Apple's 'iPad Air 3' to Be Branded as an iPad Pro With Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil Support

[niun]

It would have been nice if they'd just done a complete re-boot of the entire line.
iPad in three sizes with top spec and pencil support. Rolled out in one huge keynote.
Give people a reason to upgrade or maybe just something to get excited about instead of this Malibu Stacy tedium.

I can just about remember the last time I got excited about an Apple product. That being the original iPad!

 

[Tycho24]

I don't know how people can seriously hope for/demand no price increase with such an abnormal jump in specs.

And I really hope the ones that were complaining that the air should have the same specs as the pro but with a smaller screen, aren't the same ones now (pre)complaining that the price shouldn't reflect the upgrade.

I hate blowing money as much as the next person, but c'mon, let's have SOMEWHAT reasonable expectations here. That would really save me a lot of eye rolling.

Hmmmm...
I have an idea! =)
MAYBE it has to do with the fact that nine generations of iPhone have stayed at $650 as an entry price & six generations or iPad have stayed at $499 as an entry price.
Sooooooo...... (& please stop me if this isn't a "SOMEWHAT reasonable expectation"), now we want this gen to stick to the established pricing.
Duh.
This is a VERY simple concept.
I for one, am NOT overly concerned about a price spike.... Apple has proven themselves masters at multiple price point sales & their "sweet spot" is at the entry level.... they sell more entry level iPhones and iPads than any other configuration by a country mile. They have trained the populace as Android tablet prices have bounced all over the place- to expect the iPad to stay at $499.
To briefly explain away your "yeah, but how can it be such a nice upgrade & stay at the same price??" The answer is twofold:
1)for the 1st time... the flagship iPad was NOT upgraded by the year mark, but one and a half instead; so this has to be a 1.5x upgrade accordingly!
2)with iPad sales on a steady decline- they need a REAL big win. These specs w/ the same price as ever delivers that in spades... simply put, it puts iPad back on the map!
My only worry (as a 64gb guy) is that they will mimic iPad Pro in a 32gb & 128gb version with a "more than $100" jump between. I have always paid $599 for my iPads for the 2nd tier memory configuration.... right as I was "outgrowing" 32gb & balking @ paying top tier pricing, they spec bumped the mid tier! I can't go back to 32gb, so if they mimic Big Pro's dual, rather than triple configs... I'll be in a tight spot.
Other than that, we're good!
NICE upgrade... definitely still starting at $499; I'm excited & happy!!!

 

[Shirtin]

Fingers crossed the price point stays the same!? Unlikely...

The new 2016 iPads have to be priced at the same previous price. iPads are losing sales left and right because they are overpriced as it stands now. Almost all major retail stores lowered the Air 2 price by at least $100 and even up to $150.

The iPad fad is over and we need to face the reality that in a couple of years Apple might let the iPad lines wither away. Only hardcore people will buy the new iPads at a higher price. Tablets nowadays cater to a niche market mainly kids and people who don't like laptops. In the end, there is really nothing Apple can do to revive iPad sales but they can kill it by raising the base price.

 

[svendobbelaere]

If it supports the pencil and keeps the same 499 euros base price, I'm interested (in a 128 GB cellular model, which would then be 819 euros (or less)). The base 32 GB iPad Pro is 919 here, fyi.

If it's more expensive, I'll probably pull the trigger on a clearout refurb Air 2 cellular 128 GB.

 

[sparksd]

Not interested. The new features are not enough to get me to spend $ and upgrade from my 128GB LTE Air 2.

 

[Dave245]

Maybe they'll just keep selling the Air 3 along side the 9.7 inch Pro? It will be interesting to see what they do with the whole iPad line.

it's a possibility, kind of like the iPhone range, there's the 4inch, then the more "premium" 6S and 6S Plus.

 

[Kajje]

Not interested. The new features are not enough to get me to spend $ and upgrade from my 128GB LTE Air 2.

How do you know what the new features will be? Oh who are we kidding, the iPad Air 2 was and still is a beast and I won't know what they possibly could do better in order to get me wanting to upgrade.

 

[Rogifan]

How do you know what the new features will be? Oh who are we kidding, the iPad Air 2 was and still is a beast and I won't know what they possibly could do better in order to get me wanting to upgrade.

Well iPP doesn't have speaker vibration and the back stays cool to the touch. Bringing that to the 9.7" model is great.

 

[parajba]

If it's true it will definitely carry a price bump (the 'pro' rip off factor!) and won't be buying it. Might have to resort to an Air 2 then. I am not prepared to spend more then the current Air 2 line, everything else equal.

 

[sparksd]

How do you know what the new features will be? Oh who are we kidding, the iPad Air 2 was and still is a beast and I won't know what they possibly could do better in order to get me wanting to upgrade.

Based on rumors:
Pencil - don't need it
4 speakers and/or reduced vibration - don't care, I use headphones
4GB - 2GB hasn't been a problem needing fixing for me

For me, I just couldn't justify shelling out the dollars.

 

[Jsameds]

Apple's line up on all fronts is a bit of a shambles at the moment.

Macbook that is smaller than the Macbook Air
Line up includes Macbook Pro and Retina Macbook Pro Models when only one is necessary
iPad Pro that doesn't really have any "Pro" features
Regular iPad line being rebranded as Pro that again won't really have any Pro features
iMacs without SSD as standard
Mac Pro that hasn't been updated since 2013
Displays that haven't been updated for half a decade

It just seems so disorganised. Come on Apple, you are better than this!

 

[chrono1081]

This is a win for everyone. The pencil is incredible. I love my iPad Pro and its great that it'll be in more affordable sizes for others.

 

[glxyjones]

They really should go back to what they did for the original retina iPad. Drop any yearly identifiers and just have the iPad Mini, the iPad, and the iPad Pro. Just like their Macbook line.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

If the Pencil is a feature and price points remain the same I'm all in.

I think rebranding the Air to the Pro is smart. But they should then rebrand the next mini as just iPad. The line up would then be iPad, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro. (I'm assuming and would hope Apple would EOL the Mini 2 and original Air to simply the line for consumers. There are too many models that are not all that different from each other right now).

 

[Tycho24]

The new 2016 iPads have to be priced at the same previous price. iPads are losing sales left and right because they are overpriced as it stands now. Almost all major retail stores lowered the Air 2 price by at least $100 and even up to $150.

The iPad fad is over and we need to face the reality that in a couple of years Apple might let the iPad lines wither away. Only hardcore people will buy the new iPads at a higher price. Tablets nowadays cater to a niche market mainly kids and people who don't like laptops. In the end, there is really nothing Apple can do to revive iPad sales but they can kill it by raising the base price.

You had me with the pricing opinion... but lost ALL credibility with the ludicrous & inane assertion that the iPad line would "wither away", lol.
Yes, sales peaked... yes Air is good enough to keep 3 years without upgrading. Yes, sales will be (and are now) leveling out.
HOWEVER, the form factor is here to stay!!!! Having used an iPad now for 5+ years, I literally can't imagine only using my phone or Mac... It is SO much more pleasant than either.
To pretend that the tablet will "disappear" entirely as a form factor after only just over half a decade, right as it reached maturity is one of the most ridiculous notions I could put forth if you gave me all day to think up nonsensical tech trends that will never happen.
Tablets will iterate better like notebooks, like computers, & like smart phones; for the foreseeable future... none of these products are in danger of extinction.
The only market immature enough to currently even have the ability to deliver a disruptive non-iterative "leap" far, far beyond the previous is wearables. Watch that space (it also is not going away).

 

[ChrisCW11]

iPad Pro Mini Air Edition 3 S? They should really jump the shark and wrap it in gold and charge $20,000 for it.

 

[mayhemburzum]

Apple could just go with the following:

- iPhone Pro (5.5)
- iPhone (4.7)
- iPhone Mini (4)
Capacity: 32 / 64 / 128GB

- iPad Pro (12.9)
- iPad (9.7)
- iPad Mini (7.9)
Capacity: 32 / 64 / 128 / 256GB

- MacBook Pro (15 / 13)
- MacBook (12)

- iMac Pro (27 5k / 21 4k)
- iMac (27 / 21)
- iMac Mini (no display, replaces Mac Mini)

Done deal. Streamlined and coherent names between mobile devices and computers.

 

[WLS]

Coming next year, the iPad Mini Pro!

and this is the iPad Pro Mini? My head hurts.

 

[Krevnik]

One of the differentiating features of the iPad Pro was the screen size so I don't think this rumor has wings.

If they do make a smaller "Pro" then it will be higher in price because of the digitizer in the screen and Apple Pencil support. You won't get those extra features for nothing. Probably a $99-$149 premium over the Air line.

As someone else pointed out, these features are to enable accessory upsells. Considering you are looking at 200+$ worth of potential upsell, you tend to be in a better place if you don't also charge someone for the privilege of being upsold. I would be somewhat surprised (and diappointed) in Apple if they used this to price bump the 9.7" iPad. Apple tends to pick price points and build to them with the new models, and if they can't meet them, keep the old model around until they do (Macbook -> Air -> Retina Macbook).

That said, anything we think about price is pure speculation.

Why not continue the Air branding? As if the iPad branding line isn't f*cked up already...

Just call it iPad Air 3

Because conveying what functionality it has is somewhat important. If this is a smaller Pro in terms of functionality and specs, then why call it an Air? Do we rename the Pro instead after only being on the market 6 months? I actually think Apple painted themselves into a corner with the branding.

This 9.7" model and the 12.9" models should probably use the same moniker, since they are functionally the same, minus a larger screen. Branding the new model as Pro is the lesser of the two not great branding choices, I think.

To be honest, I don't see the point of the "Air" branding. What's the point of calling the iPad Air as such when the iPad mini is technically smaller and lighter? You have 3 iPad lines, just call them the iPad mini, iPad and iPad Pro and call it a day already.

It was in comparison to the iPad 4, to make it clear how much weight it'd lost.

 

[Shirtin]

You had me with the pricing opinion... but lost ALL credibility with the ludicrous & inane assertion that the iPad line would "wither away", lol.
Yes, sales peaked... yes Air is good enough to keep 3 years without upgrading. Yes, sales will be (and are now) leveling out.
HOWEVER, the form factor is here to stay!!!! Having used an iPad now for 5+ years, I literally can't imagine only using my phone or Mac... It is SO much more pleasant than either.
To pretend that the tablet will "disappear" entirely as a form factor after only just over half a decade, right as it reached maturity is one of the most ridiculous notions I could put forth if you gave me all day to think up nonsensical tech trends that will never happen.
Tablets will iterate better like notebooks, like computers, & like smart phones; for the foreseeable future... none of these products are in danger of extinction.
The only market immature enough to currently even have the ability to deliver a disruptive non-iterative "leap" far, far beyond the previous is wearables. Watch that space (it also is not going away).

When I meant wither away I'm comparing it to the iPods and apple watches. There will always be a market for those two items just like iPad will always have a market. Laptops have gotten a lot thinner and lighter since 2010. Smartphones likewise has bigger screen sizes since 2010. Both of these categories are squeezing the tablet market to the point it becomes a niche product.

I will agree though that the tablet niche market will be greater than the iPod and smart watch markets combined. It also doesn't help that there are many cheaper android tablets eating away at Apple's iPad. The entire tablet market is fighting for three types of people: casual, kids, and the retired. The tablet is not needed in today's marketplace it is a luxury (one that I really appreciate).

 

[GFLPraxis]

Don't call it Pro unless you give me an iOS XCode, Apple.

 

[iMas70]

I'll be surprised if there is a price change. They will go though the normal presentation and finish it off with the prices staying the same as the Air 2. The crowd will go wild and everyone will line up to buy one (including me).

 

[seadragon]

I think this is great... iPad Pro available in 9.7 or 12.9 inch screen sizes with smart keyboard and pencil (including navigation ) available for both.

Excellent! I'm definitely buying a 9.7 inch if this rumor becomes reality.

 

[Scarpad]

Too bad all the RAM and A9X wont make but a smidge of real world difference. Theres an app problem at Apple with the iPad that no hardware or name changing or A17X processor or 16GB of RAM can fix. Apple needs to partner with developers. Why is facebook a partner and NOT have split screen? Or Apple Music for that matter?? Why No PIP for Netflix. These are the top apps that millions of people use every day on iPad. They should have been partnering with developers months before split screen was announced to get these apps rolling. Of course developers have some responsibility as well but Apple needs to push their platform. It's clear developers aren't in any rush due to declining iPad sales. Its a catch 22 problem that Apple created. The same reason there are millions of iPad 2 users out there.

I Agree but artist will like the pencil support

 

[sofila]

I agree with who's saying that "Air" suffix is now redundant on Apple products line. Everybody knows that Apple products are as thin as possible, and beyond.
I agree that too many options are complicating someone's choice.
I also think that 100 dollars for cellular option are too much even for Apple's standards and iPad Pro with cellular option only at maximum storage is a rip-off.
The next iPad revision will mark Apple's type of customers as a target. A high priced machine too-much powered and redundant for content consumption only won't stop sales' progressive decline. Cheaper Android tablets are simply enough for this at a lower price range. And attaching a Pro moniker with no real new software features (largely discussed around here) and closed to external word on the hardware side won't be enough to justify high prices range.
Will Apple prefer to maintain global tablets' profits with more sales or just maintain higher profit margin on each tablet an sell less pieces? We all know that first option is not realistic, well I do think that the second one is no longer viable these days. Competition's products with all their defects are now simply enough for most tasks needed