I agree, but mainly due to pricing. I have an iPad Pro 9.7, which was forced out of iOS 9 due to Apple’s activation bug and pathetic update policy. As a result, it is considerably slower and its battery life has fallen by around 40% or more. I’m still “okay” with this iPad but as a person who likes Apple products it now feels a little lacklustre.
I can’t buy an iPad in my home country, I have to travel, but I was thinking a little about what I would buy.
I’m not willing to spend a lot of money, especially considering the fact that I would be happy with this iPad had Apple allowed me to remain on iOS 9. I thought: the base 10.2 is discarded due to the fact that it would barely be an upgrade over the 9.7 Pro. The Air is okay, but with the dual speakers and design, I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, I like this design, but I’ve had this iPad for four years, I’d like to get something new. 800 dollars is way too much, especially considering that I was far happier with my iPad on iOS 9 in the first place. Therefore, the iPad announced today changes nothing.
I thought maybe a refurb 2018 11 Pro would be nice, and I think it would be the best choice, as a 64GB one would cost a little over 500 (64GB, but I’m okay with that as I would have this 128GB Pro still).
Anyway, if I wanted to stay with a “current model” (hypothetically, I’m not buying anything for now), I’d have to get the Air 3, which is, I think, too expensive for what I get. The current options are not appealing to me, so I would have to get the 2018, something I wouldn’t like to do, because I tend to keep stuff for years unless Apple forces it out of me by forcing me to update.
I hope that if I travel - whenever that happens - Apple comes up with an iPad that’s good enough for what I want, and not too expensive. A full-screen design priced like the Air would be nice, and I think that if I have to, I’d go with the 2018 refurb rather than buying the Air 3 if Apple doesn’t come up with anything.