity is seamless and users can type in landscape or portrait orientation.
It's the reason why hardly any accessory makers have Smart Connector products.
For everyone tripping about the price, as a teacher I can confirm that chrome books are not an 'in kind' substitute for iPads. Yes, they may (now) be $100 less for the bottom of the line....but you also get crap components, cheap flimsy plastic, keys that easily come off, and one drop destroys the screen (not the physical screen, but its functionality). They're cheapER, but beyond that that they're flat out CHEAP and low quality.
On the other hand, for $100 more you get an iPad that is an industry leading tablet, has the same build quality and construction (and many components) of the $600 model. Their usable life span may not be more than 6 or 7 years before they're just too outdated to work, but the physical usability of a Chromebook is a few years when they're being used by kids in school. Trust me, I know.
These are for districts that are probably smaller, are committed to eliminating textbooks and using digital or teacher created materials instead, and can justify an 8 year buy cycle by buying iPads, pencils, and cheap bluetooth keyboards instead of textbooks....which also have an 8-10 year refresh cycle and cost $200-$300 each. Plus, when you buy textbooks, you need one for each child in the district. Schools can get away with classroom sets of chrome books that lessen the cost anyway.
On the other hand, for $100 more you get an iPad that is an industry leading tablet, has the same build quality and construction (and many components) of the $600 model. Their usable life span may not be more than 6 or 7 years before they're just too outdated to work, but the physical usability of a Chromebook is a few years when they're being used by kids in school. Trust me, I know.
These are for districts that are probably smaller, are committed to eliminating textbooks and using digital or teacher created materials instead, and can justify an 8 year buy cycle by buying iPads, pencils, and cheap bluetooth keyboards instead of textbooks....which also have an 8-10 year refresh cycle and cost $200-$300 each. Plus, when you buy textbooks, you need one for each child in the district. Schools can get away with classroom sets of chrome books that lessen the cost anyway.
It’s a very nice product for the price. But, my Air 2 is 3.5 years old and going strong, and I’m not sure what this would do for me that my current iPad can’t. If mine died tomorrow, this is definitely the iPad I’d buy.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Probably can be a lot more useful than a keyboard but definitely connects slightly faster than bluetooth
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From the Logitech product keyboard product page
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/ruggedcombo2
if it is to replace an existing air 2, price is not an argument
the screen might be brighter but is not laminated
the other features are nice to have if needed, otherwise there is no need to "upgrade"
This will be a good upgrade from my first gen iPad Air. I will gain split view, Touch ID and better performance. Pen support is great, but I’m disappointed that it doesn’t have a laminated display.
I’m probably not going to spend money on the pencil given that it may not give the best feel with the large air gap. The crayon has a more attractive price, but the shape and toyish design puts me off. True tone display would have been nice too, but I guess it wasn’t possible at this price point.
I did order it, because my original Air is sluggish and can’t run some of the new apps to their full extent, but I’m not sure if it’s going to feel worth the price of the upgrade. I wish the base model had 64 GB of storage though. It would have saved me a bunch of money not having to get the 128 GB model.
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How is the performance of the Air 2 with iOS 11? Thinking I should maybe cancel my order and look for an Air 2...
I’m probably not going to spend money on the pencil given that it may not give the best feel with the large air gap. The crayon has a more attractive price, but the shape and toyish design puts me off. True tone display would have been nice too, but I guess it wasn’t possible at this price point.
I did order it, because my original Air is sluggish and can’t run some of the new apps to their full extent, but I’m not sure if it’s going to feel worth the price of the upgrade. I wish the base model had 64 GB of storage though. It would have saved me a bunch of money not having to get the 128 GB model.
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How is the performance of the Air 2 with iOS 11? Thinking I should maybe cancel my order and look for an Air 2...
This sounds like great consumer product and should do well in that market, as for the education market it is DOA. Of all the current product Apple makes, this is the only one I would even consider buying, all the others are way overpriced
My kid is at a school that uses iPads. What sucks is that if he has to buy a book for class, its not any cheaper than a paper/traditional paper textbook, but you can't resell it, and who knows what happens 10 years from now if he can access it at all. I will say that the software Apple is developing should do wonders as it seems hodge podgey the way iPads are implemented at his school. So bravo to Apple for trying to fix that.
Yes waves a white flag indeed, what’s stupid is hat it’s for no reason other then Apples pure greed! If you want to help students you price your kit accordingly and should even price it at cost! Not at a greedy price using old tech costing peanuts to make..
Google will continue to dominate, or even get your kids a Amazon Fire tablet, cheap enough?
Surprised they didn’t update the pencil with wireless pairing + charging. Have fun losing and swallowing those pencil caps kids. Maybe at WWDC.
What is the point of your comment? I mean you have just implied why doesn’t a media TV streaming stick or a smart speaker run Microsoft Office or Apples exclusive iWorks? One of he most pointless comments I’ve read I think?
The case connects to itself (the top and bottom, both Logitech parts) with a connector, but not to an Apple smart connector.
Notice on the screen shots how the iPad is completely enclosed in the Logitech case frame and that is what connects to the Logitech keyboard part.
performance is good
if you intend to buy new, please do not get an air2 now.
there is just too little life left in it to be worth the investment
Same, I see no reason to upgrade from my air 2, especially since the air 2 has a better screen.
I definitely agree and not just because I would also get the iPad mini 4 replacement I really want, hopefully with FaceID, but because it would be a better size for kids to hold for extensive periods of time. This is just another quick, phoned in attempt by Apple to stay relevant in the educational sector.
For documents, yes. But for media creation, it can get eaten up very quickly. I was contemplating trying out iPads for video classes, but that's not feasible with the cloud (except for storage). And 32 gb would be barely enough local storage.
Yeah, the inferior screen is another reason to stay away other than the old looking design.
*whoosh*
Amazon's devices are hardly productive in any way. Putting Amazon in the same tech manufacturer basket as Apple -- or even Google -- is a farce.