Subject line kind of says it all; anyone know why they don't do a 12.9" iPad Air? I bought a 12.9 IPP for the screen size (for reading stuff for work mostly), but it's kind of overkill for everything else, and I'd think a 12.9" Air would be a lot handier for reading since it's lighter.
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All iPads why no iPad Air 12.9"?
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There's only 0.04 lbs difference between the iPad Pro 11" and iPad Air 4. Battery's the one taking up all that weight so there's not going to be a meaningful weight difference between iPad Pro 12.9" and, say, Air 12.8".
Besides, there's probably not as big an audience for the 12.9" to begin with and Apple likely doesn't want to divide that audience even more by introducing a less expensive model.
Besides, there's probably not as big an audience for the 12.9" to begin with and Apple likely doesn't want to divide that audience even more by introducing a less expensive model.
I guess that makes sense, though I would think that because a 12.9" screen is (almost) the size of a piece of 8.5x11 or A4 paper you'd have a big market in schools and universities.
Only if they can bring the price down. It should be noted that the iPad model targeted for education is the iPad 8th gen at $299 EDU pricing.
Universities, while I think they've started to update their systems, I'm not sure going iPad-only is an option just yet. Between MacBook and iPad Pro, I expect most would still choose the MacBook. Frankly, chances are cheaper Windows laptops are more plentiful than either.
Mind, I crammed for my EIT exam with the textbooks on iPad 2 + GoodReader. All things considered, the size is actually quite workable and that's even on lower PPI. The retina iPads are much comfier.
Downside is you can't really do textbooks side-by-side but for that, I think the 12.9" iPad is still too small anyway. Granted my eyes aren't as young as they used to be.
The answer will likely come down to the overall amount of profit that can be made by either or not having that additional product vs just offering the big Pro model.
There isn't as much of a market for it. Most of those that need a larger sized iPad are either fine with the 12.9" Pro or one of Apple's many 13.3" Mac notebooks.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be a cool idea and that I wouldn't be totally interested, but I don't think we make up enough takers for Apple to try it. I believe the smaller sized iPads sell more. Though, I'll easily argue that there are scenarios where a 12.9" iPad is perfect in ways that any 13.3" or smaller Mac notebook or any 11" or smaller iPad just isn't (the 12.9" iPad Pro is, by far, the best note-taking device I have ever used; better than phone, any other size of iPad, any notebook computer, any actual notebook/notepad, or pen+paper combination).
That's a nominal difference. The difference in speakers between the two is more noticable. Hell, the USB-C transfer speed disparity between the two is way more noticable than the .1" screen difference.
Presumably because the returns on the investment for making it isn't worth it (either because of low projected sales, cannibalisation of the Pro, cannibalisation of the Air 11", or a combination thereof).
Apple seem to be responding to a general desire for larger screens by inching up the sizes year over year. The basic iPad by next year will have gone 9.7 -> 10.2 -> 10.5 while the Air has grown from 10.5 -> 10.9 and even the mini, the USP of which is its smaller size is supposed to be growing.
Rather than adding a new size model, I think Apple are looking for the largest display size which will still appeal broadly (a lot of people are put off of the 12.9" because they find it unwieldy) and I think they still have room to grow yet before it starts turning people off. The iPad 2 was never considered huge or unwieldy while a 12" display (with original aspect ratio) has almost the exact same footprint as the iPad 2, so certainly I think an 11.5 to 11.8" size would be possible in the future (allowing for a slim bezel).
Apple seem to be responding to a general desire for larger screens by inching up the sizes year over year. The basic iPad by next year will have gone 9.7 -> 10.2 -> 10.5 while the Air has grown from 10.5 -> 10.9 and even the mini, the USP of which is its smaller size is supposed to be growing.
Rather than adding a new size model, I think Apple are looking for the largest display size which will still appeal broadly (a lot of people are put off of the 12.9" because they find it unwieldy) and I think they still have room to grow yet before it starts turning people off. The iPad 2 was never considered huge or unwieldy while a 12" display (with original aspect ratio) has almost the exact same footprint as the iPad 2, so certainly I think an 11.5 to 11.8" size would be possible in the future (allowing for a slim bezel).
It still cannibalizes its market no problem. 0.1” screen difference is hardly making this a different scenario.
Yes to the average Joe they look exactly the same, with one model being £200 cheaper and having more colours to choose from.
Exactly. Besides you don’t need identical features across the board for product cannibalisation. Folks often buy just one out of a category and that’s it.
If they sold a 12.9" Air for $200 less with the same features as the 10.9" Air, I would've snapped that in an instant over the 12.9" Pro. I just need the screen size, not the features I won't be able to fully utilize.