There Will Be No iPad Refresh in March

[jigzaw]

I completely understand the angst people have about this, because I have it too. The iPad isn't a $40 Walkman. It's a major investment for a lot of people, and it's dispiriting to finally spend that kind of money on something only to see a better version for the same price very shortly thereafter. It's not about the "hipness" factor for me, but the longevity and value for my buck factor. If they release a redesigned 5th gen iPad in March, the 4th gen iPad will be one of the shortest-lived tech products in history. Nov-Feb is only four months. They should call it the "iPad 4 months".

I find it hard to believe that they would do that, but really they've become rather unpredictable, so I wouldn't put it past them. The result? I was going to buy a 4th gen the minute I heard about it as my first iPad, but now I'm unsure. Not being filthy rich, I'd hate to spend $600 on on an iPad only to find out that had I only waited 4 more months, I'd get a much better machine for that $600. I'm gonna want my first iPad to last me a good long time, so if 4 months is all there is between one model and the next, I'll wait... except we don't know, so I'm kinda just stalling now and will probably just spend my christmas money on something else.

 

[haruhiko]

I keep seeing people saying that they're going to wait until the next iPad release in March instead of getting the iPad 4. I seriously doubt there will be one. Moving the iPad release schedule to the fall (just like the iPhone) puts all of their products in line for refreshes within 3 months of Christmas which is when they will dominate that quarter. This is actually a very well played move to guarantee huge profits around the holidays every year. They sacrificed the pissed off few that bought an iPad 3 to do this and from their standpoint it was the right thing to do. So keep on waiting for that new iPad in March...

Yeah, just like there would only be an iPad 3 with lightning connector with no CPU 2x upgrade.

----------

If I quickly thought about how I may handle the release of the various Apple product lines, I might consider the following:

Spring/Mother's Day/Father's Day:
- iPad
- Apple TV

Summer/Back to School:
- iPad mini
- MacBook Pro/Air

Fall/Holiday:
- iPhone
- iPod/iTunes
- Mac Desktops
- Optional Apple TV spot

This would constantly allow new updated products being announced and available to consumers. Sub-consciously, it is easier for consumers to buy multiple higher cost items over time versus all at once in a very short timeframe.

I have seen in the past through some marketing that I have read that Jan-Mar is the slowest consumer spending timeframe. This is most likely due to the large spending during the Black Friday and Christmas events.

I concur that the next iPad mini with much better internals and probably a retina screen (less possible) will come next summer.

----------

Apple has done quick refreshes before.

I remember I purchased a Macbook in Jan 2008 (apple had just refreshed the Macbook in November 2007). And Apple refreshed the Macbook a mere 3 1/2 months later at the end of Feb 2008.

So Apple has done these quick refreshes before on other products. The iPad is a mature device these days. So a refresh 6-7 months later doesn't shock me. It surprised me, but it's not a shock.

2007/2008 MBPs are defective products, of course they needed to refresh them quickly.

----------

I completely understand the angst people have about this, because I have it too. The iPad isn't a $40 Walkman. It's a major investment for a lot of people, and it's dispiriting to finally spend that kind of money on something only to see a better version for the same price very shortly thereafter. It's not about the "hipness" factor for me, but the longevity and value for my buck factor. If they release a redesigned 5th gen iPad in March, the 4th gen iPad will be one of the shortest-lived tech products in history. Nov-Feb is only four months. They should call it the "iPad 4 months".

I find it hard to believe that they would do that, but really they've become rather unpredictable, so I wouldn't put it past them. The result? I was going to buy a 4th gen the minute I heard about it as my first iPad, but now I'm unsure. Not being filthy rich, I'd hate to spend $600 on on an iPad only to find out that had I only waited 4 more months, I'd get a much better machine for that $600. I'm gonna want my first iPad to last me a good long time, so if 4 months is all there is between one model and the next, I'll wait... except we don't know, so I'm kinda just stalling now and will probably just spend my christmas money on something else.

If it will be your first iPad it's fine. But definitely not for me as an iPad 3 owner. Apple has changed despite a lot of comments here said "I don't care, my iPad 3 works as good as before".

 

[seajewel]

I'm wondering if we will see an iPad (5th Gen) much sooner than a lot of people expect. It's not like the iPad (4th gen) took a lot of effort for Apple's design team. Likely they have been working on the real update to the iPad 3 the day after that one was finalized. I really want a thinner lighter iPad.. but I don't really want to wait, either. Checking ebay it seems like people are still paying a lot for used iPad 3s.. just saw a 16GB wi-fi at $405 with a few minutes left on it.. damn. I wouldn't mind picking up an iPad and selling it next year with only a ~$100 loss. Although I want 32GB and I think that doesn't hold value as well, probably because a lot of people out there care only about price and don't understand specs. I still haven't decided whether I'm picking up an iPad at all, but yeah.. I really wouldn't be surprised if the next iPad comes out, say, in June with the iPad mini/iPhone 5 aesthetic and 20% less weight.

 

[tylerdurden500]

What is the maindiference between the ipad 3 vs 4?