This iPad is pretty much a great upgrade to the iPad Air 2. Almost everything you would expect, except maybe also getting force touch. I don't regard the protruding camera as much of an issue as the cases will deal with it, and in that case the protuderance probably helps avoid that occasional problem where a shift in the case obscures a bit of the picture.
Here's the real problem though . Something Wall Street has noticed. Wall Street has been banging on about Apple's iPhone dependency for some time now. That might not be fair, but that is how it is. So what does Apple do about it to change that perception?
It delivers a great iPhone at an attractive price. It will sell tonnes of them. At the same time, Apple delivers an incremental upgrade to the ipad air 2. It slaps a 'pro' moniker on it, and then increases price 20 per cent.
A 20 per cent price increase! 20 per cent will solve the problem of declining iPad sales and iPad revenue!
This says a lot about Apple today. I suspect Apple is quite comfortable with iPhone dependency, and this approach to iPad signals its intentions, not only about not worrying about iPhone dependency, but the future of iPad. It is prepared to take a continued drop in sales in its flagship models, hopefully because in return they expect higher margins, although if I was to be negative about it, it could be they don't care about iPad sales that much and just want to milk it while they can. Good luck with that.
Meanwhile, where are the new updated with already widely adopted current technology laptops?
Apple found out people won't upgrade their media consumption device unless it's really old no matter the price; that's why sales decline. Only solution is to keep the air for the consumption market, cut the price for Ipad 2 and Ipad 4 upgraders and create a new niche.
This is basically the start of Apple creating two classes of devices, the Air, which when they will upgrade it will likely lose a ton of weight, and the pro which they can keep a bit beefier with a lot of non media consumption features. That;'s what Apple has done in the laptop area and they're doing the same here.
I don't want a case. I don't want a smart keyboard. It is too much to ask for a drawing tablet to lay flat on a table and not wiggle? This is a huge error. Betcha we see a Surface ad shortly highlighting this.
Maybe 4 rubber grommets are in order. they would reduce slip on smooth surfaces.
....Here's the real problem though . Something Wall Street has noticed. Wall Street has been banging on about Apple's iPhone dependency for some time now. That might not be fair, but that is how it is. So what does Apple do about it to change that perception?
It delivers a great iPhone at an attractive price. It will sell tonnes of them. At the same time, Apple delivers an incremental upgrade to the ipad air 2. It slaps a 'pro' moniker on it, and then increases price 20 per cent.
A 20 per cent price increase! 20 per cent will solve the problem of declining iPad sales and iPad revenue!
This says a lot about Apple today. I suspect Apple is quite comfortable
with iPhone dependency, and this approach to iPad signals its
intentions, not only about not worrying about iPhone dependency, but the
future of iPad. It is prepared to take a continued drop in sales in its
flagship models, hopefully because in return they expect higher
margins, although if I was to be negative about it, it could be they
don't care about iPad sales that much and just want to milk it while
they can. Good luck with that.
More than 20%. You'll be popping for a pencil ($99), maybe Apple's
smart KB ($150) and likely at least a case.... ...and if you're a true
"pro" - more than 32GB of Ram. Which last where you'll find yourself
bumping to 4x the RAM as in the case of iPhone.
So a 128 with a pencil and KB case will set you back $997, and fully loaded with the same two acc's, $1277. Not including cables, dongles and apps.... ....that's one spicy tablet.... ...maybe indispensable in the right hands, but overkill pricewise for average tab users.... ....even at $698 for 32GB, the pencil and no KB or other case...
...and while a cool piece of kit (I'd love one as a gift), doubt it'll move the volume sales meter much....
After re-watching the event a couple observations:
1) the only person that should be doing product videos (outside of videos that include 3rd party speakers) is Jony Ive. He's just very good at this and has the perfect voice for these videos. They had some marketing guy doing one today and he just didn't cut it at all.
2) don't do a video when it's not necessary. There is nothing really new about the 9.7" iPad Pro. The product video they did wasn't much different than the one Jony Ive narrated last September. Completely pointless. Also since these videos are at a high level they probably should come before Schiller gets into the nitty gritty. As it is now they seem like just repeating what Schiller already said.
3) it would have been nice for Jeff Williams to better explain the difference between ResearchKit and CareKit and why they need to be separate. There's so many different "Kits" now it's getting confusing.
4) why would someone buy a 6 or 6 Plus when the SE has better specs and is cheaper? I think now would have been the time to axe the 6 and 6 Plus. Same with iPads. Why do we need two iPad minis? I think it makes both product lines a bit bloated and confusing.
The price of the device pissed me, is €859 here, way much more from the €689 the iPad AIr2 was until yesterday. Sad. But looking for the silver lining I will be capable of buying the Air2 with 64GB for less than €500 sooner or later this year in one of the fire sale weekends the Apple reseller makes from time to time, for sure €50 off in a couple of months, and for €479 the iPad AIr2 with 64GB is a very good replacement for my now departed iPad 2.
The new iPad Pro is certainly a buy for me. Most likely I will get the 128 GB wifi version with smart keyboard. I will eventually get the pencil as well but I can wait a little for it. I currently have an iPad Air (Mark I) that I use for both work and pleasure. The biggest problem I've had is finding a decent keyboard for it. I have bought at least three or four and all have had some deficiency or add too much bulk. So for me it is the smart connector and smart keyboard that is a big selling point. When I buy I will give my old iPad Air to my son as an upgrade for his still very functional iPad 2.
More than 20%. You'll be popping for a pencil ($99), maybe Apple's
smart KB ($150) and likely at least a case.... ...and if you're a true
"pro" - more than 32GB of Ram. Which last where you'll find yourself
bumping to 4x the RAM as in the case of iPhone.
So a 128 with a pencil and KB case will set you back $997, and fully loaded with the same two acc's, $1277. Not including cables, dongles and apps.... ....that's one spicy tablet.... ...maybe indispensable in the right hands, but overkill pricewise for average tab users.... ....even at $698 for 32GB, the pencil and no KB or other case...
...and while a cool piece of kit (I'd love one as a gift), doubt it'll move the volume sales meter much....
The new 9.7" iPad Pro has some very nice technology but you are right that to take a advantage of the pencil support and keyboard requires you to shell out a lot more money. The iPad Pro 9.7 is $50 - $100 over priced. The iPad Pro 12 inch is $100-$200 over priced depending upon the storage capacity (I would be pissed if I had bought a 12 inch iPad Pro three months ago and then see this new more advanced screen and camera technology in the 9.7 inch Pro). By keeping these as Premium Priced $$$, Apple will keep these as niche products that won't allow them to grow their software and services. iPad Sales for the April - Jun quarter will probably be down again - Probably for the rest of the year too.
Holy fucking shit. Shut the fuck up about the extruding camera lens. It has not interfered with the use of a single iPhone in 2 years and will not with an iPad either.
The price of the device pissed me, is €859 here, way much more from the €689 the iPad AIr2 was until yesterday. Sad. But looking for the silver lining I will be capable of buying the Air2 with 64GB for less than €500 sooner or later this year in one of the fire sale weekends the Apple reseller makes from time to time, for sure €50 off in a couple of months, and for €479 the iPad AIr2 with 64GB is a very good replacement for my now departed iPad 2.
If you really had the Ipad 2, even the Air 2 is quite sufficient for your needs, and now its' cheaper; so you did get your "upgrade".
Holy fucking shit. Shut the fuck up about the extruding camera lens. It has not interfered with the use of a single iPhone in 2 years and will not with an iPad either.
Assuming you mean "protruding" I assume you mean that you have used an iPhone 6 yourself as a drawing tablet for 2 years, and have personally found it to not be an issue?
I would really like to see a short video of the new iPad put flat on a table with someone drawing on it with an Apple Pencil. If it does what I think it does, that would make an awesome MS Surface ad. Some graphic designer meticulously working on an image, then..."ooops <smear>" when it tips. Followed by the thing being frisbeed against a wall <smash!> and the artist then going back to a nice MS Surface that is rock solid on the table...like a piece of paper.
Holy fucking shit. Shut the fuck up about the extruding camera lens. It has not interfered with the use of a single iPhone in 2 years and will not with an iPad either.
Assuming you mean "protruding" I assume you mean that you have used an iPhone 6 yourself as a drawing tablet for 2 years, and have personally found it to not be an issue?
I would really like to see a short video of the new iPad put flat on a table with someone drawing on it with an Apple Pencil. If it does what I think it does, that would make an awesome MS Surface ad. Some graphic designer meticulously working on an image, then..."ooops <smear>" when it tips. Followed by the thing being frisbeed against a wall <smash!> and the artist then going back to a nice MS Surface that is rock solid on the table...like a piece of paper.
How did this get past Sir Jony?
do you people honestly think they rushed this thing out the door and never, you know, tested one of its primary use cases? that's really what you think?
Assuming you mean "protruding" I assume you mean that you have used an iPhone 6 yourself as a drawing tablet for 2 years, and have personally found it to not be an issue?
I would really like to see a short video of the new iPad put flat on a table with someone drawing on it with an Apple Pencil. If it does what I think it does, that would make an awesome MS Surface ad. Some graphic designer meticulously working on an image, then..."ooops <smear>" when it tips. Followed by the thing being frisbeed against a wall <smash!> and the artist then going back to a nice MS Surface that is rock solid on the table...like a piece of paper.
How did this get past Sir Jony?
do you people honestly think they rushed this thing out the door and never, you know, tested one of its primary use cases? that's really what you think?
Yep. That's exactly what I think. Like every engineer, they compromised. They have those cameras available in the supply chain, and a change to the camera to make it flush comes at a cost. Conversely, making the case thicker would be the first time an iPad is make thicker, after all the PR on "pencil thin." They sorta needed this to go out now, and they compromised. It's not that they didn't test; they tested and decided to accept it with this flaw. And that flaw comes at a cost to Apple's reputation.
Comments
Only solution is to keep the air for the consumption market, cut the price for Ipad 2 and Ipad 4 upgraders and create a new niche.
This is basically the start of Apple creating two classes of devices, the Air, which when they will upgrade it will likely lose a ton of weight, and the pro which they can keep a bit beefier with a lot of non media consumption features. That;'s what Apple has done in the laptop area and they're doing the same here.
So a 128 with a pencil and KB case will set you back $997, and fully loaded with the same two acc's, $1277. Not including cables, dongles and apps.... ....that's one spicy tablet.... ...maybe indispensable in the right hands, but overkill pricewise for average tab users.... ....even at $698 for 32GB, the pencil and no KB or other case...
...and while a cool piece of kit (I'd love one as a gift), doubt it'll move the volume sales meter much....
1) the only person that should be doing product videos (outside of videos that include 3rd party speakers) is Jony Ive. He's just very good at this and has the perfect voice for these videos. They had some marketing guy doing one today and he just didn't cut it at all.
2) don't do a video when it's not necessary. There is nothing really new about the 9.7" iPad Pro. The product video they did wasn't much different than the one Jony Ive narrated last September. Completely pointless. Also since these videos are at a high level they probably should come before Schiller gets into the nitty gritty. As it is now they seem like just repeating what Schiller already said.
3) it would have been nice for Jeff Williams to better explain the difference between ResearchKit and CareKit and why they need to be separate. There's so many different "Kits" now it's getting confusing.
4) why would someone buy a 6 or 6 Plus when the SE has better specs and is cheaper? I think now would have been the time to axe the 6 and 6 Plus. Same with iPads. Why do we need two iPad minis? I think it makes both product lines a bit bloated and confusing.
I would really like to see a short video of the new iPad put flat on a table with someone drawing on it with an Apple Pencil. If it does what I think it does, that would make an awesome MS Surface ad. Some graphic designer meticulously working on an image, then..."ooops <smear>" when it tips. Followed by the thing being frisbeed against a wall <smash!> and the artist then going back to a nice MS Surface that is rock solid on the table...like a piece of paper.
How did this get past Sir Jony?