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iPad + Average Consumer, that's your usecase:

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Apple advertised just that for 499$ (which is now 329$). If you want more than a media consumption device, then there's the Pro, which is a bit more, since it can replace a full-sized laptop, especially the 12.9" with the Pencil and iPadOS file management.

Heck, you can do that on the regular iPad and iPad Mini now. Granted it's the Pencil not the Pencil 2, but yeah... as die hard #pcmasterrace as I am, for someone who isn't going to game or do MKBHD-level video production, I'd just recommend an iPad (or Air) and Smart Keyboard.
 
I remember getting a 1st gen iPad. And then two years later Apple dropped support for it in iOS and I decided that's the last iPad I'll ever get.
 
Decent hardware hobbled by iOS/iPadOS and Apple's oppressive restrictions on what you can/can't run. Don't miss mine.
 
All SJ/Apple did was copy STNG. Regardless, my 89 yo dad (who manages his own portfolio) loves his iPad. He never uses his Windows PC anymore.

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as far as tech luxury goes, I really dig my 12.9 iPad Pro. I might hop between iOS and Android when it comes to phones but no manufacturer of tablets has been able to come close to the iPad IMHO.
 
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I remember getting a 1st gen iPad. And then two years later Apple dropped support for it in iOS and I decided that's the last iPad I'll ever get.

You're missing out.

Recent iPads get supported for longer... and they're so powerful that they'll actually last longer too.

Please don't judge today's iPad on what happened 7 years ago to a product from 9 years ago. :p
 
You mean like those who say Apple needs:

  • A Mac Pro for normal people that doesn't cost so much and uses Threadrippers instead of Xeons?
  • A 3.5mm jack on iPhones?
  • SD card slots on iPhones or iPads?
  • A MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM instead of 16GB (because they need to run VMs)?
  • Nvidia graphics cards instead of AMD?
  • And so on.....
If so, I agree. It's amazing how many people think they should dictate what Apple does.

Your list is what others have said they want or need for themselves. The other poster was telling people what they don't need. So no, I didn't mean anything like what you just posted.
 
Dear Phil, I am not interested in the past please tell me when I will have an iphone that lasts several days on one charge and doesn't need a case to protect it when dropped.

Thank you
 
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He didn't mention wonderful iOS 5/6. Without the adoption of early intuitive user interface, kids and elderly are hard to be attracted.

See how many kids are bored and elderly are confused of today's flat UI.
 
way back in the day, a friend had one and I played with it for about 3 minutes and was immediately struck by how much it didn't interest me in the least.
Fast forward a bit and someone GAVE me an iPad 2. I tried to like it but just couldn't. Too heavy and awkward for almost everything, and that machine had an eye watering low resolution screen that gave me eye strain. For me personally, it was a dreadful product and I actually gave it to someone else, like the unwanted Xmas present that keeps on being gifted to the next person every year.
I'll never be an iPad fan.
 
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And this is where Apple have gone astray. When Steve Jobs came back in '98 there were umpteen lines of Mac, Performa, Quadra, Power Mac, etc etc. His first order of business was to cut EVERY one and start over. There were only four, which could be set up in a four-quadrant table: the left was personal, the right was business. The top was mobile, and the bottom was desktop. Period. They absolutely flourished.

Get back to the simplicity of Apple.
Phil Schiller has addressed this point before. According to him, Apple still uses the four quadrant approach. And it is brilliant; as you mention, Apple has absolutely flourished over the last 20+ years. The difference is that now, Apple can afford to do more than one model per quadrant.

Remember, when Jobs came back, the product line was a disaster and Apple was in financial straits. Literally dozens of slightly different—or sometimes even identical—models, with various names depending on their target market, sales channel or phase of the moon. No one, not even Apple, could keep track of that mess. And the logistics and expense of keeping all those models alive for their life cycle was eating them alive.

Paring the product line back drastically was a financial and existential necessity, and the four quadrants were a way of succinctly communicating the focus that was necessary to keep Apple alive. The quadrants weren’t meant to make buying easy for customers, it was to make things easy for Apple. This is what people have forgotten.

Luckily, Apple has progressed to the point they can do more than one product per quadrant. Take iPad for instance. Certain posters here became near apoplectic when Apple re-introduced the iPad Air. Concern trolls had a field day. How could stupid customers possibly choose between five models? Jobs would never allow it! He would be spinning like a rotisserie.

But is five too much? Is it an impossible feat to make a choice, or are consumers frozen by the overwhelming number of alternatives? Well, if you want a small iPad, you have exactly one choice: iPad mini. If you want a very large iPad, you better have a sizable budget because again, you have only one option and it’s $1,000 to $1,500, or more.

That leaves three models if you want what 80% of iPad buyers want, which is an iPad with a 10-11” display:
  • A $299/329 10.2” model with a very good display, relatively quick, pencil-capable; targeted at kids, education and those on a tighter budget.
  • If you’ve got an extra couple hundred to spend, get the 10.5” Air. An amazing display, fast CPU, great battery life with few compromises.
  • If cost is no object, the $799 11” Pro is the iPad for you. The fastest CPU, FaceID, excellent camera, the best display, pencil 2, and a bunch of connectivity options to storage and peripherals with its USB-C port
Good, better, best. $300, $500, $800. Yes, there are plenty of feature differences, but price effectively makes the customer’s decision for them.

For those who think the iPad line should be pared down, how would you do it? Cut the mini? The 13” Pro? Maybe the three iPad options should be cut down to two. So which one should go? The best selling $300 model? The top of the line, where Apple makes the most profit? Or do you discontinue the Air, and leave no option for the middle ground customers, making them choose between a budget model at $300 and the spare no expense iPad Pro at $800?

Apple is killing it with this strategy. People are smart enough to choose between the options Apple offers. It’s really not all that difficult :)
 
And also in fairness the ones that are truly 'computer devices' are definitely not under $500!
Just because it doesn’t fit your needs from a “computer device”, doesn’t mean that it is not a “computer device”. Different people have different takes on what a computer is used for. My neighbour (80 years old) has no chance of working out how to use a Windows computer. But on her iPad, she does a lot of “computer stuff” on her own:

- email
- facebook
- Online banking
- tax returns and other official public stuff (mandatory to do online in my country)
- renting and reading library books
- facetiming grandchildren
etc

My point is, what some people call “consumption”, is what computing IS for many people. And if “consumption devices” didn’t exist, they would be offline. My neighbour has absolutely zero use for any feature a full-blown PC has to offer over an iPad.
 
Ahh... The original iPad. It was absolutely awesome. I wish I had kept mine.

Of course now we have even better models, including ones that fold in half for easier transport. ;)
 
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Admittedly I was an iPad hater for most of the decade. It just seemed like an over-sized iPhone with a sub par OS. But after using one in the recent year or so I just love the experience. The iPad OS is now more refined with multitasking baked in and it's just more of an ideal form factor for everything I already do on my iPhone XS. I liked it so much I couldn't resist the 128 gb iPad 7th gen that was on sale recently for $330. It's just a phenomenal price for an Apple product and a brilliant way to get more people in the ecosystem.
 
way back in the day, a friend had one and I played with it for about 3 minutes and was immediately struck by how much it didn't interest me in the least.
Fast forward a bit and someone GAVE me an iPad 2. I tried to like it but just couldn't. Too heavy and awkward for almost everything, and that machine had an eye watering low resolution screen that gave me eye strain. For me personally, it was a dreadful product and I actually gave it to someone else, like the unwanted Xmas present that keeps on being gifted to the next person every year.
I'll never be an iPad fan.
You're just too sophisticated for something as trivial as an iPad.
 
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