New iPad Pro refresh rumors point to new 'iPad mini Pro,' True Tone across the line

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 57
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    macxpress said:

    sog35 said:
    I wonder what the iPad would be if Steve Jobs was still alive?

    I think Apple has done an absolutely amazing job with the iPhone without Jobs. Though my one criticism is they have been a bit late several times. Late with bigger phones (although this could be blamed on Jobs) and late with small bezel phablets. Of course being late is only a temporary problem with Apple.

    But IMO, the iPad has not been managed properly by Cook. I own a 3-year old iPad Air and have almost zero desire to upgrade. There simply isn't enough added value in the current lineup unless you want a much larger screen, pencil support, or heavy processing power for games. For common consumers like me, there really isn't anything that compelling to upgrade. And the scary part is I have no idea what feature would make it compelling either!

    The iPad is truly in a rut except for certain niche segments. For common folk they are fine with their 3 year old or newer iPads.
    The whole tablet market is in a rut. 
    I kinda think the tablet market is a fad...It sounded great, but in the end I think sometimes people don't know what to do with it. I fall into this category. I've tried and tried to find a reason to own an iPad and I just can't come up with one. I either use my iPhone, or one of my Macs. 

    Maybe down the road it will work out, 
    a fad? yes a fad that did nearly $5B last quarter, growing from 4.5:

    http://www.macrumors.com/2016/07/26/ipad-revenue-growth-q3-2016/

    the annual revenue from this product is more than many other entire companies. 

    dont make the common mistake of believing your use cases represent mass consumer use cases. 
    edited October 2016 williamlondonpscooter63
  • Reply 42 of 57
    jdiamondjdiamond Posts: 122member
    macxpress said:
    If I were Apple I'd drop the mini and lower the price of the 9.7" iPad to the price of the mini. Then lower the price of the iPad Pro models down to the price of the 9.7" iPad. Just in time for the holidays too. Apple's doesn't need an iPad mini Pro model. There are way too many models of iPads as it is between the different screen sizes, old models, new models, Wifi models, LTE models, Pro models, capacity models, etc. Its just too much IMO. 
    The problem with this approach is technical - it's weight.  I'd be using a 13" iPad Pro for everything if it weighed only a half pound.  The big problem is currently the Mini is the outer limit of acceptable weight such that I can:

    -> Hold one handed - it's a stretch but I can even wrap my thumb and pinky around the two edges.
    -> Hold in the air with my arms for more than a few minutes.

    I've tried this with the 1 pound 9.7" iPad Pro and it's just hopeless - after a few minutes, the iPad is touching the ground.  At which point it's a lot less portable., and effectively smaller because it's farther from my eyes.  And the iPad Mini is still stretching the limits - in comparison, a 6 ounce kindle I can hold in one hand for an hour.

    I do agree that if you made the 9.7" iPad Pro under 8 ounces then I see little need for the iPad Mini.  Some women can fit the mini in their purses, but I think most now go for an iPhone Plus.  But that's why I think we still need the mini - because the low weight makes it more portable than a laptop, which usually sits on a desk or table.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 43 of 57
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,695member
    sog35 said:
    brucemc said:
    macxpress said:

    sog35 said:
    I wonder what the iPad would be if Steve Jobs was still alive?

    I think Apple has done an absolutely amazing job with the iPhone without Jobs. Though my one criticism is they have been a bit late several times. Late with bigger phones (although this could be blamed on Jobs) and late with small bezel phablets. Of course being late is only a temporary problem with Apple.

    But IMO, the iPad has not been managed properly by Cook. I own a 3-year old iPad Air and have almost zero desire to upgrade. There simply isn't enough added value in the current lineup unless you want a much larger screen, pencil support, or heavy processing power for games. For common consumers like me, there really isn't anything that compelling to upgrade. And the scary part is I have no idea what feature would make it compelling either!

    The iPad is truly in a rut except for certain niche segments. For common folk they are fine with their 3 year old or newer iPads.
    The whole tablet market is in a rut. 
    I kinda think the tablet market is a fad...It sounded great, but in the end I think sometimes people don't know what to do with it. I fall into this category. I've tried and tried to find a reason to own an iPad and I just can't come up with one. I either use my iPhone, or one of my Macs. 

    Maybe down the road it will work out, but I just don't see the need for an iPad for me. I know there are people out there that never let it leave their hands and have all kinds of uses for it. 

    It probably doesn't help that its kinda morphed into this tablet/notebook thing thanks to PC manufactures which is also not working out very well. Plus, for those that do have them, once you buy one there really isn't a great reason to get a new one unless you just like having the latest and greatest, or have a specific use for what a new one does. 

    I don't see the iPad as ever being a huge seller. Making more models isn't going to create more sales. It hasn't yet and never will. 
    I don't think it is a fad like netbooks were, or those flip video recorders, etc.  I don't think there is any doubt that larger phones has affected the use and use cases.  Apple is certainly looking to fine tune its mission, both for consumer and business.

    Personally I hope it is not a fad, as I use mine every day for consumer use cases, where it is better than a laptop or an iPhone:
    - Website browsing
    - Videos & movies (our TV provider has a very good app for live streaming, so it is a take anywhere in the house kind of TV).
    - Newspapers and magazines
    - Books (iBooks or Kindle)
    - Photo viewer
    Essentially, the same areas Steve Jobs mentioned when he launched the first iPad in 2010
    agree. I feel the iPad has not grown since Jobs died for most consumers.

    If you have no need for a pencil, larger form factor, or super fast peformance for games the iPad is basically the same product as 3 years ago. There was a huge jump from iPad1 to iPad2, then a huge jump to Retina in iPad3, and then a minor form factor change with the Air to make it much lighter. But since then Apple has really done nothing to convience upgraders.

    I have an iPad Air 1 and have zero desire to upgrade. And I make excuses to buy Apple product all the time. But there really isn't any emotional pull to upgrade to a Pro model. IMO, the pencil is too big and bulky for casual use (I'm not an artist) I have zero interest in a Surface style soft keyboard, and my Air1 is plenty fast. Funny thing is I still own an iPhone6 for the same reasons. I just see no emotional pull to upgrade to the 7. I am crazy excited to get the Airpods though
    a lot of that will be dependant on how Apple evolves iOS / iCloud and how soon and in what manner 3rd party developers take advantage of the hardware / OS / iCloud features. 
  • Reply 44 of 57
    Not excited about the (rumored) new Macbooks or the iPhone7, so my first thought was "oh no, now they're going to f**k up the iPad, too?" These look like welcome improvements, though, and I hope they keep the mini in the lineup. Also looking forward to the Waytools keyboard being released - any day now...
  • Reply 45 of 57
    mrboba1mrboba1 Posts: 276member
    mrboba1 said:
    Eric_WVGG said:

    I don't understand this bifurcation of iPads into regulars and Pros at all. The better screen will trickle down to regular iPads someday, that's inevitable. Are they really going to restrict Pencil functionality to "Pro" models? Is an artistically inclined 8-year-old a professional?

    Regardless, I can't wait to get my paws on a Mini + Pencil.
    The screen's not the difference, it's the processor. (and the cameras, I suppose)
    Having a Pro and non-Pro iPad line is redundant. Eventually all iPads will become Pros. So your decision will be:

    1. small, medium, large
    2. Cellular / Wi-Fi only
    3. Storage size
    4. Pencil or no Pencil
    Yeah - semantics I guess. Current pro vs non is effectively the same as iPhone 7 vs 6s.
    sellerington
  • Reply 46 of 57
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    mrboba1 said:
    Eric_WVGG said:

    I don't understand this bifurcation of iPads into regulars and Pros at all. The better screen will trickle down to regular iPads someday, that's inevitable. Are they really going to restrict Pencil functionality to "Pro" models? Is an artistically inclined 8-year-old a professional?

    Regardless, I can't wait to get my paws on a Mini + Pencil.
    The screen's not the difference, it's the processor. (and the cameras, I suppose)
    Having a Pro and non-Pro iPad line is redundant. Eventually all iPads will become Pros. So your decision will be:

    1. small, medium, large
    2. Cellular / Wi-Fi only
    3. Storage size
    4. Pencil or no Pencil
    With embedded SIM why not kill the Cellular/Wi-fi choice as well?

    Once you get rid of the SIM carrier with all it's complications you've taken care of most the support issues of cellular. After that simplifying the lines could well pay for the license costs  especially if Apple only have LTE support seeing the iPad is data only.
  • Reply 47 of 57
    Apple, can we get it in time for Christmas? Please?
  • Reply 48 of 57
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Apple, can we get it in time for Christmas? Please?
    I imagine November, like the last one.
  • Reply 49 of 57
    sog35 said:
    iPad Mini - previous year
    iPad Mini
    IPad Mini Pro

    iPad Air - previous year
    iPad Air

    iPad Pro
    iPad Pro XL

    really big lineup
    I agree.Where does it say anything about killing off the non-pro iPads? I read nothing this article and didn't see anything about that. I think @sog35 is spot on. Look at the MacBooks there are the 'regulars' and the 'high performance' versions MB & MBP. I see the same thing happening for the iPad lineup (except for the 12.9" screen). Didn't read anything about killing the 9.7" 'regular' being killed although it would see strong to have a 9.7" with a pro at 10.1" -- it would be nice to see the regular also grow to 10.1". I am hoping that they can lose some bezel and maintain the same footprint for the 10.1" as the current 9.7".
  • Reply 50 of 57
    I would agree that Steve Jobs simplified the Mac product line, but he certainly did not think that way with his first new device since returning to Apple: The iPod.
    It started off with just one model, and in white. But when it took off, so did the number of models.  Let us not forget the iPod Mini, The iPod Nano, The shuffle
    and the Touch. The Nano and the Shuffle started off with just white, but soon they proliferated into different colors, even more so than todays choices in the iPhone
    iPad product lines. Of course, storage capacity was also a factor in the selection of those devices, too.  So in some ways, the situation today is not all that different
    from 10 years ago.  Remember the HP iPod?  :)

  • Reply 51 of 57
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    sog35 said:
    iPad Pro still the best, most useful Apple product I've ever owned, other than my Macs. Speaking of which, turns out macOS Sierra has caused my iMac to slow down tremendously since I installed it. Startup time has increased to nearly 10 minutes now, which is completely insane.
    That's nuts.

    Is it really necessary to upgrade to macOS Sierra?  My mac is running so well, I'm afraid if I upgrade it will slow down my computer.

    Is it safe to keep running last years OS for a few years?
    Yes, it's safe to stick with the previous OS. Honestly, if I had it to do over I would've held off on upgrading to Sierra so quickly.
  • Reply 52 of 57
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    But IMO, the iPad has not been managed properly by Cook. I own a 3-year old iPad Air and have almost zero desire to upgrade. There simply isn't enough added value in the current lineup unless you want a much larger screen, pencil support, or heavy processing power for games. For common consumers like me, there really isn't anything that compelling to upgrade. And the scary part is I have no idea what feature would make it compelling either!
    I think you answered your own question: nobody has an idea what features would make the iPad compelling. 
    My experience is exactly the same as yours. Just a faster tablet and a pencil isn't enough. Apple most likely doesn't know how to advance the iPad either.

    Personally I hope for iOS to evolve into an actual desktop replacement, e.g switching to a more advanced mode when hooked up to an external monitor. Right now the operating system is in a weird state: unfit for professional daily usage (not the apps but the OS itself) and at the same grown to become over-complex and taking many steps to do something productive, compared to MacOS.
  • Reply 53 of 57
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  • Reply 54 of 57
    macxpress said:
    If I were Apple I'd drop the mini and lower the price of the 9.7" iPad to the price of the mini. Then lower the price of the iPad Pro models down to the price of the 9.7" iPad. Just in time for the holidays too. Apple's doesn't need an iPad mini Pro model. There are way too many models of iPads as it is between the different screen sizes, old models, new models, Wifi models, LTE models, Pro models, capacity models, etc. Its just too much IMO. 
    The Mini is all I use now from Apple!  If Apple drop that, I will drop Apple!  I used to have MacBook Pro Retina too!  But now, I want a state of the art Mini Pro with 4GB RAM, A10X and OLED QHD screen and 512GB storage!
  • Reply 55 of 57
    Forgot mention that I purchase an iPhone 7 JB 128GB!  I am happy with the 7 but wish Apple would stop with larger being the flagship that gets all the state of the art components while the 4.7", a hundred dollars less gets less RAM, less camera and less improvements in iOS.  Apple needs to stop treating users who like smaller devices as inferior customers!  The SE, iPad Mini, 4.7" should all have a version that are flagship grade!
  • Reply 56 of 57
    Honestly, if I had it to do over I would've held off on upgrading to Sierra so quickly.
    Really? I put Sierra on my Early 2009 Mac Pro and the only problem I’ve had is iBooks being broken. Not to say it was feature complete before (even iTunes had the ability to edit ePub metadata; iBooks doesn’t. What the fucking hell is that…), but it’s actually broken now.


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