Sketchy Report Claims No New iPad Air in 2015, One Last iPad Mini

[Aegelward]

The iPad Pro will probably be MUCH lighter and a bit thinner than the Note 12.2

The Note Pro is pretty lightweight, aided mostly by plastic construction. About the only way the Pro could be lighter is if they finally change from aluminium to a different material. Either Magnesium Alloy or Carbon Fibre.

Would be great if they added a kickstand. Though that would both make it thicker, and perhaps be too... Microsoft-y for Apple

 

[Even Longer]

Or, when will Apple just up and buy Wacom?

I would be totally OK with such decision .

 

[oldmacs]

I use my iPad Mini 2 daily; in fact it's my most used device. I use it for several work tasks, and it's easily portable to meetings etc.

My iPhone 5s suits my pocket, and when out and about/evenings.

So this combination of sizes works for me. I therefore am unlikely to upgrade any time soon if these sizes are phased out.

Why Apple seemingly hates a choice in sizes is beyond me. The 6S should be 4, 4.7 and 5.5 and there should be a Mini, Air and Pro. They did 4 different 'sizes' with iPods, so I ca't see why it would be a problem doing 3 for the iPhone and iPad.

 

[apolloa]

Don't believe this 'sketchy report' for one second. Because the other reports make sense advising Apple is going to make this new Pro iPad in limited quantities as I imagine the high price of it will limit its sales, plus not many people will buy such a big tablet. And here is this report claiming the total opposite and that they will ditch any new Air due to massive sales of the Pro?

Yeah I don't believe this report.

 

[ron7624]

I use the hell out of my rMini. I was disappointed with no refresh last year and am looking forward to buying the finally refreshed version this fall. The Mini is my most used Apple device, yes even more than my iPhone 6.
Im glad this is a Sketchy report. It had better be

 

[JulianL]

If Apple is getting rid of the Mini then maybe they consider an essential feature for the next Air to be a screen that exploits the recently discussed patent to integrate TouchID into the screen and get rid of the Home button. That would allow the bezels to be reduced further and get the physical size at least a bit closer to that of the current Mini. Then combine that with what would be 2 years worth (if no Air update this year) of hardware and software engineering refinements to boost power efficiency substantially to allow a possibly significantly smaller battery (and hence much lower weight) in an Air 3 but still with a similar battery life to the Air 2. Also, experience with new aluminium and other case build changes in the next version of the iPhone 6 Plus to reduce bending (if the rumours are true) might be able to be applied to the Air 3 to make it thinner as well as lighter. All this aimed at lessening the blow to people who liked the iPad Mini for it's improved portability vs the iPad Air by making a big push to get the size and the weight of the next iPad Air down as much as possible to make it more acceptable to ex iPad Mini users.

 

[JustMartin]

Perhaps they're going to a kind of 'trickle down' model in terms of features. So, bring up the mini to the Air so that they're pretty much the same apart from size and then introduce the Pro with a bunch of new features (force touch, integrated finger print reader etc.) at a premium price. Then, in the following year, push the innovations into the other two and bring out a new pro with all sorts of whizzy new features.

 

[bgraham]

This seems likely actually. Even if the Air 2 is updated, it'll be a very small spec upgrade most likely as it's far ahead of the Mini 3 or even iPhone 6 power wise. We've got to the point I think where the Air 2 is perfect; there's nothing else to add to it, I think we'll always be seeing small updates in the future.

 

[ipadpro]

i dont trust this rumors ,,,
same as ipod touch 6 launch july 14

no one know apple doing

 

[JulianL]

We've got to the point I think where the Air 2 is perfect; there's nothing else to add to it, I think we'll always be seeing small updates in the future.

I love my Air but I do still think that it would still benefit hugely from more size and weight reduction. I really do think that getting rid of the home button might make sense to do first on the iPad rather than the iPhone.

The iPhone is the device where TouchID is more likely to be used in a shop or on public transport where if anything goes wrong it can be embarrassing if there is a queue of people behind you. On the Air TouchID is used more for basic device security and in-app purchases which tend to be solitary activities with less of a "this needs to happen in under a second" type of constraint so would be a less risky place for Apple to first introduce a screen with integrated TouchID.

 

[i0Nic]

I dunno... I'd still prefer to use an iPad Mini for certain things.

These two devices aren't exactly interchangeable in my mind:

I dunno. While they're not interchangeable, having an iPhone 6 Plus is just big enough for many of the uses of the iPad mini, mainly reading, to make owning a mini AND a 6 plus seem irrelevant.

The fact that the 6 Plus is proving to be a highly popular device and the iPad mini sales are failing, I think Apple may be right to focus on winning products.

 

[theluggage]

Why Apple seemingly hates a choice in sizes is beyond me.

Apple's problem is that their most ferocious competitor is Apple - while they are a minority player in the phone and computer market as a whole, they own the premium, high-margin end of the market (see: Apple's Share of Smartphone Industry Profit Rises to 92%, Despite iPhone Representing Less Than 20% of Sales). People tend to decide to go Apple, then decide which Apple model they want.

So, a 4" iPhone would mainly hit sales of larger (and more expensive) iPhones, the iPhone 6+ has probably hit sales of the iPad Mini (and an improved mini might hit sales of the probably more profitable 6+).

Its related to the reason why you won't see a desktop mac with a fast i7 and a 'prosumer'-class GPU - lots of Apple users would love it - but those same Apple users are the target market for a Mac Pro or riMac.

 

[zedsdead]

While the report may be sketchy, this does seem exactly like something Apple would do with the iPad. Each year there is always something glaring missing from one of the iPads, and this year it may just be the iPad Air considering the Air 2 is a very capable machine.

With declining iPad sales, Apple is not intent on focusing on it as much as it used to. Look at what happened with the iPod lineup once sales started declining. Apple let them die and transitioned mostly off of it. Today is likely to be the first update in years (and they put no money into increasing the screen size at all....nor Touch ID it looks like).

The iPad Mini will see a substantial update this year, and then very little if any next year (just like it did last year). It probably has a two year cycle.

The iPad Pro is likely coming, all signs point to this.

As for the iPad Air, the only thing it would get this year is Force Touch and A9, so Apple may wait and focus solely on the iPad Pro. Plus, by not updating it they can officially drop the price to $400.

Overall, the lineup released last September was way too convoluted anyway.

 

[KohPhiPhi]

The Mini, as a casual tablet, is a superior product to the Air.

Tablets are meant to be A) portable, B) hand-held, C) for casual use. As such, those 3 characteristics fit better the Mini than the Air.

I've had both, and I like the Mini **MUCH** better than the Air: it fits better in my hands, it fits in any small pouch, it's more comfortable to hold in my hands, etc.

 

[Gaspode67]

More sizes, not less!

As Stannis Baratheon rightly pointed out....

"Fewer, not less"

 

[Stella]

BS. Yes they will - even if its minor.

Same reports last year - no iPad refreshes. Apple are not going to leave an iPad untouched for two years.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Apple have really abandoned the iPad.

It's such a shame that Steve Jobs only got to see a year and a half of the iPad's life. I truly think that if he were alive, the iPad would have had much more love and attention from Apple, and its sales would have kept rising. Jobs would have carried on turning it into a true post-PC replacement and distinguished it far more from the iPhone.

It feels like there's been an unnecessary and artificial lull in its development, purely because Cook wanted to milk the iPhone for all its worth and prove his mettle with the Apple Watch. What a waste of time that was.

I wish Apple would bring out a 4" iPhone, a 13" iPad, a 17" laptop and a 34" iMac. And cull the lines—just offer one model in each size. Three sizes of each device all with the same specs for the iOS devices. All the laptops and desktops should be Retina display by now.

The iPad was Steve's last great legacy to the world. Please honour it, Tim.

 

[bbfc]

Another sketchy report. Isn't the mini the best selling iPad? Apple would be crazy to discontinue it.

 

[oldmacs]

Apple's problem is that their most ferocious competitor is Apple - while they are a minority player in the phone and computer market as a whole, they own the premium, high-margin end of the market (see: Apple's Share of Smartphone Industry Profit Rises to 92%, Despite iPhone Representing Less Than 20% of Sales). People tend to decide to go Apple, then decide which Apple model they want.

So, a 4" iPhone would mainly hit sales of larger (and more expensive) iPhones, the iPhone 6+ has probably hit sales of the iPad Mini (and an improved mini might hit sales of the probably more profitable 6+).

Its related to the reason why you won't see a desktop mac with a fast i7 and a 'prosumer'-class GPU - lots of Apple users would love it - but those same Apple users are the target market for a Mac Pro or riMac.

A 4 inch phone would probably cost less to make though... If they for example kept the 5S casing and just updated the internals...

tbh I'd pay a premium for a 4 inch phone. Otherwise its keeping my 5 until it dies.

 

[bbfc]

Apple have really abandoned the iPad.

It's such a shame that Steve Jobs only got to see a year and a half of the iPad's life. I truly think that if he were alive, the iPad would have had much more love and attention from Apple, and its sales would have kept rising. Jobs would have carried on turning it into a true post-PC replacement and distinguished it far more from the iPhone.

It feels like there's been an unnecessary and artificial lull in its development, purely because Cook wanted to milk the iPhone for all its worth and prove his mettle with the Apple Watch. What a waste of time that was.

I wish Apple would bring out a 4" iPhone, a 13" iPad, a 17" laptop and a 34" iMac. And cull the lines—just offer one model in each size. Three sizes of each device all with the same specs for the iOS devices. All the laptops and desktops should be Retina display by now.

The iPad was Steve's last great legacy to the world. Please honour it, Tim.

I don't think there will be a new (as in completely new) 4" iPhone, to me is doesn't make sense. The Apple Watch has been a huge success and the iPhone just goes from strength to strength. The iPad still outsells all other tablets.

 

[oldmacs]

Apple have really abandoned the iPad.

It's such a shame that Steve Jobs only got to see a year and a half of the iPad's life. I truly think that if he were alive, the iPad would have had much more love and attention from Apple, and its sales would have kept rising. Jobs would have carried on turning it into a true post-PC replacement and distinguished it far more from the iPhone.

It feels like there's been an unnecessary and artificial lull in its development, purely because Cook wanted to milk the iPhone for all its worth and prove his mettle with the Apple Watch. What a waste of time that was.

I wish Apple would bring out a 4" iPhone, a 13" iPad, a 17" laptop and a 34" iMac. And cull the lines—just offer one model in each size. Three sizes of each device all with the same specs for the iOS devices. All the laptops and desktops should be Retina display by now.

The iPad was Steve's last great legacy to the world. Please honour it, Tim.

I agree to some extent... I think they should offer multiple devices for the lower end, but not nearly as many as they do now. Also I think for laptops, Keeping a broad range would be good, as people's laptop needs are quite different.

However, having 3 iPad Minis is insane. Just have 2 at the most. Perhaps only one iPad Air.

 

[bbfc]

I agree to some extent... I think they should offer multiple devices for the lower end, but not nearly as many as they do now. Also I think for laptops, Keeping a broad range would be good, as people's laptop needs are quite different.

However, having 3 iPad Minis is insane. Just have 2 at the most. Perhaps only one iPad Air.

I agree about the different iPads. It's just confusing for consumers.

 

[oldmacs]

I don't think there will be a new (as in completely new) 4" iPhone, to me is doesn't make sense. The Apple Watch has been a huge success and the iPhone just goes from strength to strength. The iPad still outsells all other tablets.

A 4 inch iPhone does make sense... There is still demand for it (Which will grow when large numbers of people start migrating off iPhone 5's and 5S's.

 

[bbfc]

A 4 inch iPhone does make sense... There is still demand for it (Which will grow when large numbers of people start migrating off iPhone 5's and 5S's.

Maybe. But I just don't see Apple releasing a new one.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Apple have applied to the people at Collins Dictionary to add the term 'resize same old stuff every year' to the meaning of the word 'innovate'. Sorted! ;-)