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Z8beema

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 18, 2013
399
18
Mass.
Would you buy cheaper ipad with less features? I've had this idea, granted it would probably never happen, to lose the back camera , upgrade the front facing camera, make it plastic (although I love the aluminum) and drop it 50-100 dollars. I never use the camera in the back and would love to see it go if it saved me money and I could careless what it's made out of. Touch I.d would probably remain a myth to the iPad line which I wouldn't like but in this mythical ipad scenario I would be ok with that. Do you agree?
 
Would you buy cheaper ipad with less features? I've had this idea, granted it would probably never happen, to lose the back camera , upgrade the front facing camera, make it plastic (although I love the aluminum) and drop it 50-100 dollars. I never use the camera in the back and would love to see it go if it saved me money and I could careless what it's made out of. Touch I.d would probably remain a myth to the iPad line which I wouldn't like but in this mythical ipad scenario I would be ok with that. Do you agree?

Who did this to you?!

But seriously. The fact that there isn't cheap junk from Apple is why I buy Apple products instead of Samsung products.
 
Why should that be an option when the competition offers much better specs for less money? The two things that separates the iPad from other tablets are:

1) iOS

2) Premium look and feel
 
Apple isn't going to offer a cheaper version of their lineup, because:
1. Each extra model increases their overhead costs, in terms of manufacturing, warehouse space, etc.
2. Too many models increases user hesitation over which model to get. It has been shown in behavior research that too much hesitation can cause consumers to simply not buy anything.
 
Who did this to you?!

But seriously. The fact that there isn't cheap junk from Apple is why I buy Apple products instead of Samsung products.

This honeatly spawned from the fact that I think a camera looking outward is one of the most pointless thinks ever on a tablet computer. From there I just started thinking what else could be taken off an ipad that could make it cheaper. I love the quality of all apple products and that's why I only buy apple electronics but I just see useless components for me at least
 
This honeatly spawned from the fact that I think a camera looking outward is one of the most pointless thinks ever on a tablet computer. From there I just started thinking what else could be taken off an ipad that could make it cheaper. I love the quality of all apple products and that's why I only buy apple electronics but I just see useless components for me at least

You may not use the camera, but a ton of other people do!

Even for stuff that isn't photography oriented it's great. Posting something on eBay, for example, is much easier just using your iPad with a camera built right in. And no, we don't want to be turning it around all the time to take a picture using the front camera...
 
This honeatly spawned from the fact that I think a camera looking outward is one of the most pointless thinks ever on a tablet computer.

First iPad had no camera at all, and people were asking why it didn't have any, they want to use one for FaceTime. And in FaceTime, it is sometimes useful to have a back camera, in case you want to show the other person something you are looking at. Like my mom went on a trip and used the back camera to show me the view. I used the back camera to show my friend something funny the cats were doing. Etc.
 
Would you buy cheaper ipad with less features? I've had this idea, granted it would probably never happen, to lose the back camera , upgrade the front facing camera, make it plastic (although I love the aluminum) and drop it 50-100 dollars. I never use the camera in the back and would love to see it go if it saved me money and I could careless what it's made out of. Touch I.d would probably remain a myth to the iPad line which I wouldn't like but in this mythical ipad scenario I would be ok with that. Do you agree?
Personally, I don't want or need one. Granted, a camera-less iPad would have been nice to have while waiting in line at the INS. :p However, I know there are some who'd probably appreciate having an iPad with no camera and no mic whatsoever because their company prohibits them from bringing devices with recording capabilities. :)
 
First iPad had no camera at all, and people were asking why it didn't have any, they want to use one for FaceTime. And in FaceTime, it is sometimes useful to have a back camera, in case you want to show the other person something you are looking at. Like my mom went on a trip and used the back camera to show me the view. I used the back camera to show my friend something funny the cats were doing. Etc.

I'm not saying completely go camera less and I'm not saying one way is right or wrong I'm just saying I could live with a cheaper ipad that only has a front facing camera
 
I'm not saying completely go camera less and I'm not saying one way is right or wrong I'm just saying I could live with a cheaper ipad that only has a front facing camera

Well, taking out one camera wouldn't reduce the price by that much. If you want a cheaper iPad, then as you said in your original post, you would have to change other things, such as make the back plastic. If Apple did decide to make a cheaper iPad, they might just make it in plastic and keep both cameras.
 
When traveling I often see people using iPad rear cameras to take shots. Mystifying to me, but done nonetheless. I personally would only want a front facing camera, for Facetime and Skype. Much more importantly, I want dual speakers, one on each wide end, for watching video. Even on my iPhone 4, I hate there only being one speaker on one side.

If the iPad had been $100 - $150 cheaper, I would have already bought two minis. As it stands, I'm sticking with an iPad 1 until after I get an iPhone 6 and see what my new needs are. $300 for a retina iPad is my buying price, so I'm just waiting for retina to trickle down to that price point.

I don't really like how Apple positions their releases for Christmas, since I'd prefer to buy them before traveling in Summer holidays, since that's when I need a new mobile device the most. It's why I had to get an iPhone 4, and not the 4s. I don't really ever bother carrying around a camera, so it's a pain in the ass having an older iPhone camera for one more trip.
 
When traveling I often see people using iPad rear cameras to take shots. Mystifying to me, but done nonetheless. I personally would only want a front facing camera, for Facetime and Skype.

This is exactly what I'm saying. I guess most people don't agree with us but it would be a decent option
 
Well, they released the iPhone 5c in plastic and released a 16GB iPod Touch 5th gen last year with no rear camera. So, I don't see it as that far fetched to do both on an iPad and make it cheaper. They just released a cheaper entry-level iMac. I think they are certainly going in this direction and the OP is not wrong to think about this.
 
Would you buy cheaper ipad with less features? I've had this idea, granted it would probably never happen, to lose the back camera , upgrade the front facing camera, make it plastic (although I love the aluminum) and drop it 50-100 dollars. I never use the camera in the back and would love to see it go if it saved me money and I could careless what it's made out of. Touch I.d would probably remain a myth to the iPad line which I wouldn't like but in this mythical ipad scenario I would be ok with that. Do you agree?

Nope… got to have the latest and the greatest. If Apple releases a new iPad today and a new one tomorrow and a new one day after and a new one day after that and a new one every single day until the supply of aluminum runs out in this world, I will continue buying one. I may get a divorce in the interim as my wife wouldn't stand this and I may end up having to sell my house and my car and probably my clothes too but having the latest and the greatest is essential to the survival of all man kind.
 
Nope… got to have the latest and the greatest. If Apple releases a new iPad today and a new one tomorrow and a new one day after and a new one day after that and a new one every single day until the supply of aluminum runs out in this world, I will continue buying one. I may get a divorce in the interim as my wife wouldn't stand this and I may end up having to sell my house and my car and probably my clothes too but having the latest and the greatest is essential to the survival of all man kind.

Ok
 
Nope… got to have the latest and the greatest. If Apple releases a new iPad today and a new one tomorrow and a new one day after and a new one day after that and a new one every single day until the supply of aluminum runs out in this world, I will continue buying one. I may get a divorce in the interim as my wife wouldn't stand this and I may end up having to sell my house and my car and probably my clothes too but having the latest and the greatest is essential to the survival of all man kind.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple
 
First as others have said the chances of this ever happening are slim.

And with the way Apple treats cheaper product lines (always crappier specs in places you arent expecting like the screen or the speakers) no I probably would not choose the cheaper version.

BUT assuming I could get an ipad Air just like my current one but without a camera and with a durable and more grippy lighter plastic case instead of aluminum I would prefer that product. The aluminum looks beautiful but it is terrible from an ergonomics and durability perspective. (Still love my air).
 
The "best" tool is the one you have when you need it. This applies to hammers, spatulas, pencils, and even cameras. If I decide I need to take a picture of something and the iPad is nearby, that's what I'll use. There are lots of better cameras, but sometimes they aren't nearby.

I love the ipad air. I recently stuck it into a crack in the ceiling to take a picture of a plumbing leak. Couldn't do that with a normal camera. Could have done it with an iphone if I had one. The ipad came out splashed with water and crumbly plaster, but that one picture saved me a couple of thousand dollars in unneccessary work because the leak was not where everyone thought it was. It made the plumber's and plasterer's jobs much faster and easier and saved me enough money to replace my iPad twice if I had to ... or maybe even buy an iphone. Pretty cool, right?

Then, I stuck the ipad inside a desk drawer and took a picture to see why the drawer would not open and close properly. The lock mechanism was bent. That saved me half a day of taking apart the wrong side of an antique desk to get to the bent parts.

My original ipad had no camera and it's the one thing I wished it did have. And, the ipad air camera takes better pictures than the 2 point and shoot cameras we own that have more pixels.

So, no, I would not buy a crippled, cheaper ipad.
 
The "best" tool is the one you have when you need it. This applies to hammers, spatulas, pencils, and even cameras. If I decide I need to take a picture of something and the iPad is nearby, that's what I'll use. There are lots of better cameras, but sometimes they aren't nearby.

I love the ipad air. I recently stuck it into a crack in the ceiling to take a picture of a plumbing leak. Couldn't do that with a normal camera. Could have done it with an iphone if I had one. The ipad came out splashed with water and crumbly plaster, but that one picture saved me a couple of thousand dollars in unneccessary work because the leak was not where everyone thought it was. It made the plumber's and plasterer's jobs much faster and easier and saved me enough money to replace my iPad twice if I had to ... or maybe even buy an iphone. Pretty cool, right?

Then, I stuck the ipad inside a desk drawer and took a picture to see why the drawer would not open and close properly. The lock mechanism was bent. That saved me half a day of taking apart the wrong side of an antique desk to get to the bent parts.

My original ipad had no camera and it's the one thing I wished it did have. And, the ipad air camera takes better pictures than the 2 point and shoot cameras we own that have more pixels.

So, no, I would not buy a crippled, cheaper ipad.

Hope you had a lot of light in those two places or your new ipad is as good as the first one you had without a camera "crippled" by a lack of light
 
I love the rear camera but not for photos per se. I use it to deposit checks into my bank account via my bank's awesome iPad app, and to scan and electronically file important receipts and documents.
 
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