No 3D Touch for iPad Air 3 Due in First Half of 2016, iPhone 7’s 3D Touch Tech Similar to iPhone 6s

[coolfactor]

iPad Air 3 will need to keep its name so the next one will be called the "iPad Air 3D". That way, people will think its the 3rd one and folks can be confused like they were on the iPhone 3G. People be like "I missed the second iPhone???"

There was no expectation about the naming scheme of the iPhone until the 3GS appeared, which set the stage for the "S" moniker. So, no, nobody was confused. It was the 3G version of the iPhone. Made perfect sense at the time.

However, if they did call the upcoming iPad the "3D" (they won't!), then they could follow that with the "3Ds" and totally confuse people!

 

[coolfactor]

So I'm curious.... is Touch 3D tech 100% reliable? Does it perform exactly as people expect it would? Does it interfere with "normal" usage of the iPhone (without the pressure-sensing)? I could imagine it would be difficult to scale to larger screens reliably, but no doubt that Apple will figure out a way.

 

[iConnected]

The report confirms the iPhone 7 will be released in 2016, likely around Apple's usual September timeframe.

The report doesn't "confirm" anything. Analysts can only speculate. Apple confirms.

 

[Night Spring]

So I'm curious.... is Touch 3D tech 100% reliable? Does it perform exactly as people expect it would? Does it interfere with "normal" usage of the iPhone (without the pressure-sensing)? I could imagine it would be difficult to scale to larger screens reliably, but no doubt that Apple will figure out a way.

I just said this in another thread, but I'm having a hard time getting the iPhone to distinguish between my long press and hard press (3D touch). It seems I've gotten into the habit of doing a long hard press when doing long press, and can't seem to figure out how to do a hard press without also making it a long press. I do have a mobility impairment, so don't know if this is a problem for able-bodied people, but can see this being a problem for older people with less steady hands, for example.

 

[apolloa]

There is a setting to change sensitivity? You can turn it off? I didn't know that! I'll go try this right now, thanks.

EDIT: ok, tried the sensitivity settings, and they don't seem to help. My problem is that the motion I do for long press feels the same to me as the motion needed to do 3D Touch. I can't "feel" a difference between the two. Changing the sensitivity doesn't seem to change the "feel."

Yes, that is the problem with it currently in that you can't 'feel' any feedback that you are pressing harder. I guess that tech is a way off yet?

 

[JulianL]

... if 3D Touch won't be ready until 2017 I'm not sure Apple can go another year with no Air update.

To me an Air 3 with just a spec bumb would be a bit like the mini 3 and so I hope Apple doesn't do it. But if 3D Touch for iPads is a year or two away from being production ready then Apple may have to update the Air even if it's just a spec bump. Going 3 years without an update would be too long IMO ...

If there are too many other people like me then I'm not sure that people should be so quick to dismiss the worth and sales prospects for a spec-bumped Air 3.

I've bought every iPad up to the original Air and then for various reasons skipped the Air 2. I'm now really keen to upgrade my main iPad but am hesitant to go for an Air 2. Knowing that the Air 2 has been out for a while, knowing from my 6s how much difference the extra speed and reliability of 2nd gen TouchID makes (a lot in my opinion), and expecting additional spec bumps in general performance on an Air 3 all put me in a place where I'll be entirely happy to lay down my money for a spec-bumped Air 3 on the first day it's available.

I never use Touch3D on my 6s and for my next iPad keeping the weight down is way more important to me than TouchID so personally I'm hoping for a simple spec-bump on the next Air as soon as possible. Releasing a spec-bump in March next year isn't going to prevent Apple from releasing a Touch3D-enabled model as soon as they've got any technical issues resolved even if that's only a few months later. They've released 2 iPads in quick succession before when the lightening connector was introduced.

 

[Gudi]

My guess is that it will get Pencil support. It only makes sense, Apple would sell a literal ton of $100 pencils if they can work with a $500 iPad Air 3.

And lose the $300 an iPad Pro costs more on every device, while wasting valuable technology on users who don't want or need a Pencil. This makes no sense. If Apple would have thought this technology was ready and useful for everybody, they would have put it in the Air 3 and mini 4 already. Maybe only in the Cellular models. But they didn't. In Apple's eyes Pencil support is a Pro feature, just like stereo speakers and 4GB of RAM. And this mindset will not change easily.

 

[MacBH928]

After waiting such a long time for the iPad Air 3 and Apple decided not to release it, I bought iPad Air 2 with stylus until next year.

Now this...

 

[sracer]

After waiting such a long time for the iPad Air 3 and Apple decided not to release it, I bought iPad Air 2 with stylus until next year.

Now this...

If you recently bought an Air 2 then I would think that this RUMOR (which is all that it is) would be encouraging to you... that you made a good purchase at a good time.

 

[LordVic]

I'm thinking of getting the next iPad air. its on my shopping list for myself (I have credit card points burning a hole in my wallet, and I really wouldn't mind a super lightweight tablet to complement my Surface Pro 2).

But I feel like, why buy the Air 3, if it's not going to have all the latest goodies that Apple has at it's disposal? 3Dtouch looks cool.

 

[MrXiro]

And lose the $300 an iPad Pro costs more on every device, while wasting valuable technology on users who don't want or need a Pencil. This makes no sense. If Apple would have thought this technology was ready and useful for everybody, they would have put it in the Air 3 and mini 4 already. Maybe only in the Cellular models. But they didn't. In Apple's eyes Pencil support is a Pro feature, just like stereo speakers and 4GB of RAM. And this mindset will not change easily.

It's general fact that accessories like the Pencil has a higher profit margin than devices (iPhone's bloated full retail value not withstanding) I'd be willing to bet that; while selling a singular iPad Pro nets them a higher profit per unit they sell less units, and the % of cost to build vs full retail value is much higher...

ie; cost to build iPad Pro is $400 (as a fabricated example), sell at $800 = 100% profit margin.
While cost to build Pencil is $15 (as a fabricated example), sell for $100 = 660% profit margin.

See why it's better to sell pencils? At $100 a pop and allowing other devices to use it they can sell many more at a higher profit and a larger bottom line. It's much easier to sell eight $100 accessories than 1 large sale as a general rule, especially if there are more devices that support the accessory.

I think they'll hold off 3D touch on the Air 3, give it the Pencil use and put 3D touch on the iPad Pro as the new "exclusive" feature for 2016.

 

[thekeyring]

(yawn) not a single Mac rumor for months now (yawn)... just watches, phones, and toys, tied with some Tim's political flashing/lobbying.

Did you miss the MacBook Air rumour? Or the rumours that led up to the retina MacBook and new iMacs?

 

[thekeyring]

I'm thinking of getting the next iPad air. its on my shopping list for myself (I have credit card points burning a hole in my wallet, and I really wouldn't mind a super lightweight tablet to complement my Surface Pro 2).

But I feel like, why buy the Air 3, if it's not going to have all the latest goodies that Apple has at it's disposal? 3Dtouch looks cool.

I guess iPad isn't 'their most advanced technology' anymore. The iPhone and Mac both have force touch, the iPad does not.

 

[/dev/toaster]

Yet Apple is pushing devs to implement it within their apps ...

 

[Gudi]

See why it's better to sell pencils? At $100 a pop and allowing other devices to use it they can sell many more at a higher profit and a larger bottom line.

All the magic is hiding behind the word "allowing". It's not forbidden to use the Apple Pencil with the iPad Air, it's impossible because the technology enabling the pencil is expensive high-tech only available in the iPad Pro. A $500 iPad Air 3 with pencil support would have next to no profit margin at all. Pencils are not the printer toner business, where you can afford to give away the printer and make the money with color sales. You should expect an average sale of less than one pencil for every pencil-enabled iPad sold. So you better make sure to make your margin on the expensive device itself not on the cheaper accessory.

 

[The Game 161]

I'm thinking of getting the next iPad air. its on my shopping list for myself (I have credit card points burning a hole in my wallet, and I really wouldn't mind a super lightweight tablet to complement my Surface Pro 2).

But I feel like, why buy the Air 3, if it's not going to have all the latest goodies that Apple has at it's disposal? 3Dtouch looks cool.

No 3D Touch means the pencil is a must have feature they will add

 

[MrXiro]

All the magic is hiding behind the word "allowing". It's not forbidden to use the Apple Pencil with the iPad Air, it's impossible because the technology enabling the pencil is expensive high-tech only available in the iPad Pro. A $500 iPad Air 3 with pencil support would have next to no profit margin at all. Pencils are not the printer toner business, where you can afford to give away the printer and make the money with color sales. You should expect an average sale of less than one pencil for every pencil-enabled iPad sold. So you better make sure to make your margin on the expensive device itself not on the cheaper accessory.

You pinpointed on the word "allowing" too much as we're discussing putting it on the Air 3 so allowing is the same as "implementing".

But on top of that, there is barely any advancement between the Air 2 and the Pro. It's a SOC upgrade that is the only thing that would make a difference. The chip itself and some clever software writing makes the screen increase it's refresh rate when the Pen is in use. By the time the Air 3 is released you don't think that they would have an A10 chip that does everything the A9x chip can do?

You're only making up a statistic that there is no profit margin on a Apple Pencil enabled $500 iPad Air 3, unless you have insider information you have absolutely no way of knowing.

There is clearly more demand for the Pencil than there is for iPad Pro units currently, heck the iPad Pro is the first new Apple Product I've seen that isn't sold out the first week of release. Why would Apple further limit a niche product with a niche peripheral? There is only things to gain "implementing" pencil usage on more devices, and it's not "reasons to sell more Pros", as I said I could see them putting 3D Touch on it first as the next "exclusive" feature

 

[Michael Goff]

Yet Apple is pushing devs to implement it within their apps ...

Yes, because there will be more phones with it by April than all iPads in use.

You pinpointed on the word "allowing" too much as we're discussing putting it on the Air 3 so allowing is the same as "implementing".

But on top of that, there is barely any advancement between the Air 2 and the Pro. It's a SOC upgrade that is the only thing that would make a difference. The chip itself and some clever software writing makes the screen increase it's refresh rate when the Pen is in use. By the time the Air 3 is released you don't think that they would have an A10 chip that does everything the A9x chip can do?

You're only making up a statistic that there is no profit margin on a Apple Pencil enabled $500 iPad Air 3, unless you have insider information you have absolutely no way of knowing.

There is clearly more demand for the Pencil than there is for iPad Pro units currently, heck the iPad Pro is the first new Apple Product I've seen that isn't sold out the first week of release. Why would Apple further limit a niche product with a niche peripheral? There is only things to gain "implementing" pencil usage on more devices, and it's not "reasons to sell more Pros", as I said I could see them putting 3D Touch on it first as the next "exclusive" feature

It's the screen. Seriously, refresh rate is not some thing determined by chip or software alone. If you take a screen with a 59hz refresh rate, hook up amazing hardware to that and use any any software you want, it's going to be 59hz. The fact that it's variable deals with more than just the screen, yes, but let's not pretend that the screen from the Pro isn't amazing. Without the technology in the screen, you won't have the 240hz variable refresh rate.

And screens are expensive.

 

[Michael Goff]

Double post

 

[MrXiro]

Yes, because there will be more phones with it by April than all iPads in use.



It's the screen. Seriously, refresh rate is not some thing determined by chip or software alone. If you take a screen with a 59hz refresh rate, hook up amazing hardware to that and use any any software you want, it's going to be 59hz. The fact that it's variable deals with more than just the screen, yes, but let's not pretend that the screen from the Pro isn't amazing. Without the technology in the screen, you won't have the 240hz variable refresh rate.

And screens are expensive.

I do not agree that it would be expensive to the point where a price point of $500 would make it unprofitable. Especially at the tiny size of an iPad Air in comparison to an iPad Pro. You can essentially make 2 iPad Airs with 1 iPad Pro screen.
I'm not saying that the screen isn't impressive but I don't think the variable refresh rate screen is a bank breaking feature that would price the air out of it's affordability.

 

[Michael Goff]

I do not agree that it would be expensive to the point where a price point of $500 would make it unprofitable. Especially at the tiny size of an iPad Air in comparison to an iPad Pro. You can essentially make 2 iPad Airs with 1 iPad Pro screen.
I'm not saying that the screen isn't impressive but I don't think the variable refresh rate screen is a bank breaking feature that would price the air out of it's affordability.

You couldn't cut an iPad Pro screen in half and make two iPad Air screens.

They're going to have to design that, or somebody else is going to have to design that, in terms of size.

The iPad Pro screen, btw, likely costs about as much as all of the rest of the components. I don't think you get how much screens cost.

 

[MrXiro]

You couldn't cut an iPad Pro screen in half and make two iPad Air screens.

They're going to have to design that, or somebody else is going to have to design that, in terms of size.

The iPad Pro screen, btw, likely costs about as much as all of the rest of the components. I don't think you get how much screens cost.

Please enlighten me then... how much does the LCD for the iPad Pro cost Apple to buy?

 

[Michael Goff]

Please enlighten me then... how much does the LCD for the iPad Pro cost Apple to buy?

In exact numbers? Only Apple knows. But it is a special size, a special resolution, a special refresh rate. There is nothing standard about any of it. That's why I said that I wouldn't be surprised if it did instead of telling you exactly. And that's why I went into the general knowledge that a good screen makes up the largest part of most tablets these days

 

[jb-net]

I'm predicting:
- A9X with 4GB RAM
- Fast SSD-like storage
- USB 3.0 controller
- Apple Pencil support
- 4 speakers
- no 3D touch
- 16/64/128 GB
- same price points

Would buy one instantly as a replacement for my iPad Air. I hope it is comming in march.

 

[Michael Goff]

I'm predicting:
- A9X with 4GB RAM
- Fast SSD-like storage
- USB 3.0 controller
- Apple Pencil support
- 4 speakers
- no 3D touch
- 16/64/128 GB
- same price points

Would buy one instantly as a replacement for my iPad Air. I hope it is comming in march.

So you predict it will be a smaller iPad Pro with different storage sizes?