All iPads Why Apple can't name the iPADs something else besides "Pro"?

[Branaghan]

I am not talking about the iPADs not deserving to be called PROs. That's another topic.

It's about Apple insisting in labeling every new iPAD as "Pro". That makes it very hard to find an exact model you are looking for.

I mean, look how they named the iPhones over the years:

iPhone (1st generation)
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone SE (1st generation)
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro Max

If I do a search on any of these keywords I'll find a specific iPhone which I happen to own... easily. Whether I am looking for a Youtube video, or in some online store, or any thread.

Now I can't say the same about the iPADs AT ALL...

iPad (1st generation)
iPad 2
iPad (3rd generation)
iPad Mini
iPad (4th generation)
iPad Air
iPad Mini 2
iPad Mini 3
iPad Air 2
iPad Mini 4

iPad Pro (1st, 12.9'')
iPad Pro (1st, 9.7'')
iPad (5th generation)
iPad Pro (2nd, 10.5''/12.9'')
iPad (6th generation)
iPad Pro (3rd, 11"/12.9")
iPad Air (3rd generation)
iPad Mini (5th generation)
iPad (7th generation)
iPad Pro (4th, 11"/12.9")
iPad (8th generation)
iPad Air (4th generation)
iPad Pro (5th, 11"/12.9")

If I tell you that I have the iPAD Pro you are imediatelly going to ask me: which one?

It could be the the 9.7 ", released in 2016.

It could be the 10.5 " released in 2017. So you need to say: iPAD Pro 10.5.

If it's the 10.5 or 9.7 that is going to be easy, because Apple only released one with these sizes.

It's a lot more confusing if we are talking about the iPAD Pro 11" and 12.9".

We have an iPAD Pro 11" released in 2020.

Then another iPAD Pro 11" from 2021.

So you have to add: iPAD Pro 11" 2020 or iPAD Pro 11" 2021.

You always have to make a distinction based on the year, and screen size.

Just saying you own the iPAD Pro 12.9" is not enough:

iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2015
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2017
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2018
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2020
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2021

Now, you may be asking: why is this in any way important?

Because you can't find easily a video or even said iPADs in search engines, for reviews or buying, them or specific accessories.

Imagine if it was the other way around, and Apple decided to drop the "PRO" and did something like this, regardless of year or screen size:

iPAD Max
iPAD Dragon
iPAD Prodigy
iPAD Brave
iPAD Excelsior
iPAD Nebula
iPAD Saber
iPAD Enterprise
iPAD Defiant
iPAD Indus
iPAD Rigel

Whatever name you can think of. Be creative. A catchy one. So when we talk about a new iPAD Pro we don't have to always specify the screen size, year it was released and generation.

I realize some people think it's cool to differentiate between the iPAD Mini, Air, regular and Pros.

I am not against that idea. In fact I am all for it. All I am saying is that I am tired of dozens of different iPADs all with the same "PRO" attached to them and you always have to specify which one you are talking about.

Let's assume for a second the iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2018 was actually called "iPAD Castor".

Well, back in 2018 Apple released two devices: the iPAD Pros 11 and 12.9.

If you happen to own the 11" model then you need to inform this here:

iPAD Pro 11" from 2018, 3rd generation
or
iPAD Pro 12.9" from 2018, 3rd generation

Now what if all 2018 releases (which are PRO) were named iPAD Castor...

Then I would easily find iPAD CASTOR everywhere I searched for, and wouldn't have to be more specific.

When we talk about the iPhone 8 we aren't talking about the iPhone XR.

When it comes to "iPAD Pros" I can't say the same.

 

[Toutou]

Just wait until you hear about the MacBook Pro.

 

[frostbit3]

Yeah, this argument would actually work better if it were reverse. Almost all Apple products are just the name.

Macbook
MacBook Pro
iMac
Mac Mini
AirPods
Mac Pro
Macbook Air

 

[Okta]

Apple has always been finicky about naming the iPad. To me the line makes sense, the iPad is for pretty much everyone, the Air is for people who want forward thinking design and a lighter device and the pro is for those who want it all.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Generally labelled as the year you bought it, like with Macs.

iPad Pro 12.9” 2018.

It doesn’t appear overly complicated unless you write 7 paragraphs to purposely over complicate it.

 

[LogicalApex]

This is a complaint that goes back a while since Apple shifted the naming a long time ago to being just the name.

The "MacBook Pro" is just named the "MacBook Pro" and you need to dig deeper to find out which one it is and that might just be "MacBook Pro, Early 2013" since they could update the thing twice in a year and make it even more confusing.

All Apple MacBook Pro Specs (2006-Current): EveryMac.com

Tech specs for all Apple MacBook Pro from 2006 to the latest. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, storage details, configuration options, model identifiers and more.

everymac.com

Just the way they do it so you have to adapt. For now, the iPhone is a bit easier in that they do them like "iPhone 12" and I can see them at some future point pulling it back to "iPhone Pro" and "iPhone Mini", but they probably get pushback from carriers on that front.

 

[Branaghan]

Generally labelled as the year you bought it, like with Macs.

iPad Pro 12.9” 2018.

It doesn’t appear overly complicated unless you write 7 paragraphs to purposely over complicate it.

Naming tons of different models "Pro" and having to write more stuff just to differentiate is the worst idea EVER. And not just for customers, also for them, I may even add it hurts their sales. Because if you don't know which one is better or how model X is better than Y then you may get any one of them.

It's one thing to sell these iPADs in different sizes and colors, I always get space gray and opt for smaller sizes such as 9.7 or 10". The 12.9" I always avoid, because it's too bulky for me.

Now, it's one thing to search for a specific review from a 12.9 inch iPAD or a white model.

It's another to type "iPAD Pro" and having to do some research on zillions of sites if they happen to talk about that specific you meant.

This is the worst strategy ever. At first they were doing things right, and every year a new iPAD would be called 2, 3, 4 (the 4 meaning 4th generation). Then they introduced the MINI and Air. That's OK. But what about calling them something else? That wouldn't hurt.

If you happen to own iPAD Air 18th generation from 2048 and I own the Air 12th generation from 2042 I can easily type all that in the search. Yet it would make things a lot easier if I only had to write stuff like that:

iPAd Air Phoenix
iPAD Air Vega

It's not like they run out of ideas and names. If they always did this and continue to do with the iPhones, why not repeat the same procedure with other devices?

Think about OSs. If all Windows versions were called "Pro" you would have to know the release date. if I tell you "Windows XP", "Windows Me", "Windows Vista", etc. you already know which version I am talking about.

There's no need to know which year they were released.

 

[rui no onna]

If you happen to own iPAD Air 18th generation from 2048 and I own the Air 12th generation from 2042 I can easily type all that in the search. Yet it would make things a lot easier if I only had to write stuff like that:

iPAd Air Phoenix
iPAD Air Vega

That sounds like it would be even more confusing for your non-techie user.

Most users are already using Air 3 and Air 4 as shorthand for the Air 3rd and 4th generations. Presumably, the 18th and 12th gen would just be referred to colloquially as Air 18 and Air 12. Numbers are an easy way to signify newer/better.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Naming tons of different models "Pro" and having to write more stuff just to differentiate is the worst idea EVER. And not just for customers, also for them, I may even add it hurts their sales. Because if you don't know which one is better or how model X is better than Y then you may get any one of them.

It's one thing to sell these iPADs in different sizes and colors, I always get space gray and opt for smaller sizes such as 9.7 or 10". The 12.9" I always avoid, because it's too bulky for me.

Now, it's one thing to search for a specific review from a 12.9 inch iPAD or a white model.

It's another to type "iPAD Pro" and having to do some research on zillions of sites if they happen to talk about that specific you meant.

This is the worst strategy ever. At first they were doing things right, and every year a new iPAD would be called 2, 3, 4 (the 4 meaning 4th generation). Then they introduced the MINI and Air. That's OK. But what about calling them something else? That wouldn't hurt.

If you happen to own iPAD Air 18th generation from 2048 and I own the Air 12th generation from 2042 I can easily type all that in the search. Yet it would make things a lot easier if I only had to write stuff like that:

iPAd Air Phoenix
iPAD Air Vega

It's not like they run out of ideas and names. If they always did this and continue to do with the iPhones, why not repeat the same procedure with other devices?

Think about OSs. If all Windows versions were called "Pro" you would have to know the release date. if I tell you "Windows XP", "Windows Me", "Windows Vista", etc. you already know which version I am talking about.

There's no need to know which year they were released.

They’re all called iPads, adding the word pro to it makes no difference to anything.
Differentiating by the year is by far the easiest way of knowing what it is you’re talking about. Adding different random names like Vega and Phoenix to each model each year would be far more confusing.

 

[thisismyusername]

If I tell you that I have the iPAD Pro you are imediatelly going to ask me: which one?

Ask 100 random iPhone users "What phone do you use?" and I bet more than 50% will say "iPhone" and not "iPhone X/11/12/etc".

Because you can't find easily a video or even said iPADs in search engines, for reviews or buying, them or specific accessories.

Here, Let Me Google That For You

Passive-aggressively teach your friends how to Google. For all those people who find it more convenient to ask you rather than search it themselves. Not associated with Google.

googlethatforyou.com

Looks pretty easy to me. Then again, I guess there's always someone looking for something to complain about. Car naming must really get you fired up.

 

[usagora]

I agree. I'm not sure why they only use sequential numbers with iPhone and not iPad or Mac. But there's no need to name them like macOS either or drop the "Pro" - just make the generation number part of the official product name. E.g. iPad Pro 5 (11") or iPad Pro 5 Max (12.9"), iPad Air 4, iPad 8, etc.

 

[kmoreau48]

Naming tons of different models "Pro" and having to write more stuff just to differentiate is the worst idea EVER. And not just for customers, also for them, I may even add it hurts their sales. Because if you don't know which one is better or how model X is better than Y then you may get any one of them.

It's one thing to sell these iPADs in different sizes and colors, I always get space gray and opt for smaller sizes such as 9.7 or 10". The 12.9" I always avoid, because it's too bulky for me.

Now, it's one thing to search for a specific review from a 12.9 inch iPAD or a white model.

It's another to type "iPAD Pro" and having to do some research on zillions of sites if they happen to talk about that specific you meant.

This is the worst strategy ever. At first they were doing things right, and every year a new iPAD would be called 2, 3, 4 (the 4 meaning 4th generation). Then they introduced the MINI and Air. That's OK. But what about calling them something else? That wouldn't hurt.

If you happen to own iPAD Air 18th generation from 2048 and I own the Air 12th generation from 2042 I can easily type all that in the search. Yet it would make things a lot easier if I only had to write stuff like that:

iPAd Air Phoenix
iPAD Air Vega

It's not like they run out of ideas and names. If they always did this and continue to do with the iPhones, why not repeat the same procedure with other devices?

Think about OSs. If all Windows versions were called "Pro" you would have to know the release date. if I tell you "Windows XP", "Windows Me", "Windows Vista", etc. you already know which version I am talking about.

There's no need to know which year they were released.

I understand your point completely since I was looking to purchase accessories for my upcoming iPad pro 12.9 (5th gen)... oops another way to name the iPad is with the generation!! so when I write iPad pro 12.9, even if I specify the year, I still get accessories for the older models (all the way back to 2018)

On the other hand if you look at it this way:
"Name of device" + "word to differentiate the model"

then if you do it your way:​

Name of device = iPad
Word to differentiate = phoenix

Example:
Apple name vs your idea
iPad pro 12.9 2018 = iPad Max
iPad pro 11 2018 = iPad Dragon
iPad Air 2nd Gen = iPad Brave
iPad pro 11 2019 = iPad Nebula
iPad pro 11 2020 = iPad Excelsior
iPad Air 3rd Gen = iPad Defiant
iPad pro 12.9 2021 = iPad Indus

What if you are in the market for a new iPad and you want the best of the best. You go on market place and what do you write? New iPad? Best iPad? iPad 2020? iPad 2021? then when you look at the list of iPads, you see this :

iPAD Max
iPAD Dragon
iPAD Prodigy
iPAD Brave
iPAD Excelsior
iPAD Nebula
iPAD Saber
iPAD Enterprise
iPAD Defiant
iPAD Indus
iPAD Rigel

So which one has a big screen? which one is portable? which one is recent? there is no way to differentiate the device now that they have unique names.

The apple way:​

Name of device = iPad pro 12.9
Word to differentiate = Year of model or generation number
This way you know which size and how recent your iPad is when you look for it online.

To me, personally I would be able to do my own research either way and get the exact iPad I want/need. But for the average Joe, the way Apple names their iPad Pro line up is not that confusing.

 

[Ajaxpinch]

“I just bought a Ford Escort!
- Oh, great! But which one, it was a model introduced in 1968 after all?!
- The 2021 one.
- Thank you, using the year to specify the year your model was conceived was both short and precise, and helped me without creating a mess.
- Yes, I think it is an efficient way that could easily be used for other consumer goods.
- Indeed, indeed.”

 

[AutomaticApple]

iPAd Air Phoenix
iPAD Air Vega

Does the former have wings?

 

[muzzy996]

“I just bought a Ford Escort!
- Oh, great! But which one, it was a model introduced in 1968 after all?!
- The 2021 one.
- Thank you, using the year to specify the year your model was conceived was both short and precise, and helped me without creating a mess.
- Yes, I think it is an efficient way that could easily be used for other consumer goods.
- Indeed, indeed.”

exactly. Cars have been differentiated by model year since the beginning and it works. If I need brake pads for my Tacoma I basically need to know the model, year.

 

[Patriks7]

Just wait until you hear about the MacBook Pro.

Or other things, you know like cars.

 

[Serban55]

Jesus, some people are bored and have nothing else to do
but it was a nice reading

 

[Branaghan]

That sounds like it would be even more confusing for your non-techie user.

Most users are already using Air 3 and Air 4 as shorthand for the Air 3rd and 4th generations. Presumably, the 18th and 12th gen would just be referred to colloquially as Air 18 and Air 12. Numbers are an easy way to signify newer/better.

But that's exactly the issue here.

We aren't calling each new iPAD Pro by numbers anymore.

We are doing this for iPAD Air. Each number meaning a different generation.

iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad Air (3rd generation)
iPad Air (4th generation)

If I tell you that I own the iPAD Air 3 (or 3rd gen) then there's no way you would confuse this specific model with the 4th released a year later.

The same can be said about all the MINI line.

iPad Mini
iPad Mini 2
iPad Mini 3
iPad Mini 4
iPad Mini (5th generation)

1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Apple does the same with iPhones. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, SE, etc. The only confusion here is knowing you are talking about iPhone SE 1st gen or 2nd gen, because no one in this forum would label iPhone SE 2.0 or 2. Most likely you would name it iPhone SE 2016 or iPhone SE 2020.

The problem with the iPAD Pros is that not only you have to specify which size you are talking about (or color) to find a specific review, you also have to know the release date.

You could argue there are multiple Windows versions for every one of them.

• Windows 10 Home
• Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
• Windows 10 Pro Education
• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (formerly LTSB)
• Windows 10 Education
• Windows 10 IoT Core
• Windows 10 IoT Enterprise

Or 32, 64 bit. Yet if I tell you that I am using the Firefox browser you immediately know it's Firefox and not Chrome browser. If I talk about Windows 95 then it doesn't matter if it's Windows 95 SP1 or Windows 98 SE.

Well, it does matter, of course, if you are not looking for a review from Win98 SE.

My point is that not having a fancy name for a new iPAD that is the best of the best automatically makes all Pros look the same.

Let's say I own the iPAD Pro 10.5 (which is unique, so it doesn't fit my complaint, so if I tell you IPP 10.5 then this can only mean it was released in 2017).

If I wanted to find out if the iPAD Pro 12.9 would be a good idea then look what Youtube would return me in the search results:

(Remember we have 5 iPAD Pros with the same size, the only difference is the release date in the keywords):

iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2015
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2017
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2018
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2020
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2021

Spoiler

Wait, wait, wait... one of those videos is talking about iPAD Pro 11 vs. 12.9. Which one? There are multiple IPPs with 11 or 12.9". Are all of them the same? No!

Then another is talking about iPAD Pro 12.9 from 2020.

If Apple releases every year (or every 2 years) the same stuff with the same name, what if the difference between the:

iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2018
iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2020

Is insignificant... then I wouldn't buy.

Yet if iPad Pro 12.9'' from 2020 represents a major release with 5G, 4K screen, OLED, 2 TB, 16 GB of RAM, etc. etc.

How is Apple going to warn us by replicating the same tired name for that line?

I could easily tell you that iPAD Mini 1 is bad. So was/is iPAD 1 (or 1st gen). When you tell a number people associate with the device being old. Of course iPhone users know which number (model) they got.

I always remember my father bought the old iPhone 5. And my mother one iPAD 4 with 16 GB. What I can't remember is if

iPad Pro 11'' from 2018

was way worse than:

iPad Pro 11'' from 2020

or if the 2020 model is in any way different than

iPad Pro 11'' from 2021

We tend to not associate differences based on the year these devices were released. Windows XP, despite having a 2001 release date, was used for over a decade, even though we had newer Windows versions.

What we always remember are:

- Numbers
- Odd names

So if I told you:

iPad Pro 11'' from 2020 was actually iPAD Nightingale...

And iPad Pro 11'' from 2021 was actually iPAD M1 (and not iPAD Pro 2021 78th generation using the M1 chip)...

You would immediately associate iPAD M1 as something revolutionary Apple has just released, so would just type iPAD M1 and get proper results in Youtube and any other website.

I am not implying it gets tiring to type iPAD Pro 2020 or iPAD Pro 11 2018.

I am explaining this is a bad strategy unless all you plan to do is to not differentiate enough (so users are more prone to ditch their old devices).

Trust me when I say eBay-like websites and search engines don't like very much when you just type iPAD Pro 2018.

You may end up seeing a 2018 review date, not that specific model released in 2018. That's why I am in favor of dropping the years, and instead using numbers or something else besides "Pro".

 

[KaliYoni]

Because Centris, Quadra, Performa, and LC were already taken.

 

[Starfia]

Hmm. That's an idea, and I bet it's an idea they've actually considered, but I don't think I prefer it myself. I like the way Apple's longer-term choices of "line" names (e.g. "iPad Pro", "MacBook Pro") says something broader about the thinking behind them – you don't know the specs of a given iPad Pro, but you know it was implied to have a certain level of capability for its time.

Apple does have one example of a named-differently-every-generation thing, and that's macOS. And it's cool, but now that macOS is nearing a 20-name history – where even recalling the year and order of something as recent as, say, "Sierra" is enough to make people stumble, recall or look it up unless they've deliberately memorized them – I can only imagine the marketing and mental clutter attainable with multiple such histories.

 

[Starfia]

(Not dissimilarly: I wonder what the internal code name for iOS 15 is! They mustn't leak it or people might know they're working on it.)

 

[GSWForever8]

They should do iPad 5 Pro and iPad 5 Pro Max instead of the current naming scheme

 

[Gandek]

Tbh the iPad naming scheme is wayyy better than iPhones IMO same goes for Macs which the iPad used for names like the Air and Pro. I think iPhones should simply be called iPhones with a year added to the name and size so for example - iPhone (2021) 5'4 , iPhone (2021) 6'1

 

[frostbit3]

Tbh the iPad naming scheme is wayyy better than iPhones IMO same goes for Macs which the iPad used for names like the Air and Pro. I think iPhones should simply be called iPhones with a year added to the name and size so for example - iPhone (2021) 5'4 , iPhone (2021) 6'1

Agreed,

They switched the boxes over to just saying "iPhone" if I remember correctly too. I'd much rather there just be "iPhone" and "iPhone Pro" and the year being something that we add to it. Cars are the exact same way and we've never had any issues with that.

Google "Chevy Silverado" and see how many models there are.

 

[muzzy996]

I dunno, what's being suggested by OP seems worse to me.

If I was in the market for a used iPad pro I would have no idea what year an iPad Max, Dragon, Prodigy, Brave, Excelsior, Nebula, Saber, Enterprise, Defiant, Indus, or Rigel was made. I'd have to memorize all of that or repeatedly look it up just to have a better idea of a device's age and remaining service life. In the end the inclusion of production year designation in descriptions of products would be necessary I would think, at which point what's the point of having creative model names?