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
It is a touch slab. They can make it better, but functionally the first version did about 90% of what next year's version can do. However it is a great form factor and they are great devices. I use them so much and so effectively that I'm considering upgrading my iPad Air 2 and my iPad Mini 2 ahead of my 2011 iMac.
I was hoping for more of a 10.5" device, so hopefully the 10.1" rumor is wrong. The middle iPad just seems a tad on the smaller side these days. A little bump in size is welcome, especially for drawing, without having to get a huge device. Hopefully this means they'll reduce the bezels quite a bit more, especially since the iPhone is rumored to be doing that in 2017. I'm definitely interested in getting one, but only if they put the larger 4GB RAM module in the 10" model so I can have more layers in apps and better performance in the long-run. The only thing that makes me hesitant to upgrade is 1, if they don't do an actual redesign as they probably will at the very least after the newly redesigned iPhone, and 2, if they don't get that newly developed lithium battery tech that is supposed to double battery life using slightly modifications to existing factory lines. You could basically get an iPad that is thinner, lighter, and still has room to add a few hours of battery life. I'm also hesitant because Apple is rumored to be switching to mLED displays before too long. They supposedly have superior contrast and color reproduction, being similar to OLED but without the downsides.
Yeah, put ample memory in the smaller models and a tighter amount in the larger and more expensive models. That surely is the way forward. If having different amounts of RAM due to different needs (driving more pixels needs more RAM, showing more of a webpage on a larger display needs more RAM) is getting people into a fit, I am really starting to doubt whether that whole internet thing is worth it.
Ask for 50% more RAM on every device and I might understand that. Ask for the same amount on all devices and you've lost my attention.
Just ordered a warranty replacement for my almost 2-years old iPad Air 2 under AC+ because of an increasingly unreliable (still pretty reliable, but a little too unreliable to take chances and let AC+ expire in less than a month's time) home button.
The replacement device will be good for at least another 2 years.
Oh, the good old times when I couldn't wait to replace my iPad every year with the latest model
Edit: Grammar.
The replacement device will be good for at least another 2 years.
Oh, the good old times when I couldn't wait to replace my iPad every year with the latest model
Edit: Grammar.
Last edited:
It should be iPad mini (7.9"), iPad (9.7"), and iPad Pro (12.9")
It should be iPhone mini (4"), iPhone (4.7"), and iPhone Pro (5.5")
It should be MacBook mini (12"), MacBook (13"), and MacBook Pro (15")
It should be Mac mini (the box), iMac (21.5"), and iMac Pro (27")
Make each model as good as it can be for its size, with great upgrade options for even the smallest models. Of course, the largest models will have more room for increased specs, and they have bigger screens, so they should cost more. But overall, the lineup can be very simple and make consumer choice very easy.
It should be iPhone mini (4"), iPhone (4.7"), and iPhone Pro (5.5")
It should be MacBook mini (12"), MacBook (13"), and MacBook Pro (15")
It should be Mac mini (the box), iMac (21.5"), and iMac Pro (27")
Make each model as good as it can be for its size, with great upgrade options for even the smallest models. Of course, the largest models will have more room for increased specs, and they have bigger screens, so they should cost more. But overall, the lineup can be very simple and make consumer choice very easy.
I'm really happy with my Air one (is it called that?)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?
I actually don't find their current lineup too bloated (other than I would remove the Air 2 and the mini 2, keeping the latest 9.7" and 7.9" iPads only... but then I don't run a large company so what do I know?)
The Watch page, however, seems incredibly complicated.
Relax this is the iPad 2017 lineup Geez.
Mac's should be coming THIS month.
No, it is called selling the previous year model (or thereabout) at a lower price in parallel with the current model. Something that is a win-win situation for Apple and its customers. But such details never make it into the grand plans of internet commenters.
What was the next generation after the iPad Air called? The iPad Air Ultra?
The difference between Macs and iOS devices is that Apple is not selling two generations of the same Mac model in parallel, while it has done so for almost all iOS models. When they did something similar on the Mac (retina vs non-retina MBPs), they did add the retina moniker to the (retina) MBP line.
You are really hung up on the name. They dropped the 'Air' from the MacBook One name, even though it was even more 'Air'-like than the existing MBA models. And we had now about ten years of MacBook Pros, did Apple felt the need to up the name to MacBook Pro Ultra over this period?
Yeah, how dare Apple charge more for the MacBook Pro than for the MacBook.
[doublepost=1475507786][/doublepost]
Which they are doing if they use the 'Pro' label for all three sizes.
Agree. 18 models. SikesDo people really think three sizes, three capacities and a 4G option on each is really that complicated a lineup? Really?
I think they should treat them like Macs, once updated don't keep the previous ones around. Either between 3 physical sizes & storage options, or between mini, Air and multiple Pros & storage options, they can cover a large range of price points and really don't need old models to hit price points anymore.
That's an excellent point. Perhaps the amount of sales forgone is made up by the increase in revenue.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.
Don't agree with the Mac lineups - I think they're good as-is. MacBook at 12", and then (an updated) MacBook Pro at 14 and 16". Figure out something to do with the Air line, or let the new MacBook kill it.
Mac mini and Mac Pro fit their respective niches; the iMac is great at its sizes and price point.
This was my assumption too. It would be nice to to reduce the bezels and give us a bigger screen in the same size shell or simply reduce the overall size of the device provided it doesn't impact on things like battery life and camera quality.
It's like they will go to any length to avoid giving desktop and laptop computers any attention.
Apple wants to promote the iPad line as a productivity-capable device and modern PC replacement - which it IS for the vast majority of PC users. (Get over it) A big part of that productivity remains MS Office. Correct me if I'm wrong about this still being the case, but didn't MS have a stipulation with its Office suite of apps concerning screen sizes? Something along the lines of <10" screen size devices having free access to basic creating/editing documents?
I have a 365 subscription, but I'd imagine this was a (the) deliberate move - especially if the main change does turn out to be going from the standard 9.7" to 10.1".
I have a 365 subscription, but I'd imagine this was a (the) deliberate move - especially if the main change does turn out to be going from the standard 9.7" to 10.1".
Depends on how much individuals want the mini upgrade for any given price at a given time. By spring I could really really go for it and would be less likely to quibble about the pricing. Right now if they rolled it out and pegged it at five bucks it's too much, since my house recently said hey about a new hot water heater
which of course I had to concede was...a wonderful idea...imo Apple's actually pretty good at price points. We have decent gear in hand and they are still in business. We want more for less and they want evidence that there's some demand for future models of product line already in the works. If they jack the price too high on a rollout then they don't get true feedback of customer attraction to the idea of the item; if they leave it too low the future demand for another and another iteration of that idea is doubtless overstated.
So as it is, no one's quite happy, which is good: everyone being happy tells us nothing about demand in the future and also suggests the company is complacent. Apple gets accused of that sometimes but I have a feeling the last time they were actually complacent was back when Scully thought he had taken it in hand by focusing on marketing and leaving innovation in the dust.
Which is perfectly fine, but using generic monikers doesn't work. It's at least called mini 2 and 4, so the customer knows they are same type of device. However, Air 2 vs Pro 9.7 doesn't make any sense.
Pro is a moniker the Apple already uses in other lineups, my point still stands. As I said in my previous post(as an edit) that if Apple had introduced an Air 3, along with the Pro 9.7 then it would've been one thing, since the moniker at least denotes a separate product type.
Actually it's simply marketed as the MacBook Pro with the added "With Retina Display" on some product pages. Even still, this is not the same as calling a MacBook of the same type a completely different moniker just to differentiate years or generations. The customer knows that both products are MacBook Pros.
No, because the Pro moniker on the MacBooks and Mac Pro are simply used to denote of a type of product, not to differentiate 2008-2012 MacBook Pros from the current Retina MacBook Pros or the tower Mac Pro from the current cylinder Mac Pro.
Also, I've criticized the current naming scheme between the MBA and 12" MB before.
And the MacBook is more expensive than the Air. Overall point is, if Apple wanted to increase the price, it didn't need a useless moniker to do it, nor vice versa.
Last edited:
Dude, if it was only that they wouldn't charge the Pro name tax, hm?
Glassed Silver:mac
to me, the mini is the perfect size. If this report proves to be true I would certainly consider upgrading to one of these new models. If they're going to kill the mini size, I'll stick with my 3rd gen.