One of the reasons I switched from the 11 to the 12.9 is because the 11 resolution wasn’t supported by every app. Had to deal with black bars on apps I frequently used.
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Apple Registers Two More iPad Models in Eurasian Database
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Sure, except it is not. There are four models, and they are priced in a way that makes impossible to be confused, if someone’s budget allows for a 300 dollars tablet I fail to see how a 600 or 1000 dollars tablet could confuse them. If someone wants a small tablet a 10 or more inches one won’t confuse them. If someone wants a tablet for pro work they have just one choice. The mythical “regular consumer” buys based on their budget and the iPads options have clearly differentiated price points.
To me it looks like the line up is only confusing for people not interested in buying a tablet but whining and criticizing for the sake of it, people that look at the line up in a vacuum without intention or contest, just for the sake of whining as I said.
And please don’t ridicule yourself with the usual Steve Jobs wouldn’t have allowed this and the 4 product matrix...under Steve Jobs we had 3 desktop (one with 2 screen sizes) and 3 laptops (2 with 2 screen sizes) for a total of 6 models and 10 choices against the 4 model and 6 choices of the iPad line up...so, would you say that Cook has been able to simplify Jobs’ vision here?
They’re actually very confusing to the consumer who doesn’t know Apple products. You users come on here touting how simple it is because you follow along with all the latest news and have known about iPads for years.
For someone coming from Android or Chrome tablets, you actually have to do research. You have to spend a considerable amount of time figuring out all of the minor differences between all of the models, and that’s a problem. I mean, really, 11 inches or 12.9 inches? Let’s just have a 10.5 inch option too - a new model for every inch of screen real estate. It is too confusing and fractured.
For someone coming from Android or Chrome tablets, you actually have to do research. You have to spend a considerable amount of time figuring out all of the minor differences between all of the models, and that’s a problem. I mean, really, 11 inches or 12.9 inches? Let’s just have a 10.5 inch option too - a new model for every inch of screen real estate. It is too confusing and fractured.
Are the iPad Pros launching in the fall or next spring? I just bought one and I am not sure if I should return it if the new ones are launching in a few months?
By no means would I expect an entry-level iPad with FaceID to come in at $329. More like $599. Besides, Apple has always been about making the best product, not the cheapest. Going after the Chromebook market is a fool's errand.
If 11” is only slightly too large, a mini would be much too small. In any case, I can’t imagine the market for an iPad mini Pro is large enough to make it feasible. The entire mini demand is already small enough that Apple only bothers to update it at 3+ year intervals. The verticals that use a lot of minis—doctors/nurses, point of sale, pilots, etc. don’t need a Pro device.
But to answer your question, you can make suggestions at:
https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html
Rubbish. You go to the store and see which one you like (after trying it out) then buy what suits you. Size, budget, done. Not complicated at all.
Consider Samsung as an example. They had the following sizes:
7.0
7.7
8.4
8.9
9.6
9.7
10.1
10.5
12.2
To make matters worse they had versions with different aspect ratios (16:9, 16:10 and 4:3) along with so-called “Pro” versions at numerous size points and features. Worse yet, Samsung “Pro” tablets aren’t even as powerful as the cheapest iPad.
I’m amazed you think the iPad is confusing after looking at the utter garbage that is the Android tablet market.
coming from the mini4 i got used to it after a couple weeks. If the mini5 is any indication...the next time its refreshed it may finally get the 11" features from today but 3 years from now lol
Except it is. 5 models if you consider 2 different sizes of iPad Pro, not counting other variations. Here people already described how they tried to pick an iPad for their family or themselves and were confused.
Again, there are studies which show that too many choices can overwhelm customers and lead to fewer sales.
To me it looks that people who deny reality and other people experiences are Apple fanboys who will defend anything Apple does.
Please don’t ridicule yourself. Why are you comparing iPads to desktops? Compare it to iPads or iPhones. Under Steve we had 1 iPhone model every year. Now we have 3, and 4 other older models as old as 2016 are still being sold. In total 7(!). Same with iPads, the number of models grows over time. The trend is obvious.And please don’t ridicule yourself with the usual Steve Jobs wouldn’t have allowed this and the 4 product matrix...under Steve Jobs we had 3 desktop (one with 2 screen sizes) and 3 laptops (2 with 2 screen sizes) for a total of 6 models and 10 choices against the 4 model and 6 choices of the iPad line up...so, would you say that Cook has been able to simplify Jobs’ vision here?
If you want to talk about MacBooks then they were messed up too. There were regular and Pro models, the latter one was expandable, upgradable, with a bunch of ports. Models were clearly distinguishable. Now there’s only one line of non-upgradeable MacBook Pro which is Pro by the price and a fashion toy by its upgradeability and expandability. It’s a joke.
And that’s another point which shows the line is too fragmented. Developers don’t support all screen sizes.
If you have to go to a comparison chart to figure out which iPad has what then there are too many models. The constantly changing sizes to me is very un-apple like (the old apple). It smells more of getting better deals on parts than making sense for the product. Because as others mentioned now you end up with black bars for apps that don't support it. That may not sound like a big deal but it is a detail that wouldn't have been allowed before when the user interface was something they took more seriously.
Some new ones only work with the old pencil. Others only work with the new pencil. It lacks that level of polish they would have had in the past.
Some new ones only work with the old pencil. Others only work with the new pencil. It lacks that level of polish they would have had in the past.
In Steves time market was new and android phones from Huawei or other Chinese facilities where not a threat at all. Market has changed drastically. iPhone 3GS to 4 was a technoogical leap forward whereas 7 to 8 was not.
The “too many choices” talking point from the Apple-hate crowd is ridiculous.
If someone wants a small iPad, there is only one choice. If you want a 13” beast (and have $1,000+ to blow on a tablet) there’s only one choice.
Then there are three choices—oh no, my mind is exploding!!!—in the 10-11” size:
1) an entry level model at $299/329 that’s fine for education and those on a tight budget. No one cross shops that model vs. 2) a very expensive $800 iPad Pro, so there’s no decision to be made between those two models. They have non-overlapping market segments and no one is confused as to which of those they should buy. No one.
That leaves 3) the Air. Is there room in the lineup for something between a $300 iPad and an $800 iPad? Apple thinks so, and it’s priced at $500. If you’ve got a couple hundred extra bucks to spend, you’ll get a faster machine, a better front camera and a bigger, better, brighter display. It’s worth it if you’ve got $500 in your budget. If not, buy the $299/329 iPad. Similar to the XR, it has the features that are most important to customers, at a cheaper price.
It’s really condescending to think that people are too stupid to choose an iPad. If consumers really were that stupid, nobody would ever be able to choose a bag of chips at the store, let alone buy a car.
Right, if someone criticise something that means exactly hate.
It’s really condescending to think that people who criticise Tim Cook decisions actually hate Apple.
I don’t know why you took my post personally, I guess you consider yourself part of the Apple-hate crowd? Interesting. Well, sorry you were triggered, but this is a public forum, not your safe space.
Instead of your content-free reply to my (severely edited) post, why not try replying again, but this time maybe provide some actual counter arguments to the points I made regarding how ridiculous it is to be “confused” about the iPad lineup. Then it might be possible to have an actual discussion, rather than just using it as an opportunity to parrot the usual list of anti-Apple complaints. Because we’ve heard all those before, they’ve been posted ad nauseum for years.
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The thing is, general public IS that stupid to pick the right iPad. With the older model being sold in the form of refurbished product, iPad Pro 2017 and iPad Air 2019 is a hard choice. For budget iPad, one can also go for older models like iPad 5th gen.
And, a lot of people don’t have any idea about their main use case. All they can come up with are “browsing web, watching videos, listening to music”, maybe “playing games” without being a bit more specific.
In summary, don’t give people too much credit. It’s generally a bad idea.
In the context of Apple, “Pro” simply means “Better”, or “Best we offer”; the one exception being the recently announced Mac Pro. They do this (and overuse the word so much that it’s become cliche) as a marketing ploy: The word “Pro” has an aura that helps them charge higher prices without actually meaning anything. It also helps to keep margins high on older devices; put even higher prices on the “Better” and “Best” models; and slow the rollout of new technology to maximise profits. This explains the fragmentation we see, particularly under Tim’s profit-first Apple.
The iPad Air 3 (2019) shouldn’t even exist. It’s just a crippled iPad Pro 10.5″ from 2017, and the technology from that device (4-way speakers, 120 Hz screen) should’ve migrated to mid-range or standard models in the several years it’s been available without costing more. But no, they have to cripple it to push people towards the high-end, even-more-expensive 11” and 12.9” models.
Having recently acquired a (used) 10.5-inch “Pro” — a device I use entirely for consumer applications like watching videos and playing games — I can’t imagine it not having four way speakers, allowing much better audio in landscape view. Sure, keep an ultra-basic model around for schools, but everything else should at least have the better speakers and (potentially) faster screen.
The 10.5” Air is such poor value compared to a 10.5-inch “Pro”, and even the 11-inch. I don’t recommend it all!
The iPad Air 3 (2019) shouldn’t even exist. It’s just a crippled iPad Pro 10.5″ from 2017, and the technology from that device (4-way speakers, 120 Hz screen) should’ve migrated to mid-range or standard models in the several years it’s been available without costing more. But no, they have to cripple it to push people towards the high-end, even-more-expensive 11” and 12.9” models.
Having recently acquired a (used) 10.5-inch “Pro” — a device I use entirely for consumer applications like watching videos and playing games — I can’t imagine it not having four way speakers, allowing much better audio in landscape view. Sure, keep an ultra-basic model around for schools, but everything else should at least have the better speakers and (potentially) faster screen.
The 10.5” Air is such poor value compared to a 10.5-inch “Pro”, and even the 11-inch. I don’t recommend it all!
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My iPad purchases are primarily for the intention of just plain and simply enjoying a fun device. It is really nice as an everyday browser/email device. I also have some really great pro audio and soft synth apps that blow away what hardware equipment can do. It is a real luxury to be able to do all this on the lower priced iPads.
Ive going is the biggest news of the decade when it comes to Apple; that is how long Apple design has been obsessed with thin aluminium in everything.
Perhaps now others will get a chance at thinking outside the (aluminium) box!
