The new iPad makes no sense
theverge.com
theverge.com
So now we can just add all the accessories a device has to the price and pretend that's the price? I've owned multiple iPads (minis) and used many other iPads, I've never used a keyboard with them, I'd never consider the cost of an accessory like a keyboard when thinking about the iPad price itself. Like maybe factor in a case/cover but even that's a stretch since every tablet needs that, Apple or not.
A large chunk of that 36% can be explained by inflation - heck perhaps until now they have been artificially keeping the base price low to capture marketshare - who knows?
Full disclosure: I believe that the new price point makes iPad a much less compelling option. I also hate the way the article framed it. There was no need to construct a false reality when they could have simply run with 36% price increase - that's story enough.
What they do is compare the old model price with the new one, and then go on to say the total cost of the new unit to get it with full functionality as a desktop replacement.
So, they don't say: "old model was $329, new is close to $800".
They say: "old model was $329, new is $449. That's quite a lot to get one. Especially since, on top of the already high price, you'll have to fork $348 more if you want the full desktop replacement experience with the extra mouse and keyboard".
The 9th gen iPad costs $329 , the 10th gen costs $449, and, while it's clear that is a considerable raise for a "budget" tablet (+36%), the author, added an extra $249+$99 (keyboard + pencil) to inflate the price of the iPad 10 up to $800, then compares the new price to iPad 9 price. Doing basic math here, we might be tricked that the new price is more than doubled. Which I consider it a logical fallacy, where you tweak one side of the equation to reach a desired result.
Well, those are what's pushed in Apple's ads, and those are what the article checks for overall cost for: the desktop replacement case
Not that dishonest.
The features Apple has been touting for the modern iPads are about how it can be "a computer" with a keyboard and everything (they have entire ads for the iPad mind you, not the keyboard, that show it used with the keyboard), and also the way it can be used for notetaking, marking annotations, text recognition, and so on with the pencil. Again those two are prominent in the ads and marketing for the iPad, not in separate ads for those alone.
So, both are things people would like to have, and some of the main points of getting an iPad. But they are sold separately, and in unreasonable cost for what they are (heck, the Pencil going for $99 is the 5+ years old one, not even the second gen - which the new iPad doesn't support anyway).
>So now we can just add all the accessories a device has to the price and pretend that's the price?
Why not? When I buy a printer I also check how much its ink sets cost. And if I buy something whose main marketing focus touted as a selling point to me is how great it is with some accessories, I check how much those cost too. Especially if otherwise it's a ho-hum update over previous generations.
An iPad works quite well without a keyboard and pen. It may not work as well for all use cases for all people but it works fully as a tablet without those things. Apple may show it being used in other ways but that doesn’t mean that those accessories are required. Folding those into the price will only scare off people who just want a basic tablet and screen.
The new base iPad is just in a tax year as I like to think of it. If you really do want that better model but not the air you pay the tax. In 12 months or so I'll drop down to the existing previous generation price and that model will finally be phased out.
> This new iPad is $700 — $450 plus the $250 keyboard (and $800 if you want the pencil).
This is a weird way to look at it. The attach rate for these Apple peripherals is far, far lower than the author believes. This is especially true for keyboards — a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard with touchpad is $30.
Why would a 10th gen iPad use the 1st gen laggy pencil? I think perhaps the bean counters are in charge now.
I just use it to watch streaming channels. It's a "nicer" experience than my FireTV.. the FireTV interface isn't great, and they have ads, etc.
And sure, most of the streaming services require payment.. that's no different than Roku or FireTV or alternatives.
The new Apple TV does have extra features at its higher price point (wired ethernet and matter/thread). But I've never understood why I would care how much storage is in a cloud device.
This is apple acting like a "computer" company (those windows laptops with a long lis of irrelevant stats), which they've elsewhere tried to get away from. What they've instead eliminated is any explanation of why you would care.
If you're running games, you might reasonably want more storage and Ethernet.
If you're traveling some place that connectivity might be poor (e.g., you have an RV and want the family to be able to watch movies while you drive across $BORING_SCENERY_STATE), you can store more videos on it.
I’ve got three of the ‘old’ base 4K models.
And they are constantly running out of space!
They never used to. But now they do.
OS updates are to blame maybe.
I’ve deleted as much as I can, and just have my core 4 streaming app. No games.
And yet still it is offloading things like YouTube and I have to reboot to have a chance of it reinstalling.
Ofc installing Arcade games is another obvious use-case. I find it pretty trivial to fill up a 64gb and 128gb phone so I don’t see what’s so unbelievable about filling up an Apple TV with 4K media and games.
Perhaps, but those are made in China, with Taiwanese and Korean parts thrown in, anyway.
Did those raise compared to the Euro? Or it's just that Apple wants to get the same or more amounts of dollar coming in, and the change in Euro vs Dollar is a red herring?
My mac has a local copy of all my photos but my ios devices do not. Not sure what else I might want to cache locally.
I'm not a fanboy, but I give Apple credit for knowing their market and how to direct their customers to what THEY want the customer to do.
They know that the number of people who use an iPad solely without a keyboard is probably small. Therefore they can up the price, have the accessories, and still make a good comparison to other laptops.
There's probably even a play here that none of us understand.