Why Apple announced its new, low-priced iPad with such little fanfare

MacDailyNews ^ | March 21, 2017 -- 3:30PM

[Swordmaker]

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

[nopardons]

:-)

[nopardons]

Oh gee...sorry about that!

[RegulatorCountry]

Nothing wrong with bound, ink on paper books, I sort of miss them actually. Nothing wrong with all manner of analog ways of doing things, it can be very satisfying.

But, speaking for myself only, the sheer volume of books, music, really anything that can be stored via electronic means, available anywhere on the go with a very usable screen size for viewing, typing, even interacting and doing productive work (unlike an awkward cell phone screen), when combined with internet connection anywhere there’s cell reception, well, it’s a genuinely transformative device. Very freeing, the things you can do in some beautiful, fairly remote places now, it’s pretty amazing when I stop and think about it.

But, some don’t want or need that, I completely understand. The way things have always been done were done that way because it had value and still does for many.

To each his or her own.

[itsahoot]

Those who buy iPads, but have no NEED of them, are idiots! The same is true for people who buy things just because they believe that that stuff is "IN", want to be seen as "COOL", and/or don't think things through. :-

Conversly

Those who buy Kendals, but have no NEED of them, are idiots! The same is true for people who buy things just because they believe that that stuff is "IN", want to be seen as "COOL", and/or don't think things through. :-

Having been born in a small town in Oklahoma in 1938 I can testify copiously about thing we don't need because I survived with out all the things we have talked about. No refrigerator, no fan, no radio, or TV.....But I can testify to the fact I sure like the ones I have now, even though I could survive without them.

[nopardons]

Long ago, in the 1950s, as a child, I discovered 19 cents book stores, on 43rd Street, just off Fifth Ave., in NYC. I was in heaven! I got some GREAT books, many of which are first editions, NOT "remainders" with black lines across the bottom, and have loved reading and having them ever since.

In the late '60s, I found a bunch of 99 cents bookstores in the West Village ( Greenwich Village, in NYC ) and stocked up on quite a lot of books and even more first eds. :-)

Unlike buying books for use on a Kindle, my books increased in value and I get to own these hard copies, without the worry of them ever being taken away, have words or whole sections removed from them. And I don't want to read a book on a machine.

Each to his own! :-)

[nopardons]

What's a KENDAL ?

You're talking about apples and oranges...re where, when, and how you grew up!

When I was growing up, in NYC, almost NOBODY had any air conditioning in there homes, the only way to be cool, in blistering NYC heat, was to use a fan in every room, which didn't work all that well, or go to the movies for a few hours. We got air conditioners when I was 10 and I was THRILLED!

You may have managed to live through the hardscrabble, that was your life as a child, but yes, you DID need a refigerator, a fan, and a radio would have been been nice.

Doing without something you need, isn't the same thing as having something that is a luxury, because you can and then imagine/claim that it is a necessity.

[Cementjungle]

I like the iPad for those long international flights. I see a lot of tablets in use on planes (I fly often). Much easier than digging out a laptop, and larger screen for movies/games than a phone provides.

However, I almost never use it at home. :^)

Same here (except I have a Samsung tablet). I use it to play music on long flights and to check email while traveling. I rarely use it at home since I still have a desktop.

It sure beats lugging a laptop around.

[nopardons]

Many, MANY thanks for being one of the very few, on this thread, for understanding and not trashing me !

I'm assuming ( please correct me, if I am wrong )that you're talking about listening to music and not sheet music. If sheet music, just as with many books, I doubt that there are some esoteric things NOT available on a machine, now. Though there are many who would have NO use for somewhat esoteric sheet music and books ( even not so esoteric ones ), there are others who do.

Whatever floats one's boat/one has a need for, is fine; my point has only been that I don't. Neither have I ever found myself in any situation, where I would have a need for an iPad....which we have one of and which just sits in a room and collects dust. It was a NOT SO THOUGHTFUL present, from someone who refused to listen to pleadings, that we didn't need nor want one one. *sigh*

[Squeako]

I broke out the old iPad 1 the other day and about the only thing I’ve used it for in months is FR because all the modern sites like Breitbart have so much crap that’s Safari crashes. But man it sure was nice to read large fonts without using the 2008 MacBook Pro 17” which I still use for side work. Not nearly the resolution of a Retina display but still nice. I might have to pick up one of these budget models and use it for books, surfing the web, security camera viewing and as a smaller streaming display when the wife has occupied the big screen. The old one won’t load the newer apps that I usually use anyway. The large phones (which are entirely too big in my opinion) must have cut into the market for iPads.

[Swordmaker]

Okay....just WHAT are all of these “many uses” does the iPad have? Please name them them ALL, that are NOT a replication of all of the other things, such a a computer, laptop, cell phone do and WHY they are SOOOOOOOOOOO “necessary” for EVERYONE to have.

Who ever said they were "so necessary for everyone to have?" YOU are setting up a strawman for you to shoot down.

• A portable note taking device without a physical keyboard that requires a lap of desk. But you can have one if you desire one.

• A presentation device with similar attributes in either landscape or portrait mode. iPads are used frequently by medical professionals and sales professionals for that very purpose. It does not have a keyboard in the way.

• Complete and certified Flight Bag for Airline and private pilots, complete with maps for every airport in the world, weather, and manuals.

• Textbook reader for every college text available for every college and university in a less than 1 lb package that can be instantly edited by the author, and allows the student to annotate the text with marginalia.

• Instant access to data anywhere in the world where a cellular connection is available (few competing tablets or computers can do that without a cellular phone hotspot) and present it on a readable sized screen displayed in a non-mobile format in an under 1 pound package.

• Watch video, including full length feature films, current TV, etc. also anywhere in the world, either from media, or from memory, or from the Internet (using a cellular connection) on a suitable sized screen for comfortable viewing, in High Definition stereo sound, again in a package weighing less than 1 pound and also that can do it for 10 hours before requiring recharging.

• Reading books, newspapers, magazines in non-traditional computing locations. . . say lying on a couch, on the patio, even in a park with no power around (no tables) while lying on the grass, lying in bed at night (you really want to hold your laptop in bed, I've been there and tried to do that! An iPad is far better for that than even a book.), on a plane where iPads are allowed, but computers really don't fit, and a host of other places.

• Electronic Medical Records the doctor carries with him on rounds . . . including Electronic Digital Radiology display. . .for all of the doctor's patients, again in a package that weighs less than 1 pound, which can include patient ability to read and sign informed consent forms, etc., on the fly data entry by both doctor and patient by mere pointing and touching check boxes. Software available for medical, dental, optical, and chiropractic. Used in numerous hospitals settings as well.

• Edit photography in the field for publication.

• Edit Videography in the field for upload for either publication on YouTube, Twitter, or television broadcast. . . up to 4K capability (iPad Pro for 4K all others HD).

• Play music both recorded and with musical instruments on the iPad apps. An entire symphony has been written for iPhone and iPad and performed. There are dozens of instruments that have been created for the iPad, some of them unique.

• Create unique artwork from life in the field utilizing the numerous drawing programs for the iPad; on the iPad Pro, utilizing the Apple Pencil. Try that carrying around a computer, laptop in the field or doing on the small screen of a cellular phone.

• Point of Sale using credit card scanners in the field with cellular connection and the ability to sign contracts that can be easily read on a book sized screen.

Those are just some I came up with off the top of my head . . . there are a lot more. I have been working on two novels on my iPad. So much for the claims you cannot be productive on iPads. You can also access everything on your own home computer or on the iCloud.

[adorno]

300 million sold, but, that’s before people got wise and realizes that it didn’t really serve any useful purpose. And, if it was really useful, sales would not continue declining quarter after quarter.

Most of those 300 million are just gathering dust in a corner in in a closet, or have been trashed by now.

The idea sounded good at its inception, but, nobody could really define a good use for them, other than perhaps as a media consumption device, for e-mail or Facebook or playing games. But, even that kind of usage is better done on hybrid devices and on the bigger-sized smartphones.

It’s quite apparent that it’s you that needs professional help, and continuing to be an iZombie is not healthy for your mind.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I’ve wanted an iPad since they were introduced. But, I haven’t bought one because I haven’t been able to convince myself that I need it for anything.

We’re retired. I bought myself an iPad as my Christmas present about 5 years ago. I was actually hoping that my wife would use it, and have less occasion to want to use my desktop. That actually eventuated - to the point that even when I bought a 5K Mac desktop, freeing up my old desktop, she never has really adopted that desktop. She preferred the portability of the iPad.

About 6 months ago I started hearing complaints about slow internet on the old iPad, so I took it to an Apple Store and got them to lighten ship software wise. Then I compared its internet speed to that of a big iPad Pro, and found that there was no comparison between the old clunker and the new Pro. I compared the heft of the two, and the Pro didn’t feel a bit heavier than the smaller model. So I got her an iPad Pro, and it’s all good.

I would never pretend, nor would she, that it compares as a typing platform with the desktop. Or even a laptop. But for what it is, it matches her usage profile and gives satisfaction.

[Swordmaker]

So now I see iPpads with MS Word? Any Apple laptops with Word? One having a keyboard and ability to print is essential.

I tell you that I had a frustrating time using Microsoft Word on a Windows PC last week. One of the most common things an office needs to do is generate mailing labels. Microsoft seems to have broken this function. The labels get generated from a list and from within the label part of Word one can print a single label or a page of all the same label, but Word would NOT print all of the labels from the print routine that would print those single and all one label as it used to. That has been removed. Now you have to leave the label print routine and go to the normal print command and AGAIN select you want to print labels and proceed to print. . . but it prints them on only ⅞ths of the page and none of them fit the labels you've selected to my clients HP business grade laser printer. NOTHING I tried would permit these labels to print. Not a damn thing.

I exported the file and took it home and imported it into the Microsoft Word for Mac, latest version, and it had the same exact problem. It printed to my professional grade Brother laser printer in the exact same ⅞ths page format.

So, I imported the file into Apple's answer to Word, a word processor called Pages, which accepts Word format, and found that not only could I edit the file to my heart's content, I could micro-adjust the print output to make it perfectly fit the labels! . . in all directions! Nowhere in the Microsoft Word program was that allowed.

Pages, Numbers (Apple's version of Excel), and Keynote (Apple's version of PowerPoint) come free with every new Mac purchased. If your wife doesn't need the more esoteric capabilities of MS word, she may not have to shell out the expense to buy it for the Mac. There is a version on the iPad, but MS wants to rent the use of it on its MS 365 program, where you pay an annual fee. One of the advantages of the Apple solutions is they are shared across all devices. Editing on one, and the changes appear instantly on all others you own.

You can print from an iPad, and the iPad Pro keyboard is about $149 to $169 depending on whether you buy third party or Apple. . . but I would look at the iMac or Mac mini. . . and look at the Apple refurb store. Refurbs are often brand new but just computers or iPads that were ordered on a large order that did not get fulfilled. . . and put back into inventory. They have the same warranty as a "new" one. You just get a substantial discount and you don't get the "new" Apple box.

They all still get the same free software.

[nopardons]

I have NEVER had a doctor, of ANY kind, whip out an iPad, when I had an appointment.

I hate the who thing about medical records being on line; that is NOT "safe" at all! I refuse to have such an account, because even though GOOGLE claims that they don't give out anyone's name or nic, for gmail...THEY DO and I have gotten someone else's medical record in one of my gmail accounts! I have repeatedly complained about this, to GOOGLE...to NO avail! I also get these people's email ( three in America and two from England!)and while it isn't my primary email account, it's the one that I have used for family and which I've had for far longer than these other people have had their accounts.

I can easily take a book with me, anywhere and when there is a power failure, the T.V. and the computer lines are also down, can still read on a couch, in bed, in the bathtub, in a closet, with either the generator going, or by candle light, oil lamp, or batter powered lighting of a variety of different things.

I'm not a pilot, a salesman, etc. and have NO use for anything at all that you are pushing! And no, I did NOT post a "strawman argument that I have tried to shoot down". OTOH...you and some others are chest pounding, attempting to not just influence me, but to shame, or worse, me, into agreeing with you.

Yes, many colleges are now pushing books on electronic machines now, some schools have even gotten rid of their libraries, and by forcing students to ONLY get textbooks this way, remove their ability to buy used books at much lower prices.

Music to be played by iPads? ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYED BY MADE-UP INSTRUMENTS? LOL

Children, today, and for the past few generations are no longer being exposed to/taught about the wonderful music of past centuries at all! They are all much poorer for that and when all they know is new crap ( and yes, it IS crap ), that isn't an advantage.

I can argue against and refute almost every single thing you posted, but shan't. You're convinced that you and ONLY you are correct, are biased, and I'm wondering if you make money ( either through investments or other ways ) from so rabidly pushing the things you have.

There are upsides, for some of these products, for some; however, NOT for everyone. There are also some very bad and even dangerous downsides to all of these electronic gadgets, that are dehumanizing kids, teens, and yes, adults, today.

[Swordmaker]

It was a fad, and it doesn't matter how many were sold. Time and practicality proved that it was a fad. Sales volume is not an indicator of usefulness.

The same people, and probably you, claimed the iPhone was a fad. They've sold over 1.2 billion iOS devices of which 900,000,000 are iPhones. The copy of the iPhone the Android phones, have sold 2 billion. Again, using your argument, fads are not based on numbers sold.

Fads fade with time. Yet the iPad is still selling 13 million units per quarter. . . and the tablet market it gave birth to is selling 65 million per quarter. THAT IS NOT A FAD. The people are not buying more because the iPads they are STILL using don't need to be upgraded. The ones they bought are still going strong. You don't replace what isn't broke.

Again you throw out useless insults. YOU don't use one, so you cannot conceive of a use.

What you posted about your SiL says more about his failure of talent and imagination than the device.

[Swordmaker]

I can get for $31 a 128gb SanDisk usb device about the size of a thumbnail.

It's. different kind of memory, Minnesota. It's at least five times faster and is used for an entirely different purpose.

[Swordmaker]

From many of the posts, on this thread, I think that many people just want to be "with it", "cool", "in", have the latest gadget, and then try to convince themselves and others that EVERYONE needs thus and so, sneer at those who choose to NOT have them/find the thing useless!

The only ones on here trying to convince any one go anything are those who DON'T own an iPad. That's you. You are the one who uses insulting language and talks down to people who do use one. No one is sneering at you, except to point out that you don't know what you are talking about because you are ignorant in your claims about us and what we do. . . and making judgements from your ex cathedra superior position which you seem to equate with morality.

I LOVE books, always HAVE loved books, got rid of some when I got married and have, ever since, regretted doing that. There is NO way that I'll EVER read a book on a machine! Reading anything on line ( on a screen ) changes the way the brain works.

I too love books. . . I have a very large library of books. I have quite a few first editions and signed copies among those. I bought some a few months ago. However your claims that "reading anything on a line (on a screen) changes the way the brain works" is false. it demonstrates you have no clue how Apple books displays a book as a book. . . with a double page display, and even flips a page like a book, with a resolution higher than the resolution a printed page has. I find it is easier on my old eyes than a printed book as I can set the size of font and even the brightness of the page according to the ambient lighting in the room. . . or I can set the page to be white on black for ease on my eyes in a dark room. Much less eye strain.

You claim to "stink on ice" using a touch screen. That tells me you haven't given it the time because even my 95 year old mother with arthritic fingers could use a touch screen. You just decided you were not going to let it work. . . or you used a crippled Android screen back when they first came out and had a latency that was abysmal. Who said that reading a footnote is a problem on a tablet? Not me. I find it easier. Again, you haven't so you don't know what you are talking about. You are pulling comments out of your rear which have ZERO basis in facts.

Books are heavy. . . and carrying them is a burden. I have a bad back and carrying a heavy tome pulls me off balance. I can carry literally thousands of books on my iPad in under 1.5 pounds. I do. They are available literally at my fingertips. I can hold that book at arms length for a long time, while a bound book quickly tires one out holding it that way.

You don't have a clue what and what is not available on a tablet. . . much of it for free. English books are not the only things that have been digitized in this world and there are millions of books available. There are hundreds of thousands of public domain titles available for free, just for the downloading. . . and if your eyes get tired the iPad will read it to you in its unexpurgated version. Even 1984, Animal Farm, etc. are still available. which shows you are talking hearsay, from ignorance!

Admit it, all of your bluster is that you put out boils down to you are a Luddite. Nopardons, buggy whips are still being made only for people who ride in antique buggies. The rest of us are moving on. We drive modern horseless carriages.

[Swordmaker]

It’s kind of like the “Apple Car” thing that fizzled out ... why would they want all of that overhead associated with manufacturing cars ... leave that to the pros ... sell what they’re best at ... high profit margin computer hardware running their software.

The Motley Fool, as of late February, thinks Apple is still working on the car, but they've gone underground with it. Too much publicity for Apple's taste. They released a report claiming that. . . and a recommendation on companies to invest in based on that premise.

[adorno]

Nope! Never claimed the iPhone to be a fad. I did, however, say that it was way overpriced for what it was/is, and it’s still way overpriced for what it is, especially considering that there are many better Android phones with better specs and better options and much lower prices. Heck, I just bought my wife an Android phone for Xmas that has much better specs than the iPHone, with the Snapdragon 821 CPU and 64GB storage and 4GB memory and better graphics than the iPHone 7/7S, and front-facing 16MP and rear-facing 8MP cameras, expandable storage slot, fingerprint recognition, with free 1TB storage at the maker’s cloud...

And all of that for $285. That’s about 1/3 the price of the iPhone, and with 2 year warranty. It’s a Chinese brand, but, what the heck; aren’t all phones made in China lately, including the iPHone?

So, why would anyone in their right minds spend so much more than they need to? It’s absolutely insane to do so!

The iPad remains a fad, because, that’s what it was in the beginning, and it’s still a device looking for a problem to fix.

[Swordmaker]

I broke out the old iPad 1 the other day and about the only thing I’ve used it for in months is FR because all the modern sites like Breitbart have so much crap that’s Safari crashes.

The old iPad one will have problems with modern sites. Some of them need hardware the iPad 1 lacks or it stalls trying to handle the security. See if you can install an alternative browser such as Chrome on it.