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Here's What the iPad Lineup Could Look Like in 2024
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Ah the days of the four quadrants ... a Pro notebook and desktop, and a consumer notebook and desktop.
Now we will have 6 ipads
Now we will have 6 ipads
I have the 11" iPad Pro M1 which is a lovely thing. Truth be told, mainly used for light gaming and Youtube / Netflix.
Maybe it's my age, but trying to "work" on it does not work, it's too annoying, even awkward to use...
No idea why I need an M1 in there 😄
I will only upgrade when the OS is not supported anymore.
Maybe it's my age, but trying to "work" on it does not work, it's too annoying, even awkward to use...
No idea why I need an M1 in there 😄
I will only upgrade when the OS is not supported anymore.
A "clean" product line is appealing to all consumers
I have family that asks me "what iPad should I buy" and I have no clue what to tell them or the real "why" of what I would say.
Even I walk around an Apple Store or Best Buy and play with them and it's like..."this is nice"... "but so is this"... "this is a touch bigger"..."this screen seems maybe a little better?"..."oh this doesn't work with that keyboard?"..."this one does? ... but it's a little smaller?"..."It's not a Pro?" ... "Am I pro?"..."Why is this named Air?"..."Mini?" ...."ok I like this...but the chip is older and named differently? Is that bad? Should I care?"
Screw it...Just leave the store -- Mentally exhausting
There are simply too many for sale
This doesn't meaningfully clean up or simplify the iPad lineup if these products are still cynically priced so close to each other.
The main issue is that most of the current models start at 64GB and cost an absurd $150 extra to go any higher than that. The cost of the storage increase, then, puts any model around the cost of the next iPad up in the line. This is all meant to get people to decide to ladder up and spend more on an iPad than they initially expected to. All it's done for me is made me hang on to my 2016 iPad Pro for almost eight years.
The main issue is that most of the current models start at 64GB and cost an absurd $150 extra to go any higher than that. The cost of the storage increase, then, puts any model around the cost of the next iPad up in the line. This is all meant to get people to decide to ladder up and spend more on an iPad than they initially expected to. All it's done for me is made me hang on to my 2016 iPad Pro for almost eight years.
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The lineup seriously needs simplifying. All we need is iPad mini, iPad and iPad Pro.
^^^ This
It's a problem for all of Apple's lineup
It seems like they internally consciously decided to make "low base prices + extortion level upgrade charges (on devices you can't upgrade yourself)" to be .... "the new Apple business plan"
I think the problem with that is getting the previous year’s iPad down to the $300-$400 price point with Apple’s profit margins. Apple still sells plenty of base iPad models to customers who don’t need top of the line performance, but a major target of theirs for the base iPads is schools, and they’re competing with $200-$300 Chromebooks (the sub-$200 Chromebooks are probably e-waste out of the box). With Apple trying to sell to both markets with one device, having a mid-range “not a pro, but better than the real low end” model makes sense. Giving it its own branding makes sense, as well. I do kinda wonder about the 13” Air (much like the 15” MacBook Air), seems like it would cannibalize the sales of the Pro models.
...and the Mac line is not? There is 6 different Macs(!) and it is possible to chose several versions of MX SoC, different screen sizes (two for each laptop), a number of RAM options and numerous storage options. As far as I know, all of them do exactly the same thing just with different performance.
I don't see the point in two sizes of iPad Air AND two sizes of iPad Pro, the iPad line-up is already so crowded with tiers motivated only by a desire to offer a model for every price points.
And yet, alas, Apple’s lineup still probably manages to be less of a mess than just about any other computer or tablet OEM’s lineup.
Our institute provide us with 13“/15“ MacBook Air for light use, or 14“/16“ MacBook Pro for this dual monitor work. And everybody can have additional all models of iPads with Apple Pencils. But this is more for making remarks at documents.
But I found out that I can do most things just with iPadOS. So I have given back my intel MacBook Pro 2017. It was a noisy thing anyway.
But to be onest I am the only one given back the MacBook Pro. After nearly 40 Year of Macintosh use!
And Stage manage on a 34“ is great. And mostly because I can do.
It Just Works Air
It Just Works Pro
It Just Works Air smaller
It Just Works Air bigger
It Just Works Pro smaller older
It Just Works Pro smaller newer
It Just Works Pro bigger older
It Just Works Pro bigger newer
It Just Works Mini
It Just Works normal older
It Just Works normal newer
...and let's now talk Refurbs! ...
lol
Tim "PUMMEL THEM WITH SKUs" Cook
It's not about pundits. It's about customers. Too many variations and options creates confusion, anxiety, and fatigue and, sometimes, a non-purchase. It's call the Paradox of Choice.
I don’t see how this is “a mess”. This lineup is near perfect, and is at least more obvious than the older MacBook lineups were.
If anything, this year cleans it up and makes the pencil support universal. Best iPad lineup they’ve ever had.
**eta clearly they said M2 on Air
- iPad is your base = entry model. Older chip. Basic features. No frills. Perfect for school.
- Mini = A smaller size who wants that base iPad but with a smaller size.
- Air = M-series (prev gen) chips, two sizes**
- Pro = M-series (latest gen) chips, even larger sizes, more powerful ports, faster charging, better screen, better cameras, and more.
If anything, this year cleans it up and makes the pencil support universal. Best iPad lineup they’ve ever had.
**eta clearly they said M2 on Air
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You appear to be using a computer logic to the simpler devices that tablets are - this isn't an every day vs power-hungry workflow dilemma, iPads all run the same apps (very few exceptions), it literally makes no difference whether it's powered by an A14 or a M2 chip for 90% of use cases.
It could be simplified to be only about screen size (the biggest one having the more "pro" features as it were) and be done with it.
I cannot grok the love of Steve's four quadrant product matrix.
That was a marketing performance.
Apple needed to simplify it's product line, not for sake of an artistically pure product road map, but because Apple couldn't afford not to. Simplifying product lines was not for the consumer's sake... it was for Apple's bottom line.
Simplified product lines just equate to less consumer choice.
Apple can make increasingly expensive iPads, so why wouldn't they? If you don't want to spend more money for more CPU/RAM/screen quality... then don't.
As with all computer purchasing: Set your budget and try and stay within it, buying something with the most value for that money.
That was a marketing performance.
Apple needed to simplify it's product line, not for sake of an artistically pure product road map, but because Apple couldn't afford not to. Simplifying product lines was not for the consumer's sake... it was for Apple's bottom line.
Simplified product lines just equate to less consumer choice.
Apple can make increasingly expensive iPads, so why wouldn't they? If you don't want to spend more money for more CPU/RAM/screen quality... then don't.
As with all computer purchasing: Set your budget and try and stay within it, buying something with the most value for that money.
I think we're seeing a change here.
I expect Apple will now keep the Air models one SoC generation behind the Pros to help differentiate them...
So:
Air = Older Pro iPad Chips
Pro = New Pro iPad Chips, etc...
Rebranded old Pro chips I hope?
It's pretty off putting to consumers to go to buy a "new" product with old stuff in it
(however right or wrong any of that is -- it just feels wrong to consumers)
None of these products are inexpensive after all
Well, we'll see it this year:
iPad Airs = will move to M2
iPad Pros = will move to M3
How OLD something is (within a year or two), seems kinda immaterial.