For those in a hurry: this thread is about why Apple decided to go with 10.2in and with A10. Apple has a clear strategy and it's explained below.
We have been speculating in this forum about the ipad 10.2 since the CoinX leak in Spring, with some dedicated threads to the rumor. And you had several lines of thought, but nobody had a easy time understanding why Apple would make a 10.2in ipad. I have been thinking about it this morning and now it’s clear.
The rumors seemed to point to a replacement to the entry level ipad (CoinX called it the ipad 7), for which Apple has been using the Ipad air 1 body since 2017. After the ipad air 3 in Spring (mid tier) it became hard to understand why Apple would go through the effort (and cost) of making a 10.2 screen and supposedly eat into Air territory.
At that time I had supposed A11 to keep some distance, but a A12 with 10.2 would be way too close to the Air 3 to make sense (You would just give up 0.3 in for $200 less… especially as the Air is definitely a current model and is going to stay current at least until next year). Some people thought Apple would raise the price, but that made little sense too, given that this ipad has (also) an education target.
So why 10.2 and why A10? Why do they both make perfect sense?
The strategy is clear and started with the ipad 6. Adding pencil support would allow apple to sell extra pricey accessories without increasing the base price of the ipad 5 and make the ipad more compelling, therefore also selling more of them. The strategy went on with the air 3, where the connector was already there.
For the 9.7 they could have taken the 9.7 pro body, but that would have meant resuming production of the discontinued 9.7 keyboard, which in addition was not a great experience.
So what Apple did is stretch the ipad air 1 body to the 10.5 size, without reducing the bezels and the 10.2 was born, and compatible with the 10.5 keyboard.
The size alone was a compelling argument, even more than the keyboard connector. But it was an additional cost. So to maintain the cost down, the best option was A10 (it’s still probably cheaper than A11 and keeps the necessary distance, given the increased screen size).
It was an obvious choice that make perfect sense… for Apple.
For us enthusiast it’s still a disappointment, but I guess most ipad users don’t even know what chip is inside their ipad. A bigger screen size is instead a compelling argument. It comes at the cost of additional overall size and weight, but few people are going to notice or mind that.
Some people will keep complaining, but Apple strategy makes perfect economic sense.
We have been speculating in this forum about the ipad 10.2 since the CoinX leak in Spring, with some dedicated threads to the rumor. And you had several lines of thought, but nobody had a easy time understanding why Apple would make a 10.2in ipad. I have been thinking about it this morning and now it’s clear.
The rumors seemed to point to a replacement to the entry level ipad (CoinX called it the ipad 7), for which Apple has been using the Ipad air 1 body since 2017. After the ipad air 3 in Spring (mid tier) it became hard to understand why Apple would go through the effort (and cost) of making a 10.2 screen and supposedly eat into Air territory.
At that time I had supposed A11 to keep some distance, but a A12 with 10.2 would be way too close to the Air 3 to make sense (You would just give up 0.3 in for $200 less… especially as the Air is definitely a current model and is going to stay current at least until next year). Some people thought Apple would raise the price, but that made little sense too, given that this ipad has (also) an education target.
So why 10.2 and why A10? Why do they both make perfect sense?
The strategy is clear and started with the ipad 6. Adding pencil support would allow apple to sell extra pricey accessories without increasing the base price of the ipad 5 and make the ipad more compelling, therefore also selling more of them. The strategy went on with the air 3, where the connector was already there.
For the 9.7 they could have taken the 9.7 pro body, but that would have meant resuming production of the discontinued 9.7 keyboard, which in addition was not a great experience.
So what Apple did is stretch the ipad air 1 body to the 10.5 size, without reducing the bezels and the 10.2 was born, and compatible with the 10.5 keyboard.
The size alone was a compelling argument, even more than the keyboard connector. But it was an additional cost. So to maintain the cost down, the best option was A10 (it’s still probably cheaper than A11 and keeps the necessary distance, given the increased screen size).
It was an obvious choice that make perfect sense… for Apple.
For us enthusiast it’s still a disappointment, but I guess most ipad users don’t even know what chip is inside their ipad. A bigger screen size is instead a compelling argument. It comes at the cost of additional overall size and weight, but few people are going to notice or mind that.
Some people will keep complaining, but Apple strategy makes perfect economic sense.
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