iPad Pro Shipment Projections Slashed on Sluggish OLED Panel Demand

[sdm1985]

For me, it’s like the iPhone Mini, people weigh what you are getting ‘all in’ for the cost. i.e. I like the Mini and it would suit my needs but for £100 more, I will get a bigger screen and bigger/better battery, this is better value in the long-term - that is important to the majority of users.

If you want anything near the MacBook experience, you have to purchase the whole kit, making the cheapest model £100’s more expensive than a decent MacBook.

I have the M4 and really like it, but who is it actually aimed at? What is the target market, Pro iPad users (what even is that)? The screen is stunning, but then it just becomes a screen and yes, the OS has limitations, but they are improving (slowly).

It is very expensive.

 

[SoldOnApple]

I wish I got the M4 Pro. Then again, I hardly use the M2 Air I got. Maybe if I had the M4 I would be more motivated to use it...

 

[Rayansb]

iPadOS lol

 

[ersan191]

Hobbled OS for something that powerful.

 

[Hornby]

After 35 years as a Mac stalwart, I made the switch to 100% iPad (I have the 11” M4 and use it both on its own or with my Studio Display). I know I’m rare, but I find my needs are easily satisfied by it. Yes, there are a few things I miss from my Mac (sold my last Mac last week), but the upsides are worth it.

However, these are premium devices with high price tags so sure aren’t for everyone.

 

[Apleeseed84]

Maybe its because older models are still plenty powerful for what most people do with an iPad.

Are M1/M2 iPad Pro users going to notice a serious difference?

The weight is a massive difference, aside from being extremely thin, it’s literally a pound lighter when combined with the Magic Keyboard pro.

It still runs similarly though lol

 

[xpxp2002]

LOL

Everybody for the last 5 years: "Holding off on upgrading until OLED happens!!"

Reality: Nobody wants another Apple device that transitioned from an LCD that was great to one that's more expensive and introduces headache-inducing PWM flicker.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Might also be due to the fact they start at a grand.

 

[klasma]

The main reason is currently very limited iPadOs.

It’s also that the existing iPad Pros (and Airs) back to the 2018 models are still working perfectly fine. You really have to want the OLED screen. Which I personally do, but it’s probably not a priority at that price for many.

 

[Macintosh101]

After 35 years as a Mac stalwart, I made the switch to 100% iPad (I have the 11” M4 and use it both on its own or with my Studio Display). I know I’m rare, but I find my needs are easily satisfied by it. Yes, there are a few things I miss from my Mac (sold my last Mac last week), but the upsides are worth it.

However, these are premium devices with high price tags so sure aren’t for everyone.

I’m almost in the same boat - I use my iPad for 95% of everything I do, and my MacBook Pro for very limited tasks I can’t do on my iPad. I agree about the upsides. Incidentally, I m using the nano texture display variant which I’ve found has enhanced and increased my use of the iPad significantly (as I can use it / take it anywhere without having to deal with glare or reflections). It really is the best Appel device I’ve owned, and I’ve owned *a lot* of apple products.

 

[lowkey]

The price is getting out of hand here in Australia IMO. $2,579 for the 13” IPP with a pencil and folio case.

If my M2 13” IPP died tomorrow, I’d buy the 13” Air instead and save $1,000.

 

[klasma]

They could have an hybrid software tweak where a digital bezel with a dead zone appears when the iPad is not docked to a keyboard. Because I agree that the bezels are huge

I don’t think they can make them much smaller without introducing a notch, or making them asymmetrical again. (I would only be fine with the latter.)

 

[kiranmk2]

Are we finally reaching the pricing levels where demand falls off a cliff?

The 11" saw a 25% price bump and the 12.9" saw an 18% price bump for the entry level models - not surprising that there are fewer buyers for essentially the same iPad as before with a nicer screen and updated chip. Perhaps if Apple Intelligence performs noticeably better on the M4 chip it could drive demand...

 

[McWetty]

M1 iPad Pro user here… no reason to upgrade. That $1k will be used elsewhere unless they unleash iPad os.

 

[Cervisia]

Because they raised prices for a feature few people asked for. For anyone not caring about the tandem oled, 300 dollars is a mad price for faceid (storage upgrade included).

 

[TheAppleGuySL]

Shrink those ugly bezels for starters.

There's a lot of issues with the iPad, but bezels aren't one of them. In fact, having that sized bezels makes sure there aren't any or minimal accidental interactions with the screen.

 

[James Godfrey]

The main issue with the iPad is the OS, pure and simple, the hardware is brilliant.

All of Apple’s product lines have an OS built from the ground up for the device it is running on… Watch OS, iOS, tvOS, MacOS…. But the iPad has always piggy backed off of the iPhone software.

But…. I can 100% see why Apple is not going to do anything but just bring small feature upgrades to iPadOS for a good while:-

•They have a massive market share (1/3rd roughly).
•They don’t want to cannibalise Mac sales.

The iPad is one of those products where depending on how you look at it, it’s either a fantastic device or a poor device.
If you’re looking at it as a Mac replacement, it’s extremely poor!

If you looking at it as a complimentary device, really great!

It comes down to how Apple marketed it not so long ago ‘your next computer is not a computer’ which ultimately encouraged reviewers to start asking the question ‘can an iPad replace your Mac?’. I think that was the biggest mistake Apple made with this device, but it gave them reason to hike the prices up and provide expensive accessories to boot.

Question is, did they market it this way because they believed it could replace your Mac? Or did they just want people to think that it could?

Personally I think it was the latter in order to boost sales at the time, but ultimately, they haven’t delivered on that marketing campaign to date.

This now leaves the iPad in precarious position in the market; A great selling tablet which continues to not quite be that replacement device everyone is looking for. Which is fantastic for Apple because they either will sell you a Mac instead or both an iPad and a Mac.

But ultimately until they lose a huge chunk of market share and/or the Mac will be in a position to not be cannibalised, they will not change the current mundane iPad path.

Who knows we may see some major improvements to the iPad once the Mac possibly gets a touch screen/Face ID etc. but until that time, we are in a position of either the iPad can work for you or it can’t and that is ultimately your decision to make, and judging by this report people are either quite content with the iPad that they have or they just don’t see a need for it in their daily lives - Do Apple care? No, as they still are maintaining market share regardless.

 

[klasma]

I’m confused why he anticipates a better reception for OLED Macbooks than the iPads. Laptops aren’t really good form factors for media consumption

OLED contrast is great for text. It’s mini-LED that’s only beneficial for media consumption.

 

[jo-1]

always 'interesting' to read the reactions here.

I bought the new iPad PRO 2024 11.1" with 2 TB and I am happy as can be but I came from the 2018 iPP 11" - thus a six year usage before I felt any need to upgrade to a new model.

Analysts might think that the demand will be always constant but in reality the 2018 iPP 1 TB that I still have in use is capable of doing everything I need to do with it.

Yet my new iPP 2024 offers on top of my very good 2018 iPP:

• + 1 TB storage to 2 TB
• 5G instead of 4G
• Much better display with ultra high contrast and sharp text and brighter view
• lighter
• fresh new battery
• dramatically improved CPU performance
• enormously improved GPU performance
• night and day improvement on the NPU
• faster USB-C speed
• faster charging
• more coprocessor in the SoC
• middle video call front camera
• 16 GB instead of 6 GB RAM ( the 1 TB got more the time it was released )

All in all a very nice upgrade of a similar capable six year old device which is still getting all updates and works flawless for me.
But only with these six years distance and these upgrades it makes sense for me to get the new one - it might take another 6 .. 8 years until the next game changing upgrade makes sense for me.

Thus the demand for me is zero for the upcoming years and probably for many others that bought an intermediate version too. The 2018 iPP had been a similar ground breaking upgrade back then as the 2024 model is now - some might disagree but for me there was not the slightest temptation to buy any intermediate version - simply because the 2018 model was fine as it is - close to perfection. Battery is still 89 % acc. to Apple test results recently.

What does that mean? Well - in one word: market-saturation. Nothing more nothing less. Tablets last a lot longer than lap tops for me since Apple builds them impressively good. There had been hardly any competition to the 2018 model ever since and that's a good thing for users. People who buy a contemporary iPP will have no need to upgrade for years to come.

Is the 2024 version perfect? No it's lacking:

• more storage - 4 or 8 TB would be needed for me
• slimmer and lighter is always good
• more battery life - while getting slimmer and lighter - I guess this will take many years until we'll see that

Other than that the iPad Pro 2024 is a gorgeous performer and with the upcoming AI it will just improve as the former 2018 model did over the years - all updates made this device just better.

People claiming about the pricing don't understand that the prices must be split over the years of using it - then the price is very low and you can always try to deduct these devices at your tax declaration as a business tool.


Just my 2 CT

 

[8707908]

This actually is kind of a tragedy for me.

I bought the M2 early last year and my ONLY complaint is the blooming effect…which actually is not a small complaint.

But it’s not enough of a problem to get me to want to upgrade.

 

[ducknalddon]

Might also be due to the fact they start at a grand.

Yeah, I couldn't justify that price for a device that doesn't even support multiple users.

 

[2540497]

Consumers are sick of forking out for tech. Huge price hike.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The price is getting out of hand here in Australia IMO. $2,579 for the 13” IPP with a pencil and folio case.

Holy smokes

I would never buy that

Never ... absolutely never

 

[DesignTime]

Just buy a MacBook Air with a really OS for almost half the price.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Perhaps if Apple Intelligence performs noticeably better on the M4 chip it could drive demand...

"here's what I found for you on the web"
😂