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rmoliv

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Dec 20, 2017
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Any chance we see Face ID and edge-to-edge display coming to the "poor man's" iPad? And compatibility with the 2nd gen Apple Pencil? Definitely not spending >$1K on the new overpriced iPad Pros.
 
Any chance we see Face ID and edge-to-edge display coming to the "poor man's" iPad? And compatibility with the 2nd gen Apple Pencil? Definitely not spending >$1K on the new overpriced iPad Pros.
Most probably not as it’s a budget model and redesigns are expensive. At the very best we might see the design changed to use the Air 2 chassis with laminated screen, but as that’s just more cost for Apple and it will be one of the key differentiators for the 10.5” IPP still on sale I would think even that’s probably a stretch.
 
I'm actually curious if we'll even get an update to the 9.7" iPad. Now that it has Pencil support, I just don't see Apple putting A11 and 4GB RAM on the thing. Especially since they're still keeping the $649 iPad Pro 10.5 in their lineup.

I'm definitely looking forward to the rumored iPad mini refresh, though. That one's long overdue. I do hope they keep display the same (7.9" fully laminated, 2048*1536, 326 ppi), though. :)
 
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I'm actually curious if we'll even get an update to the 9.7" iPad. Now that it has Pencil support, I just don't see Apple putting A11 and 4GB RAM on the thing. Especially since they're still keeping the $649 iPad Pro 10.5 in their lineup.

I'm definitely looking forward to the rumored iPad mini refresh, though. That one's long overdue. I do hope they keep display the same (7.9" fully laminated, 2048*1536, 326 ppi), though. :)

Also looking forward to a refreshed iPad Mini too & will likely hold back from ordering the new iPad Pro, in the hope that my patience will eventually be rewarded with a great new iPad Mini. I have used my Mini 4 every single day since launch day in 2015 (so certainly had my money’s worth). Would be nice if Apple launched a version of the current ‘regular’ iPad (same processor/memory), but with the bezel free design of the new Pro (with a similar, but slightly larger footprint to the current Mini, so it could replace iPad Mini 4)...they could price it to sit between the regular & iPad Pro...and it would sell like hot cakes!
 
It wouldn’t send the best message to thr market if Apple releases a $299 education focused iPad in one year and the next year they jack up the price to $499 to they can include new features. Think of all those kids dropping milk on them, and throwing them into mud pools, throwing them at the wall, jumping on them etc. Expensive!

Plus the less expensive iPad favors support to that less expensive Logitech pencil.
 
I'm actually curious if we'll even get an update to the 9.7" iPad. Now that it has Pencil support, I just don't see Apple putting A11 and 4GB RAM on the thing. Especially since they're still keeping the $649 iPad Pro 10.5 in their lineup.

I'm definitely looking forward to the rumored iPad mini refresh, though. That one's long overdue. I do hope they keep display the same (7.9" fully laminated, 2048*1536, 326 ppi), though. :)

The 8 and X run A11 with 2gb and 3gb RAM. I expect one of these will be what will be used.

That said, maybe they skip this year for the ‘cheap’ iPad and just update the mini instead. In fact, keeping the mini at a similar price point, if not slightly higher, with the A11 would make more sense than it does now with the A8. But hey, today’s Apple is all about rising prices.

I certainly don’t see edge-edge display and Face ID yet. That’s at least a year away IMO. A more expensive mini utilising it maybe, but Apple seems quite set on the mini being in the ‘cheap’ range given the recent keynote.

Any upgrades to the iPad 2018, minus a minor spec bump in processor, will just eat into the 10.5” sales. In fact, an A11 might even be bad too for the ‘uninformed’, hmm that sounds bad for the possibility of an A11 mini :(
 
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I just don't see A11 on a "cheap" iPad next year. Not until Apple retires the $649 iPad Pro 10.5.

Geekbench 4

Single-Core
iPhone 8 4200
iPad Pro 10.5 3900

Multi-Core
iPhone 8 10100
iPad Pro 10.5 9300

Sure, 2018 iPP have monster GPUs and tons of extra features but I don't think Apple wants the cheap iPads to have better processing performance than currently selling iPP.
 
I do. I don’t see them releasing a new iOS device without Face ID moving forward. I expect a XR style release, not sure what the concessions will be though. I’d expect a starting price of $499 though.
 
I do. I don’t see them releasing a new iOS device without Face ID moving forward. I expect a XR style release, not sure what the concessions will be though. I’d expect a starting price of $499 though.
That's a 52% price increase over the 2018 9.7" iPad. While not as premium as the iPad Pros, that's more upmarket than the current model.
 
That's a 52% price increase over the 2018 9.7" iPad. While not as premium as the iPad Pros, that's more upmarket than the current model.
They don’t have to discontinue the 2018 9.7. The edge-to-edge 9.7 could be an alternative, not a replacement. After all, they didn’t discontinue the 10.5 Pro. They left it around for those who want an alternative to the new Pros.
 
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Would be interesting to see what they do with next years. I just picked up the 6th gen and it runs smooth and snappy. Maybe they will upgrade to the laminated display and the air 2 body that’s a bit thinner and small front facing camera upgrade, throw in an extra gig of ram maybe.

As someone said earlier, I can’t see them throwing in the a11 and have it out performing the 10.5 pro. Unless maybe they discontinue that model at the same time as the release maybe.

I’m not sure what your usage is on this but I would give the 6th gen a try out. I was hung up on the fence between the 6th gen and the 10.5 pro model myself, I end up on the 6th gen after my carrier had a huge sale on them and I’m glad I did. Unless your going to be running some processor intensive tasks or multitasking, the day to day performance is very on par. Many review videos for comparison that support this claim as well

Sure I would have preferred the slightly larger display and better speakers but for the price, this iPad still is very good in both areas
 
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They don’t have to discontinue the 2018 9.7. The edge-to-edge 9.7 could be an alternative, not a replacement. After all, they didn’t discontinue the 10.5 Pro. They left it around for those who want an alternative to the new Pros.

Apple already tried the strategy of an expensive, media-consumption device in 2014. The iPad Air 2 failed in terms of sales and Apple replaced it with the iPad (2017).

Due to the small display, a thin-bezel 9.7" iPad Pro would only be suitable for the education market. And that market isn't willing to pay for Face ID or thin-bezels.
 
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That's a 52% price increase over the 2018 9.7" iPad. While not as premium as the iPad Pros, that's more upmarket than the current model.

I’d imagine they’d keep the low cost around, but this would help fill another price point while getting more people a taste of the higher end.
[doublepost=1541319103][/doublepost]
Tough sell to increase the price that much in the education market.

I’d expect them to keep the low cost option around for that market. I think they want to drive as many people as possible to this new design language and Face ID.
 
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Any chance we see Face ID and edge-to-edge display coming to the "poor man's" iPad? And compatibility with the 2nd gen Apple Pencil? Definitely not spending >$1K on the new overpriced iPad Pros.

Dun think so. I think next year it will have no refresh for the ipad.
 
Possibility is that they will NOT refresh ipad next year but refresh iPad mini as the cheapest ipad option which uses iPad mini 2 body and A10 chip. no laminated display like mini 4.
 
I’d imagine they’d keep the low cost around, but this would help fill another price point while getting more people a taste of the higher end.
[doublepost=1541319103][/doublepost]

I’d expect them to keep the low cost option around for that market. I think they want to drive as many people as possible to this new design language and Face ID.
I'd like to think they won't just completely spam the lineup with differing options, there has to be some consistency and logic to their offerings - currently you've got top of the line pros pushing further into laptop-replacement territory, a remaining pro from last year if you want most of the pro features but don't want to pay so much for it, and the iPad and iPad mini if you just want a basic, traditional iPad experience.

Unlike the iPhones, the iPads are still consistent in interface (you don't have to use the home button at all, all the swipe gestures are present on older design models) so there's no pressing need to update it yet. As redesigns are expensive, I would expect them to delay it until the manufacturing processes and R&D from the pros has been paid back through their higher pricing.
 
Tough sell to increase the price that much in the education market.

I was thinking the same thing, but if something like this happens Apple will keep the 6th generation iPad around for that very reason. It’s the same reason they kept the iPad 2 around for so long. The 6th generation iPad will still be a very capable device for a while yet, so I can see this happening. In fact, I’m almost willing to bet something like this will happen. If they did Face ID for the “budget” iPhone then I think they’ll bring Face ID to all iOS devices they release from this point forward.
 
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I'd like to think they won't just completely spam the lineup with differing options, there has to be some consistency and logic to their offerings - currently you've got top of the line pros pushing further into laptop-replacement territory, a remaining pro from last year if you want most of the pro features but don't want to pay so much for it, and the iPad and iPad mini if you just want a basic, traditional iPad experience.

Unlike the iPhones, the iPads are still consistent in interface (you don't have to use the home button at all, all the swipe gestures are present on older design models) so there's no pressing need to update it yet. As redesigns are expensive, I would expect them to delay it until the manufacturing processes and R&D from the pros has been paid back through their higher pricing.

Maybe. You could be right. A slimmed down 9.7 could be about the size of a mini and be a more affordable option. I just don’t know how long they’ll keep the 10.5, mini, and standard iPad around for. Maybe nothing changes for iPad hardware wise next year at all.
 
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You’ll definitely get a price increase thats for sure.
thoughts? $350 - $400 for whatever the 7th gen iPad becomes?
[doublepost=1542091500][/doublepost]In my opinion, they will follow the same lines as the 6th gen -> only 2 speakers, smaller screen than ipp, lower quality screen (no truetone, etc), lower cpu (A11 or A12), lower capacity storage/less number of options for storage, lower power connectivity (bt 4.2, wifi, etc).

Since apple is pushing AR, I am sure it will have one of the newer chips with the neural engine.

I just do not like the current 6th gen screen, you can feel the gap in the screen layers. I hope they correct that in future versions.
 
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thoughts? $350 - $400 for whatever the 7th gen iPad becomes?
[doublepost=1542091500][/doublepost]In my opinion, they will follow the same lines as the 6th gen -> only 2 speakers, smaller screen than ipp, lower quality screen (no truetone, etc), lower cpu (A11 or A12), lower capacity storage/less number of options for storage, lower power connectivity (bt 4.2, wifi, etc).

Since apple is pushing AR, I am sure it will have one of the newer chips with the neural engine.

I just do not like the current 6th gen screen, you can feel the gap in the screen layers. I hope they correct that in future versions.
The 6th gen already supports AR with the A10 chip, runs them just as nicely as my iPhone 8 Plus on the few I tested.

I thought the gap would bother me but I really don’t notice it much, especially on the space grey model with the black bezel.

I still obviously like the pro screens better, but I was playing with the 10.5 mode at Costco today and honestly besides the refresh rate, the rest of the screen didn’t look much different than my 6th gen.

Since apple likes to recycle their products, my guess is they are going to move over to the Air 2 body and screen, A11 chip and 3gb of ram and hopefully camera upgrade to maybe the 6s camera.
 
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What I hope is that they adopt Face ID and the form factor of the Pro models. If they keep less powerful internals and non-laminated display I think they can keep the price as it is or just slightly increase it. If Face ID and very small/bezel-less displays are the future they should extend it to all their products, budget or high end.
 
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Thats a hell of a jump for their base iPad series considering they are still on an air 1 body. Air 2/ 1st gen 9.7 pro seems like the next realistic jump for apple to keep it affordable. That still gives it the thinner body, laminated screen and possibly quad speakers along with the next gen spec bump.

I’ll be very disappointed if they stick to this same air 1 body for a third year, then they are just being too cheap. But they got a lot of flak for leaving it on the same design for a second year so hopefully they won’t repeat that same mistake. Then again this is apple, look how long they kept the same iPhone design Lol
 
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