I agree here. It's the first iPad I've owned but not the first I've used. I absolutely love my 4th Gen Air. The only model I'd upgrade to is an M1 Mini just for increased portability. That's it.
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Apple's New iPad Lineup Causes Potential Confusion With Inconsistent Features
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TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
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Wait… how is it iPad Mini is more expensive than the latest 10th generation iPad that was released yesterday. It’s so confusing… I’ll just stop. This is too much. 🤦♀️
People I talk to already don’t understand that there is an „iPad“ and now there are TWO!!! when they ask for recommendation and I say „I think the „iPad“ is sufficient“, they would always go like „but which one? The Mini or the Air? And now add different Pencils to the mix 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Even with Macs - he introduced the MacBook Air (neither pro, nor consumer, a bit of both), and the iPad mini was definitely developed when he was still alive. Same with the iPad Air (probably developed / planned when he was still alive too).
I think if inflation and supply chain shortages weren’t as bad as they currently are, the 9th gen would’ve been discontinued/relegated to Education customers only, and the 10th gen would’ve been introduced at the 9th gen’s price point.
The Apple Pencil situation is a mess, though. Should be Apple Pencil 2 for all USB-C iPads…
I have been an iPad Pro user for the last 7 years. (3 different models) The one feature I have been waiting for on iPad is a horizontal camera. This is literally the one feature I would need to allow me to use my iPad as my primary device rather than my MacBook Pro. My iPad is in landscape mode on my magic keyboard 90% of the time and the vertical camera is almost useless. I got excited for a hot minute yesterday until I realized that this amazing feature is available on the Base model Only! They missed a huge opportunity to add this functionality to the new iPad Pro line. Looking at the new iPad Pro, it literally has everything I would want, except the horizontal camera. I actually debated ordering a new base iPad yesterday to replace my 2021 iPad Pro 12.9, but then realized I would really miss the work area and horsepower. #Disappointed...
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It's a bizarre response. The line-up is confusing for sure, especially to a general consumer, but if you're someone who knows you need an iPad, you probably have a good idea what you need from it, so why would the line-up being confusing mean you just choose not to get one at all?!
But you're not buying an iPod.
At minimum, you're buying an Internet communications and productivity device. It ought to be more complex when buying. Just as buying a cable should be simplier than buying an iPod. An iPad should be more complex.
The masses that Apple is targeting are coming from the PC world are used to this mess, they’ll see this as less confusing than Dell or HP.
The iPad has a non-laminated display, that is a huge difference from the Air.
That’s just a blatant lie on Apple’s part. I’d buy a mini if that were true.
Fragment product lines incessantly with no logical consistency of features and compatibility, and ridiculously conflate pricing strategies across them, all the whilst mercilessly taking advantage of global cost of living crisis-level inflation/adverse currency exchanges to price gouge your overseas customers.
Tim 'Beancounter' Cook's Apple in a nutshell.
Tim 'Beancounter' Cook's Apple in a nutshell.
Apple is using this new strategy. Keep old design at old price, release new design with higher price.
Apple did it first with MBA
Apple did it first with MBA
except the basic iPad was the perfect device for kids and education at $329.
merging with the air would bump the price up to $500 or more. that's a lot harder pill to swallow for parents and school districts.
I feel like they are doing this for two reasons:
1. To get rid of old hardware that they have
2. To get an idea of what people prioritize more:
- Speed
- Cameras
- Apple Pencil
- Display
- Price
Using some sophisticated algorithms, I'm sure apple could derive why people are buying which iPad they ended up picking.
1. To get rid of old hardware that they have
2. To get an idea of what people prioritize more:
- Speed
- Cameras
- Apple Pencil
- Display
- Price
Using some sophisticated algorithms, I'm sure apple could derive why people are buying which iPad they ended up picking.
The iPad Mini has the following hardware upgrades versus the 10th gen iPad:
-Fully laminated, P3 display with anti-reflective coating
-A15 chip
-2nd gen Apple Pencil support (i.e. with magnetic wireless charger on the side)
It just happens to have a smaller screen for those who want a more portable iPad, but it doesn't mean it should be cheaper.
It’s an “up-sell lineup.” For just $120 more than the base model, you get a bigger screen, newer design, faster chip, etc. but for just $150 more than that, you get a much nicer screen and a “desktop class” processor! But, you know, at that point you’re only $200 away from double the storage, faceid, promotion, etc!
1. Apple does not store components
2. That's what market survey is for before a product is even launched
Apple basically has a monopoly on the tablet market, and that's why the differentiation is so confusing. When you add in the possible refurb/used models it's even worse.
In fact, it would be better to list the iPads you shouldn't buy than the ones that you should buy. Which iPads are current, which ones are mostly current, and which ones are stuck on a dead iOS version?
I think my short list would be:
In fact, it would be better to list the iPads you shouldn't buy than the ones that you should buy. Which iPads are current, which ones are mostly current, and which ones are stuck on a dead iOS version?
I think my short list would be:
- don't buy an iPad without touch ID or face ID
- don't buy an iPad with < 64GB of storage unless you're going to use it only for streaming
- don't buy an Ipad that can't run iPad OS 14
- screen size
- pencil support
- color accuracy
- speed
- better keyboard/mouse support
I know the "SJ wouldn't have allowed this" trope is overplayed, but this is one example of where it makes perfect sense when you think back to his Pro/Consumer chart for the Mac. In the name of profit & at the expense of the user/customer experience, they've mucked the iPad line up so much that even I as an Apple fan, iPad owner, and MacRumors reader need a damn features matrix to keep track of the lineup.
If any of my family members (who are all users of iPhones, Apple Watches, a Mac or iPad here or there) went into an Apple Store to buy an iPad, they would need to have an employee sit down with them and walk them through all of the nuances and different Pencil versions and different screen technologies and charging ports and adapters and the 9th and 10th gen being both called just "iPad" and Stage Manager's different forms (or absence) depending on the model and yada yada. The end result is that they would likely either need to take a decent amount of time understanding the differences, or they'd end up just picking one and not fully understanding the differences-- the latter of which could result in buyer's remorse if they later learn about one of the differences (eg: iPad gen 10 and not being compatible with Apple Pencil 2, should they decide they want an Apple Pencil some time after purchase).
It would be one thing if there were many easily-distinguishable SKUs at different price points for the sake of providing choice to the customer. But in this case, it's very clearly done to function as a confusing pricing ladder to push upgrades on low-info consumers that aren't reading MacRumors to understand product differences. Implementing that at the expense of the customer experience cheapens the brand, IMO, and that's something SJ understood.
You can only bean count so much before you turn customers off. And sure, maybe this individually isn't something to cry APPLE IS DOOMED over. Their record profits certainly indicate it's working in that regard. My fear with each one of these bean counter decisions is that the company is now fully under the control of the spreadsheet warriors at the expense of those truly committed to "surprise and delight" and the customer experience that Apple has built its brand on.
EDIT: I should also point out, it's especially egregious that this is being done with the iPad lineup, considering the iPad is positioned by Apple to be the mass-consumer, PC-replacement device of the future. If anything, given this, it should be the simplest product lineup they offer.
If any of my family members (who are all users of iPhones, Apple Watches, a Mac or iPad here or there) went into an Apple Store to buy an iPad, they would need to have an employee sit down with them and walk them through all of the nuances and different Pencil versions and different screen technologies and charging ports and adapters and the 9th and 10th gen being both called just "iPad" and Stage Manager's different forms (or absence) depending on the model and yada yada. The end result is that they would likely either need to take a decent amount of time understanding the differences, or they'd end up just picking one and not fully understanding the differences-- the latter of which could result in buyer's remorse if they later learn about one of the differences (eg: iPad gen 10 and not being compatible with Apple Pencil 2, should they decide they want an Apple Pencil some time after purchase).
It would be one thing if there were many easily-distinguishable SKUs at different price points for the sake of providing choice to the customer. But in this case, it's very clearly done to function as a confusing pricing ladder to push upgrades on low-info consumers that aren't reading MacRumors to understand product differences. Implementing that at the expense of the customer experience cheapens the brand, IMO, and that's something SJ understood.
You can only bean count so much before you turn customers off. And sure, maybe this individually isn't something to cry APPLE IS DOOMED over. Their record profits certainly indicate it's working in that regard. My fear with each one of these bean counter decisions is that the company is now fully under the control of the spreadsheet warriors at the expense of those truly committed to "surprise and delight" and the customer experience that Apple has built its brand on.
EDIT: I should also point out, it's especially egregious that this is being done with the iPad lineup, considering the iPad is positioned by Apple to be the mass-consumer, PC-replacement device of the future. If anything, given this, it should be the simplest product lineup they offer.
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I find only 3 things confusing about this lineup.
1. Preferred landscape camera on base iPad 10th gen.
2. New 10th gen iPad supports only 1st gen Apple pencil which ends up requiring this atrocious dongle. They should have released a gen 3 pencil that has usb c and wireless charging depending on your device.
3. The 10th gen iPad gets a keyboard with function keys while the pro magic keyboard doesn't.
The rest pretty much makes sense.
Pro: Best screen, best speakers, best camera (bad front camera placement), best chip
Air: Great performance, colors, lighter/thinner, still a great screen, wireless charging on apple pencil
10th gen iPad: More basic screen, basic performance, basic pencil support.
9th gen iPad: Entry level, eduction, kids/teenagers
Mini: Small form factor
You could argue the 10th gen iPad should merge with the Air, but I think the screen differences and chip improvements justify its existence.
There are just those 3 quirks that stand out and make me think Apple didn't really think it fully through. What we do know is that the 9th gen iPad will only be around for a year or 2 before it will be killed off (or updated with a usb c port).
1. Preferred landscape camera on base iPad 10th gen.
2. New 10th gen iPad supports only 1st gen Apple pencil which ends up requiring this atrocious dongle. They should have released a gen 3 pencil that has usb c and wireless charging depending on your device.
3. The 10th gen iPad gets a keyboard with function keys while the pro magic keyboard doesn't.
The rest pretty much makes sense.
Pro: Best screen, best speakers, best camera (bad front camera placement), best chip
Air: Great performance, colors, lighter/thinner, still a great screen, wireless charging on apple pencil
10th gen iPad: More basic screen, basic performance, basic pencil support.
9th gen iPad: Entry level, eduction, kids/teenagers
Mini: Small form factor
You could argue the 10th gen iPad should merge with the Air, but I think the screen differences and chip improvements justify its existence.
There are just those 3 quirks that stand out and make me think Apple didn't really think it fully through. What we do know is that the 9th gen iPad will only be around for a year or 2 before it will be killed off (or updated with a usb c port).
What a strange mess, the 10th-gen iPad looks like the Air (save for the cheaper display) but has the innards of the 9th-gen iPad (save for the processor), just to fill a pricing gap that sits in between the two - all that to upsell would-be buyers towards the Air.
All they had to do is replace the 9th-gen iPad with the 10th-gen one at the same $330 price point.
All they had to do is replace the 9th-gen iPad with the 10th-gen one at the same $330 price point.
Apple needs to drop and discontinue the 9th Gen iPad, it is like a soar thumb in the lineup. Rebrand the iPad Air as iPad, what will the 11th Gen iPad have laminated display, P3 colour, most if not all of what the Air has today. Now that the 10th Gen has a similar design as the Air, it is only time before the Air is discontinued.
I also suspect that due to landscape FaceTime it may have been done engineering challenge to include ApplePencil 2 charging and docking methods. Hence iPad Pro M2 did not receive it. Another problem not having a camera on both portrait and landscape is holding/blocking the camera as the device can be held in an orientation.
There should be a 3” difference between the iPad models.
iPad mini 8” ProMotion, quad speakers.
iPad 11” budget, no ProMotion, stereo speakers.
iPad Pro 11” ProMotion, eight speakers.
iPad Pro 14” ProMotion, eight speakers.