“Apple just dropped a new iPad with all the excitement of an IRS audit,” Daniel Howley writes for Yahoo Finance. “That is to say, there was none. It feels like the company just woke up Tuesday morning and decided, ‘Hey, let’s announce a new iPad.’ Instead of a flashy event like Apple usually holds when it debuts a new product, we simply got a press release. I’ve had dentist appointments that were more thrilling than Apple’s latest announcement.”
“So why did Apple, the company that basically owns the tablet market, debut a new iPad without making a big show of it?” Howley writes. “Well, because the iPad isn’t that exciting anymore. It simply doesn’t warrant a lot of fanfare.”
“The tablet market isn’t hot anymore and Apple knows it,” Howley reports. “To sweeten the pot for prospective consumers, Apple has moved the iPad into the budget market. Whereas the iPad Pro 9.7 starts at a pricy $599, the new iPad starts at $329. That’s pretty reasonable for a new iPad.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Dan is going to feel mighty silly when Apple unveils their new iPad Pro lineup at a special event within weeks. Today’s iPad was merely part of a press release dump of all of the things that wouldn’t fit, or merit inclusion, into the event’s schedule.
BTW, we told ya so:
iPads are too expensive relative to the perceived competition and Apple has obviously done a piss-poor job of marketing the iPad family (read: clearly explaining to the hoi polloi why they want an iPad over an Amazon or other Android tablet).
Sticker price is the biggest reason why iPad sales struggle to return to growth (the next biggest reason is that iPads’ useful lives last so damn long, they’re not rapidly replaced).
We would have purchased iPads for family members this year if they had been updated as they should have been for the holiday season and if the prices were a bit more palatable. Yes, we know what an iPad offers. Yes, we know they’re worth the money Apple’s asking for today; even being last year’s models. But, Apple should really do the math and consider making certain hardware more affordable in exchange for the backend revenue and increased mindshare and market share that will deliver.
For the same reason – mindshare – Apple should make their own Apple displays, even to the point of taking a loss of each and every one, so that other companies’ logos on frankly ugly products that do not match Apple design sensibilities are not in users’ faces all day long. That’s not a difficult concept to grasp; even an inveterate beancounter might be able to get it. — MacDailyNews, January 6, 2017
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s new $329 iPad is thicker and slightly heavier than iPad Air 2 – March 21, 2017
Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad starting at new low price of just $329 – March 21, 2017 – March 21, 2017
I think MDN is right. Today’s announcement was likely done to extend the news cycle about iPads. The press wouldn’t have said much about today’s model, a basic upgrade, if it was introduced at the same time as the new models are announced in the coming weeks. Apple will be able to get a month of iPad reporting instead of just a couple of weeks.
IRS audits are actually pretty exciting.
But not in a good way.
There are two sides to everything. IRS audits in general identify and fix mistakes or fraud. Upholding the rule of law is good for everyone else, is it not?
Given how much debt the USA has dug for itself, more revenue is necessary somehow. Servicing high levels of debt forever is not a wise fiscal strategy, no matter what political tribe one chooses.
“Given how much debt the USA has dug for itself, more revenue is necessary somehow.”
Yes, lets all give MORE OF WHAT WE MAKE to pay for debt that other morons have created.
When are you going to wake up and realize ITS YOUR MONEY. Let them reduce the debt SPENDING by our money LESS AND SMARTER.
In my opinion, there was no fanfare simply because this was a simple adjustment to the budget offering in one of Apple’s product lineups. The revised base iPad contains no new technologies or functionality and, thus, deserves no special recognition. Other companies might have hyped such a release, but not Apple.
Apple bumped the base iPad specs, including using the A9 processor, to provide adequate user performance going forward for the next few years, as well as to divest itself of supply chains and contracts for older components. This is not unusual for Apple. The iPhone SE, for instance, was a similar type of product release.
No worries. People simply have access to an improved base iPad product at a very reasonable price. Win-win.
No one would hype this crap not even Samsung
Yet another reason to hate iOS. There is a poll on this page which prevents typing in this comment box. This happens all the time.
New iPads? Yawn… Wake me up when Apple do something exciting with the Mac.
I’ve always believed that Apple should do incremental speed bumps if at all possible.
Like Macs, maybe important upgrades like Touchbar etc can be cycled over a few years but every year or so when cheaper or better components are available they should upgrade the drives, more RAM , faster processors etc. Some of the desktops are really long in the tooth.
Hopefully they have done this to leave room for new Pros to come down in price as well.
When is Apple going stop wasting time on emojis and gay BS and start making our Mail, Contacts and Maps more professional.
As long as they’re making your life miserable, I’m all for it!
Because this “new” iPad Air 2 replavement DESERVES little fanfare!
More like a teeny violin!
Because it ain’t worth fanfare plain and simple
Here is some sarcasm for you: Premium products for premium customers.
I’ve heard that mantra quite a bit here, the times be a changing, eh?
Nope. Not at all. Apple has done this a lot. Create a product that clears out older component inventory and uses assembly lines already in place. This saves them cost and at the same time allows them to bump up specs on lower tier models.
And then those lower prices models become a hit, like the SE? Price does matter to most, not specs.
MDN “Apple should really do the math and consider making certain hardware more affordable in exchange for the backend revenue and increased mindshare and market share that will deliver.”
Compare and contrast MDN’s take when people argue that market share for smartphones is an important consideration.
I think that Apple is doing the right thing by maintaining margins while still selling quality products in massive numbers. Selling older spec devices at reduced prices is a great strategy and for customers it is probably a more compelling purchase than it would have been with an iPhone which is a faster changing market, Older iPads are still tremendously useful and appear to have a longer useful lifespan than iPhones. Apple will have recouped the development investment very comfortably during the initial full price sales period, so there is scope for later price reductions while still maintaining excellent margins.
Perhaps the refresh cycle had products ready but the new theatre on site isn’t