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iPad Pro Looks like M4 iPad Pro is a bit of a flop on a relative basis (Apple earnings)

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Adelphos33

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Mar 13, 2012
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iPad had strong sales this quarter… But Tim Cook attributed it to the iPad Air and the iPad Mini versus the iPad Pro. Both the current iPad Air and iPad Mini are great products, and I bet the new “regular” iPad (8GB RAM, new lower priced trackpad) will be one of the most successful iPads in years.

The M4 iPad Pro (which I own, and is by the numbers a good product) is just too expensive, and offers too few benefits, over the iPad Air or previous iPad Pro models. I am not making this an iPadOS vs MacOS thing - I am just comparing the capabilities across the current iPad line. This product is the one that made me realize that with many Apple products, it makes sense to buy the lower priced model, or to just hold on to the older model for longer, as the products last longer and new models are incremental.
 
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iPad pro 12.9 has been the best selling device over the last couple of years... but the mini is a new device so it's normal, and the 13" air is also new, while the pro has been updated more regularly and is not a totally new device like the large air...
Personally I think that the M4 pro is one of the biggest upgrades in years, thaks to tandem oled and reduced weight in the 13.
Apple has been alternating big and modest upgrades since 2015 for the large pro:
1st gen: totally new form factor with plenty of new stuff like pencil, keyboard, quadspeakers
2nd gen: undewhelming, basically just promotion
3rd gen: huge redesign
4th gen: just more RAM
5th gen: M1 and miniled
6th gen: M2, the worst upgrade of all
7th gen: M4 with tandem oled, much reduced weight, battery optimization, new accessories

Yes they increased the price, but now it has gone down and you can find much better prices than 6-9 months ago
 
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Adelphos33 said:
iPad had strong sales this quarter… But Tim Cook attributed it to the iPad Air and the iPad Mini versus the iPad Pro. Both the current iPad Air and iPad Mini are great products, and I bet the new “regular” iPad (8GB RAM, new lower priced trackpad) will be one of the most successful iPads in years.

The M4 iPad Pro (which I own, and is by the numbers a good product) is just too expensive, and offers too few benefits, over the iPad Air or previous iPad Pro models. I am not making this an iPadOS vs MacOS thing - I am just comparing the capabilities across the current iPad line. This product is the one that made me realize that with many Apple products, it makes sense to buy the lower priced model, or to just hold on to the older model for longer, as the products last longer and new models are incremental.
Click to expand...

Not seeing how this makes it a flop. For me, the M4 13" is expensive (but I bought it) and it offers benefits I want.
 
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Also not seeing how it is a flop. We're talking about a company that sells some fairly expensive products for what they are, like a $700 set of wheels for a Mac Pro. They do so because they choose to, and those who purchase said products clearly find value in them. The products aren't crappy by any means (not implying that you're saying that they are) so it's great that Apple's willing to continue to put them out to market for people to enjoy.

I too am indifferent to the current pro lineup though; for my needs they simply are too expensive for me to justify. It's fine, clearly I'm not the target audience and I have other options within their product lineups so it's all good.
 
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Flop is probably too harsh, but it's likely that it's under performing what Apple would like out of it

I really think they could/should re-jigger the iPad lineup and condense the core models down a bit and perhaps make screen upgrades a BTO option, so that those who really value a Mini-LED or OLED ProMo screen can just pay for it
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I really think they could/should re-jigger the iPad lineup and condense the core models down a bit and perhaps make screen upgrades a BTO option, so that those who really value a Mini-LED or OLED ProMo screen can just pay for it
Click to expand...

Wish this were the case. Same thing for RAM. Give folks who want more RAM that option instead of tying it to storage.
 
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Adelphos33 said:
iPad had strong sales this quarter… But Tim Cook attributed it to the iPad Air and the iPad Mini versus the iPad Pro. Both the current iPad Air and iPad Mini are great products, and I bet the new “regular” iPad (8GB RAM, new lower priced trackpad) will be one of the most successful iPads in years.

The M4 iPad Pro (which I own, and is by the numbers a good product) is just too expensive, and offers too few benefits, over the iPad Air or previous iPad Pro models. I am not making this an iPadOS vs MacOS thing - I am just comparing the capabilities across the current iPad line. This product is the one that made me realize that with many Apple products, it makes sense to buy the lower priced model, or to just hold on to the older model for longer, as the products last longer and new models are incremental.
Click to expand...
M4 iPad Pro was launched 2-3 quarters ago. The quarter iPad Pro launched, it out performed Mini which was older. It’s nothing new, this quarter MBP sold lot more than MBA, when new MBA is released, you will see more MBA sold.
This cycle is nothing new, over all yearly numbers give a better picture. Typically growth for a quarter comes from new product launches, apple does a good job in scattering the launches.
 
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is this really the iPad Pro flopping?
Or is it just the Air and Mini exceeding expectations?

If anything, I thought this place would be happy, now Apple has an incentive to make the Mini and Air better.
It wasn’t but a couple months ago people were speculating the Mini could go the same way as the iPhone mini, but that’s probably not happening now.
 
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TheRealAlex said:
Ok there’s NO Such Thing as a “FLOP” the iPad Pro has been a runaway success.

And to clarify the M4 iPad Pro with Tandem OLED and a breakthrough M4 CPU is the most prolific and significant release ever.
Click to expand...
It’s like clockwork every year when a new iPad Model is released. When IPad Pro was released early last year iPad Mini was compared to iPhone mini as dead in the water. When new iPad Pro launches, you will see iPad mini flop threads.
 
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Digitalguy said:
iPad pro 12.9 has been the best selling device over the last couple of years...
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to be the "Source?!1!" guy, please understand. But I was wondering where you saw this? It just surprised me.
 
1. No way to tell which iPad is selling more than another since they don't break out by product
2. You have to remember that people are in different places in their upgrade cycle. Someone who has an M1 iPad Pro is more likely to upgrade to an M4 than someone who relatively recently bought an M2 iPad Pro.
 
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v0lume4 said:
I'm not trying to be the "Source?!1!" guy, please understand. But I was wondering where you saw this? It just surprised me.
Click to expand...
These analyst reports were all over the internet 1-2 years ago, I don't remember at tbis point, but it can be found.
 
TheRealAlex said:
Ok there’s NO Such Thing as a “FLOP” the iPad Pro has been a runaway success.

And to clarify the M4 iPad Pro with Tandem OLED and a breakthrough M4 CPU is the most prolific and significant release ever.
Click to expand...
They’re all their “most significant ever” for about however long they’re out, yes. Then it’s on to the NEW most [adjective] iPad ever! And we think you’re going to love it.
 
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Digitalguy said:
These analyst reports were all over the internet 1-2 years ago, I don't remember at tbis point, but it can be found.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I Googled it. Color me surprised. I had no idea that most buyers were opting for the higher end models. I thought they would have made up like 20% of all iPads or something like that. Not at all. More like almost 50% between the two Pro models!
 
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ignatius345 said:
1. No way to tell which iPad is selling more than another since they don't break out by product
2. You have to remember that people are in different places in their upgrade cycle. Someone who has an M1 iPad Pro is more likely to upgrade to an M4 than someone who relatively recently bought an M2 iPad Pro.
Click to expand...
iPP 2020 2nd Gen (A12Z) user here and I agree— except: Apple shouldn’t ignore the fact that many people won’t upgrade because of the lack of compatible peripherals, meaning the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. I would have upgraded already to the latest were it not for the requirement to buy all new accessories. Maybe they will maintain compatibility in the future to cut down on this “upgrade lag.”
 
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