To be fair the hardware isn't the expensive part, it's all three patent licensing costs associated with 3 and 4G.
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New 9.7" iPad Pro to Start at $599, 32GB and 128GB Models Available
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I don't have a problem with Apple upping the price of the iPad Pro $100 considering that it will start with 32GB and all the other upgrades. What I do have a problem with is that you can only get LTE if you bout the top tier 128GB. What about the people that want LTE but don't need 128GB. They are forcing people to buy extra money for the 128GB. If they want LTE. That's what I have a problem with.
For those complaining about the $599 price tag. Question for you. If the price is relative to competitors, what's the issue? The 4GB Surface 3 is priced at $500. Although the Surface 3 runs full fledged Windows, it's still the biggest competitor to a new iPad. Now, add Apple's profit margins, customer service, and product support, then you can see why the $100 "price hike" isn't so bad as it seems.
The iPad Pro was aimed at artists and people who wanted to use their iPad as an art/design tool. The iPad Pro is the only iPad that works with the Apple Pencil (super annoying). The reason that it's $599 even though it's "small" is probably because it is just that- a smaller iPad Pro for people like me who didn't want to drag the clunky, awkward, HUGE original iPad Pro around.
I, for one, am ecstatic and I can't wait for these to come out! If you want an iPad just for laptop lite functionality and/or to stream Netflix on the bus, go with a different model or wait for a better Air to come out. iPad Pro is not for you.
But I'm going to be annoyed if for some weird reason the Pencil won't work with the iPad Pro mini =/
I, for one, am ecstatic and I can't wait for these to come out! If you want an iPad just for laptop lite functionality and/or to stream Netflix on the bus, go with a different model or wait for a better Air to come out. iPad Pro is not for you.
But I'm going to be annoyed if for some weird reason the Pencil won't work with the iPad Pro mini =/
Just to make this clear, I'm not worried for Apple. I'm not a shareholder. I'm just worried about not being able to afford their products anymore.
And "disappointed" and "worried" are not binary feelings. We can feel disappointment and worry at different intensities. Don't assume they are intense feelings and that this has a significant impact on my life. It doesn't.
Say I told you I drank a coffee this morning, and its taste was disappointing and it was so hot I was worried about burning my thong. You wouldn't assume this particular cup of coffee had a significant influence on my life would you?
Absolutely true. But the problem is that this share is shrinking. And Apple went through this process before when they were selling very profitable computers with a rapidly shrinking market share. They are doing much better this time around. They learned at least some lessons. Their prices are not as outrageous as, for example, Apple Lisa had. So that's good. But they also should listed to people and watch what is going on with competitor offerings and people opinions.
I've read arguments multiple times but I just don't get why people don't get the reason for the price rise as a business strategy. In the past Apple has doubled the storage space (e.g. iPhone 3G to 3GS), the RAM (e.g. 3G to 3GS, 3GS to 4, 4S to 5, 6 to 6S), added new technologies (retina displays, multicore chips, fingerprint sensors/secure enclave, NFC etc) whilst maintaining a price point. I still really don't see what in the rumoured 9.7" specs justifies the price rise.
I almost wonder whether the price increase was to avoid killing the 12.9" model dead. If a 10" iPP cost $500 with pencil and keyboard support, who in their right mind would spend $800 on an extra 3"? Sure, there will be some people who need the bigger screen and some who will buy it because they want the 'best' system, but the mass market will go for the cheaper option. As has been pointed out the iPP 12.9" can be had for $700 or less. Combine this with a $600 9.7" iPP and you've got a bigger chance of an upsell to the larger system.
Again, I'm not angry at Apple. I was never going to be in the market for a new iPad (maybe a refurb Air 2 later in the year) but the pricing strategy in the face of rapidly faling sales and increased competition combined with a business need to encourage existing users to upgrade makes very little sense to me.
I almost wonder whether the price increase was to avoid killing the 12.9" model dead. If a 10" iPP cost $500 with pencil and keyboard support, who in their right mind would spend $800 on an extra 3"? Sure, there will be some people who need the bigger screen and some who will buy it because they want the 'best' system, but the mass market will go for the cheaper option. As has been pointed out the iPP 12.9" can be had for $700 or less. Combine this with a $600 9.7" iPP and you've got a bigger chance of an upsell to the larger system.
Again, I'm not angry at Apple. I was never going to be in the market for a new iPad (maybe a refurb Air 2 later in the year) but the pricing strategy in the face of rapidly faling sales and increased competition combined with a business need to encourage existing users to upgrade makes very little sense to me.
People don't care they only see the price and don't care beyond that what really goes into it. And there is no convincing them otherwise either.
Of course there is more than the $5 more in hardware. Patents, licensing, FCC etc. costs.
Relatively the same answer as above. People need something to complain about with Apple. They think Apple OWES THEM x price and should never ever raise is not matter what in that product line; and anything else Apple is a joke and ripping them off. It's simply flat out an unreasonable attitude to not think prices can change or increase; especially when it adds more at that.
It's like saying you should be able to buy that 2016 model car for the same price as the 2008 model was back then. Changes in the economy and dollar and so many other factors why things are more expensive now then they were then. food prices, gas on and on.
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The economy has affected everyone not just Apple. Apple can jack prices, thats their right but since the economy is down as everyone indicates, it just seems like a strange move to me at this time.
I'm not in the market for a new iPad so this doesn't effect me directly. In a few years I may have to consider alternative products. Having used various products over the years, I'm not loyal to any one brand.
I'm not in the market for a new iPad so this doesn't effect me directly. In a few years I may have to consider alternative products. Having used various products over the years, I'm not loyal to any one brand.
Well, I am just puzzled by the price rise. It would put me off if I was in the market for a new iPad (which I'm not). As with everything that is for sale - from a penny sweet to a multimillion pound/dollar house - it is up to individuals to decide whether the price is fair or not. What I am confused by is why people are on here defending Apple for the price rise. It may be that new features would call for an increase in price (as the introduction of all the retina Macs showed) but I can't see any what feature in particular would cause a move away from $500 beyond the desire to bring the 10" and 13" closer in price to keep the 13" viable and try to upsell.
To me the reasonable viewpoint should be: "I don't quite see what has caused the price rise, but the new features and price suit my needs so I will be buying."
As I stated before, expect the base to be $500 in places like Staples and Best Buy by the Summer as sales stagnate even further. I am very confident of this but I don't know whether it will be caused by the higher price, or just a lack of essential features that would cause people to pull the trigger on an upgrade (especially if the Air 2 remains at the current price)
To me the reasonable viewpoint should be: "I don't quite see what has caused the price rise, but the new features and price suit my needs so I will be buying."
As I stated before, expect the base to be $500 in places like Staples and Best Buy by the Summer as sales stagnate even further. I am very confident of this but I don't know whether it will be caused by the higher price, or just a lack of essential features that would cause people to pull the trigger on an upgrade (especially if the Air 2 remains at the current price)
Yes, Beast Buy has the Pro 32 $100 off, the 128s are $200 off, the Mini4 was $100 off. BB has discounted the iPads for months. So maybe $100 more for a new model will spur sales...not at BB. That would be fanapples at the Apple store mostly. Very interested to see how they price the Air 2, a very good model, except for the speaker, but it's what, 2 years old now.
Not getting into the price right now, but this new naming scheme is nice for unifying the product lines. I can see them doing away with the "mini" and renaming it as an "air". This way new iPad and MacBook consumers can run into an Apple Store knowing they can get an entry model with limited features and nice everyday usability in the "air" line or go for more features by picking a "pro". This also leads way to further customization at each size.
The only alternate to this is the current iPad naming scheme where the "mini", "air", and "pro" naming reflect size of product. Personally I love the features of my iPad pro but I miss the size of May iPad Air. I also don't mind paying a price hike to get those extra features, but for this logic to work apple should also continually upgrade the "air" or just do away with it all together.
The only alternate to this is the current iPad naming scheme where the "mini", "air", and "pro" naming reflect size of product. Personally I love the features of my iPad pro but I miss the size of May iPad Air. I also don't mind paying a price hike to get those extra features, but for this logic to work apple should also continually upgrade the "air" or just do away with it all together.
Lets get the fact right.
It is a 4G ram, 128GB SSD Windows tablet for $449. For this new ipad, if the rumor is correct, they are pricing that at $599 for 4G ram(better not 2G or this product is a failure) + 32GB SSD. This is outrageous. I don't need ipad pro mini. I just need a ipad air 3 with cpu upgrade and stuff. I refuse to pay $499 to buy ipad air 2 because it's already a 2 year old product, which any brand out there offer better option, better hardware spec for less price.
If the rumor is true, my next tablet will be Surface 3 or a better spec Android. Period.
And one more thing, Apple only having 32G and 128G version is stupid. They might get away with it using this practice on iphone due to the high demand, having the same practice on ipad will be a failure. I will not pay $200 bucks more just because I need more than 32G on a tablet.
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Exactly, Apple sells about 25% iPads less than in thr good old days.
25% less iPad sales is a lot of money in terms of lost revenue.
A lot of companies would lower prices in this situation. Apple doesn' t. They choose to move forward by making the iPad a media creation device instead of a cheaper media consumption device with just a better cpu/gpu and making it thinner.
But by making a great leap in specs and capabilities there is another problem. It has pretty impressive specs that will make the iPad Pro last even longer before people will upgrade. So instead of adding a lot of new features for the same price that will even eat into margins even more, they decided to at least keep the same margins.
Just business, nothing more, nothing less. Everybody thinks that Because Apple makes so much money from other products(iPhone), they can give discount the iPad line that is already under pressure and each year makes less money. That is just not how good businesses are run. It would even put more pressure on the iPhone line for providing profits . Apple is already too dependent on iPhone, it is already making them vulnerable.
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I guess it is also a good strategic move from Apple to release the 9.7 inch pro with a higher price tag first, and in October release a new iPad (air 3) with just a A9x upgrade (+ better camera) for 499 .
It will happen, and no one will complain about it being a minor upgrade for the money. And for margins: I think this iPad Air 3 will have bigger margins or at least the same levels as the 9.7 inch iPad Pro.
??? The Pencil is very useful and I'm not an artist. And the keyboard is well put together, water resistant, and has good travel.
Yep. Damnit. This pisses me off. I must have cellular support on my iPad. Cannot do without it. 128 GB of storage will never be used by me since I don't store much music, video, or photos on my iPad. Ugh. So I presume that the 128gb model with LTE is going to cost me close to $1000 bucks? No effing way.
Any word on the flash rumours? (Say what you will about using an ipad as a camera, if you're going to give it a damned camera, don't make it a half effort - give it the flash)
I RARELY usemy ipad camera, but when I was, extensively recently, the lack of a flash was a severe hindrance.
I RARELY usemy ipad camera, but when I was, extensively recently, the lack of a flash was a severe hindrance.
Best Buy has $100 off iPad pro starting today. I'm tempted to get one because the 32GB only costs $699.
Hey, maybe with the flash, people can now start using the iPad as a flashlight for once!
