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Apple Reportedly Planning to Release Most Affordable 9.7-inch iPad Ever in Late 2018

Christoffee said:
It’s also going to hook people in young.
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Young are already hooked. If there is a loyal iOS demo it's them. They insist on iPads and iPhones -- even 5 year olds. The lower price would target budget conscious adults now buying sub-$200 Android and Fire tablets.
 
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Christoffee said:
The young will know nothing but iOS.
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The young will know Android and iOS. And in many parts of the world, they will only know Android simply because of the prohibitive costs of Apple devices.

Amazon sold the 64 Gig version of the new Fire HD 10 for 140 Euros last week; that's around one third of an iPad and this thing does everything --I-- need it for. It's hard to justify an Apple gadget when such competition is around.
 
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Appleaker said:
Well they’re not considering updating it, they are going to, they’re considering the price. And while “we don’t ship junk” should remain true, this could be a good move as long as they don’t give it a downgraded 2017 iPad.
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They could also simply reduce the price of the current 'plain' 9.7" iPad as they have done with many iOS products over the years (including the low-price iPhone SE).
 
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Our 4 people family at some point had 5 iPads. 4 were owned by us, while the 5th one was my work iPad in addition to my personal one. That was just 2-3 years ago.

Now, we are down to one single iPad that my 7 years old daughter is using. I am guessing that in about 3-4 years, she will have a cell phone and that will put the end to iPads in our family. I am just hoping that her iPad Air 2 will last her till she is ready for a cell phone.

The point is, iPads are in that strange position that if someone already has a decent laptop and smartphone, there is a very little benefit for owning one in many cases.
 
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My wife would love this. She pretty much only reads books on hers, last night she used netflix for the first time on my iPad pro, her iPad is a first gen mini and she just will not upgrade because if how unnecessary it is for her.
 
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macfacts said:
Demolish the competition? Hardly. For the same price, the competition for the current iPad 9.7" is the Samsung Galaxy tab s2 9.7".

Comparing the two, the Samsung tablet isnt junk. It is 2mm thinner, 100g lighter, has a laminated screen, and has a OLED screen.

I understand people have a preference for software, just like they do for favorite colors. That doesn't make android junk, just different.
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Not a single bit of this matters. I know several people with Samsung devices which at one point had GREAT specs, only to be completely abandoned within 6 months and be slow as molasses. Android on a tablet is junk, Google doesn't care one iota about it and that should be plain as day, they don't even produce a tablet anymore! The Pixel C hasn't been in stock now for who knows how long.

Android can be great on a phone, but it is dead in the water on a tablet.
 
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That’s why I use Kijiji and buy / sell locally instead of eBay with shipping.

EDIT: Didn’t quote post about how upgrading iPads and selling on eBay is only ok financially.
 
If they put an A10 in it for less than $300 I'll probably grab a third one - I have two stationary $329 iPads in my kitchen and office, and I usually unhook one and bring it with me when I travel but at these low price points I'll probably just get another one and leave it in my laptop bag.

I've already stopped bringing my MacBook Pro on short trips since I can do pretty much everything work related on an iPad with a physical keyboard.

I'm glad Apple have figured out that they'll make more money if they price some things lower through sheer volume, I bet they were blown away by the cheap iPad sales.
 
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MacFather said:
Any chance we will see a new iPad mini next year?
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I am totally with you, looking for a Mini 4 replacement, which my wife just loves. And uses as an inseparable travel companion.

However, it looks dim, as Cook and company think large formats are the base standard for both phones and tablets, even for those, like my wife, that have small hands.

[BTW, love your avatar. He is the best Apple exec in my book -- love his simple demeanor, free of arrogance.]
 
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macfacts said:
Demolish the competition? Hardly. For the same price, the competition for the current iPad 9.7" is the Samsung Galaxy tab s2 9.7".

Comparing the two, the Samsung tablet isnt junk. It is 2mm thinner, 100g lighter, has a laminated screen, and has a OLED screen.

I understand people have a preference for software, just like they do for favorite colors. That doesn't make android junk, just different.
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Android on tablets is just awful - not different, actually awful. Mostly because of the terrible apps.
 
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I wish the Macintosh saw such sweeping innovation in both technology & price in the amount of time Apple has introduced mini and pro iPads. We have a gamut of iPads running from $300 to $1150 right? 4 different screen sizes, all very capable machines that most people can make their primary computing device.

For Macintosh, we have a 3 year old MacBook Air, a very expensive MacBook Retina and then boom, $2000 MacBook pro There needs to be a true MacBook Air replacement for casual users that still have to plug stuff into their computers. Hoping we get a 15" MacBook Retina (non Pro) this year with at least 1 more USB-C port.
 
SeminalSage said:
Yes, except it will be called the iPhone XPlus. ;)
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Maybe, as reading the tea leaves would appear that large-format iDevices are now getting all the love.

But hope not.

The price point of an 6.5-in X+ would be easily three times that of an updated 7.9-in Mini. With cellular service as an overkill for a Mini that lives on WiFi.

And, I am probably not an outlier on this, as the Mini 4 experienced strong sales.
 
Why not?

Apple has been overpricing so much of its stuff. The iPod Touch should be $129. Neuter out an iPad and sell it for $199!! Just take out some sensors and the camera, use older processor, etc.

mozumder said:
They really could use the production cost savings to sell a low-priced Mac/Macbook. The cheapest iMac is still $1100, and the cheapest Macbook is $1300! Compare this to a world where PC laptops are now $400...
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Heidi-HOLDONTHAR!

The cheapest MacBook is the MacBook Air @ $999...

But your point is noted.
 
mr.steevo said:
We got our 3 and 4 year olds each an iPod touch. Cheaper than any iPad
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I do that for myself even though I also have an iPhone and an iPad because I want something I can use at the gym without fear or dropping something on it. :) But the low-end iPod touch is $200, so this iPad would "only" be $60 more. They're different use cases, of course (it's hard enough to use an iPad for real work, much less an iPod, and you definitely can't get those with cellular data--and if you carry an iPad around at the gym for music, I'm going to think you're a weirdo) ... but maybe there's a sliver of hope that they'll adjust the iPod prices down slightly if they do this?
 
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TheShadowKnows! said:
I am totally with you, looking for a Mini 4 replacement, which my wife just loves. And uses as an inseparable travel companion.

However, it looks dim, as Cook and company think large formats are the base standard for both phones and tablets, even for those, like my wife, that have small hands.

[BTW, love your avatar. He is the best Apple exec in my book -- love his simple demeanor, free of arrogance.]
Click to expand...

Once you switch to a mini, For leisure tasks, there is no going back. It's perfect.
 
Apple first need to fix iOS that's still more an OS designed for iPod with limitations. Was gifted the new 2017 Amazon Fire HD 10 which were selling for as low as $85 on Black Friday and not only is the hardware excellent with high end ARM A72 SoC but the Android OS is Linux based and doesn't have the limitations of iOS. I can manage all my Raspberry Pis and IoT devices via SSH and leave the app running in the background without it dying after 3 minutes like on iOS. Until iOS is fixed my iPads will continue to collect dust.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple is "considering" releasing an updated low-cost 9.7-inch iPad next year with a starting price that's $70 cheaper than its existing equivalent, according to sources from upstream suppliers.
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Be it Apple, or the media outlets who publish this... who do they think we are?

Maybe I'm in the minority, but stringing the public along with vague promises of future products that have little intrinsic benefit, let alone any rational reason to upgrade, is just idiotic. I'm tired of the corporate world thinking they can have their way with us; and I'm disgusted that so many people let them.

"To whom do lions cast their gentle looks? Not to the beast that would usurp their den. The smallest worm will turn being trodden on, And doves will peck in safeguard of their brood."​
- Shakespeare (Henry VI, Part III)​
 
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