I've not looked at the iPad lineup for many years but what a terrible and totally unfocused lineup it is. How do you even justify the existence of the iPad Air when you have a regular iPad? The iPad Pro is there to price gouge naive buyers. Just what is the point of the iPad Mini and all the bizarre and seemingly random screen sizes on offer? It feels like Apple has regressed 30 years with this product line up and every team gets their way and has their product in the marketplace. No wonder buyers are thoroughly confused.
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iPad iPad lineup bingo
- Thread starter Corefile
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I don’t find this particularly confusing. I pick the screen size and quality that I want and go from there.
I find their lineup much more streamlined than in years past.
If you just want a basic iPad, you get the $350 iPad. It’s the best iPad for most users who just want to do iPad things. You also have the option to get a keyboard and pencil for it.
If you want some extra features, extra power, extra storage, or a larger screen size, there’s the iPad Air. You can choose between 11” and 13”. There’s also a Magic Keyboard and pencils for it as well.
If you want a high-end iPad, you have the iPad Pro. You get the top of the line display, top of the line power, top of the line design, and newest features. You also get compatibility with the newest Magic Keyboard and pencil.
They now have an iPad at pretty much every price point from $350 - $1,200. I see it as no different than how car manufacturers build and price their line up with different models or trims being targeted towards different market segments.
Think about Tesla: they have the Model 3 which is their version of a basic Tesla that is at the most affordable price. You can upgrade the range and performance if you want. If you want more space, you can go with a Model Y. If you want more power, you can go with either a Model S or a Model X.
It’s a tried and true sales strategy. It’s also why they are now offering 4 new iPhones every year as opposed to 1 or 2.
If you just want a basic iPad, you get the $350 iPad. It’s the best iPad for most users who just want to do iPad things. You also have the option to get a keyboard and pencil for it.
If you want some extra features, extra power, extra storage, or a larger screen size, there’s the iPad Air. You can choose between 11” and 13”. There’s also a Magic Keyboard and pencils for it as well.
If you want a high-end iPad, you have the iPad Pro. You get the top of the line display, top of the line power, top of the line design, and newest features. You also get compatibility with the newest Magic Keyboard and pencil.
They now have an iPad at pretty much every price point from $350 - $1,200. I see it as no different than how car manufacturers build and price their line up with different models or trims being targeted towards different market segments.
Think about Tesla: they have the Model 3 which is their version of a basic Tesla that is at the most affordable price. You can upgrade the range and performance if you want. If you want more space, you can go with a Model Y. If you want more power, you can go with either a Model S or a Model X.
It’s a tried and true sales strategy. It’s also why they are now offering 4 new iPhones every year as opposed to 1 or 2.
Being confused and upset by a line of tablets pretty clearly sized and specced according to price is a very strange thing to come along and admit to the world.
Oh, wait. It's another iPad bashing event. My bad.
"Yes what a terrible machine! What's a computer anyway? Terminal! File system! Arghhhhh! You can do everything better on a macbook air for a quarter of the price! Gnash gnash boom! Apple is doomed!"
Oh, wait. It's another iPad bashing event. My bad.
"Yes what a terrible machine! What's a computer anyway? Terminal! File system! Arghhhhh! You can do everything better on a macbook air for a quarter of the price! Gnash gnash boom! Apple is doomed!"
iPad Mini - for people who want a small premium tablet, something that no longer exists in Android land, where the small tabs are cheap and often old (the S6 Lite keeps getting SOC changes but the core hardware dates back to 2020 and was midrange even then).
iPad - the volume seller for most people who just want a basic tablet.
iPad Air - for people who want better Pencil support, Magic Keyboard support, maybe a 13" screen, and who don't want to pay Pro prices or need all those features.
iPad Pro - people who want a serious, feature-rich tablet and the accessories that surround it.
The lineup for 2022 and 2023 could have been called confusing, but right now it's pretty straightforward. Apple is not a small company on the verge of bankruptcy, and four iPad models (with some screen size variations) is not some insane gauntlet for people to run when purchasing.
I think this is the best iPad lineup ever.
If you want a basic iPad for basic tasks for a killer price, iPad 10th gen (I think of this as iPad SE). iPad mini is there if you want something small portable and Moleskin sized. iPad Air is for students and prosumers that use it a little more intensely than a basic iPad but don’t need all the bells and whistles, and/or they want a 13” size. Finally, iPad Pro is for those that need the most power and/or want the best display possible.
Use the https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/ page to see what the actual differences are between models of the same size. The differences between the regular/Air/Pro are meaningful. Pricing is, well, Apple.
Regular: Low-priced model if you don’t want to or can’t spend much.
Air: Better screen, faster chip (likely to receiver longer support), supports more advanced peripherals (pencil, keyboard), higher storage tiers, thinner and lighter, large-size option
Pro: Flagship with all the bells and whistles, even thinner and lighter
Mini: Portable/mobile size (fits in a jacket pocket, can be held one-handed for longer periods), Air-level display. Separate from the regular/Air/Pro lineup due to smaller market share and missing smart connector (otherwise it could arguably be part of the Air line).
Screen sizes/aspect ratios:
13”: optimized for landscape/laptop use, full-page PDF (portrait) and drawing canvas use
11”, 8”: optimized for landscape media consumption (16:9 video) and portrait reading/note taking
I don’t know what’s up with the 0.1” inch differences lately, either Apple thinks it’s a good upsell, or there are actually technical considerations behind it.
To compare with the iPhone lineup:
iPad Pro = iPhone Pro (Max)
iPad Air = regular iPhone (Plus)
regular iPad = iPhone SE
iPad mini = iPhone mini (if it still existed)
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I think they will simplify their screen sizes across the line up of every screen (not only iPads) to *.0" rather than the traditional *.*"
I’m talking about the actual screen diagonals, not the official denominations. There are three different sizes around 11”:
10.86”: iPad Air 4-5 and M2, iPad 10
11.03”: iPad Pro 1-4th gen
11.13”: iPad Pro M4
Why these differences?
Note that the iPad Air M2 is designated as 11” although it is only 10.86”. If that weren’t the case, one could explain the change from 12.93” (iPad Pro 1-6th gen) to 13.03” (iPad M4) by the fact that Apple doesn’t want the official designation (13”) to overpromise on the diagonal, but the Air makes clear that they don’t care about that.
So the changes in the diagonal (or screen resolution) seem to be unrelated to the change of dropping the decimal part from the official designations.
Strangely though, the iPad 10 is still advertised as having a 10.9” screen, while the Air with exactly the same screen size is advertised as 11”.