No doubt this move will help Apple maximize their profits, but I doubt it does much to improve their sales numbers. I would have preferred to see a lower entry level price or perhaps a specially-priced bundle with the pencil and keyboard cover included. I will wait until after Monday's announcement to pass final judgment...
Storage prices have dropped over the years. They really should bite the bullet and shift the storage options up a notch at the same price. I.e. The new 32 GB for the old 16 GB price, 64 for 32, etc.
Ideally 64 GB should be the minimum on an iPad and 32 GB on an iPhone.
Storage prices have dropped over the years. They really should bite the bullet and shift the storage options up a notch at the same price. I.e. The new 32 GB for the old 16 GB price, 64 for 32, etc.
Ideally 64 GB should be the minimum on an iPad and 32 GB on an iPhone.
Uh, 64GB is overkill for probably 95% of iPad users. Also, in general iPhones need more storage than iPads, because of the heavily used built in camera, among a bunch of other apps. I've had constant storage issues on my phones, but never on an iPad.
There isn't going to be an 'iPad Air 3'. This is the new 9.7" iPad. They're not going to release 2 different models.
I don't believe that. At a minimum they will continue to offer the iPad Air 2, just as they have year after year when they release the new iPad models. In fact, I wound't be surprised to see the Air 2 get a processor upgrade (making it an "Air 3"), and continue offering it as the entry level budget model iPad, along with the mini 2. I doubt they are going to bump down the new "iPad Air Pro" when they release the "iPad Air Pro 2".
Apple's recent arrogance seems to know no bounds. I hope that people will see through the marketing and see how greedy this corporation has become. Such a shame.
Uh, it will be identical to the iPad Pro features, except slightly smaller, for a full $200 less. How the fuck is that "arrogant"? It's the exact same price as the current, non Pro 32GB iPad. You get more for your $$ with Apple products today than you ever did in the entire company's history, and thats obvious by the sales they're achieving.
I swear the trolls here get worse every day. That's the only shame.
I don't agree with that other user's comment on Apple being arrogant, but products always offer more features and performance over time. Just because Apple hasn't refreshed their 10" iPad line in over a year, doesn't mean these types of features shouldn't be expected.
I hope they don't decide to charge $599, 32gb really should be the entry level. Yes I know people can get away with just 16gb when pushed, but for most people I don't think it gives a good user experience.
At $499 the current iPad pricing is already firmly in the premium segment, there is no real justification for the increase.
Disagree. you’re paying $100 more for: a more advanced higher refresh rate screen, Pencil capability, a much faster A9X processor, 4GB of RAM, Smart Connector, 32GB of base storage, and possibly a higher resolution screen. That’s worth $100. What I would like to have seen is the iPad Air 2 get a price decrease to $399 starting price.
There's nothing surprising about the pricing of the 9.7" iPad Pro (if true).
But thats exactly the problem for me to ask $100 more for the entry level. For me the main advantage would be the pencil capability, which is already an additional $99. Forget the flash, forget the speakers, they are only "nice to have" features. Without the pencil, again for me, there are no lackluster features i can think of, that would make me buy the new iPad (upgrading from an iPad air). The beefed up hardware (or thinness) alone gives no good enough reason to upgrade, because the software and possibilities didn't make a great deal of progress over the last couple years – productivity apps still mostly limited compared to their desktop counterparts, especially the iWork suite.
And all the iPad 2 & 3 owners might think that they may want to wait again or leave the Apple tablet behind completely, if their long wait only resulted in the new iPads getting more expensive.
And from an Apple perspective, if Apple wants to get people buy their latest hardware to have headroom for new CPU demanding features, knowing that people tend to keep there iPads for a much longer time than their iPhones, it makes no sense to – more or less – promote a 2-year old hardware with the lower pricepoint for the iPad Air 2.
Wi-Fi-only 32-gigabyte models have always cost $599, so the move would not technically be a price increase. But, if true, it does signal that the entry-level 16-gigabyte capacity is on the way out, at least for the latest flagship 9.7-inch model.
The iPad Air 2 has offered 64gb for $599 since launch.
Yeah, I was going to say, AI was asleep at the wheel on that one. At least in regards to storage, it most certainly is a price increase.
I am curious to what Apple does with the iPad Air 2. Frankly at $499 for 16GB it is a non-starter. I would like to see $399 for 32GB and just not offer the 16GB model any more. Frankly, Apple should be embarrassed that they offer such a small amount of storage for the entry model.
I hope they don't decide to charge $599, 32gb really should be the entry level. Yes I know people can get away with just 16gb when pushed, but for most people I don't think it gives a good user experience.
At $499 the current iPad pricing is already firmly in the premium segment, there is no real justification for the increase.
This is the basic problem, 32 GB simply isn't enough storage for even an entry level machine. Apple really needs to pull head from ass and give the users what they need to really leverage the technology. Four speake s and the other add ins simply aren't worth the cost to many of us. Beyond all of that flash and SSD technology in general has dropped drastically in price levels since thane iPad came out.
Now I fully realize that Apple believes that the extra features justify the costs. In some cases I might even agree with them, you can't throw extra features into a device without impacting Its cost. The problem here is that many of us have been waiting a very long time now for a decent iPad Air update. We really have no need for four speakers nor some of the other implied goodies.
If you want a cheaper product just buy an iPadAir2.
So the iPadAir2 will be $499 for THREE YEARS? LOL. so funny. Not Apple's fault though. If people only want to upgrade every 3 or 4 years why should Apple bring out a new iPadAir every year? People have no one except themself to blame.
iPad Pro 9.7 for $599 is great. For the extra $100 over the Air2 you get:
1. Pencil support 2. Smart connector 3. Much faster CPU/GPU/ 4. More Ram 5. 4 speakers 6. 16GB more of storage
Its a great deal!
It is only a great deal if you want all of that stuff. Many of us simply wanted an upgraded Air with a new processor and more RAM and flash storage. With the rate of innovation RAM and flash could have been upgraded with zero impact to Apple cost wise. The price for the basic elements of the iPad have dropped drastically in the last couple of years.
In a nut shell this rumor is only a great deal if you need the rumored features. Otherwise it is a gross increase in price with little in return.
I don't see how increasing the price is going to revive their flagging sales, despite the new moniker this will simply be the refresh to the iPad Air 2.
I don't expect them to lower the price and rush to the bottom, but increasing the price seems like a bad move to me.
But hey, I'm not the CEO and I am sure they have done their research.
First don't assume that they have done any research. Lately they seem to manage new product features by throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks.
.
As for reviving flagging sales well Apple seems to be screwing themselves in that respect. I fully expected an enhanced iPad AIr at last falls new product introduction instead we got boned. I have no desire for an iPad Pro 13" nor do I need some of the features it introduced. What I wanted was an iPad Air with an annual improvement in features at a given cost point.
What we got instead was a big bone. Seriously a new iPad Air with more flash and a new processor would have been very inviting. Instead nothing. That is Apple screwing themselves and directly leads to flagging sales. By the way I wouldn't even desire such an improvement if I didn't know where the cost of components has gone in the years time. The iPads, exsoecially in the upgraded version just represent an incredible rip off pricing wise.
Apple's recent arrogance seems to know no bounds. I hope that people will see through the marketing and see how greedy this corporation has become. Such a shame.
Doesn't every one want to pay for an overpriced tablet so that they can also buy the overpriced accessories like the pen and keyboard?
Will anyone be surprised when the iPad keeps falling off the sales Cliff?
I wish Apple would be more interested in making iPads for schools, and making tools that are accessible for everyone, rather than making premium products. I think that their idea that they have to charge more to distinguish themselves and make good quality products is not just wrong but evil.
Storage prices have dropped over the years. They really should bite the bullet and shift the storage options up a notch at the same price. I.e. The new 32 GB for the old 16 GB price, 64 for 32, etc.
Ideally 64 GB should be the minimum on an iPad and 32 GB on an iPhone.
In the caae of the new Pro line you are totally right.
I have been betting on this in several posts related to the iPad, two product lines the Air and the Pro. (Jason Snell of Six Colors bets on iPad and iPad Pro lines, but basically the same argument) And a price increase in the small iPad Pro was very obvious, more so here in Europe where the price gap between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro is much bigger than in the US. And $100 in the US and even €150 here in Europe is very probable.
Sorry to sound arrogant, but in this I have been mostly correct since I saw the first sketches of the device and that included the smart connector and the four speakers. I'm not exactly happy to be right because I was waiting for the device to upgrade from my iPad 2, but at those prices the device is out of my reach. Sadly my iPad 2 is donated by now, so I will have to go with the Air2 or wait to be financially better and go for the best of the breed...or not use an iPad anymore.
I've long suspected that Apple will lower the entry price point for iPad. But they could not do that and devalue their brand. By developing the Pro moniker, they can now reduce the price of the "base" iPad and maintain a premium, high-end product.
I suspect they will start the iPad Air 2/3 at $399 for 16 GB, $499 for 64 GB and $599 for 128 GB (if they keep that option available which is doubtful). Then the iPad Pro starts at $599 for 32 GB and $699 for 128 GB... maybe they will ramp up to 256 GB soon for another $100 or $150. The entire original iPad line drops down $100 which puts iPad minis around the $200 mark. This would effectively squeeze Android completely out of the tablet business unless you want to buy "crap" or just plain hate Apple.
I think you're going to see this either this year or next. My belief is that the two operating system lines will converge in OS 11. Apple has already "hinted" at this by not updating to version 11 of OS X and just continuing to increment the minor version number. Every iteration, the operating system becomes closer and more integrated with iOS. However at the same time, a lot of the older apps use older "NS" SDKs which are not nearly as efficient or straightforward as their iOS "UI" ones. But Apple is making significant changes to iOS to bring all the features in the former. My guess is that this year or next, iOS apps will be able to run on Macs and that the A10 processor and A11 will outpace Intel versions.
I don't see how increasing the price is going to revive their flagging sales, despite the new moniker this will simply be the refresh to the iPad Air 2.
I don't expect them to lower the price and rush to the bottom, but increasing the price seems like a bad move to me.
But hey, I'm not the CEO and I am sure they have done their research.
First don't assume that they have done any research. Lately they seem to manage new product features by throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks.
.
As for reviving flagging sales well Apple seems to be screwing themselves in that respect. I fully expected an enhanced iPad AIr at last falls new product introduction instead we got boned. I have no desire for an iPad Pro 13" nor do I need some of the features it introduced. What I wanted was an iPad Air with an annual improvement in features at a given cost point.
What we got instead was a big bone. Seriously a new iPad Air with more flash and a new processor would have been very inviting. Instead nothing. That is Apple screwing themselves and directly leads to flagging sales. By the way I wouldn't even desire such an improvement if I didn't know where the cost of components has gone in the years time. The iPads, exsoecially in the upgraded version just represent an incredible rip off pricing wise.
And if Apple released an Air 3 with just a processor bump and more RAM/storage everyone would say boring and complain about lack of innovation from Apple. Everyone assumes what they want is what everyone else wants. If this report is true it tells me that the iPP is more popular than we think and that's where Apple is going with the iPad line.
I don't see how increasing the price is going to revive their flagging sales, despite the new moniker this will simply be the refresh to the iPad Air 2.
I don't expect them to lower the price and rush to the bottom, but increasing the price seems like a bad move to me.
But hey, I'm not the CEO and I am sure they have done their research.
What's stopping Ipad sales is NOT pricing, it's functionality. If the Ipad is only seen as a media consumption device, the Air 2 is plenty for that and you don't need to upgrade beyond that. People are ready to upgrade to a new Ipad if you offer something new.
As for price, seriously, I spent the equivalent of $1200 (in todays money) for a C64 with tape drive and we weren't rich. Anyone complaining about price is a whiny bitch if you ask me.
Expecting the Pro line to cost the same as the Air line is idiotic. This is almost as idiotic as thinking a Macbook Pro should cost the same as a Macbook Air.
I've been running under the assumption that there will be no iPad Air 3, perhaps in this I will be proved wrong. Until that point I see this new iPad as the long awaited 9.7" refresh.
If it's the Air 3, it would be an identical screen as current Air 2 but with no digitizer, but with an underclocked A9X and 2GB. This much more efficient chip would allow the Air to be 100-130g less in weight by enabling a smaller battery.. They could also shave 1-2mm in size; but maybe would rather use this space for better speakers instead.
Comments
Uh, 64GB is overkill for probably 95% of iPad users. Also, in general iPhones need more storage than iPads, because of the heavily used built in camera, among a bunch of other apps. I've had constant storage issues on my phones, but never on an iPad.
And all the iPad 2 & 3 owners might think that they may want to wait again or leave the Apple tablet behind completely, if their long wait only resulted in the new iPads getting more expensive.
And from an Apple perspective, if Apple wants to get people buy their latest hardware to have headroom for new CPU demanding features, knowing that people tend to keep there iPads for a much longer time than their iPhones, it makes no sense to – more or less – promote a 2-year old hardware with the lower pricepoint for the iPad Air 2.
I am curious to what Apple does with the iPad Air 2. Frankly at $499 for 16GB it is a non-starter. I would like to see $399 for 32GB and just not offer the 16GB model any more. Frankly, Apple should be embarrassed that they offer such a small amount of storage for the entry model.
-kp
Now I fully realize that Apple believes that the extra features justify the costs. In some cases I might even agree with them, you can't throw extra features into a device without impacting Its cost. The problem here is that many of us have been waiting a very long time now for a decent iPad Air update. We really have no need for four speakers nor some of the other implied goodies.
In a nut shell this rumor is only a great deal if you need the rumored features. Otherwise it is a gross increase in price with little in return.
. As for reviving flagging sales well Apple seems to be screwing themselves in that respect. I fully expected an enhanced iPad AIr at last falls new product introduction instead we got boned. I have no desire for an iPad Pro 13" nor do I need some of the features it introduced. What I wanted was an iPad Air with an annual improvement in features at a given cost point.
What we got instead was a big bone. Seriously a new iPad Air with more flash and a new processor would have been very inviting. Instead nothing. That is Apple screwing themselves and directly leads to flagging sales. By the way I wouldn't even desire such an improvement if I didn't know where the cost of components has gone in the years time. The iPads, exsoecially in the upgraded version just represent an incredible rip off pricing wise.
Will anyone be surprised when the iPad keeps falling off the sales Cliff?
Sorry to sound arrogant, but in this I have been mostly correct since I saw the first sketches of the device and that included the smart connector and the four speakers. I'm not exactly happy to be right because I was waiting for the device to upgrade from my iPad 2, but at those prices the device is out of my reach. Sadly my iPad 2 is donated by now, so I will have to go with the Air2 or wait to be financially better and go for the best of the breed...or not use an iPad anymore.
I suspect they will start the iPad Air 2/3 at $399 for 16 GB, $499 for 64 GB and $599 for 128 GB (if they keep that option available which is doubtful). Then the iPad Pro starts at $599 for 32 GB and $699 for 128 GB... maybe they will ramp up to 256 GB soon for another $100 or $150. The entire original iPad line drops down $100 which puts iPad minis around the $200 mark. This would effectively squeeze Android completely out of the tablet business unless you want to buy "crap" or just plain hate Apple.
Expect the same to come on the iPhone front.
If the Ipad is only seen as a media consumption device, the Air 2 is plenty for that and you don't need to upgrade beyond that.
People are ready to upgrade to a new Ipad if you offer something new.
As for price, seriously, I spent the equivalent of $1200 (in todays money) for a C64 with tape drive and we weren't rich.
Anyone complaining about price is a whiny bitch if you ask me.
This much more efficient chip would allow the Air to be 100-130g less in weight by enabling a smaller battery..
They could also shave 1-2mm in size; but maybe would rather use this space for better speakers instead.