Who actually needs iPads, people without computers? What function will the M4 facilitate that makes it a must have in an iPad? I can see if they want to run Mac OS as an app on it on top of iOS. That would be cool. But if not for that, what is the compelling reason to spend over $1,000 on an iPad these days?
Apple always plays the long game. I think they see iPads (and Vision Pro, and who knows what else) as “new ways of computing”. A way of looking at it is that the Macs are traditional computers with you in control, where iPads are “self-driving” computers. I think the vision is that people shouldn't know about computers to use computers. Which is also why the pipe dream of running MacOS on iPads will never happen - they are meant for different paradigms. Touchscreen Macs are much more likely, and even that is very, very unlikely...
I see it similarly as combustion vs electric cars. It's not about having "the same plus more" in the new version, it's about changing the paradigms, which may mean there are things you can do with the old technology that you can't do with the new, so the new is not for everyone. And the old will stick around longer than the manufacturers would like.
All this to say, I don't think iPads are too powerful for their intended use. I think they are not yet powerful
enough, not just in hardware but also in terms of software. And this is where AI comes in, in a big way, although it is likely that the "first" generation of truly AI powered iPad will be lacking in all sorts of ways. But, consider the long game. Surely, Apple is envisioning that at some point in the future, a computer is not a device that enables you to balance your checkbook. It is a device that balances your checkbook. It is not a device that lets you edit your photos. It is a device that edits your photos.
You may or may not like that future, but I am convinced that is the vision Apple has, and they will move forward along those lines, however long it may take for the world to reach that point. I don't think we are there yet, and I also don't think these new iPads will be it. But I do think that is the trajectory.
Now, this is all from the viewpoint of Apple. How about the consumer - why buy these products then, if they aren't really useful yet? Aside from buying into the dream, a lot of it is simply down to user experience. Sure, an iPad is not "worth" 1000 dollars, if you gauge that buy whether you can do the tasks for less money. But, there are some very simple tasks, that could be done with much simpler and cheaper hardware, that are just
nicer to do on a fast iPad with a nice screen. I see iPads being used for "work" all the time. For instance, my real estate agent using it to show pictures of houses, or the undertaker using it to design the obituary when my dad died. Sure, this could be done on a 300 dollar iPad, but it's just
nicer to do it on an iPad Pro. I think that some people underestimate other people's willingness to pay extra for performing the same tasks in a nicer way. To me, wanting nicer ways of doing the same things are why we don't live in caves.
In other words, products don't need to do anything that couldn't be done cheaper. They just need to be nice products, that feels good to use. A cheap Windows laptop is a simple way to do advanced tasks. An iPad is an advanced way to do simple tasks. And let's face it, most people use their computers for simple tasks. My work computer is 40% email, 40% webbrowser, 15% Excel and 5% Powerpoint. Why do I need a 2000 dollar laptop for that?