There does need to be more iPads, the thirteen in the current lineup just isn't enough
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 Working on Larger iPad Air With 12.9-Inch Display
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think his point that the entire "Air" product name has deviated from its original intent - to imply the product is smaller, thinner, and lighter than other models (ie: the original MacBook Air line, the original iPad Air being smaller and thinner than the previous iPads). Really at this point Apple should just drop Air entirely. Call the 13" and 15" MBAs just plain old MacBooks, call the iPad Air line just plain old iPad and rebrand the base iPad as the iPad SE.
The Air brand has become the consumer level product designator; even if it started as a smaller thiner version of the existing products. A 12" Air would slot right into consumer space like the 2 iPad Pros do in their segment.
and for driving with maps and/or music
and for hiking with offline maps
and for bike packing
and for commuting with public transport
and for traveling in general
and the list goes on
Last edited:
Or, you know, ones who don’t want to spring that sort of cash because they don’t need/want OLED or 120 Hz.
Except the 15” MBA makes sense and has an obvious market. Another 13” iPad with just a few features different seems a stretch. Why Apple?
Agreed. Unless Apple is prepared to focus on the “air” part of the iPad Air, it should just stop using the name. iPad Airs weigh about the same as all the other iPads of the same size.
I always wonder how people who say the iPad lineup is confusing function in life. Do they go to the car dealership and see that there is more than one option and go "It's too confusing!"
Previously Apple didn’t care about people interested in a 12.9” iPad but not in Pro features, but the pricing was still somewhat tolerable even if you didn’t care about Pro features. My point is that the OLED iPads will be so expensive that Apple now decided they have to care, in order not lose out on the part of that market who previously purchased the 12.9” regardless.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Kinda like the 15" MBA for the folks who want the bigger screen but don't need or want the horsepower of the MBP.
I’m still not so sure we’ll see a significant price hike on the 12.9 Pro. I doubt Apple wants to slow down sales of that model. It’s the flagship iPad. They want them in people’s hands. Besides, Apple’s budget probably isn’t isolated into columns based on specific products. They can and likely will recoup any additional costs through sales of other models.
Why not have a big screened iPad mini? Or a large base iPad, or a mini iPad Air Pro?
See how ridiculous Apple is becoming in their product strategy?
See how ridiculous Apple is becoming in their product strategy?
Totally agree. Their naming conventions across all of their product ranges are out of control and basically meaningless in any significant way.
I continue to think of the first move Steve Jobs made when he returned to Apple from NeXT: drastically simplify the product lines. The Jobs setup for the iMac was this: good/better/best. One iMac, three configurations. Done and done. Product line bloat and meaningless marketing based naming was just as out of control back then as it is now. Apple should simplify again and dump all this Pro Max + Ultra Edition Air Studio nonsense altogether.
I'm all for the good / better / best strategy:
Good (iPad entry level ) - $399
Better (iPad Air - 10.9" / 12.9") - $599 / $799
Best (iPad Pro - 11" / 12.9") - $999 / $1,199
With what they're trying to do with the iPad Pro I still believe that should be split off into it's own product - iBook, becoming more of a Surface style hybrid device, even let it run MacOS when docked. The remaining iPads then fall into a reasonably concise product line by default, sort of similar to how it was in late 2015 when the original Pro launched.
iPad - 10.9" - $399
iPad mini - 9" - $499
iPad Air - 11" - $599
iPad Pro - 12.9" - $799 (i.e. this "Air", with a few extra features like quad speakers to justify the +$200 over the 11" Air).
iPad - 10.9" - $399
iPad mini - 9" - $499
iPad Air - 11" - $599
iPad Pro - 12.9" - $799 (i.e. this "Air", with a few extra features like quad speakers to justify the +$200 over the 11" Air).
It makes perfect sense to me for Apple to release a larger iPad Air. Then the lineup will be as follows -
1st tier: iPhone 16=11'' iPad Air=13'' MBA
2nd tier: iPhone 16 Plus=12.9'' iPad Air=15'' MBA
3rd tier: iPhone 16 Pro=11'' iPad Pro=14'' MBP
4th tier: iPhone 16 Pro Max=12.9'' iPad Pro=16'' MBP.
1st tier: iPhone 16=11'' iPad Air=13'' MBA
2nd tier: iPhone 16 Plus=12.9'' iPad Air=15'' MBA
3rd tier: iPhone 16 Pro=11'' iPad Pro=14'' MBP
4th tier: iPhone 16 Pro Max=12.9'' iPad Pro=16'' MBP.
Yes, PLEASE keep making larger versions, versions with slightly narrower bezels and slightly improved cameras, and OLED panels.. please don't waste time unleashing already capable iPad Pro M-series hardware, by providing full multi-tasking abilities that it deserves, by giving it a real file system, and by giving it more powerful window management abilities that are not the compromise called Stage Manager.
IIRC they hiked the price by about £150 with no spec change or anything. Took it from expensive but ok to WTF?