I get it; its easy to mock Tim Cook where these "situations" are concerned, but he has ZERO to do with the product development.
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Apple's New iPad Lineup Causes Potential Confusion With Inconsistent Features
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And then the MBAs took over again and had to have a product for each price point, increase revenue per user, increase lock-in, all the things they learned in business school.
That was what made Steve unique. Somehow he was able to do what was clearly the right thing for the users (mostly) and still manage to make money.
No, *I* have zero to do with the product development. He’s the CEO. If he has zero involvement then that’s his choice and it’s a bad one. He has the power, he may be the only one with the power, to see what everyone is doing and tell them if they should be doing it or not.
I understand that he has other work, but he also needs to take the time to do what Steve and all other involved CEOs do with their most important products, and sit down and look at it big picture and make the hard decisions no one else can.
This was exactly what Steve was worried about, that Tim Cook just isn’t that kind of CEO. So you may be right, and if you are that’s a terrible thing.
Reminds me of the really old days when the Mac lineup was just as confusing. Quadra this and Quardra that.
This was my first reaction when I saw the lineup. Too many products, hard to differentiate, and just look as a way to justify price increases (keep old tech at same price).
I think their lineup is kind of bloated and a mess. Trying to make money at the expense of clarity by gatekeeping features and charging more for them
This is one of the things that almost bankrupted Apple. They focused on profit margins at the expense of people actually using their products and it seems obvious they’re on that same trip now.
And selling tech that’s too old as budget models. Like black and white Macs well into the 90s. There’s a line where it’s too far. I think selling an iPad that can’t use the most recent Apple Pencil is too far
It might work better for them this time but it’s still a worse user experience
This is one of the things that almost bankrupted Apple. They focused on profit margins at the expense of people actually using their products and it seems obvious they’re on that same trip now.
And selling tech that’s too old as budget models. Like black and white Macs well into the 90s. There’s a line where it’s too far. I think selling an iPad that can’t use the most recent Apple Pencil is too far
It might work better for them this time but it’s still a worse user experience
The whole lineup seems designed to drive you toward the higher margin products. It’s not so much about what makes sense for the user but what makes sense to the MBAs.
entry-level has been focusing on kids in school or college since 6th gen I think. so, that much is explained. the rest are for whoever else.
I feel like I’m in the toothpaste aisle… when my wife says “just get Crest.”
…which one?
…which one?
I posted this in the other thread in the iPad forum, but are people really losing their collective minds over a trillion dollar company having 6 different iPad lines?
Here's how I view things.
9th gen iPad - for schools who are price conscious (hence it's kept around for the $300 mark).
iPad mini - for enterprises who value smaller screens and portability (maybe hospitals?)
10th gen iPad - the new entry level iPad for users with fairly basic tablet needs. Maybe give it a year or two for the price to drop to $399. It's closer to the iPad Air in terms of design, has usb-c charging, and still lets people use the cheaper 1st gen Apple Pencil, which some users of earlier iPads may already have. Suitable for students (especially the landscape webcam for zoom lectures).
iPad Air - for people who want a full-powered iPad (namely that M1 chip), without the extra frills.
11" iPad Pro - for people willing to pay extra for "nice features" or just want the best iPad possible.
13" iPad Pro - for people who use their iPads a a laptop replacement (these people will know who they are).
For any one potential customer, you can easily eliminate 3-4 out of the 6 choices right there and then. Many adults will gravitate towards either the iPad Air or the 11" iPad Pro, both of which sport the M1 chip and support the 2nd gen Apple Pencil and smart / magic keyboard.
The 10th gen iPad for children or elderly.
The remaining categories are basically self-selecting.
Hardly rocket science.
Here's how I view things.
9th gen iPad - for schools who are price conscious (hence it's kept around for the $300 mark).
iPad mini - for enterprises who value smaller screens and portability (maybe hospitals?)
10th gen iPad - the new entry level iPad for users with fairly basic tablet needs. Maybe give it a year or two for the price to drop to $399. It's closer to the iPad Air in terms of design, has usb-c charging, and still lets people use the cheaper 1st gen Apple Pencil, which some users of earlier iPads may already have. Suitable for students (especially the landscape webcam for zoom lectures).
iPad Air - for people who want a full-powered iPad (namely that M1 chip), without the extra frills.
11" iPad Pro - for people willing to pay extra for "nice features" or just want the best iPad possible.
13" iPad Pro - for people who use their iPads a a laptop replacement (these people will know who they are).
For any one potential customer, you can easily eliminate 3-4 out of the 6 choices right there and then. Many adults will gravitate towards either the iPad Air or the 11" iPad Pro, both of which sport the M1 chip and support the 2nd gen Apple Pencil and smart / magic keyboard.
The 10th gen iPad for children or elderly.
The remaining categories are basically self-selecting.
Hardly rocket science.
It’s quite simple. Apple is full of stupid people, who don’t do any market research and make product line decisions on a whim. That’s because smart people don’t go work for Apple, they start whinge threads on Macrumors.
Difficult to choose between the devices. Better to go for a device with Apple Pencil 2 support.
What a complete disaster. Maybe the next M3 processor will only work with the puck mouses from the G3 era.
Yeah, it’s called a clue. He knows how to make money, but it all comes at the expense of excitement and rationality. They’re not democratizing sh*** either. The prices are still way too high for the hand-me-down products they’re selling. All of this bifurcation is probably spreading the company too thin as well.
Tim needs one of these
These models make perfect sense. The lower cost A series machines, the mid range M1, and the higher end M2. Apple knows that few people who purchase the lower end iPads likely buy Apple pencils. I know many people with entry level and machines for just hanging out and consuming content do not own keyboard, nor do they own a pencil. More have keyboards than pencils, however. People I know who have a higher end machine all have pencils. Apple knows this. They also know that people look at the design and say, “Oh I can get a modern looking iPad at relatively low price.” That will be a huge factor in purchase decisions. Although we never will see the sales numbers, my guess is the new iPad Gen 10 will be the largest selling iPad.
Tim "supply chain" Cook is trying to sell out his stock. Typical if you do numbers and have too much excess when you update the iPad once (or twice a year). With iPads it needs to be on a two year cycle as far as tech..but...if you are just looking at hitting sales numbers for the annual or Fall shareholder call, then what Apple is doing is understandable.
iPads are a mature product, hard to "wow" any longer.
The new iPad 10th gen still does not have a Fully laminated display and antireflective coating but does have Center Stage. No excuse though for not having Apple Pencil 2 (Magnetically attaches and to charge) support. The Apple Pencil 1 came out in 2015! LOL
The iPad is a mess right now.
They just need iPad Pro in large and small, and iPad in large and small.
Make the features consistent between the iPad Pro models and between the iPad models.
They should do this for all other product lines. MacBook Pro and MacBook. iPhone Pro and iPhone already has this although I wish they still had the Mini. They need to get rid of all their Air branding, I don't understand the point of it in 2022. Either that or call everything that isn't Pro the Air. It's so inconsistent. But I like simplicity. Although I don't even know about the Pro name anymore. Why not Studio? But idk if that applies to the iPhone. Maybe since it has better cameras and video systems?
I also don't get the keeping around older devices so prominently, which gets confusing. Why not just sell those through partners at the discount rate? Or make them SE versions? Because SE isn't being applied consistently across their products either.
They just need iPad Pro in large and small, and iPad in large and small.
Make the features consistent between the iPad Pro models and between the iPad models.
They should do this for all other product lines. MacBook Pro and MacBook. iPhone Pro and iPhone already has this although I wish they still had the Mini. They need to get rid of all their Air branding, I don't understand the point of it in 2022. Either that or call everything that isn't Pro the Air. It's so inconsistent. But I like simplicity. Although I don't even know about the Pro name anymore. Why not Studio? But idk if that applies to the iPhone. Maybe since it has better cameras and video systems?
I also don't get the keeping around older devices so prominently, which gets confusing. Why not just sell those through partners at the discount rate? Or make them SE versions? Because SE isn't being applied consistently across their products either.
iPad Studio or iPad Ultra is probably coming for the 14" model.
As for the rest, I agree, like the iPhone lineup they could cut in half the number of models sold and they would probably sell the same number of units.
I don't understand why should they keep things so cluttered.
Makes inventory management much messier, I don't even care at this point but it makes no sense for them either.
Just sell
$599 Air 128GB M1
$399 Air 64GB SE (minus M1 and some goodies, targeted for education)
and you just need 1 or 2 Pro models above that. End of deal.
But no, now they have to keep in stock different pencils, different folio keyboards... it's inventory hell for them.
