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LadyHoneyBabe

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 22, 2010
465
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The iPad is, of course, a new Apple product and already there has been mention of a new iPad next year with a camera, more RAM, etc. Since a major software upgrade for the iPad is due later this year, would a hardware upgrade happen next year? Does Apple upgrade hardware that often?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

If the cycle is the same as with the iPhone , then annually. Iphone's have updated in June/July, and iPods in September.
 
Apple has to keep the cash cow mooing. Bank on a new model next year w/ new h/w features or at the very least faster proc, better screen, etc.
 
I still can't believe that Apple was so damn cheap as to not double the RAM from 256MB to 512MB. You've got a screen resolution that is so much higher than the iPhone 3GS, yet they keep the same memory.

And because of this, Safari keeps refreshing like a drunk idiot.
 
I'd assume the iPad will following the same yearly upgrade cycle as the iPods and iPhone.

This guide is a big help:
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//

I have a feeling that they'll update the iPad a little earlier the first time before they go with a yearly cycle.

Why? They haven't done this with any iphone or itouch. The ipad is breaking sales records right now. Releasing a new model costs a lot of money for Apple. Also, the Apple design/engineering team really isn't that large, so if they update one product out of cycle, they'll have to delay other products. I wouldn't expect any ipad updates until March/April-ish of next year.
 
I think a true hardware refresh may be up to a year away. However, Apple may knock $100/$150 off the price in time for the holidays and/or bump the HD capacity. They've done that before with 1st generation products.

Soon, everyone willing to pay the price for the current versions of the iPad will have done so. In order to maintain sales goals, Apple will have to lower the price or add features to make it worth it to a larger market.
 
I still can't believe that Apple was so damn cheap as to not double the RAM from 256MB to 512MB. You've got a screen resolution that is so much higher than the iPhone 3GS, yet they keep the same memory.

And because of this, Safari keeps refreshing like a drunk idiot.

mine works great. maybe you have a slow connection.
 
Apple may knock $100/$150 off the price in time for the holidays and/or bump the HD capacity. They've done that before with 1st generation products.

In fact they never reduce prices on existing product unless it's not selling or they need to reduce inventory to make way for a replacement model. The closest thing to a "price cut" is the Mac To School promo where they give edu customers a free iPod via rebate when they buy a new Mac.
 
I still can't believe that Apple was so damn cheap as to not double the RAM from 256MB to 512MB. You've got a screen resolution that is so much higher than the iPhone 3GS, yet they keep the same memory.

And because of this, Safari keeps refreshing like a drunk idiot.

Why do you assume that they could have done so? I think it would be better to have 512MB but that won't come until version two.

The memory is on the same chip as the CPU. They had to put two 128MB layers to get it up to 256MB. That was as much memory as they could design in at this time with the desired power parameters. To say they should have done differently assumes you know chip design better than they do.
 
In fact they never reduce prices on existing product unless it's not selling or they need to reduce inventory to make way for a replacement model. The closest thing to a "price cut" is the Mac To School promo where they give edu customers a free iPod via rebate when they buy a new Mac.

They dropped the price on the original iPhone by $200 a few months after it was released. Once Apple sells enough iPads at the current price levels and component prices come down--they will mark down the iPad. I'm only speculating though--like everyone here. We'll just have to wait and see. :)
 
I thought Apple decreases the price when they offer an upgraded model with increased storage space. So, a 128GB iPad = $699, 64GB iPad = $599, 32GB iPad = $499.
 
I think a true hardware refresh may be up to a year away. However, Apple may knock $100/$150 off the price in time for the holidays and/or bump the HD capacity. They've done that before with 1st generation products.

Soon, everyone willing to pay the price for the current versions of the iPad will have done so. In order to maintain sales goals, Apple will have to lower the price or add features to make it worth it to a larger market.

They only lowered the prices on the G1 iphone because the initial price was way too high, and they needed to gain marketshare more quickly. They raised the flash memory size from 8 to 16 GB to also gain marketshare. It was a brand new, revolutionary product that they needed to entice people to buy.

The iPad is a totally different story. The iphone platform is entrenched in the market now. People know what it is and why they want to buy it. There isn't as much of a need to prod people to buy it. And if 1M units already sold is any indication of the ipad's success, then don't expect Apple to change the formula any time soon.
 
Why do you assume that they could have done so? I think it would be better to have 512MB but that won't come until version two.

The memory is on the same chip as the CPU. They had to put two 128MB layers to get it up to 256MB. That was as much memory as they could design in at this time with the desired power parameters. To say they should have done differently assumes you know chip design better than they do.

If you really think they couldn't have upped it to 512MB using today's technology, you're horribly misinformed.

Anyway, to the person complaining about RAM, jailbreak your iPad and enable virtual memory. Oh, and use Atomic Browser for a better experience. I can have at least 10 tabs open at a time without a refresh, and with the jailbreak, Atomic can run in the background, making it a much better browser than Safari.
 
I thought Apple decreases the price when they offer an upgraded model with increased storage space. So, a 128GB iPad = $699, 64GB iPad = $599, 32GB iPad = $499.

They only lowered the prices on the G1 iphone because the initial price was way too high, and they needed to gain marketshare more quickly. They raised the flash memory size from 8 to 16 GB to also gain marketshare. It was a brand new, revolutionary product that they needed to entice people to buy.

The iPad is a totally different story. The iphone platform is entrenched in the market now. People know what it is and why they want to buy it. There isn't as much of a need to prod people to buy it. And if 1M units already sold is any indication of the ipad's success, then don't expect Apple to change the formula any time soon.

I'm betting on this.
 
If you really think they couldn't have upped it to 512MB using today's technology, you're horribly misinformed.

I'm sure a lot of things are technically possible but aren't done because of market constraints. Yes, they could have upped the RAM to 512MB, but perhaps doing so would not have allowed them to price the lowest-priced model at $499.
 
Why? They haven't done this with any iphone or itouch. The ipad is breaking sales records right now. Releasing a new model costs a lot of money for Apple. Also, the Apple design/engineering team really isn't that large, so if they update one product out of cycle, they'll have to delay other products. I wouldn't expect any ipad updates until March/April-ish of next year.

I really meant a *small* update - similar to the memory upgrades the the first iPod Touch and iPhones had within 6-8 months of their release. That's just a guess. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a small update before 2011.
 
I really meant a *small* update - similar to the memory upgrades the the first iPod Touch and iPhones had within 6-8 months of their release. That's just a guess. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a small update before 2011.

There hasn't been a small update like that in the last two generations of iPhones/touches. I wouldn't be surprised if the iPad got a small update like that, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it didn't.
 
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