iPad Jason Snell and John Gruber on the confusing iPad lineup

[Rogifan]

Jason’s written about this before. But he’s not wrong. When product decisions are based around hitting a broad range of price points you get confusing lineups.

The price of Apple’s old-products strategy

It’s an entirely innocuous announcement that says so much. Tuesday’s reveal of a new Apple Pencil that’s got a USB-C port and lacks numerous features of both the first- and second…

sixcolors.com

I think Apple’s strategy should be good, better, best not a product to hit every price point. Maybe they take a margin hit on the low end. So what. It would be worth it to introduce simplicity and less confusion in their product lines.

This is what John Gruber thinks Apple should do next year:

There’s a New Apple Pencil With a USB-C Port, and My Thoughts Turn to the Complexity of the Overall iPad Lineup

The point should be to make the question “*Which iPad should I buy?*” as easy to answer as possible.

daringfireball.net

• Drop the old 9th-gen iPad from the lineup. That iPad is so old it still has a home button.
• Lower the price of the 10th-gen iPad by $100. (And maybe give it a speed bump from the A14 to A15 chip? But it’s probably wishful thinking to hope for a price cut and a newer chip.)
• Update the iPad Air (and Mini?) models to be more like today’s iPad Pros, with Face ID instead of Touch ID.1
• Major revision of the iPad Pros, which haven’t seen a major form factor change since 2018. Put more pro in the iPad Pros, just like Apple has done with the iPhone 15 Pro models.
• Update the Magic Keyboard, ideally in a way that continues to support both iPad Airs and 11-inch iPad Pros. The Magic Keyboard is a great idea, and I think a popular one. But it ought to be better — thinner, lighter, and more durable. (The white ones especially age quickly. Keep your eyes out for them in the wild, in cafes and airports — they often look quite grungy. Compare and contrast with MacBooks, which often look great even after years of daily use.) Mark Gurman has reported that just such a revision to the Magic Keyboard is in the works.

 

[Shirasaki]

Just go back to Steve Jobs era product lineup. Best every year, last year model delegate to lower end, rinse and repeat. Simple, clean and no confusion whatsoever. Same can happen for Mac too, but with longer intervals in between.

Everything else should follow. No more “pro” this “pro” that. (How can consumer electronics dare carry “pro” moniker! /s) Make everything simple. Apple has enough generation that just by lining up existing products, they can easily cover all price points they want.

 

[Rogifan]

Just go back to Steve Jobs era product lineup. Best every year, last year model delegate to lower end, rinse and repeat. Simple, clean and no confusion whatsoever. Same can happen for Mac too, but with longer intervals in between.

Everything else should follow. No more “pro” this “pro” that. (How can consumer electronics dare carry “pro” moniker! /s) Make everything simple. Apple has enough generation that just by lining up existing products, they can easily cover all price points they want.

I still think they need good (cheapest), better (the one for most consumers) and best (for power users and those who can afford the top of the line). ‘Good’ could be last years model at a reduced price or maybe it’s only updated every 2 years. ‘Better’ and ‘best’ could be updated every year.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

I think they’re asking too much for Apple (or any tech company for that matter) to reduce their product range and forgo extra money just because a tech blogger thinks people might be confused by 5 different iPads.

 

[thadoggfather]

it's such a horribly managed product line, appalling really for the stature and amount of resources available for a company like Apple

 

[madeirabhoy]

some of the apple lineup recently reminds me of the old old days in the mid 90s when there would always be at least two machines where one was better in some ways but the other was better than others and you couldnt decide whether to get a quadra or an LC or a performa

 

[Digitalguy]

Apple's product line is one of the clearest in the market. The differences are very clearly exaplained in their website (contrary to some competitors). Offering more price points makes them more money, suits more people and just pisses off a few people on forums etc. Part of them are just "minimalists", however I have been looking closer to their comments over the past couple of years, and what they mainly want in their "simplification" is "the same or better for less money"
Examples:
- drop the 11" pro and gives us an iPad air with promotion, face id and 128GB storage, let the pro be only the 12.9
(Sure! Basically drop the price of the 11" by $200...)
- drop the iPad 9 and lower the price of the 10 at that of the 9 or little more. (Again want the same for cheaper....)
- the new pencil makes no sense just give the 1st gen with usb c and sell it for $79. (Sure, and leave $20 on the table...)

Apple's line is clear, it's not the best in terms of value for money, but it's the best for Apple's bottom line (= their profits, not consumers' pockets), including in the long term, and that's what matters for a business

 

[madeirabhoy]

Apple's product line is one of the clearest in the market. The differences are very clearly exaplained in their website (contrary to some competitors). Offering more price points makes them more money, suits more people and just pisses off a few people on forums etc. Part of them are just "minimalists", however I have been looking closer to their comments over the past couple of years, and what they mainly want in their "simplification" is "the same or better for less money"
Examples:
- drop the 11" pro and gives us an iPad air with promotion, face id and 128GB storage, let the pro be only the 12.9
(Sure! Basically drop the price of the 11" by $200...)
- drop the iPad 9 and lower the price of the 10 at that of the 9 or little more. (Again want the same for cheaper....)
- the new pencil makes no sense just give the 1st gen with usb c and sell it for $79. (Sure, and leave $20 on the table...)

Apple's line is clear, it's not the best in terms of value for money, but it's the best for Apple's bottom line (= their profits, not consumers' pockets), including in the long term, and that's what matters for a business

it could be clearer. the discussions about the 10th gen ipad and lots of people buying the 9th because it was better value. the present discussions about the pens. whether to buy a 13'' macbook pro or 13'' macbook air. top specced mini v studio. the only imac being less powerful than everything else.

every time you introduce situations like that you lose sales because people like myself look at two different options and dither and often delay the decision simply because we dont want to buy the wrong one and regret it.

i took a notion to buying a macbook, wandered in and bought a macbook air as it was the only thing Worten had. If they'd had the full range i could see me spending half an hour pondering air v pro and walking away and maybe by the week after having talked myself out of getting one.

 

[Ludatyk]

every time you introduce situations like that you lose sales because people like myself look at two different options and dither and often delay the decision simply because we dont want to buy the wrong one and regret it.

i took a notion to buying a macbook, wandered in and bought a macbook air as it was the only thing Worten had. If they'd had the full range i could see me spending half an hour pondering air v pro and walking away and maybe by the week after having talked myself out of getting one.

Lose sales? But you end up buying a MBA... so I don't see how that's the case, I think your issue is with the research invested. But that's part of the buying process. Granted, we all wish things would be much simpler.. but nowadays people have certain things they need in a device.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Just go back to Steve Jobs era product lineup.

you mean the same Steve Jobs that had four different 13 inch notebook lines going at the same time that all cannibalized each other?
The 13 inch white plastic MacBook, the 13 inch aluminum MacBook, the 13 inch MacBook Air and 13 inch MacBook Pro all were products in Apple’s late 2000s notebook lineup.
And the 13 inch pro wasn’t even the most expensive, the most expensive was actually the Air.

 

[paulmeyers42]

Lose sales? But you end up buying a MBA...

This, exactly. Apple is providing a product for every price point, to avoid pricing anyone out of the market. Market segmentation 101.

The iPad market must be extremely price sensitive, however, to explain the variety of products, otherwise there’s no way Apple would continue to do this.

Which, intuitively makes sense - the iPad is a secondary device for most people - people will spend less money for a secondary device than a primary device - however a secondary device for a higher income user or “pro” is different (I.e. “iPad air”) than a lower income or “casual user” or “parent” (I.e. iPad 10th).

The segment where money is no object or simply wants the best has a product just for them, the iPad Pros. They’re buying a “feeling” more than utility. And artists, who make money from it, pay top dollar for the 12.9” because it’s a revenue generating business expense.

That leaves schools for the iPad 9th gen, who are the most price sensitive segment and have completely different requirements. They could call it the “ePad” at this point, just to make tech pundits happy, but it would lose the iPad brand equity.

 

[madeirabhoy]

Lose sales? But you end up buying a MBA... so I don't see how that's the case, I think your issue is with the research invested. But that's part of the buying process. Granted, we all wish things would be much simpler.. but nowadays people have certain things they need in a device.

i bought an MBA because the guy in Worten first of all didnt think he had anything in stock and then went to the stockroom and came back with an MBA. If he'd came back with a MBPro id have bought that. their lack of stock made my choice simple, but if there wasnt a lack of stock id be looking at two different similar options both with pros and cons and id likely have left without purchasing. I had already been weighing up the two for a while and kept putting off buying.

In any form of sales, and i say this as a recently ex salesman, the worst thing you can do is leave people confused about whether to buy A or B with no clear answer as to whats better, as they might not buy any.

 

[Cunir]

They dont really need ipads plus ipad airs. Just do away with the ipads and rename the 'ipad airs' as ipads

 

[Ludatyk]

The iPad market must be extremely price sensitive, however, to explain the variety of products, otherwise there’s no way Apple would continue to do this.

And that's the thing... critics are complaining about the lineup, but they don't have the necessary information to determine what Apple should do only Apple has it.

In any form of sales, and i say this as a recently ex salesman, the worst thing you can do is leave people confused about whether to buy A or B with no clear answer as to whats better, as they might not buy any.

I completely understand, but I think in certain situation it's important to have different price points to serve as many people as possible.

 

[Digitalguy]

They dont really need ipads plus ipad airs. Just do away with the ipads and rename the 'ipad airs' as ipads

yeah sure, and while at it sell the air at the same price as the iPad 10 (like the examples I was making above) or start at $600 and lose sales of all those who wouldn't buy at that price...

 

[Rogifan]

So a price sensitive market necessitates complexity? You can’t have good —> better —> best in a price sensitive market? Seems to me you could have good (those who are most price sensitive), better (the majority of buyers) and best (those who want/need top of the line and where price is no issue).

 

[MarkNewton2023]

I am sure Apple has good reasons to have current ipad line up. One of them appears to ensure the line up covers various needs of potential buyers. I do not see the line up is confusing. If someone know what they want and see available options and their current budget, they should be able to choose the right product by themselves or consulting with Apple Store staff.😊

 

[Cunir]

yeah sure, and while at it sell the air at the same price as the iPad 10 (like the examples I was making above) or start at $600 and lose sales of all those who wouldn't buy at that price...

but if we're talking about simplifying the ipad line-up, then that's the obvious one to go. what else are they going to get rid of.
they've got the ipad mini, ipad air and ipad pro, all different sizes, and the ipad

 

[Digitalguy]

So a price sensitive market necessitates complexity? You can’t have good —> better —> best in a price sensitive market? Seems to me you could have good (those who are most price sensitive), better (the majority of buyers) and best (those who want/need top of the line and where price is no issue).

if by complexity you mean iPad 9 in the line, this is more due to the EU and USB C requirement than anything else.
Apple was not going to change the design (they would have been no base iPad with USB C for years) if it wasn't for USB C requirement, but at the same time they are not willing to let the low price point go to avoid losing that segment of the market, nor they want to sell the iPad 10 for $350, as it would cannibalize the air, at least for now. Hence the status quo. But at some point the 9 will be dropped and the 10 may stay as a cheaper alternative to the 11. Nothing new, the iPad 2 had a similar fate for years (except that back then there was no pro), the M1 air is still there etc.
Also it's not just a matter of good, better and best. There is also a matter of size.
Apple is not leaving money on the table just become some here feel the need to "simplify" or rather would like "the same or better for less money"

 

[Digitalguy]

but if we're talking about simplifying the ipad line-up, then that's the obvious one to go. what else are they going to get rid of.
they've got the ipad mini, ipad air and ipad pro, all different sizes, and the ipad

as I said in the post above, the USB C iPad exists only because of the EU, it wouldn't have been there before many years otherwise... The rest of the reasoning is explained in the post I have just written above about the 9 vs 10 etc.

 

[Cunir]

on a side note... out of curiosity i was just looking at the ipad air specs on the apple website and i noticed that they give you the option of adding a magic keyboard for an extra £319. and that's not a typo... how can the magic keyboard cost an extra £319 when it's only £99 as a standalone?

 

[Digitalguy]

on a side note... out of curiosity i was just looking at the ipad air specs on the apple website and i noticed that they give you the option of adding a magic keyboard for an extra £319. and that's not a typo... how can the magic keyboard cost an extra £319 when it's only £99 as a standalone?

99 standalone? Not even the smart folio keyboard is 99 (it's £199). The closest thing to 99 is the smart folio cover (no keyboard), which is £89... £319 is indeed the price standalone

 

[paulmeyers42]

So a price sensitive market necessitates complexity? You can’t have good —> better —> best in a price sensitive market? Seems to me you could have good (those who are most price sensitive), better (the majority of buyers) and best (those who want/need top of the line and where price is no issue).

Unfortunately yes, this adds complexity. Good/better/best is one way to market segment, there are many, many others.

There is no "one-size-fits" all and you have to look at the actual customer data to determine the optimal mix. It's made more complicated because "price" needs to include a target "margin" which is determined by cost-of-goods + R&D + SG&A - so if you want to hit a price point for a particular customer segment, you have to also make sure you have the features that segment actually wants at that price and still make your intended margins. Product marketing fit, engineering, supply chain management, etc. all go into that equation. And then factor in changing market conditions, macroeconomic environment, world threatening plagues, sky high inflation, etc. and it's constantly changing equation.

This is the real reason why product marketers get paid the big bucks, not because they make cool advertising.

 

[erikkfi]

Apple shareholders now demand close to 40% margin on hardware or the company is failing. That's why this product line-up looks the way it does.

 

[Alex Cai]

Jason’s written about this before. But he’s not wrong. When product decisions are based around hitting a broad range of price points you get confusing lineups.

The price of Apple’s old-products strategy

It’s an entirely innocuous announcement that says so much. Tuesday’s reveal of a new Apple Pencil that’s got a USB-C port and lacks numerous features of both the first- and second…

sixcolors.com

I think Apple’s strategy should be good, better, best not a product to hit every price point. Maybe they take a margin hit on the low end. So what. It would be worth it to introduce simplicity and less confusion in their product lines.

This is what John Gruber thinks Apple should do next year:

There’s a New Apple Pencil With a USB-C Port, and My Thoughts Turn to the Complexity of the Overall iPad Lineup

The point should be to make the question “*Which iPad should I buy?*” as easy to answer as possible.

daringfireball.net

• Drop the old 9th-gen iPad from the lineup. That iPad is so old it still has a home button.
• Lower the price of the 10th-gen iPad by $100. (And maybe give it a speed bump from the A14 to A15 chip? But it’s probably wishful thinking to hope for a price cut and a newer chip.)
• Update the iPad Air (and Mini?) models to be more like today’s iPad Pros, with Face ID instead of Touch ID.1
• Major revision of the iPad Pros, which haven’t seen a major form factor change since 2018. Put more pro in the iPad Pros, just like Apple has done with the iPhone 15 Pro models.
• Update the Magic Keyboard, ideally in a way that continues to support both iPad Airs and 11-inch iPad Pros. The Magic Keyboard is a great idea, and I think a popular one. But it ought to be better — thinner, lighter, and more durable. (The white ones especially age quickly. Keep your eyes out for them in the wild, in cafes and airports — they often look quite grungy. Compare and contrast with MacBooks, which often look great even after years of daily use.) Mark Gurman has reported that just such a revision to the Magic Keyboard is in the works.

Nowadays many people go for the iPad Pro and use it for watching YouTube.
The iPad lineup should be organized the same way as the Apple Watch (so far the clearest and intuitive)
iPad Pro shall only take a small proportion of iPad users like the aw ultra. It is made for the people who take iPad seriously, like awu users who do all sorts of outdoor activities and sport.
iPad Air should be aimed at most users, and it should do well for studying, note taking, consuming content, everyday stuff. Still, iPad Air should be considered high end, but high-end in a different way compared to iPad Pro. This is equivalent to Apple Watch series 9, as it have the best equipments but is not built rugged.
iPad se should be the budget version, while it could do most jobs iPad Air can handle, it does not have a full laminated display, a previous generation processor, speakers, mics, camera all help bring the price down.