iPad Jason Snell: The iPad’s erratic odyssey continues

[Rogifan]

There’s no getting around it: The absence of Apple’s pro media apps on the iPad Pro is an embarrassment. All these other apps are great, yes, but Apple has had an opportunity to take the lead in defining what the pro app experience should be on one of its platforms and has never seized it.

Overall, Tuesday’s announcements left me with mixed emotions. The individual products look fine, and I look forward to trying them out. But zoom out to the iPad line as a whole, and it’s kind of a mess. From the old ninth-generation iPad all the way up to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, there’s an iPad for everyone—if you can figure out which ones have which features and whether those features are worth the extra price.

If the growth of the iPad is a journey, today shows that it’s still an erratic one. At least it’s moving forward—but there are an awful lot of weird sidesteps along the way.

The iPad’s erratic odyssey continues

The new iPad and the new Magic Keyboard Folio. On Tuesday morning, Apple announced new iPad and iPad Pro models via press release. On their own, they are reasonable and understandable upgrades over…

sixcolors.com

He’s not wrong. The iPad line-up is a mess. It’s almost like each iPad has its own product team and they just have tunnel vision for their product not thinking about the line-up as a whole. And the lineup seems to be on so many different release cycles that one iPad gets something another iPad should have but doesn’t get because it‘s on a different cycle and isn’t ready to be updated yet. And then of course you get product marketing involved which is focused on making sure there is a range of price points and keeping some models in the lineup just to upsell you to something a little bit better (for only $100 more you get…). In the end it all makes for a very confusing lineup that the average consumer would struggle to know which iPad is right for them.

 

[GMShadow]

I think the Air really is the odd iPad out here. Or rather, the iPad 10 is what the Air should be - raise the price $50, throw a laminated P3 display on, and drop the M1 Air entirely.

That would fix most of the issues.

 

[Rogifan]

I think the Air really is the odd iPad out here. Or rather, the iPad 10 is what the Air should be - raise the price $50, throw a laminated P3 display on, and drop the M1 Air entirely.

That would fix most of the issues.

Except the Air supports the Magic Keyboard which has the USB-C charging port. I’m not sure why Apple decided to make another keyboard.

 

[Devyn89]

Yeah I agree this new lineup is a confusing mess of what accessories are for which devices and not for others. If they had the Air at $499 with the A14 chip but otherwise the same as it is now, dropped the 10th gen iPad and rebranded the entry iPad as iPad SE I think it would make a lot more sense and they wouldn’t have accessories that only work with one iPad. I thought the updated design would simplify all the accessories across the lineup but it made it way worse. Baffling decisions imo, and I love iPad so I’m kinda disappointe.

 

[Rogifan]

Yeah I agree this new lineup is a confusing mess of what accessories are for which devices and not for others. If they had the Air at $499 with the A14 chip but otherwise the same as it is now, dropped the 10th gen iPad and rebranded the entry iPad as iPad SE I think it would make a lot more sense and they wouldn’t have accessories that only work with one iPad. I thought the updated design would simplify all the accessories across the lineup but it made it way worse. Baffling decisions imo, and I love iPad so I’m kinda disappointe.

I wonder if there is a hardware issue because they moved the camera to landscape and it’s where the components for charging the 2nd gen Apple Pencil would go. And they can’t move them to the sides because that’s where the speakers are. But couldn’t they sell a version of the pencil that has usb-c? Keep selling the lightning one of there are people still buying it. Needed a $9 adapter to charge the pencil is ridiculous. I’m not one to say Steve wouldn’t have but if he were still around I don’t think the iPad lineup would be this messy.

 

[tomtad]

My theory on where they're going with the iPad. The iPad Air will be ditched late next year and will be replaced with the iPad. This will be the same design as the 10th gen with landscape camera etc but also with a laminated display, faster chip and magnetic Pencil. This will also be compatible with the new Magic Keyboard Folio. It will be marketed as an upgrade to the 10th gen iPad.

The 10th gen iPad will then receive a price cut and be renamed the iPad SE. The base model iPad will then be dropped. The iPhone SE will also be replaced at the same time drawing time on the home button. Apple will also tweak the Apple Pencil design to be smaller with a USB C connector (this may happen over the next year once they've shifted all their existing stock).

The new Pros will then follow along with a redesign to incorporate a landscape camera, OLED screen and a redesigned Magic Keyboard with function keys.

And who knows with the iPad mini. I would assume they would give it a spec bump at some point but in an era of larger phones it's longer term future will be decided by how well they sell.

This will leave the line up as:

iPad SE - $369
with Apple Pencil 1, Magic Keyboard Folio, Smart Folio

iPad - $569
with Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Folio, Smart Folio

iPad Pro - $799
with Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard, Smart Folio


Why have they done it this way? I presume it's an elaborate way to squeeze the most money they can out of the iPad for the next year and transition production lines while ensuring all existing stock is sold. I hate it but that's Tim for you.

 

[contacos]

not only is the line up confusing, you also have to make sure you buy the right Apple Pencil. I tried to explain my family that there is an "iPad" that is not the "Air" or the "Pro" and they just did not get it because "iPad" to them is a general term. Now it is even worse with TWO "iPads"

 

[Rogifan]

My theory on where they're going with the iPad. The iPad Air will be ditched late next year and will be replaced with the iPad. This will be the same design as the 10th gen with landscape camera etc but also with a laminated display, faster chip and magnetic Pencil. This will also be compatible with the new Magic Keyboard Folio. It will be marketed as an upgrade to the 10th gen iPad.

The 10th gen iPad will then receive a price cut and be renamed the iPad SE. The base model iPad will then be dropped. The iPhone SE will also be replaced at the same time drawing time on the home button. Apple will also tweak the Apple Pencil design to be smaller with a USB C connector (this may happen over the next year once they've shifted all their existing stock).

The new Pros will then follow along with a redesign to incorporate a landscape camera, OLED screen and a redesigned Magic Keyboard with function keys.

And who knows with the iPad mini. I would assume they would give it a spec bump at some point but in an era of larger phones it's longer term future will be decided by how well they sell.

This will leave the line up as:

iPad SE - $369
with Apple Pencil 1, Magic Keyboard Folio, Smart Folio

iPad - $569
with Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Folio, Smart Folio

iPad Pro - $799
with Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard, Smart Folio


Why have they done it this way? I presume it's an elaborate way to squeeze the most money they can out of the iPad for the next year and transition production lines while ensuring all existing stock is sold. I hate it but that's Tim for you.

I hate the SE branding but other than that this would at least be a cleaner lineup. Why they re-introduced the iPad Air I’ll never understand. With the Mac it made sense because the MBA was so iconic and had so much brand caché. That wasn‘t the case with iPad Air. And the name is dumb anyway because that iPad isn’t thinner or lighter than every other iPad. The name has zero meaning at this point.

Honestly this is where Apple misses Steve Jobs the most, IMO. Phil Schiller and now Greg Joswiak when it comes to product marketing/segmentation. Too often it seems like products/product lines are designed to hit price points. It’s like they start with a price and then try and build a product around it. Which turns things into a confusing mess.

 

[sracer]

For those who find it confusing, don't worry. Within 6 months the iPad 9th gen will no longer be publicly available, but relegated to the educational catalog. Only the 10th gen will remain. And it will have the same differentiations re: cases, covers, and Pencil as the 9th gen had in relation to the rest of the line-up.

I believe that Apple took this approach to soften the blow of the price increases.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

guys, wait a year, the ipad ultra is coming soon.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

on a serious note, i think apple has taken on the theory that the market should decide what product keeps and stays. i imagine the market will tell apple which ipad to kill.

 

[iPadified]

guys, wait a year, the ipad ultra is coming soon.

We are waiting...I though "iPad Studio" as a name.