Apple Planning Both 10.2-Inch 'iPad 7' and All-New 10.5-Inch iPad According to Proven Leaker

[macduke]

Apple for the last few years: "Let's throw EVERYTHING at the wall and see what sticks!" And by everything, I mean mostly rehashed products, with the exception of a few nice new things like AirPods. Having 10.5" and 10.2" regular iPads is the dumbest thing I've heard in some time. Hope it's not true because I feel like it's a sign of deeper troubles under the hood at Apple.

This is what they should do:

• 12.9" iPad Pro
• 11" iPad Pro
• 11" iPad (slower than Pro, thicker, missing a few features compared to Pro)
• 8.9" iPad (Mini with larger display and thinner bezels, slightly larger physical size)

Done. Simple. The two 11" and 8.9" could even share the same display resolution as the math works out to the 264ppi/326ppi of the current iPad and Mini. Would simplify things for developers.

 

[9081094]

This is getting more and more confusing. We need a Mini, Mini Pro, iPad, iPad Pro, iPad +, and iPad Pro +. Also throw in the Mac Pro and iMac upgrades while they are at it.

And update them yearly with today’s tech and give them an iOS they deserve.

 

[cknibbs]

This is getting more and more confusing. We need a Mini, Mini Pro, iPad, iPad Pro, iPad +, and iPad Pro +. Also throw in the Mac Pro and iMac upgrades while they are at it.

I said this exact same thing a week ago on another thread and got laughed out of the forum. Its such a simple concept I have no idea why they haven’t done this yet. Three different sized iPads each with a consumer and pro variant should easily achieve what they are trying to accomplish. There is really only three questions to answer when trying to decide what iPad to buy at that point.

Do I want regular or pro specs?
What size of screen do I want?
How much storage do I need?

It wouldn’t hurt for branding simplicity for them to drop the screen sizes from product name too.

 

[velocityg4]

I guess too many people are realizing the $330 fits all their needs for a tablet. Frankly for most users it is ample. The pro seems more of a niche.

what exact model is this? there are so many ipad models out today that no common consumer has any idea of what is what and the minute differences. it's bad enough that retailers themselves had to name these units "generations" rather apple naming them ipad 1, ipad 2 and so on. and iphone 8 jumped to iphone x (10). where is 9?

There was going to be a 9 but the 7 8 9.

 

[bodonnell202]

If this is true the current 10.5" iPad Pro will be discontinued and replaced by this new 10.5" iPad with a switch from A10x to A12 chip and probably no other changes. Pricing either the same or a slight drop to $599 US.

The 10.2" iPad (I still have my doubts that Apple will change the screen size on the entry level iPad from 9.7", but I guess we'll see) will be a spec boost only (likely A11), at the same price point.

 

[dumastudetto]

We need a proper mid range iPad. Right now you either have to choose budget or pro. I think a $529 midrange ipad wit a decent screen, A11, USB-C, Apple Pencil 2 support, and a home button would be killer

I generally agree although I don't want a home button.

 

[PickUrPoison]

There are 3 ipad pros, 2 different apple pencils that all work on different machines, the ipad mini that costs more than the 9.7 inch ipad and now apparently we're getting two different sizes of the same ipad that are only .3 inches different

The pricing makes sense if you consider the storage capacity:

$329 iPad 9.7 32GB
$399 iPad mini 128GB
$429 iPad 9.7 128GB

And we’re not getting “two different sizes of the same ipad that are only .3 inches different”. If you read the article, it’s apparent that it’s not the same iPad. We just don’t know what features this 10.5 non-Pro will have. But some of the “Pro” features will be eliminated.

 

[AlumaMac]

So which one of these 'new' iPads will be the official launch of the iPad Performa line? /s

Come on Tim, you can do it, embrace your inner Sculley!

 

[kognos]

It's hard to speculate on something that isn't out yet. The frustration on this thread is basically about dilution of the product line. In many ways I think that's a good thing, believe it or not. Apple has to hit the sweet spots.

We all really have to consider that the main competition to iPad at this point are the hybrid tablets in the Windows camp - Surface, Surface Go, etc... and that's just Microsoft, other vendors are in there as well. Those models and the many many variants of them are eating away at the iPad product line, AND the Mac line itself.

You can say that iPad has great hardware and be right, you can say the apps - when you get them - are good, but when you can get a full fledged, no compromises PC, that's what is breaking up this ecosystem. Apple has to stay relevant in the mobile workforce area or they're going to lose their niche. All they have now are phones, and when I can get a Surface Go for half the price of an iPad there's something really wrong here.

I'm not shilling for either side here, I'm just being practical. And most people are, the money speaks. I won't buy a crippled iPad or mini when I can get a Surface Go for the same price. And the iPad Pro is really quite expensive unless you exclusively need/desire the apps that are written solely for it (walled garden problem). For what it is, and if you're in that space, it's great... but very much overkill.

(Note: I "get" that a Surface Go lacks the oomph of an iPad. But really, it works for productivity. I don't subscribe to needing the latest and greatest at the highest cost, that's just me)

 

[9081094]

The pricing makes sense if you consider the storage capacity:

$329 iPad 9.7 32GB
$399 iPad mini 128GB
$429 iPad 9.7 128GB

And we’re not getting “two different sizes of the same ipad that are only .3 inches different”.

When you read the article, it’s apparent that it’s not the same iPad. We just don’t know what the 10.5 form factor is going to be re-used for.

Most phones already start with 128GB today. Isn’t 32Gb not obsolete yet?

 

[maugustine]

With the rumored news service being announced this month, one option would be to release an iPad meant for reading on, to compete with the kindle. Just a thought.

 

[iShater]

what exact model is this? there are so many ipad models out today that no common consumer has any idea of what is what and the minute differences. it's bad enough that retailers themselves had to name these units "generations" rather apple naming them ipad 1, ipad 2 and so on. and iphone 8 jumped to iphone x (10). where is 9?

Reminds me of the old days when there were so many Mac models that consumers couldn't tell the differences.

 

[Falhófnir]

The only way I can see this happening is if they want to keep something a little bit 'extra' at the 10.5" pro's pricing so they will effectively spec bump it at some point and it will keep laminated display, AX processor and ProMotion as key differentiators (but they will drop the pro branding so that only apples to the new slim-bezel face ID models from now).

 

[alexandr]

it all went downhill when the 2nd iphone had "3" in its name.

 

[IRockThat828pScreen]

I generally agree although I don't want a home button.

They need to differentiate it from the pro somehow

 

[9081094]

It's hard to speculate on something that isn't out yet. The frustration on this thread is basically about dilution of the product line. In many ways I think that's a good thing, believe it or not. Apple has to hit the sweet spots.

We all really have to consider that the main competition to iPad at this point are the hybrid tablets in the Windows camp - Surface, Surface Go, etc... and that's just Microsoft, other vendors are in there as well. Those models and the many many variants of them are eating away at the iPad product line, AND the Mac line itself.

You can say that iPad has great hardware and be right, you can say the apps - when you get them - are good, but when you can get a full fledged, no compromises PC, that's what is breaking up this ecosystem. Apple has to stay relevant in the mobile workforce area or they're going to lose their niche. All they have now are phones, and when I can get a Surface Go for half the price of an iPad there's something really wrong here.

I'm not shilling for either side here, I'm just being practical. And most people are, the money speaks. I won't buy a crippled iPad or mini when I can get a Surface Go for the same price. And the iPad Pro is really quite expensive unless you exclusively need/desire the apps that are written solely for it (walled garden problem). For what it is, and if you're in that space, it's great... but very much overkill.

(Note: I "get" that a Surface Go lacks the oomph of an iPad. But really, it works for productivity. I don't subscribe to needing the latest and greatest at the highest cost, that's just me)

Agree with you but no matter how many iPads they come up with, it won’t solve its weakest point: iOS.
If iOS 13 will evolve between a merger of iOS and MacOS that would be nice. If it’s the same minor update we see year after year it’s a no go for me and I’ll probably go the surface route.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Ugh. If only one of those 3 billion 10.x" models could have been a fully specced iPad Mini with OLED.

Where 3 billion equals one (or maybe three if this rumor is true).

And I’d like an iPad mini Pro too. But Apple already sells so few $399 minis that it’s on a 3 to 4 year refresh cycle. Can you imagine how many they’d sell at $599-699? So I know there is approximately zero chance of Apple making one.

 

[2ilent8cho]

The naming of the iPads has always been a bit of a mess, the iPad 3 was the 'New iPad' and the 4th Gen was iPad, then it went iPad Air, Air 2 then back to just iPad but with 6th Generation written on the back of the box.

Just call the iPads, iPads then put the the year of release as the model so this new one would be an iPad (2019).

 

[Digger148]

All of the whining about choosing from just 5 different iPads leads me to wonder how mind boggling it must be for some to shop at the grocery, decide from a lunch menu, choose which child to love, or, beer to drink, which route to take to work, what outfit to wear and which of the 763,462.26 (extremely similar) shows to watch on Netflix...or...which finger/thumb combination to use while picking one's nose.

 

[IRockThat828pScreen]

it all went downhill when the 2nd iphone had "3" in its name.

It crashed and burned when they called the iPhone after 8 "iPhone X."
Tim danced on its grave when they called it the "iPhone XS Max"

 

[trillionaire]

I don't know, it doesn't seem all that confusing. The iPad Pros are a separate product, which are supposed to be more powerful, hence the Pro in the name, and they come in two sizes - 11" and 12.9". There is also the iPad Mini, which could definitely use some upgrades since it's an older model. Apart from that you have the standard iPad (currently 9.7"), which now looks like it's going to be separated into two different versions like the Pros are.

If they decided to make two versions of the standard iPad then they must have some reasoning as they can have one version which is a lower-end and a better version that has a slightly higher price and more features. Will it turn into more profits and does it actually address customer desires; who knows but time will tell.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Wut.

Diluting the lineup even further?

I think it's unfair to say Tim Cook needs to run the company like Steve, but I think there is something to be said about what Steve did with the lineup when he came back:

When Apple were in trouble, one of the main factors was the huge range of products. They spread themselves too thinly. As you pointed out, Jobs came back reduced the number of products and focused on making each one awesome. I like Tim Cook but we don’t need so many different variations of the same product.

 

[9081094]

All of the whining about choosing from just 5 different iPads leads me to wonder how mind boggling it must be for some to shop at the grocery, decide from a lunch menu, choose which child to love, or, beer to drink, which route to take to work, what outfit to wear and which of the 763,462.26 (extremely similar) shows to watch on Netflix...or...which finger/thumb combination to use while picking one's nose.

The points you mention are actually more straightforward than chosen an iPad

 

[udayan81]

And yet another iPad made for the god knows whom ..lol

 

[alexandr]

It crashed and burned when they called the iPhone after 8 "iPhone X."
Tim danced on its grave when they called it the "iPhone XS Max"

imho there was never an iphone 8, it was a 7s. they added confusion when they added the "s" model and then they go and drop it for a model that is almost identical to the 7...