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iPad 11 Now Seems Unlikely to Launch This Year
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except for the M4 ipad Pro. The Oled screen is really really nice.
But everything else, yes.
Maybe the upcoming M4 Mac Mini can save it a bit.
the7th1
macrumors member
The pictured 4 color iPad range was the most meaningless release I ever saw! It was a half-hearted solution, not properly developed. Or maybe it was just a typical executive decision, where a manager was looking to cash in easy money… nevertheless the product sucks, and is quite frankly a disgrace to the Apple brand.
F23
macrumors 65816
I think the iPad Air only exists to upsell you on the Pros. The M4 changed things as the price increased to $1K. But for years the Air really served no meaningful purpose in the lineup.
It should be iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Pro.
Imagine if the MacBook line up looked like the iPad lineup. It's simple with Air & Pro. The iPads are a mess, too many.
Even the iPhone lineup is simple with an SE, non Pro, and Pro.
Watches are simple, SE, Standard, Ultra.
Agreed.
It seems to me like a complete no brainer that Apple will pull out all the stops to ensure that ALL their product lineup can run Apple Intelligence.
Even the most ill informed make-up merchants can 'predict' this.
Id be very surprised if Apple left the base iPad for more than 2 years without an update for for AI.
As the cheapest iPad... surely it's a good seller for them.... so with all this advertising of Apple Intelligence they cant leave it till 2025 surely.
Since the price of iPad has already been lowered for a region along with in box contents, don't think there will be an update this year.
Eventually whenever an update is launched, hopefully the brighter colours are retained. Not impressed with the colours of the new iPad mini
Eventually whenever an update is launched, hopefully the brighter colours are retained. Not impressed with the colours of the new iPad mini
MasterControlProgram
macrumors 6502
Annoying, as I'd just advised my aunt to wait for the new model. It's got to last her at least 5 years so something already 2 years old with only 4GB of RAM isn't going to hold up well.
It's abandoning the iPad at this point. No update in more than two years... That's never been seen since 2017..
350$ is outrageously expensive for an A14 chip in 2024... even for a base model. I won't have it unless they knock at least a hundred off..
I need to upgrade mine, I'm not sure I want a mini, and I won't fork out 600$ for an Air.
I'm not sold to Apple Intelligence but will definitely not buy something now that won't be able to support it.
Seems to be a huge gap in the lineup at the moment...
A minor upgrade similar to the Mini would have been welcome. And if Mini was indeed a pocket sized version of the Air, they should have put an M2 in it and kept the A17 Pro for this base iPad 11th.... That would have made much more sense.
350$ is outrageously expensive for an A14 chip in 2024... even for a base model. I won't have it unless they knock at least a hundred off..
I need to upgrade mine, I'm not sure I want a mini, and I won't fork out 600$ for an Air.
I'm not sold to Apple Intelligence but will definitely not buy something now that won't be able to support it.
Seems to be a huge gap in the lineup at the moment...
A minor upgrade similar to the Mini would have been welcome. And if Mini was indeed a pocket sized version of the Air, they should have put an M2 in it and kept the A17 Pro for this base iPad 11th.... That would have made much more sense.
I can see them waiting on launching an iPad a17, until they have scaled up production of the a17 - and probably more importantly the major holidays are over (including Chinese new year), so demand for the iPhone 16 smooths out.
And no doubt they probably want to put their own modem in the regular iPad too.
Why not go one further and have just “iPad”, where:
- on the horizontal you have small, medium, and large sizes
- on the vertical you have budget/basic at the bottom and then leading all the way up to the “pro” grade models at the top.
Totally agree with you here.
Whereas I don't see it as 'abandoning' I think the base level iPad doesn't get as much love as the more expensive offerings. Its always been the iPad thats 'good enough' and nothing special in the lineup.
I was surprised the mini 'only' got the A17pro as the iPhones have A18 and A18 pro and seeing as they don't upgrade the iPads yearly why put in a year old chip in the Mini that seems to be the 'bare minimum' to run Apple Intelligence. The mini is surely worth more than 'the bare minimum' specs.
The base iPad seemed far more suitable for the A17 right now, with the more expensive mini deserving the A18.
I really wanted the Mini to get an M chip but seems it wasn't to be.
As much as ive loved my mini for the last 4 years, it's time for an upgrade and I want things that the Mini seems no longer able to provide - and thats fine. The mini still has a great USP but I kind of wished that they introduced the iPad Pro in 3 different sizes (one being the mini form factor). The mini as it stands is to all intents and purposes a 'mini air' but saddling it with a year old A17 instead of at least the same chip the Air has seems a misstep.
Id be really interested to know how mini buyers see their iPad. I would certainly guess that most buy it for the form factor over the price... as larger iPads are available for less money after all - so paying a little more for a mini pro would be acceptable for many.
WB2Colorado
macrumors 6502
That's actually a good point. It may launch along with a new SE in the spring with Apple's 5G modem
The A17 is last year chip. It's in the leftover parts bin at this point.
The iPhone 16 uses the A18. I think you got confused there.
As to their own modem, I suspect the majority of iPad sales are actually WiFi only. (Not sure if there are public stats on that?). So not that much need for the in-house chip to curb the licensing fees paid to Qualcomm. It will make more of a difference in future iPhones or the SE version in H12025
Apple’s iPad release schedule is so erratic and unpredictable, I don’t understand the reasoning behind it. Why not just update them all at one event? Mini, entry-level, Pro, Air, etc….Amazon updated all their Kindles yesterday, no big deal. That’s what normal companies do but Apple isn’t normal company. The iPad product line needs a massive overhaul, too. Too many pointless differentiations between them.
Perhaps because there's nothing that's groundbreaking with the products. Those products typically receive incremental updates and that's what happens when you offer products to every type of buyer. So now the unpredictability is the best selling point.
Actually for the base model it's been nicely consistent for the past 7 years. Yearly update schedule, occasionally 18 months. Either in March with the Pro releases or Sept/Oct with or just after the iPhones
They just dropped the ball now...
the7th1
macrumors member
These iPads are a disgrace to the Apple brand. A halfhearted solution, probably launched because a middle manager made a spreadsheet decision...
Same as the year before this and the year before that and the year before that, etc.
We need a new visionary at Apple!
Im really intrigued by these suggestions which happen a lot.
What, do you think, should be done with the iPad or the iPhone?
They reached peak design, they are heading slowly to lighter, thinner, faster.... better cameras, faster processors, longer batteries, thinner designs.... but it's still recognisably an iPad and will continue to be so for a fair while longer.
But what next? What do we realistically expect to change year on year? The times of rapid change and development for these devices is over.
All you can expect is tweaks here and there. Do you want a triangular shaped iPad?
Sure, at some point in the future tech will leap forward again and we will get folding/rolling/virtual displays perhaps.
.... but to suggest people at Apple arent visionaries because in 2024 you dont have your sci fi iPad and iPhone is just a touch unrealistic.
Look and compare what others are doing with their tablets, ecosystems, hardware specifications and come to the conclusion that apple is way behind on every front.
I find it very intriguing that you can come up with that question to me 😂
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Absolutely
The models, all across the company, designed specifically to drive upsells has been one of the most toxic things Tim has done
They no longer try to make the best product for the customer that they can at given price points .. and instead resort to purposely making choices to keep people having to "tier up" and spend more
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I must have missed Samsung's Triangular shaped tablet, or their ground breaking holographic display then.
Thats the joy of competition. Plenty else to buy if you feel their pace of technical innovation outstrips Apple's.