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Apple May Reintroduce Discontinued iPad 4 Alongside 8 GB iPhone 5c Tomorrow

Lostanddamned said:
Peas and rice.

Remember when Steve Jobs came back, one of the things he did was kill off a bloated and confused product line?

The iPhone comes in three models, the iPad (if this rumour is to be considered true) comes in five. Both use two different types of connector and the price difference between some iPad models is minimal, with the addition of the 8GB 5C, this is likely to be the case again.

Not to mention the frankly useless non-retina MacBook Pro… I think some serious pruning is needed.

I'd crop the iOS lineup down to the Retina iPad Mini and Air (renamed iPad), 5S and 5C (possibly branded as iPhone and iPhone C) and iPod Touch (going up to 128GB)

But that is just my personal opinion.
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How is a "non-retina Macbook Pro" useless?
 
Lostanddamned said:
Anything it can do, the air can do as well or better. It tricks people into spending extra money for the "Pro" machine, when its a 2012 laptop with a slow hard drive, a hugely glarey screen which takes an age to do anything.
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So the MBA can have its ram upgraded? The MBA can have its storage upgraded as well? The MBA has a built in optical drive? The MBA can have its optical drive replaced and give the air a max of 4 TB(always increasing with more options over time) of portable HDD storage, or 2TB of SSD storage, in a single machine?

Please move onto arguments where you have a leg to stand on, this is not one of them.
 
dumastudetto said:
Why? All A5 devices have received a huge number of OS upgrades versus what the Android users get. I think when iOS 8 drops it will be a good time for all of these people to buy into the new devices to take advantage of all the capabilities of the new technology.
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That is not true at all.... iPad mini and iPod Touch only get one update, from iOS 6 to iOS 7. Yet my Nexus 4 gets 3 updates
 
SHirsch999 said:
Guess iPad 4 refurbs will be coming down in price. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.
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If they do introduce it to fill the iPad 2 hole, it will only be available in two configurations:

16 GB Wifi - $399

16 GB Wifi + 4G - $479

The current price for the iPad 2 refurb is $319, but they might not bring the iPad 4 refurb as low to keep margin in the other refurbs.
 
Pfffft. I'm holding out for the reintroduced Mac Performa 550.

Really, I can't believe it, but if true, Tim Cook is taking notes from the ghost of Michael Spindler not Steve Jobs.
 
Planning for the future...

It is obvious to me what Apple is doing...they will save millions by eliminating the 30 pin connector. And while the iPad2 was thin and light...the retina screen on the iPad4 (I have one and love it) is worth the extra weight and thickness. Plus - if you want skinny...get the iPad Air.

Apple needs to get away from the 30 pin connector to simplify inventory in the stores as well as their distribution centers. It has been 18 months since the outdated 30 pin connector was replaced. Time to clear the deck and get ready for an all lighting connected future.

Tim Cook may be no Steve Jobs, but he is far more intelligent that many people give him credit for. As he improves the production efficiency of their phones and tablets...he returns more money to the bottom line to fund things like the iPhone 6 and the iWatch. And this will actually simply their product portfolio rather than increase bloat.

Now just get on with it and bring us the iPhone 6 at WWDC this summer. My 5S is already feeling very old!!
 
Count Blah said:
So the MBA can have its ram upgraded? The MBA can have its storage upgraded as well? The MBA has a built in optical drive? The MBA can have its optical drive replaced and give the air a max of 4 TB(always increasing with more options over time) of portable HDD storage, or 2TB of SSD storage, in a single machine?

Please move onto arguments where you have a leg to stand on, this is not one of them.
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No. And for 99.999% of users these things aren't needed, wanted or applicable. Most people want it "because it has a CD drive" and when pressed, don't even use one. They want to browse Facebook, check emails and watch illegally streamed movies. For this, the MacBook Air is ideal.
 
jayducharme said:
I absolutely agree. To me, Apple is becoming a contradiction. They famously focus on making their products as minimalist as possible. But their retail strategy is beginning to drift back to the Sculley years of bloat.

And the 8 GB 5c just baffles me. How can Apple think it's going to be even remotely useable? Once a customer installs all of Apple's free software at the prompt (iMovie, iWork, etc.), the device will be filled! :confused:
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Best not to assume what an ordinary user might want the thing for, and I think putting up an 8GB 5C is a good move. Listen, if you're flipping burgers for a living, or still in school with parents pressed to make ends meet, or retired and wanting a phone to make calls, get mail, check the weather and news, that phone might be just the ticket. You get to have a really nice smartphone and it doesn't break a budget. The 8GB 5C is just another option of a current device, so it's hardly product line bloat. What it is, is a foot in the door.

I like the gentle shove towards not having to support 30-pin touch devices much longer too, even though I griped when my speakerdocks suddenly became obsolete for my newer gear. In that regard I think it will cut bloat, not encourage it, by swinging the people who now opt for iPad 2 over to iPad 4th gen retina instead.

So bottom line I don't see this like the Sculley era, not at all. More options in a given line is not the same as zillions of discrete models of laptop or desktop.
 
Please, please, for the love of jobs, release the iPad 4 8GB model for $449. I can't wait to give you my cash!
 
Just drop the price on the 5C line. Now, for the new Apple, Inc. that would be innovation. :mad:
 
Lostanddamned said:
No. And for 99.999% of users these things aren't needed, wanted or applicable. Most people want it "because it has a CD drive" and when pressed, don't even use one. They want to browse Facebook, check emails and watch illegally streamed movies. For this, the MacBook Air is ideal.
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So now your argument is that most folks who buy the MBP can get by with the MBA. If they use graphics intensive apps, I'd tend to disagree. But that is slightly different than when you posted this ...

Lostanddamned said:
...the frankly useless non-retina MacBook Pro...
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By your reasoning, the rMBP is useless as well, since 99.999% of those users who buy one, don't need it as well? Right?

People buy cMBPs because they are less expensive than the rMBPs, and they are upgradeable. Like Ive, you can't see the benefit of those traits in a product. Disposable to the MAX and Form over Function - the new Mantras at Apple, and for those who do not question Lord Ive.
 
Lostanddamned said:
No. And for 99.999% of users these things aren't needed, wanted or applicable. Most people want it "because it has a CD drive" and when pressed, don't even use one. They want to browse Facebook, check emails and watch illegally streamed movies. For this, the MacBook Air is ideal.
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I actually bought a MBP right before Thanksgiving when BB was having a sale. You ask why but a non-retina? Storage!
The standard MacBookPro has 500gb HDD out of the box for $1200 (or cheaper depending on BB deals, got mine for $1000). The cheapest way to get to 500GB min space a rMBP is $1800. The MBA has a $300 upgrade on the $1300 standard price, so maybe that an expensive option also.

The fact is for me, I don't care about upgrading RAM or a DVD burner (a blu-Ray burner option would be nice), I want HDD space. My pictures alone take up 200GB on my new MBP. Now throw movie (homemade) and even my 500gb is getting crowded. I'm thinking a HDD to 1 TB maybe be in order soon.

But if Apple had stopped selling the MBP, then I guess I would have dealt with Win8 becuase of my HDD space needs.
 
Here's what I think Apple will do in this round:

1. 8GB iPhone 5C added. iPhone 4 killed. iPhone 4S still available in select emerging markets (e.g. China, India).

2. iPod classic and iPod touch 64GB killed. iPod touch 128GB in one color (the "DJ model") added at a U.S. price of $429 (+$30 from the current 64GB model, and +$200 from the 16GB model). Possible processor bump across the line from Apple A5 to Apple A6 (an underclocked iPhone 5C, basically).

3. iPad 2 killed, iPad 4 reintroduced, possibly with cost-reduced processor (much like the Apple TV silent upgrade) and/or plastic case ("iPad 4C"). I can't believe Apple would just reintroduce the iPad 4 as-is without taking the opportunity to do something with it.

4. Non-retina MacBook Pro killed. The day the DVD died in Apple's lineup.

5. iPod shuffle ($49) killed. (Make way for the iWatch!) iPod nano 4GB launched at $79 in one or two colors. iPod nano 16GB repriced at $129 (down from $149) but with two of the colors killed.
 
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In case no one has mentioned it, the iPad 2nd gen is not the last full size iPad to have the 30-pin connector. The 3rd gen was.
 
dtemp said:
In case no one has mentioned it, the iPad 2nd gen is not the last full size iPad to have the 30-pin connector. The 3rd gen was.
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It's the last iPad that uses it and is still being sold.
 
Apple won't kill the 4S. The 4S is still $130 cheaper than the 5C 8GB. They need it as an entry point to markets in Europe and Asia.
 
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