iPad iPad too expensive now: will you still buy?

[sparksd]

The iPad is such a limited device if you are doing anything more than content consumption. Yes you can use some cloud services.. until they disappear, steal your data, or become impossibly expensive themselves.

When the USB C iPad came out, I was super hyped by all the new possibilities that could come. And this was echoed and amplified by Apple's marketing campaign (remember What's a computer?) and (paid) YouTubers. It turned out that apple will never make the iPad a computer because you might then spend less money.

Screw you apple, I'll never buy your overpriced iPad!

I really disagree. I do a significant amount of RAW image and 4K video processing on my iPad. It's become my go-to mobile device.

 

[snipr125]

We are a small portion of the population. Most here are tech enthusiasts. We shall see when Apple announces its next quarterly results how iPad has fared with the price hike. I’m sure the majority of the population don’t see a tablet as an essential device.

On the non techie side, children are not a small portion of the population, and they are massive iPad users. My nephew and niece are obsessed with their ipads (not necessarily a good thing of course), streaming cartoons, utube playing games etc and they dont give 2 hoots about laptops, all they care about is their ipads.

 

[Sensamic]

On the non techie side, children are not a small portion of the population, and they are massive iPad users. My nephew and niece are obsessed with their ipads (not necessarily a good thing of course), streaming cartoons, utube playing games etc and they dont give 2 hoots about laptops, all they care about is their ipads.

Children have no income. Parents will ultimately decide if the pay +500$ for their kids to watch shows, or if it's not really worth it and the same can be done with their phones.

 

[vi2867]

I have purchased every model in the past 3 years, and after 3 months or so, I sell it, because I stop using it. Having to carry an iPhone and iPad just does not make sense to me.

 

[zenmacx]

Children have no income. Parents will ultimately decide if the pay +500$ for their kids to watch shows, or if it's not really worth it and the same can be done with their phones.

Apple's clever marketing plan includes children and parents as one segment of their target market.

It's not unusual for parents to give their child an iPad to keep them amused or as a baby sitter, long before they need or can operate a phone.

With all the bright colored cutesy apps designed specifically to draw in the easily entertained, and children of all ages, Apple has built an empire off the backs of parents.

 

[JPack]

The iPad has become essential. For budget minded people, yes the iPad might be a luxury.

But for middle income families, the iPad is almost essential. Screen time isn't going anywhere, and most people simply prefer a larger display for everyday tasks at home.

For children, their parents know iPads are part of modern literacy. No parent wants their child falling behind or feeling out of touch with tech they'll inevitably need to use.

 

[Abazigal]

Perhaps we iPad enthusiasts disagree with the OP's hypothesis that the iPad is redundant and in trouble.

If we go by this metric, then the majority of the Mac lineup has no reason to be around by virtue of me not using them. Yet I see no lack of people championing for a Mac Pro they will likely never use themselves, even though its market share is a niche of a niche.

 

[Abydos]

maybe, maybe not. I'm contemplating a MacBook Air (finances, browsing, and connection to my RAID) and an iPad mini (mostly as a book reader) but if the trend in phone sizes continues then the iPhone will become the defacto book reader (the size difference is not that significant).

 

[Und Eser]

Same chip as a phone but bigger screen gives it additionally convenient functionality for anyone who only owns those two devices. Owning a Mac tends to make the iPad fairly redundant though, IME.

 

[Zwhaler]

I really tried to “replace” a laptop with the iPad Pro M4 with Magic Keyboard. It couldn’t. I don’t particularly miss the iPad either. My Z Fold was way more useful and practical than the iPad was, for me at least. This is why I’m so excited about foldables. They replace a laptop some of the time, and greatly enhance a phone’s web-application and productivity capabilities. I’m looking forward to Apple’s gen 2.

 

[Zwhaler]

maybe, maybe not. I'm contemplating a MacBook Air (finances, browsing, and connection to my RAID) and an iPad mini (mostly as a book reader) but if the trend in phone sizes continues then the iPhone will become the defacto book reader (the size difference is not that significant).

Sounds like the iPhone Fold would be a perfect book reader. It’ll be crazy expensive compared to an air and a mini though.

 

[Zwhaler]

I had a good think about my iPad about a year ago and decided to just sell the damn thing and be done with it. Actually I think I'm done with all "portable" computing other than my phone. It's totally redundant for me.

The problem I have with the iPad was that it was really so utterly compromised in every respect. If you wanted to type on it, that means carrying around a keyboard case which makes it rather lumpy and heavy thus destroying any advantage it had. If you want to write on it, the Apple pencil experience isn't even 10% of the way towards a £1 gel pen and some paper. The only other thing it was good for was media consumption but I don't do a lot of that. On top of that it's another thing that needs charging and looking after if I'm on holiday. What is left is a device which isn't that useful, at least to me so it went

Now the prices have gone up even more, the value proposition is less so I can't see myself buying another tablet form factor device in the future.

Totally agree. I really tried to make the iPad Pro M4 plus Magic Keyboard my laptop replacement and it just couldn’t. The iPad sort of just ended up revealing itself as that “third device” that sits between a smartphone and a laptop just like Steve described.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

At $1699 CAD for an 11” Pro, I’m out. I will enjoy my M4 till it literally melts in my hands. They are asking way too much given it’s just a tablet and I have no interest in subscribing to everything. Most apps these days don’t even let you past the 3-7 day free trial, don’t worry you can cancel any time screen. Hard pass on this future.

Dead internet, AI slop, brain rot, there isn’t much appeal to technology for me anymore. It’s no longer about empowerment, it’s about tracking and coercion. Telemetry to feed a future where I own nothing, am not happy and a criminal.

I would love to open an animal sanctuary. If I was younger and more financially set up, I’d go back to school and become a vet. My life as a UI-UX designer feels like it was a colossal waste of time.

 

[StoneJack]

If your only iPadOS experience is with the iPads in your signature line then I could see why you think that.

My 11" iPad Pro with Face ID is currently on a stand behind one of my favorite keyboards and is extending its screen to my 27" 4K monitor and I have multiple windows open. Later, I'll use it as an iPad on the sofa.

i have iPad Pro 13 inch M2 with Apple Keyboard and Apple Pen and Mini 7 gen with Apple USB C pen. Just did not update the signature. So it is not hardware that's problematic. iPad OS is more limited then MacOS was in 1996.

 

[NeonNights]

I don't have any interest in any iPad and the price increase further cements that.

I still recall my iPad-as-a-laptop experience. The M1 12.9 iPad Pro was my first iPad and I was so naive and unfamiliar with how bad iPadOS was/is. I added a Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case and realized the whole thing weighed half a pound more than my 13.3" M1 MacBook Air! Then it just got worse as I tried to use iPadOS as a MacBook.

It works fine if most of your workflow is in the cloud, but the lack of a true file manager greatly hampers iPadOS. I learned that the hard way and it ultimately cost more to turn my M1 iPad Pro into a Macbook (albeit a lesser Macbook). I am happy for others that can get by with an iPad, but I still shudder at the memory of my first (and last) iPad Pro. And to think I went all out with that iPad Pro. Complete waste of money for me back then. At least it did well displaying sheet music, lol.

 

[leifp]

While I intend to become more of a desktop hermit (I’ll be replacing my MBPro with a Mac Studio soon) I use my iPad extensively and particularly when I travel. If Apple releases the rumoured mini soon (OLED, etc) I will replace my 11” iPP with one. A reduction, absolutely but still an iPad…

 

[krell100]

I'll just hold on to my current iPad until it's dead, rather than update every 3-4 years.

I think sales will decline, but with the price hikes the profit on them probably won't change much.

 

[Ctrlos]

The iPad is such a limited device if you are doing anything more than content consumption. Yes you can use some cloud services.. until they disappear, steal your data, or become impossibly expensive themselves.

When the USB C iPad came out, I was super hyped by all the new possibilities that could come. And this was echoed and amplified by Apple's marketing campaign (remember What's a computer?) and (paid) YouTubers. It turned out that apple will never make the iPad a computer because you might then spend less money.

Screw you apple, I'll never buy your overpriced iPad!

I mean off the top of my head I use my work iPad Pro for:

- Filming and editing experiments
- LiDAR scanning interior plans
- LiDAR scanning exterior features
- Processing Bambu 3D Prints
- Producing engineering drawings and CAD files in Shapr
- Writing my blog
- Complex image editing in Pixelmator
- Standard boring office stuff (email etc)
- Gaming on par with a PS4
- Recording and publishing a Podcast
- Recording and editing video tutorials
- Writing up complex user guides
- Importing and editing drone footage in the field.

Its true I can do most of this on a Mac, but the cost of a 4K video camera, LiDAR scanner and so on on top of this would be in excess of $5000.

 

[Ken91]

So after all of Apples price hikes, it seems the iPad is now in a rare place, since it's not an essential device for most people. Laptop or computer? Yeah, that's essential, so people will keep buying it. Phone? That's essential too.

But a tablet? For most people it's a redundant device, so what will happen now? Will sales decline significantly? It's really expensive now to buy, say, an iPad Ai, and even the basic iPad starts at an excessive price now.

I bought the base model a couple of years ago. I barely ever use it and I’m thinking of selling it. It’s a non-essential, luxury device that no one - even, I think, Apple themselves - can figure out what the point of it is. It’s good - maybe - for reading ePapers and emagazines but even for that I always just resort to my iPhone as it’s always in my pocket or nearby and it’s easier to read stuff with one hand. Which brings me to the ergonomics of it: it’s difficult and tiring to hold for long periods of time so the iPhone always wins out. Maybe it’s good for artists? But I’ve never seen an artist or graphic designer use it in the real world. If the iPhone ultra takes off, the iPad’s days are numbered.

 

[snipr125]

We are a small portion of the population. Most here are tech enthusiasts. We shall see when Apple announces its next quarterly results how iPad has fared with the price hike. I’m sure the majority of the population don’t see a tablet as an essential device.

Ultimately for Apple its all about money and profit, so the iPhone and iPad will always take priority for Apples business model. We can have discussions about whether the iPad is redundant, Macs are better etc but Apple will always prioritise iOS devices because they are locked to the App Store which makes Apple tens of billions of £$€ each year, as well as being part of a closed operating system that they can fully control.

By coincidence MR just released this article https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/07/apple-squeeze-more-revenue-from-app-store/. They want to push for more income from the App Store, well they wont get that from Macs unless they lock Mac OS to the App Store!

 

[brilliantthings]

I just updated to an M1 iPad Pro 11". They're not that expensive when you do it that way.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I bought the base model a couple of years ago. I barely ever use it and I’m thinking of selling it. It’s a non-essential, luxury device that no one - even, I think, Apple themselves - can figure out what the point of it is.

As several posts in this thread testify many people find a great deal of use for it, including replacing a laptop.

As @Apple_Robert said there is no right answer here, only different opinions and experience. People are all different.

Two things I would say from my own experience:-
1. It takes some effort to learn to get the most out of an iPad. Like many things, effort in = reward out.
2. My own usage was transformed by adding the Magic Keyboard. iPadOS 26 was another leap forward.

 

[Fr. Guido Sarducci]

As several posts in this thread testify many people find a great deal of use for it, including replacing a laptop.

As @Apple_Robert said there is no right answer here, only different opinions and experience. People are all different.

Two things I would say from my own experience:-
1. It takes some effort to learn to get the most out of an iPad. Like many things, effort in = reward out.
2. My own usage was transformed by adding the Magic Keyboard. iPadOS 26 was another leap forward.

Spot on, well said and bravo! I don’t use the Magic Keyboard, however, simply because I haven’t felt the need. I have my iPad in a Zugu case and its been working great for wherever I want to be - desk, recliner, airplane, hotel. Only downside is the additional weight, but otherwise its great.

 

[Fraserpatty]

We use the kindle app to read books and magazines from the library and Kindle unlimited. We have a gen 9 & 10 which is plenty for reading and YouTube videos. Can’t really justify upgrading for processing speed. Apple care will take care of any issues.

I don’t use the Kindle app, but I will say that I think the iPad is what will most suffer from the increased prices. Many will just get a fire tablet unless they are totally locked in the Apple ecosystem. It is my hope that my M2 iPad Pro will last for another three years.

 

[NeonNights]

I mean off the top of my head I use my work iPad Pro for:

- Filming and editing experiments
- LiDAR scanning interior plans
- LiDAR scanning exterior features
- Processing Bambu 3D Prints
- Producing engineering drawings and CAD files in Shapr
- Writing my blog
- Complex image editing in Pixelmator
- Standard boring office stuff (email etc)
- Gaming on par with a PS4
- Recording and publishing a Podcast
- Recording and editing video tutorials
- Writing up complex user guides
- Importing and editing drone footage in the field.

Its true I can do most of this on a Mac, but the cost of a 4K video camera, LiDAR scanner and so on on top of this would be in excess of $5000.

I forgot about the LiDAR sensor. I believe the iPhone Pro line still has this feature. I remember helping my daughter scan a squirrel statue with my iPhone 12 Pro Max to 3D print a replica. Memories 🙂