No problems yet with my air 2 hard to believe its almost 2 years old, maybe ill wait til 2018 to update. Ill see what the next ones have however. Can we have matte black please? 
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple to Launch Trio of iPad Pros in Spring 2017, Including 7.9-Inch Mini Model
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
same here I was going to replace my kids iPad mini 2 - their apple care ran out and the A7 is showing its age but I will hold up - at a minimum the mini 4 will likely drop in price when the 'pro' ones are released.i guess i won't get a new iPad this Christmas, I will wait until the spring to update my iPad Air (1), typical Apple, selling old devices during the holiday season, then cash in on the new ones early the following year
There always (except for the very beginning) have been two models per size. We are having five models right now.
It's really amazing how many people get their panties into a bunch over a name.
if you mean more sales no - if you mean more revenue then yes - the 'pro' models will all run $ 100 more expensive.
Apple is a larger company under immense pressure to show growth every quarter, and its sales tactics evidently reflect that.
A wider user base means more diverse needs. Not everyone needs or wants a 5.5" iPhone, which is why Apple released the iPhone SE, precisely because there are people who still want a 4" phone.
Same with the iPad. Some people want a cheap and portable tablet (hence the iPad mini and iPad Air 2), others desire an iPad powerful enough to be a laptop replacement (aka the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard), which is why we have 4 models.
Gone are the days when Apple can just coast by with just one model of iPad and iPhone. Times have changed, and Apple too has changed to suit the times.
I really don't see 3 variants as an issue. They are 3 nice sizes to choose from. Problem is we don't know what their direction is. Are they going to unify and have all 3 sizes with similar specs/options? Are they going to keep Airs or older minis around and call these updated ones Pros?
I agree that the lineup doesn't need to be simple to the point where it was just "iPad". But either do 1 of 2 things:
1) Differentiate based on size, and if that is the case just stick with the mini, Air and Pro monikers or screen sizes
2) Differentiate based on features and somewhat on size options, exactly like ipedro mentions:
Either of these are easy enough that an explanation to a consumer isn't necessary. I think that should be part of the goal with product naming and line up. Simple enough for anyone to understand and know what to choose.
Isn't the iPad Pro basically the same price (within ~$50) as the iPhone?
Except only Apple knows the price elasticity of the iPad.
The latest quarterly report indeed shows how that elasticity is low: increasing the price led to higher revenues, actually increasing since a long time.
Yes, which is why it makes no sense to own both, for me at least, when they both run the same OS.
Agreed, when everything is pro is anything actually pro?
The pro distinction is already sketchy with the 9.7" pro, don't get me wrong, it is a great iPad (the best, IMO) but is a smart connector and pencil support the only things that makes it a pro device? It isn't the RAM as it has the same as the Air 2. Maybe a better screen, but the 9.7" pro has a better screen than the 12.9" pro...so I don't think it is that. It seems Apple just wanted to throw in a new term to make people compare them to the Surface Pro, which to be honest is in a whole different category.
You are not alone. Many people don't understand that Apple has changed its naming convention for iPads to have major revisions and minor revisions comparable to software. Major revisions indicate significant change in design... iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro.
The iPad = iPad1.1
iPad 2 = iPad 1.2
iPad 3 = iPad 1.3
iPad 4 = iPad 1.4
iPad Air = iPad 2.1
iPad Air 2 = iPad 2.2
iPad Pro (9.7) = iPad 3.1
iPad Pro 2 (9.7) = iPad 3.2
.
.
.
iPad Star (9.7) = iPad 4.1
iPad Star 2 (9.7) = iPad 4.2
iPad Mini 5 (7.9 inch)
iPad Air 3 (9.7 inch)
iPad Pro 2 (12.9 inch)
This is how to name your product line, Apple. I'd be happy to take over for whatever marketing guy thought it was a good idea to not name the iPad Pro 9.7 the iPad Air 3. Yeah you might get a slight sales bump in the short run because "Pro" sounds cool and you can raise the price or whatever, but it makes it more confusing going forward.
If they have the "courage" to remove the headphone jack on iPhone 7, why don't they have the "courage" to make an iPad called the iPad Air 3 at 32 GB of storage and the $600 price point to streamline the naming scheme for future use? It's obvious that that $500 price point was difficult to stick to for them (what with iPad releases being slower than iPhone releases). Is the Smart Connector and Apple Pencil support really enough to say "well, it's officially pro now, no other thing to name it."
Still not sure why Apple's naming scheme is so out of whack for iPads and MacBooks.
iPad Air 3 (9.7 inch)
iPad Pro 2 (12.9 inch)
This is how to name your product line, Apple. I'd be happy to take over for whatever marketing guy thought it was a good idea to not name the iPad Pro 9.7 the iPad Air 3. Yeah you might get a slight sales bump in the short run because "Pro" sounds cool and you can raise the price or whatever, but it makes it more confusing going forward.
If they have the "courage" to remove the headphone jack on iPhone 7, why don't they have the "courage" to make an iPad called the iPad Air 3 at 32 GB of storage and the $600 price point to streamline the naming scheme for future use? It's obvious that that $500 price point was difficult to stick to for them (what with iPad releases being slower than iPhone releases). Is the Smart Connector and Apple Pencil support really enough to say "well, it's officially pro now, no other thing to name it."
Still not sure why Apple's naming scheme is so out of whack for iPads and MacBooks.
Woo hoo! Finally some positive news about the iPad Mini. I'm still on the Mini 2 and have been hoping for rumors of a new one forthcoming.
The only thing not clear from this article is whether the Mini will be able to use the Apple Pencil or not.
Last edited:
Seems like Apple is opting to segment based on the premise that the larger device is more powerful and therefore deserves to command a larger price tag.
Frustrating, I agree, but not necessarily unjustified. After all, a larger iPhone would have more room for better specs (and vice versa). So the iPhone SE might not have force touch because there simply isn't room for it.
No excuse for the iPads though. The 9.7" iPad Pro shouldn't have come with just 2 gb of ram for its price.
Yes, it looks like MacRumors crack staff apparently didn't bother to read the article.
Ok so the rumours are pointing to a new spring lineup that looks something like this?
iPad Pro, with A10x (or whatever they call it), truetone, 12 megapixel, quad speakers, smart connector and Apple Pencil:
-12.9"
-10.1" (or 10.5")
-7.9" (possibly less powerful processor & some lessor features)
"Low-cost" iPads:
-9.7" (a new 9.7" low cost iPad has been mentioned I'm thinking maybe a minor refresh of the Air 2 where the A8x is replaced with an A9 and everything else is basically the same?)
-iPad Mini 4 (will move down to take the place of the Mini 2)
Thoughts? Seems like a lot as Apple has never released that many iPad models at once but then again that may be why they moved iPad releases to the spring?
iPad Pro, with A10x (or whatever they call it), truetone, 12 megapixel, quad speakers, smart connector and Apple Pencil:
-12.9"
-10.1" (or 10.5")
-7.9" (possibly less powerful processor & some lessor features)
"Low-cost" iPads:
-9.7" (a new 9.7" low cost iPad has been mentioned I'm thinking maybe a minor refresh of the Air 2 where the A8x is replaced with an A9 and everything else is basically the same?)
-iPad Mini 4 (will move down to take the place of the Mini 2)
Thoughts? Seems like a lot as Apple has never released that many iPad models at once but then again that may be why they moved iPad releases to the spring?
At that point just drop the silly numbers:
iPad mini
iPad Air
iPad Pro
These are being used and upgrade more similarly to computers/Macs. I think it's safe to treat them like makes and refer to the year/generation if needed. For ex (iPad Air, Early 2017).