All iPads My vision for a complete iPad lineup overhaul

[Xuan Chen]

I’d love to see Apple rethink the entire iPad family. Here’s my dream spec sheet:

9.7" iPad Pro (M6) – LCD with ProMotion, M6, Wi‑Fi 6E, 12MP wide + LiDAR, 3.5mm jack, Touch ID (solid‑state), MagSafe 3, 9 colors, 256GB–1TB.

10.5" iPad Pro (M7) – OLED XDR (3000 nits outdoor), M7, Wi‑Fi 7, dual USB‑4, NFC, dual 12MP + LiDAR, 3.5mm jack, Touch ID, MagSafe 3, 10 colors, 256GB–2TB.

13.1" iPad Pro (M7) – OLED XDR with slim bezels, M7, Wi‑Fi 7, dual USB‑4, NFC, triple‑camera + LiDAR, 3.5mm jack, Touch ID, MagSafe 3, 10 colors, 256GB–2TB.

7.9" iPad mini (A18) – Compact, A18, 12MP cameras, Touch ID, Lightning, 3.5mm jack, Wi‑Fi 6, 9 colors, 128GB–512GB, from $269.

All models bring back the 3.5mm jack, physical mute/rotation switch, and Home Button (Touch ID). Add MagSafe 3, better durability, and a rainbow of color options. Thoughts? Would you buy any of these?

 

[sparksd]

No desire for return of a Home Button or an Audio Jack.

 

[mrochester]

Yeah everything should have Face ID now, no point going backwards to Touch ID.

 

[JPack]

Back to 9.7-inch? What year is this? 😆

You can hardly multitask on an 11-inch iPad and you want Apple to put an M6/M7 in there? All for what? For show?

And you want iPad mini priced at $269?

 

[vanilla_prison]

My vision for an overhaul:
Give the mini 120hz and an M chip. Bring back lower prices. Everything else is fine.

 

[snipr125]

My vision for an overhaul:
Give the mini 120hz and an M chip. Bring back lower prices. Everything else is fine.

Honestly a Pro ‘A’ chip like the A19 Pro is better for the iPad Mini than an M chip in terms of heat throttling and battery life. 120 Hz though definitely, hopefully the next one will get it.

 

[Arctic Moose]

I don’t want a home button, I don’t want an audio jack and I don’t want a small screen on an iPad, so no, I would not.

The one thing I don’t like about my iPad Pro is the protruding rear camera that I never use. I would replace it with the best single lens that would fit flush with the back case.

 

[reetcher]

I want the iPad to accept a phone number so I can get rid of my iPhone. Imho the iPhone should be seen as dead hardware.

 

[vanilla_prison]

Honestly a Pro ‘A’ chip like the A19 Pro is better for the iPad Mini than an M chip in terms of heat throttling and battery life. 120 Hz though definitely, hopefully the next one will get it.

I want the M chip so it can do things like extended display which aren’t available on A chips

 

[snipr125]

I want the M chip so it can do things like extended display which aren’t available on A chips

Yes fair enough, they could include extended display support if they wanted to as the A18 Pro chip magically supports it on the Macbook Neo.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Why on earth would you want both a 9.7 *and* 10.5 inch? That makes absolutely no sense, they are practically the same size bracket.
And then from 10.5… all the way up to 13.1 with nothing in between?

Only two storage options, and they are 256 and 2 terabyte, again with nothing in between? And if you want an iPad mini, you get stuck with the pathetic 128 GB that exists now? And they get stuck with a lousy, long- outdated lightning port?

This is the reason that us consumers don’t make the decisions on the product lineups, if this wasn’t satire these would be the worst iPads to ever exist.

 

[It’s always something]

I’m on board with the headphone jack and Touch ID, but I’m not buying anything with a lightning port ever again. Make it USB4 too.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

Mine would be:

iPad Neo (A18)
iPad Air 8.3-inch (A19 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (M5)
iPad Pro 11-inch, 13-inch (M6)

iPad Neo would be the new budget-friendly option priced same or (ideally) lower than the current 11th gen iPad. It would feature the same 11-inch 60Hz LED display, and essentially be a 12th gen iPad rebranded with the Neo naming scheme to fit in with the MacBook line and capitalise on it's popularity. It has an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence and comes in even more vibrant colours.

iPad Air, available in both 8.3-inch and 11-inch sizes, it would replace not just the current 11-inch Air, but also the iPad mini. It would feature the A19 Pro or the M5 chip depending on the size you choose - 8.3-inch with A19 Pro, or 11-inch with M5. Both models would feature ProMotion as a big upgrade, and would both be as thin as the current-gen iPad Pros. You could add in the 13-inch screen size as well, but I think it makes more sense to have small/medium on the Air and then medium/large on the Pro.

iPad Pro 11-inch and 13-inch which remain the same but with an incremental chip upgrade - OLED, ProMotion, M6 etc. etc. etc. As the Air line would bring the thinness, I wouldn't mind the Pros being a little thicker (only slightly moreso than the current base iPad) to add vapour cooling and larger batteries, offering better battery life and better sustained performance.


With this line up, there's consistency between it and the MacBook line, meaning customers only need to wrap their heads around one set of concepts.

 

[Arctic Moose]

• iPad Neo
• iPad Air
• iPad Pro

This makes so much more sense than the current lineup.

 

[Andy_2341]

Mine would be:

iPad Neo (A18)
iPad Air 8.3-inch (A19 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (M5)
iPad Pro 11-inch, 13-inch (M6)

iPad Neo would be the new budget-friendly option priced same or (ideally) lower than the current 11th gen iPad. It would feature the same 11-inch 60Hz LED display, and essentially be a 12th gen iPad rebranded with the Neo naming scheme to fit in with the MacBook line and capitalise on it's popularity. It has an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence and comes in even more vibrant colours.

iPad Air, available in both 8.3-inch and 11-inch sizes, it would replace not just the current 11-inch Air, but also the iPad mini. It would feature the A19 Pro or the M5 chip depending on the size you choose - 8.3-inch with A19 Pro, or 11-inch with M5. Both models would feature ProMotion as a big upgrade, and would both be as thin as the current-gen iPad Pros. You could add in the 13-inch screen size as well, but I think it makes more sense to have small/medium on the Air and then medium/large on the Pro.

iPad Pro 11-inch and 13-inch which remain the same but with an incremental chip upgrade - OLED, ProMotion, M6 etc. etc. etc. As the Air line would bring the thinness, I wouldn't mind the Pros being a little thicker (only slightly moreso than the current base iPad) to add vapour cooling and larger batteries, offering better battery life and better sustained performance.


With this line up, there's consistency between it and the MacBook line, meaning customers only need to wrap their heads around one set of concepts.

I love this line up so much. Apple needs to take your ideas!

 

[fuchsdh]

Why on earth would you want both a 9.7 *and* 10.5 inch? That makes absolutely no sense, they are practically the same size bracket.
And then from 10.5… all the way up to 13.1 with nothing in between?

Only two storage options, and they are 256 and 2 terabyte, again with nothing in between? And if you want an iPad mini, you get stuck with the pathetic 128 GB that exists now? And they get stuck with a lousy, long- outdated lightning port?

This is the reason that us consumers don’t make the decisions on the product lineups, if this wasn’t satire these would be the worst iPads to ever exist.

They're hardly the worst iPads that would exist (the underpowered iPad with retina will always hold that crown) but threads like these are pretty indicative of how you have a homer car if you don't accept you will not please some people.

The iPad lineup has been kind of a mess for a while. It'd be great to simplify it, but that fights against the value of smaller populated niches. And the OP's suggestions don't really resolve much of anything except bringing back the stuff they specifically want.

Also, why stop with the wishful thinking of these prices? I'd love to get my iPads for a sawbuck!

 

[snipr125]

Mine would be:

iPad Neo (A18)
iPad Air 8.3-inch (A19 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (M5)
iPad Pro 11-inch, 13-inch (M6)

iPad Neo would be the new budget-friendly option priced same or (ideally) lower than the current 11th gen iPad. It would feature the same 11-inch 60Hz LED display, and essentially be a 12th gen iPad rebranded with the Neo naming scheme to fit in with the MacBook line and capitalise on it's popularity. It has an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence and comes in even more vibrant colours.

iPad Air, available in both 8.3-inch and 11-inch sizes, it would replace not just the current 11-inch Air, but also the iPad mini. It would feature the A19 Pro or the M5 chip depending on the size you choose - 8.3-inch with A19 Pro, or 11-inch with M5. Both models would feature ProMotion as a big upgrade, and would both be as thin as the current-gen iPad Pros. You could add in the 13-inch screen size as well, but I think it makes more sense to have small/medium on the Air and then medium/large on the Pro.

iPad Pro 11-inch and 13-inch which remain the same but with an incremental chip upgrade - OLED, ProMotion, M6 etc. etc. etc. As the Air line would bring the thinness, I wouldn't mind the Pros being a little thicker (only slightly moreso than the current base iPad) to add vapour cooling and larger batteries, offering better battery life and better sustained performance.


With this line up, there's consistency between it and the MacBook line, meaning customers only need to wrap their heads around one set of concepts.

Looks good, but there needs to be a 13” iPad Air model for those who want a larger display for a lower price and dont need the very expensive Pro features.

 

[macfacts]

I want the iPad to accept a phone number so I can get rid of my iPhone. Imho the iPhone should be seen as dead hardware.

I thought apple wouldn't put do that cause Qualcomm charges their modem based on commission of overall device price ,but apple has their own modem now and still no cellular voice/modem in iPad. Apple is scared of cannibalizing iphone sales.

 

[JPack]

I thought apple wouldn't put do that cause Qualcomm charges their modem based on commission of overall device price ,but apple has their own modem now and still no cellular voice/modem in iPad. Apple is scared of cannibalizing iphone sales.

That's a myth. Qualcomm doesn't and there's a cap.

Apple has had modems in iPad since day one. Cannibalization is the only reason.

 

[JPack]

iPad Neo would be the new budget-friendly option priced same or (ideally) lower than the current 11th gen iPad. It would feature the same 11-inch 60Hz LED display, and essentially be a 12th gen iPad rebranded with the Neo naming scheme to fit in with the MacBook line and capitalise on it's popularity. It has an A18 chip for Apple Intelligence and comes in even more vibrant colours.

You can have a MacBook Neo, but not a iPad Neo.

Neo branding targets the Gen Z and Alpha who grew up using touch devices, literally iPad and iPhone. They're not accustomed to traditional notebooks. MacBook Neo is about making clamshell devices cool again.

iPad is already as crap as it gets. Non-laminated display, A16, 6GB RAM. What else can be cut?

 

[snipr125]

You can have a MacBook Neo, but not a iPad Neo.

Neo branding targets the Gen Z and Alpha who grew up using touch devices, literally iPad and iPhone. They're not accustomed to traditional notebooks. MacBook Neo is about making clamshell devices cool again.

iPad is already as crap as it gets. Non-laminated display, A16, 6GB RAM. What else can be cut?

And now with a £100 increase on top of that!

 

[Richard8655]

You can have a MacBook Neo, but not a iPad Neo.

Neo branding targets the Gen Z and Alpha who grew up using touch devices, literally iPad and iPhone. They're not accustomed to traditional notebooks. MacBook Neo is about making clamshell devices cool again.

iPad is already as crap as it gets. Non-laminated display, A16, 6GB RAM. What else can be cut?

Crap? I prefer non-laminated over laminated. A16 is a decent powerful chip these days satisfying most users' needs. Many have no interest in high end features, just a good, usable, and reliable tablet. I'm for keeping the iPad affordable and therefore more widely accessible.

 

[JPack]

Crap? I prefer non-laminated over laminated. A16 is a decent powerful chip these days satisfying most users' needs. Many have no interest in high end features, just a good, usable, and reliable tablet. I'm for keeping the iPad affordable and therefore more widely accessible.

The point I'm making is the $349 (now $449) iPad is as cheap as it gets. The next step down would be plastic chassis, A14, 4GB RAM, and mono speaker. At that point, it's no longer an Apple experience.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

They're hardly the worst iPads that would exist (the underpowered iPad with retina will always hold that crown) but threads like these are pretty indicative of how you have a homer car if you don't accept you will not please some people.

The iPad lineup has been kind of a mess for a while. It'd be great to simplify it, but that fights against the value of smaller populated niches. And the OP's suggestions don't really resolve much of anything except bringing back the stuff they specifically want.

I honestly don’t think the iPad line is that much of a mess, the main issue currently seems to be that both the Mini and Air kinda suck especially at their current price points.
But both are rumored to get OLED (and possibly 120 hertz) displays between the fall and the spring, which will make the product line a lot more understandable and the price points a lot more manageable. The entire lineup is likely to get a storage doubling across the board as well within the next year.
My main issue with the current lineup is just simply that the regular iPad and the iPad Air are practically the same product, but one is almost twice the price of the other.
Once the Air and Mini get redesigns and new displays, though, the difference will become a lot more clear.

iPad 12: A18, 8 GB of RAM, standard LCD display, 256 GB,everything else identical to the current iPad 11.
iPad Mini 8: A19Pro, 12 gigabytes of RAM, OLED display, 120 Hz, 256 GB of storage, possible water resistance.
iPad Air: basically, the iPad mini but bigger and with an M5 chip.
iPad Pro: still the same iPad Pro that’s been around for years. Tandem OLED display, quad speakers, Face ID , and so on, and so on.

At this point, the main differentiator between the three lower end to mid-range iPads, the 12, the Mini and Air, Will be display and build quality. By going from the basic iPad to the iPad Mini or Air you get OLED and 120 hertz, a thinner design, extra ram, extra processing power, and so on.
And then, of course, the iPad Pro gives you the top of the line tandem OLED XDR with FaceID and quad speakers.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

iPad Air 8.3-inch (A19 Pro), iPad Air 11-inch (M5)
iPad Air, available in both 8.3-inch and 11-inch sizes, it would replace not just the current 11-inch Air, but also the iPad mini. It would feature the A19 Pro or the M5 chip depending on the size you choose - 8.3-inch with A19 Pro, or 11-inch with M5. Both models would feature ProMotion as a big upgrade, and would both be as thin as the current-gen iPad Pros. You could add in the 13-inch screen size as well, but I think it makes more sense to have small/medium on the Air and then medium/large on the Pro.

So basically, you’re only change is to relabel the iPad mini as an iPad Air? For pretty much no particular reason, given that it’s still has a different processor?
Uh here’s a question, why?
And how on earth does this line up with the MacBook line? There is no smaller MacBook, and the MacBook Air comes in the same normal and bigger sizes that the MacBook Pro does, just like the current iPad Air and pro.
This would only match with the MacBook line if Apple were to, for example, come out with an 11 inch MBA, something that they very likely are not going to do.
Also, nothing wrong with The iPad mini being called… The iPad mini. It’s the one smaller iPad, it makes sense to differentiate it.
Apple’s never making an 8 inch iPad 12 or iPad Pro, it is its own unique screen size in the lineup, it should have its own title. Not to mention the iPad Mini as a product has existed almost as long as the iPad has existed itself, the first one came out 14 years ago.