I’m expecting an Education only iPad/keyboard cover and pencil2 bundle. The new iPad will therefore support pencil input and keyboard connector, with a new keyboard cover/pencil holder case.
The only thing we know for sure is that there will be higher-than-usual levels of pacifier-throwing disappointment expressed in the forums.
“Whhhhhhaaaatttt?? No iPad priced so low that Apple has to pay me to take it?? DOOMED!”
Just to keep things as real as we all know they will be, if they do end up lowering the price of the iPad it will be "because sales are slipping!!!!!" and if they don't lower it it will be because "Apple is out of touch with students and the budgets of ISD's". However, if they keep the price the same, Apple will be chastised for "Not innovating, even rolled out the same price!"
I think December quarter sales for the iPad were pretty good, mainly due to the big box retailers offering them for $249 during the holiday season. You know they weren't losing money on the sale so it is possible for Apple to market a refreshed model for $259 and still be profitable.
Sales are slipping by the way. FY14 was the high point and Apple has had lower same-quarter sales almost every quarter since. The tablet market is saturated. Apple offering a good product at a competitive price is a good thing for consumers.
.... I don't see any mention of it on their website.
There will be a stream, but not live. They will post the stream later in the day. I'm assuming theres no proper means for them to stream this event from this location. Also, its an education keynote so the vast majority doesn't really care about today's announcements, especially if what they announce is K-12 only, meaning say they release a newer iPad for a specific price it may only be for K-12, not the general public.
I think December quarter sales for the iPad were pretty good, mainly due to the big box retailers offering them for $249 during the holiday season. You know they weren't losing money on the sale so it is possible for Apple to market a refreshed model for $259 and still be profitable.
Sales are slipping by the way. FY14 was the high point and Apple has had lower same-quarter sales almost every quarter since. The tablet market is saturated. Apple offering a good product at a competitive price is a good thing for consumers.
It probably helps that Apple doesn't have the IP costs for cellular radios, that battery prices have dropped substantially, that the form factor has been in manufacture for a number of years, and that the SOC is at least a generation old. The only additional expense over the previous 9.7 inch models would be the display that is rumored to support the Pencil. If Apple can keep the cost of the 2nd generation Pencil down, this would in fact be the go to device for almost anyone not sporting an iPhone.
For all practical purposes, the tablet market is iPad, and the only competitors have been Surface, which actually competes against Mac Book Pro's, and Airs, and lots of no name Android OS tablets. The "Google" Chrome Tablet's announcement may change that for education, but I'm not seeing it all that desirable for consumers.
Would usb-c capable mini & air be considerations ?
Not a chance.
Oh, how I wish. My daily driver is a mid-2011 Mac Mini which always has at least one VM running and desperately wants to grow up and be a quad-core. I really don't need an iMac, but I guess that's what I'll be buying in the next couple of weeks (unless Apple surprises me today, which I seriously doubt).
This is a really smart move by Apple. Looks like the market liked it as well. It looks polished and complete, and makes the most of the “ecosystem” advantage they have. And now they have the money to back this to the hilt!
Very nicely done and appropriately focused presentation by Apple and great coverage by AppleInsider. I'd like to see some of the multi-user device management tools expanded outside of the education realm. The iWork enhancements for Apple Pencil will be appreciated by most users of those apps.
CNET had an interesting YouTube coverage. They had 3 commentators discussing the presentation as it unfolded. Although all you saw were the 3 of them it appeared that they were watching some sort of live feed (probably from an iPhone or something) so there was a lot more detail and background....
It would have been great coverage if they had known what they were talking about...
The difference in knowledge between them and ai was, uhhh, noticeable....
Like:
"does it have a 'smart connector'?" (which none of the 3 had ever heard of...)
And the best one:
"Why does the Mini cost more than the iPad? Does it have something different inside?"
"... No, it's just older, so it cost more"
Added after thought:
But they did manage to ask some very pertinent questions: Once you add all the hardware features (pencil and keyboard/case) the iPad is roughly double the cost of a ChromeBook. So:
Will the features be enough to not lure school districts to invest in the Apple ecosystem (in my words).
Or, even harder, to get those who have already committed to a WIndows or Google system to convert?
And, will parents begin choosing their school districts based on their choice of tech platform: "Don't buy there. That's Windows school district! They'll never catch up!"
(So, maybe the CNet crew made up for their lack of knowledge with a more user centric viewpoint?)
Looking at it on the Apple Store -- my question is: Why do they call the pink iPad "Gold"?
Either my laptop screen is screwed up. Or, one of us is color blind....
In the attached image you see the background on the iPad display and the casing as the same color?
In that picture the case looks mostly gold to me. The one on the Apple Store under "Buy
It" where they show the full case rather than the edge looks
pink to me.
Maybe I missed it, but for schools with a large amount of time and effort sunk into Google online software and Chrome hardware, did Apple offer a migration path for schools? Would they be able to download and convert Google documents and lessons? Would schools be able to trade in crappy Chromebooks for further discounted iPads? And how does this announcement align with school budgets and new hardware acquisitions? I’m not seeing how schools on tight budgets are going to be able to suddenly change horses midstream.
Looking at it on the Apple Store -- my question is: Why do they call the pink iPad "Gold"?
Either my laptop screen is screwed up. Or, one of us is color blind....
In the attached image you see the background on the iPad display and the casing as the same color?
In that picture the case looks mostly gold to me. The one on the Apple Store under "Buy
It" where they show the full case rather than the edge looks
pink to me.
Looking at it on the Apple Store -- my question is: Why do they call the pink iPad "Gold"?
Either my laptop screen is screwed up. Or, one of us is color blind....
In the attached image you see the background on the iPad display and the casing as the same color?
In that picture the case looks mostly gold to me. The one on the Apple Store under "Buy
It" where they show the full case rather than the edge looks
pink to me.
ATV4 App is not working, so cannot see the Event Video of today’s event which is showing September 2017 Steve Jobs Theatre Event instead. Talked to Apple Support who are aware and don’t know what the problem is but I was told many people are having the same issue.
Looking at it on the Apple Store -- my question is: Why do they call the pink iPad "Gold"?
Either my laptop screen is screwed up. Or, one of us is color blind....
In the attached image you see the background on the iPad display and the casing as the same color?
In that picture the case looks mostly gold to me. The one on the Apple Store under "Buy
It" where they show the full case rather than the edge looks
pink to me.
Looks gold here.
Looks pink to me…
I did an overlay of the image you said looked gold with the one you said looked pink. Side-by-side the colors are identical when they meet.
Comments
Sales are slipping by the way. FY14 was the high point and Apple has had lower same-quarter sales almost every quarter since. The tablet market is saturated. Apple offering a good product at a competitive price is a good thing for consumers.
For all practical purposes, the tablet market is iPad, and the only competitors have been Surface, which actually competes against Mac Book Pro's, and Airs, and lots of no name Android OS tablets. The "Google" Chrome Tablet's announcement may change that for education, but I'm not seeing it all that desirable for consumers.
This is a really smart move by Apple. Looks like the market liked it as well. It looks polished and complete, and makes the most of the “ecosystem” advantage they have. And now they have the money to back this to the hilt!
Game and set, Apple.
"Don't buy there. That's Windows school district! They'll never catch up!"
https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/26/google-launches-a-chrome-os-tablet-for-schools/