It turns out the iPad was just too expensive after all

ZDNet ^ | August 2, 2017 | By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

[Swordmaker]

It seems that people love everything about Apple's tablet -- except the price.

One of the biggest complaints I've seen leveled against the iPad is that it was too expensive compared to other tablets, and that the high price was acting as a barrier to sales.

Turns out that was true.

The iPad is an interesting device. Once seen as possibly the successor to the iPhone, it's one of those devices that burned brightly, but burned itself out very quickly, going from launch to peak sales in under four years, and ever since it's been in steady decline.

[Nifster]

400 million devices. Yeah that’s a failure

[Magnatron]

I use my 10.5” iPad Pro and Apple Pencil all day long, from reading the news with my coffee in the morning, to using it for work to take handwritten notes, to surfing the web and playing games at night. I love the thing.

[Lurker]

I’ve loved both of mine.

L

[Swordmaker]

I’m just curious. I bought an Amazon Fire tablet for 49.99 for myself, and one on sale for 29.99 for my husband. I added a memory card to mine to increase the storage for under 20.00 to mine. I use it for everything, playing games, reading e-books, listening to podcasts, surfing the net. What is the difference between an IPad pro and the tablet I’m using?

I don't know when you bought your Amazon tablet, but assuming it is the latest version of the Amazon Kindle Fire, there is really no comparison in specs. About the only thing going for your tablet is price.

• Amazon Kindle Fire processor 32 bit, 4 core ARM, 1.3MHz with 1 GB RAM, 8GB or 16GB storage built in. Has slot for up to 256GB slower card storage none of which is available on the processor bus. Reviewers report "much slower than average in class." Bench Marks to 4640 (*).
• Apple iPad Pro processor 64Bit 6 core A10X Fusion, with 12 Core graphics processor with 4 GB RAM, 64GB to 512GB FAST storage built in, all of it available on the Processor bus. Dedicated AES 256 bit independent Encryption processor. Reviewers report ". . . wicked fast." Bench Marks to 52,353 (*).
  *3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark. Higher number is better.

• Amazon Kindle Fire has a screen resolution of 171 DPI, millions of color gamut only at 78.4% accuracy at a brightness of 335 NITS.
• Apple iPad Pro has a screen resolution of 268 DPI, billions of color gamut at 98.6% accuracy at a brightness of 600 NITS.
• Amazon Kindle Fire display 1024 x 600 pixel standard definition video playback, 30Hz refresh.
• Apple iPad Pro display 2224-by-1668 pixel high definition video playback, 120Hz refresh with auto drop down when not needed.

• Amazon Kindle Fire audio single speaker.
• Apple iPad Pro audio Four speaker, dynamic switching stereo for orientation of screen.

• Amazon Kindle Fire battery life up to 8 hours (laptop magazine tested to under 7), charge time under 6 hours.
• Apple iPad Pro battery life up to 10 hours (laptop Magazine tested over 11), charge time under 3 hours.

• Amazon Kindle Fire rear facing camera 2 MegaPixels, HDR option, front facing camera VGA (1.3 MPixel).
• Apple iPad Pro rear facing camera: 12 MegaPixel, LED Flash, Digital Zoom, Optical Image Stabilization, Built-in Panarama, Auto-HDR, Burst mode, Live Photos. Front facing Camera: 7 MegaPixel, Flash, Auto-HDR, Burst Mode. Video: FaceTime video calling.
• Apple iPad Pro rear facing Video: 4k Video recording 30 frames per second. 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps,Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at 240 fps. Front facing camera, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps.

• Amazon Kindle Fire sensors: Accelerometer.
• Apple iPad Pro sensors: Touch ID, Three‐axis gyro, Accelerometer, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Compass, GPS, NFC, Radio beacon.

• Amazon Kindle Fire Security: No encryption. 5 million malware in the wild, recommended you use third-party anti-virus apps.
• Apple iPad Pro Security: Built in 256 bit AES encryption, fingerprint ID lock, no malware in the wild. No Security breaches in 10 years in the wild.

• Amazon Kindle Fire Networking: Dual band WIFI 802.11a/b/c/g/n (peer-to-peer specifically excluded), Bluetooth.
• Apple iPad Pro Networking: Dual band WIFI 802.11a/b/c/g/n/ac, HT80 with MIMO, WIFI peer-to-peer, Bluetooth, Cellular on upgraded models, NFC.

• Amazon Kindle App Store: limited but adequate selection of apps that are of lesser quality than what is available on the regular Android and iOS store.
• Apple iPad Pro App Store: millions of choices, including access to Amazon e-book reader apps, and multiple other choices. Reviewers find iOS apps to be highest quality above Android and Amazon. . . due to the fact that developers make more money on the Apple App Store and can spend more time doing the development.

• Amazon Kindle Fire gets unlock screen advertising unless you paid an additional fee for the ad free version. Amazon tracks users for sales purposes and markets that data to third-parties.
• Apple iPads do not get any advertising pushed onto the OS at all. There may be ads in the browser, but that's a normal browsing experience. Apple does not track its customers for sales purposes.

Essentially, murron, you get what you pay for. On the good side, in that price range, the Amazon tablet is the best of the lot, exhibiting good build quality. But, according to Laptopmagazine's review, to get to that price point, Amazon sacrificed a lot of screen and audio quality plus a lot of speed.

[PAR35]

It looks like they sell a lot more of them for Russian Christmas (1st Quarter) than they do for Western Christmas (4th Quarter) or back to school (3rd Quarter).

[Textide]

Here's a chart from a few years ago about the rise of the Phablet (phones larger than 4 inch width). May have something to do with it. Larger screens on phones reduce the demand for full size tablets.

[Swordmaker]

Facts are facts.

Not when they are presented to hide the data. Why claim they represent something different than they do? A 15% uptick in a quarter that is usually the slowest of the year and then hiding that by not comparing similar Quarters is deliberatly obfuscation of the facts. THAT is bias.

Show me on that chart where ANY PREVIOUS year-over-year quarter had a similar uptick? You can't since the decline began. . . yet Adrian Kingsley-Hughes does NOT point that out. He hides that fact in the glut of data so most people would not see the uptick among all those high peaks of the Christmas quarters. Those quarters are irrelevant to the Spring Quarter sales of iPads. . . but HE doesn't tell anyone that. He is like the magician who is misdirecting the audience from what he doesn't want you to see. Same for the other chart. . . He hides the uptick by obliterating it by showing it in an in appropriate chart of ALL iPads sold cumulatively sold since the iPad was released. The Y axis is the TOTAL OF ALL SOLD! That Y axis represents over 400 million iPads so 15 million on that small a scale will not mean much, especially when represented by a LINE chart. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an artist at obfuscating the data.

You are right, facts are facts, but there is an art in making positives sound BAD. . . and Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is a master at manufacturing and exaggerating FUD out of good news facts for Apple. He has been doing it for years.

[Chgogal]

You don’t like Apple, so why are you here? Don’t you have a life?

[doc11355]

Will buy another iPad mini when the 5 comes out.
Are you aware of the reports that Apple may be considering dropping the iPad Mini after the current model?

[raybbr]

I’ve had a kindle 8.9HDX for almost 3 years. I wish they still made them. It’s incredible. Graphics are great and it lasts for at least 12 hours.

[Swordmaker]

$1200!!!!!!!!!!! Really?

There is no evidence that Apple is going to have a $1200 iPhone. That was some ANAL-Cyst's made up rumor based on something he pulled out of his navel.

Ask yourself a very logical question: if Apple can produce a 13.2" iPad Pro for $799, and the maxed out version with cellular is $1229, why do you think that a 5.5" iPhone would ever cost 50% more than that $799 base iPad Pro? Apple has historically maintained the price point on its flagship phones around the same price.

Right now the iPhone 7plus is $769, the smaller 7 is just $649. I'd expect the new iPhone when it comes out to be close in price to those.

[Swordmaker]

I used the Facetime feature a little, and streamed some music with it. But you can't plug in an SD card or a USB cable. You can't load your own music on it (I'm told there is a way which requires jumping through hoops).

All false statements. As is the rest of your claims. Why didn't you sell it when it was still worth something?

Putting your own music on the iPad is easy, no hoops more than loading your music into iTunes from a CD. You select what you want on your iPad and send it to the iPad using the included USB cable with the iTunes software. Done.

Perhaps, because you did not bother to upgrade your iPad in a timely manner, you might need to go now to the Apple Store, but I sincerely doubt it. It is old, now, but still useable. Frankly, Gov, you don't know what you are talking about because you never bothered to learn how to use your iPad. YOU listened to the propaganda, instead of bothering to try and use it.

[Swordmaker]

I don’t think I’m running business apps. I only use it for personal use. I see no problem with the display. Like someone replied to me, a $400 difference in price makes it worth my while.

The 8" iPad mini has 2048-by-1536 resolution at 326 pixels per inch screen. . . and sells for $399. Much faster and much better in color and resolution. Better cameras, video, all around. Not the iPad Pro, but less expensive and smaller. Just about the same weight as your Amazon, but with all metal body instead of plastic.

[big'ol_freeper]

The problem with the iPad over the years is that it is too good. I have an iPad 3 that there is no reason for me to replace.

[Swordmaker]

It looks like they sell a lot more of them for Russian Christmas (1st Quarter) than they do for Western Christmas (4th Quarter) or back to school (3rd Quarter).

You are confused because you haven't done your homework to understand the facts.

Apple runs its financial books on FISCAL quarters not CALENDAR quarters. Apple's Fiscal quarters do not coincide with the Calendar Quarters as Apple's Fiscal Year ends at 5:00 PM on the last Saturday of September.

Thus, Apple's first Fiscal Quarter runs from 5:00 PM on the last Saturday of September until 5:00PM on the last Saturday of December, at which tick of the clock the second Fiscal Quarter begins, which runs until 5PM of the last Saturday of March, when the third Fiscal Quarter starts, and runs until the last Saturday of June at 5:00PM,when the fourth and last Fiscal Quarter begins and ends, again when the Fiscal Year ends at 5:00PM on the last Saturday of September.

Therefore, your conclusions about which Calendar Quarter those huge holiday and back to school sales occurred is off by a quarter due to wrong assumptions.

[minnesota_bound]

They sold enough to build a spaceship office building.

[Inyo-Mono]

That’s what I have read, I really like mine.

[Swordmaker]

Here's a chart from a few years ago about the rise of the Phablet (phones larger than 4 inch width). May have something to do with it. Larger screens on phones reduce the demand for full size tablets.

These are Calendar Quarters being represented in this chart.

In Quarter 4 2012, Apple had just introduced the 5" diagonal iPhone, so iOS users found a way to buy a larger iPhone they liked. In 2014, the 5.5" iPhone 6 plus appeared and the iPad was cannibalized by the sale of the larger phablet iPhones. A lot of people so no reason to buy two devices. Some of us with failing eyesight (at least until we got our lenses replaced and got back our 20/20 vision) still bought the larger screen iPads.

[freepertoo]

I love the ipad.

[Swordmaker]

Are you aware of the reports that Apple may be considering dropping the iPad Mini after the current model?

Are you aware that was another ANAL-cysts made up rumor essayed during the FUD season leading up to the Financial Conference Call . . . a rumor that has no basis in fact except for the Bally-button lint the Anal-cyst based his conclusions on? Apple does not reveal its future product plans. . . and considering that the iPad mini is one of their better selling products, I kind of doubt it will be one they will drop.

His argument was that since the $399 iPad mini is more expensive than the 9.7 inch new iPad at $329, customers were inevitably going to opt for the lower priced but bigger regular iPad. He could not conceive that perhaps Apple would reprice the iPad mini when they refresh it.

Time will tell.

Incidentally, Apple's is selling refurb iPad Mini's for as low as $279 with same as new warranties.