Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo
I don’t know. By all accounts, the $329-tier iPad is by far the most popular model – even Apple calls it the “most loved” iPad, which is code for highest selling. The bottom fell out of the tablet market and prices hit the floor; I know Apple’s never going to make a $49 tablet but I think they know they can’t get away with asking $499 for their base full-size model, either. Or at least, they see the value in offering a lower-end option..
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I mean, they’re not gonna offer a product and then proudly say people don’t want it. They also said the SE is very popular. And then they still didn’t update it for a long time and eventually quietly killed it off.
As for tablet prices, I don’t really see that. There seem to be two market segments, and Apple is addressing both. Yeah, they’re really on the high end compared to some $79 Android tablet, but the latter as a concept has seen so little love from Google in recent years that iPadOS is flawless in comparison (which it isn’t). ChromeOS doesn’t really put that much thought into a tablet experience either. So you pay up a lot for iPad, but if you intend to do anything other than stream videos, it’s unquestionably worth it.
The upper segment is a tougher call — here, iPad Pro competes against Surface Pro and Surface Book and Surface WeHaveFoundMoreNouns, Yoga, and similar products. They have the huge difference (whether it’s an advantage is a tough question) of a hybrid OS; a macOS with some touch-adjusted apps (and a lot of apps that definitely aren’t) if you will. iPad Pro is the purer experience; Windows 10 on a tablet is the more comprehensive one.
I’m not saying they’ll discontinue the $329 iPad (though I wouldn’t be shocked if they do), and there seem to be rumors that it’s getting an update this fall.