The KEY to Fixing Apple's Troubled iPad?
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2024
- Just a week ago, Tim Cook stepped out on the Apple Park virtual stage and said it was “the biggest day for iPad since it was introduced”. The world sat up, ready for what was to come.
And there it was: iPad Air certainly GOT the biggest it ever had, with a new 13” size. iPad Pro got impossibly thin and forgot one of it’s cameras, presumably left in it’s other, roomier trousers. The basic, non-pro, air- free iPad 10th generation got a near 30% price cut. We even got a new Apple Pencil, because how could three pencils possibly be enough? But there was one absence that filled the room. The perfect iPad. Mini.
Sidebar, I didn’t expect us to be getting a new iPad mini, there were no rumours of an update at this one, despite which some online predicted it because, well its been a while. 972 days kind of a while. That’s almost 33 Months. You don’t even measure kids in Months at that point, that’s a 2½ year old. Too old, for a little, perfect iPad.
Anyway back to the topic - All the new iPads were announced except the perfect sized one, and yet, it seems, the internet is still not happy. Because, as they’d been saying all along, their problem with iPad isn’t the hardware, but the software. Even though they were all PRETTY HAPPY when the FaceTime camera got moved to the landscape side on the Pro and the Air, which sure SOUNDS like a hardware change. Almost centered and everything. Jony Ive would be so proud. No, what EVERYONE wanted was to make the iPad more useable, being able to truly multitask and take advantage of the power of the chips. No I would argue that Apps like Final Cut Pro on iPad does do that, especially when it’s collating video feeds from up to 4 iPads or iPhones in real time, but what do I know. Apple doesn’t make ALL the apps though, so maybe point at the other devs for a minute.
WWDC may fix some of the issues - the second most common of which is File Management - and now basically everyone is okay with split screen apps on the iPad, can we just get Finder? Seems to me that if FILES was replaced, along with the biggest challenge Apple has faced to date, a calculator App for iPad, most people would be happy. Errrr.
But the biggest issue with iPad for me is the sprawling and confusing lineup. iPad Pro is now lighter than Air, by which I mean the iPad Air, which is now the chunky boy, so the name makes zero sense. With all the iPads and sizes, there are currently 6 major lines, four Apple Pencils, five very expensive keyboards, you get my drift. The key? The perfect iPad. Mini.
Don’t you move on, I can justify this. And I know, with the iPad mini having an 8.3” display vs the largest iPhones getting 6.7”, soon to be 6.9 with iPhone 16 Pro Max later this year, is it bigger enough to be worth it? It doesn’t get a proper keyboard from Apple so is it a proper work machine? It runs just an A15 chip, not an M like the higher end sister products.
Well, it actually has a way bigger display than it sounds like, because iPads have a different aspect ratio than phones. iPhone 15 Pro Max has the biggest iPhone display so far, at just over 16 square inches, while iPad mini is way ahead with one 40 square inches… that’s a MASSIVE difference. Also, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs in at 221g, the iPad mini is only about 70g more at 293. That’s way more screen for not much more weight.
But one change to the iPad mini will kind of allow Apple to eliminate two of the Apple Pencils, or at least move them to a legacy accessories segment maybe? Apple? This might be a good time to just make a little note. You can have that idea for free. If they do the same with the 10th Gen’s update to the 11th generation, both can have the same edge charging that would be compatible with Apple Pencil Pro, or the lower priced Apple Pencil USB-C. The other two can go hang out in the legacy segment for people adding to their older models.
What should we expect in September though, other than the camera move? Well a more recent A-chip, most likely the A17 is what I would have said, but I believe A17 was built on the same node as M3, which has been quickly moved on from as the yields were so low… so maybe actually the A18, just like the new iPhone 16. That would be great, and give iPad mini a big boost in the graphics side, as well as AI from the Neural cores that we’ve been hearing so much about. And as the iPad mini seems more closely related to the iPad Air line than the base iPad, it may also get bumped up to a base storage of 128gb like the Air did last week.
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It’s very simple. Tim Cook is not a product person , he is an Operations specialist and a CEO first. Apple is therefore more focused on the bottom line at all costs, even to customer loyalty it seems. This version of Apple wants its customers to own as much products in the ecosystem as possible , instead of the right products for them. This strategy works for now as the investors are happy but in the long term they should be careful that this will have an effect on said loyalty and the brand overall.
If Apple wanted to , they could give the MacBook a touch screen , they couldn’t also have made more improvements to keep the air lighter than the Pro. They could also let the older Apple pencils or newer pencils be compatible with the various iPads. But they literally don’t want to do that. The bottom line comes first.
It's okay for Tim to be an Opps person though, they have plenty of product people. And there's a very good reason the old pencils don't work with new iPads, the fact we all wanted landscape cameras and USB-C. The first pencil was pure lighting, it's out. The 2nd gen was magnetically attaching and charging, but where the coils were is now where the camera is, doesn't work. So they've updated the pencil 2 to Pencil Pro and moved the charging coil to one end and placed 2 coils in the new iPads, so whichever way you attach the pencil, it still charges.
They would triple their sales if they gave the tablet style computer people what they wanted in a full blown operating system. (maybe don’t make a Max version of it, reserve that for laptops) and bam. Due to familiarity and power, both sell like crazy
@@iCaveDave I agree with you. And for the record I own and use an iPhone , an iPad Pro (2020 model ) as well as a 14 inch MacBook Pro. I’m not an apple hater by any means but as a product person by profession , and as someone that has watched apples decisions closely for years; I really believe now that they have lost touch with their customer base somewhat and also simply do not care about their customers like they once did.
@@iCaveDave to some extent that’s poor product design as they failed to think far enough into the future. I suspect Steve would have pushed the design more before launch
Apple, are you listening?
...Do it for the people and the people will do it for you!
When you are eaten by the profit machine, you will disappear ....
Waiting impatiently for the new iPad Mini. It's the size that works for me. Hurry up, Tim.
Thanks for the content.
mini in September, mini in September... chant it with me
Your so right about Finder!!! That’s also one of the bummers about the Vision Pro
VisionOS is basically a fork of iPadOS, so if it comes to one... Here's hoping!
Agreed. Call the cheap iPad the iPad SE then the iPad, then the iPad mini as a niche one and then the iPad Pros
Just have the Mac mini use the same chip as the iPad and be a smaller, more budget option of that for 250!
Odds we get a file management system or a way to have a Mac OS layout for browsers with tabs instead of multiple zoom out/click in tabs that you don’t even see unless you know they are there? Finder would be great as well
An ADD TO DESKTOP WIDGET where files can be stored such as word docs, pages, notes, photos, PowerPoint/apples version of PowerPoint, PDFs etc and having a whole page dedicated to this on the main screen after the final apps page mixed with finder would be a game changer
You could probably already do this with automation
Great video, buddy and I agree with you. The suggestion I have to fix this horrendous iPad categories and selection problem is to market the next iPad mini as the iPad mini air. Thoughts?
Yep, feels like it fits better with that Air line as it is, though I’d also be okay with it getting the same chip as the base iPad if the price is lower than that to reflect it too
What if the ipad mini becomes the iphone ultra variant?
Dear god no.
@@iCaveDave it has apple pencil support, the only thing it lacks is actual calling capability on its own, think about it 😂
@MrMrREmm no phone should be as big as a pro max, let alone that monstrosity
I would love to use iPad mini as iPad AND phone
@@iCaveDave your opinion but i do remember a time where there were real phablets in the market. Especially if you have an earphone most of the time. The ipad mini would be perfect. Imagine “foldable” too… 😁
Finder would be an absolute game changer!
I think so! Right now though each app basically manages its own files within its package, they’re sandboxed. But they can be linked to access iCloud storage, so common on device storage should also be possible
Just subscribed btw
@@Tru3Times why thank you! Much obliged!
Keep the iPad a tablet and make the iPad Pro a different product. It could exist as a hybrid device. And it would not “cannibalize” Mac sales.
But a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro have the same OS. The same apps run on both, the interface is the same. The Pro is just faster and has a nicer display. Exactly the same as the iPad
Part of the problem may be that men at Apple make the hardware decisions. The iPad mini only fits in the largest coat pockets, so men settle for a full-sized iPad for their packs or briefcases. On the other hand, women are often carrying purses, so the iPad mini is ideal for them. A screen larger than an iPhone makes reading and browsing online better and keeping that iPad mini in a purse is hassle free for them. It fits very well.
The head of Apple’s industrial design until last year was female, Evans Hankey. It’s now Molly Anderson.
Apple needs to fix its confusing Pencil lineup. All Pencils should work with all iOS devices, including iPhones. It's the iPhones, with their smaller screens, that need them most. I have the largest screen iPhone, but even that doesn't make touching less clumsy. What I'd like is a version of the Pencil the size of regular pocket pen to use on the go. And make it cheap. Something that small is easily lost.
I guess this is why they have FindMy support now! Not sure about pencil on Phones, fingers work pretty well.
We want new ipad mini...
I think they want to sell you the iPad Air (which is heavier than the iPad Pro)
@@kienhwengtai8113 i will wait for new mini 7 maybe we will see it in september like the mini 6 was released in september
Dave, I’m betting on an a 18 pro chip that’s what I want in my mini iPad seven
I will cross my fingers with you sir.
1. Finder and the ability to eject a disk before just yanking it out. (And I’d love disutility, but I’m not going to make a big deal out of that.) 2. I would love a mini that I could plug into a monitor with keyboard and mouse, and use it with stage manager and fullscreen. So yeah, I guess I want an M1 iPad mini. LOL
There’s rarely any issues just yanking drives these days as SSD transfers are stupid fast at least. NO PRO MINI 😂😂😂
@@iCaveDave reality is, I’m sure if a cheap ass Amazon tablet or an 8 year old Samsung phone can go full screen to a giant TV, a non-pro Mini (or any iPad really) could fill a screen and be a “desktop”. I love the iPad Mini as a mini iPad, but I think a software limitation is all that’s preventing it from being my desktop productivity machine too. I just use Safari & Microsoft Office. But I hate those black bars on the sides.
I wish they would give the mini a nice cheaper keyboard and an M1 processor
You can use any bluetooth keyboard, which makes a lot more sense - Apple's iPad Keyboards for me are WAY too expensive for what you get - on the M1 though I don't think the iPad mini battery could sustain it long enough
I wish a Samsung Dex like mode of the m iPad Pro/air, with keyboard attached on.
You kinda already have that, and can have a second display too
@@iCaveDave not really, but thx
I love my iPad mini 6…. Just wish I hadn’t bought the 64gb version as it prevents me doing anything other than browsing with it…. File management system and a mini keyboard and could use it to edit photos and send emails while travelling
I think it will go up to 128, but as long as you’re connected iCloud storage is a good option
I have an iPad Air 4th gen. I was waiting for the bigger screen and the M2 chip. Now that I’ve seen it… I realize I’m not about to drop $800 for a bigger screen and the M2. The iPad I have now is plenty fast for what I use it for. I have a MacBook Air M1 that is already underutilized. Looks like my new iPad Air 13” will be my old MacBook Air M1 13”. Just saved myself tons of money plus I don’t have to buy a keyboard.
Absolute win! And you can still use the 4th gen Air (which is also what I’m still using) with Universal control from the Mac or in Sidecar!
I really want the ipad to be a replacement for a laptop as I'd love to be able to afford a new desktop, laptop and ipad but am trying to compromise and maybe get one or 2 new apple products since I'm on a 2012 iMac using Catalina. Been waiting a long time to buy a new Mac.
What’s your use case? For most people iPad is a fine replacement
@@iCaveDave Well I can’t use davinci resolve for longer 15 min plus videos on my current mac. I really want to try procreate & have never used it before so mainly it’s for that but using davinci would be nice too. Then i can wait longer for a desktop or laptop.
The pencil compatibility issues are a pain and I still need an iPad mini. I was thinking of getting an iPad Air and swapping it with our daughter for my old iPad mini 5. Then, when the iPad mini 7 comes out, buying it and giving the iPad mini 5 to my wife. She hasn't expressed a desire for one but I bet she would love it. Getting an Air would mean getting the new Pencil as well as her main use of it is drawing. It's not clear to me that the mini is coming this fall (unless maybe Cook said it was) and it may still be next Spring before it arrives and I don't want to wait that long. So I will be looking for reviews on the new stuff which will probably be out next week. Some of the new stuff that you can do with the pencil does look pretty cool.
It’s of course not been announced, these things never are, but Mark Gurman indicated it could be here as soon as Fall, which was my working assumption as that’s when Apple’s A chips are released.
@@iCaveDaveYou think Mini is moving straight to A18?
@@iCaveDave Daughter could use more storage on her iPad too. My mini 5 has 64 GB which is more than enough for me but she likes to save her drawings and moving it off is a bit of a pain. The ideal case is if they just launched the mini 7 now, preferably with 128 GB, 256 GB, etc. tiers. I don't think that we truly know until they actually launch it. I suspect that they could launch the mini 7 if they needed the revenue to meet quarterly goals or just let it wait if they're fine for the quarter. I suspect that they're going to get a sizable upgrade cycle on the M4 Macs as there's definitely enough stuff in the M4s to make it worthwhile, particularly if you want to change something that you misconfigured on your M1. I was thinking of getting a 14 inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro which would give me options when I travel.
@@marctech1996 Apple has moved the mini to the latest CPU before. Why not? It's just a big iPhone.
No matter what we say, apple doesn't care about our thoughts
They don’t care about the thoughts of the tiny minority of tech tinkerers and enthusiasts, no, but they care deeply about what the majority need in their products, which is why they are so successful.
If enough of us talk on the boards and with our wallets, they will fix the issue. They are stupid to not allow game devs to upgrade their comps with rtx cards and stuff like that and have an easy transition to port native AAA games. If Macs had M4 pro/max chips and 40 GPU cores, they could run ANYTHING. Apple loses out to PC for gaming potential to over half of all consumers. You ask 200 random people who own an iPhone and not a MacBook, over 100 say it’s due to limited ability to game and many of these 100+ will factor in money as well. Apple only pays 160$ to make a 1800$ iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard etc. most windows computers make a 3-5x markup not a 10-12 x
Dave. Is there really (outside the Apple YT channels) a problem with the iPad ? In the real world, I'm still using an iPad pro with a 11 inch screen bought in 2018, which remains more than enough for what I use it for (my wife has the 12/9 inch screen M2 pro). I dont see either being updated for several years yet. This surely is the issue Apple faces. Its tech is so good, that it takes such a long time for users to upgrade, it's become an elongated process. The annual update cycle merely acts as a potential reason why a group of users might upgrade that year. This means that as users, we have no idea what model we'll update to or when other than it'll be a quite a while. Whilst I may choose a Mac book as a replacement, my wife prefers the simplicity of the iPad and the similarity to the iPhone (she switches between the two). I suspect there are many iPhone/iPad users like her, probably more than user like me who are more interested in annual performance upgrades.
I'm still sitting on a m1 mini (plus LG 24 screen) and what I'd really like is a new iMac pro with 24 inch LED/OLED screen, which will keep me going for quite a few years. I may upgrade @ M4 or maybe M5 (it depends on the product and whether M4 really has extra capabilities due to AI). I know the performance will be better, but it's a cost/benefit equation and I'm not yet convinced that the better performance is worth the upgrade cost. iPhone12 user as well (bought when the iPhone14 was issued).
Apple doesn't expect people to upgrade that often, outside of the phone anyway. An iPad is good for 5-7 years in most cases, and that's great for us. It's also why Apple has focused on services as a revenue source recently with iCloud storage, Arcade, Music, TV, Fitness and more. Apple Silicon was a huge reason for people to upgrade, but again, it's so good it doesn't need to be replaced yet. And that's a GOOD thing for Apple as people come to know their devices as ones that last well. Just look at the resale on Apple kit!
@@iCaveDave 100% agree with you Dave.
What I want, and thought we were headed for with M series CPUs, is MacOS on the iPads, so they become mini-laptops with touchscreens and pens, not giant-screen telephones that you can't make a phone call on.
macOS on iPad would be bad. Have you tried windows on a touch screen? Terrible. Lean into what it’s good at, if you want a laptop, we already have Macs.
You can try this by using an iPad on Sidecar with a Mac and trying to interact with MacOS via touch
I don't think this is at all likely, but I'd love Stage Manager to become more like a Samsung Dex experience on the Pros. Remove the five window cap.
At least on an external display
You get that many on each display. How many windows can you practically use at once?
iPad = Tablet, iPad Mini = True portable tablet, iPad Air = Cheaper version of iPad Pro, iPad Pro = iPad which tried to be a Mac but isn't
Pretty much covers it
I just buy the iPad Air 13” model
Awesome, hope you love it! Seems like a pretty great value
Well, you said blame the app developers, but really that comes back to Apple. If you look at Samsung tablets, they run on the same operating system as the phones. So you’re essentially developing one app for both products. However iPads don’t share an operating system with iPhones and iPad sales are down. So if I’m an app developer, why would I want to invest in the iPad version of my app when they have trouble selling iPads? The operating system is the problem and the answer with the iPad.
They don’t have trouble selling iPads. And they can do a single binary for iPhone and iPad, but then of course, it won’t take advantage of all the extra performance of an M chip. Samsung avoids this issue by not having high performance tablets!
@@iCaveDave Wow.
I am interested in iPad sales as i got the iPad mini when it first came out
I want oled on my iPad mini or mini oled , fast charging, wireless charging or maybe a foldable iPad mini , faceid and underscreen camera and a 120hz display
Who actually buys the iPad pro ? , I am amazed at the popularity of the iPad mini at the moment on CZcams because people never used to rate it as i have had it since the 1st gen
I find it brilliant for reading , games and videos , it means I don't have to carry round a massive library with me
I'm a big iPad mini fan - but I don't think much of what you're asking for will come, at least not soon. I'd be happier for it just just be a smaller, cheaper brother to the 10th gen iPad. Low cost, great for kids. Would probably sell like hotcakes at 250 or even $300
The overall issue is that it really seems as though Apple no longer knows what the iPad is for. Or where it should be going in future. They need to have a good long think about what a tablet should be: i.e. what can it do better than a mobile phone or a laptop? What can it reasonably do as well as a mobile phone? Or as well as a laptop? What things should it be able to do in future that would make it relevant to customers to still keep buying/upgrading them?
Taking a look at the messed up product line, the confused & haphazard duplication of accessories, the pricing & the ongoing debate about software and it certainly seems that Apple doesn't really have any clear answers right now.
This leads back to the perennial doubts about whether Apple still retains the ability to really innovate, to break genuinely new ground - not just come up with competitive but basically 'me too' products. The innovation in laptops and mobiles is largely being done by their competitors atm. Apple is content to trail their competitors and eventually respond well but fairly slowly.
It remains to be seen if they can make Vision Pro successful. In the meantime, in the tablet field where they dominate market share and really should be the innovation leader, they appear to be faltering on a clear product strategy.
I mean Vision Pro has already sold double the original projections without leaving the US so I think it’s doing okay
@@iCaveDave Very early days still. The VR headset market is still tiny. The company that really cracks that market in the way that Apple created/conquered the tablet market two decades ago will rightly own the innovation crown. Hard to see that being a company that at the same time can't sort out its tablet strategy.
@@ayohughes I don’t think Apple has their tablet strategy wrong honestly, I just don’t think it fits what tech reviewers think it should be, while the general public lap it up because it IS exactly what most people want.
@@iCaveDave Hmmm. Not sure I share your optimism. Every reviewer has pointed out basic issues with the range that don't make much sense & most of these are entirely self inflicted by Apple. Meanwhile, Apple's share of the tablet market is still just about dominant but steadily falling as Samsung, Huawei & a host of eBook brands etc mop up the increasingly large part of the market that are choosing not to buy an iPad. Apple needs an inflection point to avoid losing its position and there's no sign of what that might be. They need some killer apps, in the use case not software sense. Tbh I'm surprised they didn't move for the retail POS market. iPads should have had total dominance but instead we have Square and a whole bunch of others instead.
To anwer the title: iPadOS.
One of the best things about iPad. For people who use iPads.
@@iCaveDave Well it is for standard iPads... but if there's iPad Pros with M4 chips then I think it's clearly a limiting factor given Performance benchmark and Price when a standard iPad can do almost everything the expensive ones can. Sure a niche of artists will gain sufficient quality for professional work or aspirational work on the go but that leaves a lot of other people who are wasting their money with the latest iPads unless software provides more features that allow more use cases and flexibility of use cases.
You only spent about 10% of the video on the title question and about 40% on iPad Minis which iirc are 6% of total iPad sales. The title and content are not fully compatible it seemed to me?
iPads are in a difficult place: Cannot replace phones nor laptops for a lot of people yet for basic use they're brilliant eg iPadOS on standard iPads or Minis. There's a growing gap however between hardware and software as explained and a large market underserved by this widening gap.
WWDC will probably market "flashy" AI and do little to attend to the gap issue in the Pro lines.
Ipad Pro blematic
That's an excellent pun, can't fault you for that.
iPad Mini and iPad Mini Pro? FaceTime camera on the long side / Horizontal / Landscape mode? Bring Apple Journal App and let me sync with my iPhone 📲 yes, I said it! And the Apple Pencil Pro, because nothing less will do!
Could there be an M-chip in this too? … I have work and play to do with longer battery 🔋 life, and Siri will Assist me providing greater Accessibility with my Abilities. 🙂↔️🙂↕️😏 Thank you, very much. 😊
Sadly I don’t think there will be a mini pro, the battery would likely be too small for an M chip, but if the camera on the mini moves it will almost certainly be Apple Pencil Pro compatible - as I believe will be the next generation of the base iPad
I don’t get what people think is wrong with the iPad. It is a great device that sells like hot cakes.
I wonder how many “pro” iPads they sell as compared to the iPad. Honestly if you’re a pro then you need a MacBook Pro IMHO. It’s not like the space and weight required to carry the iPad Pro is significantly lighter than the MacBook Pro 13”.
I agree with you on the line up… I don’t think Apple need the “air” line at all anymore.
They’re all thin, everything is already thin.
Should just have “MacBook” and “MacBook Pro”. Same for iPad.
iPad Pro is right for artists and stuff who'll get the most out of the pencil, but if you want a laptop, a laptop is a good choice!
@@iCaveDave I agree that the pencil and digital art would be a big use.
Personally I would like to see more PDA tools and easier handwriting recognition in the iPhone.
Yes Scribble works but takes a few steps, my old Newton had a clearer and easier work flow for handwriting recognition and it was made in the late 1990s. It should be a one tap thing.
Apple, after all, invented the PDA and coined the term
@@danielktdoranie I was stunned when I tried the newton how close its handwriting recognition is to iPad Scribble!
Talked to a friend before our work shift this AM. Told him I bought a 13” Air after almost 10 years with the previous model. He was astounded! The best he’s been able to get out of his Android tablets is 4 years. Told him iPads just keep tickin. He’s thinking about switching since they don’t sink with his new iPhone
I don't understand the problem people have with the iPad not having MAC OS. Apple to me always position the iPad as a companion device to the iPhone and MacBook lines. Apple will never add any real functionality to the iPad as long as they have MacBook's to sale. iPad sales for Q1 2024 were around 7 billion dollars. They sell enough without increasing functionality. If you would need more capability they clearly want you to buy a MacBook. It's just never going to be more that an iPad and for me that's ok.
They know. Criticising Apple gets you more views than praising them. It's that simple. The google Algorithm likes criticism of other tech companies
They know. Criticising Apple gets you more views than praising them. It's that simple. The google Algorithm likes criticism of other tech companies
@southwestkinema9149 that may be taking it a little far, but anything that polarises opinion will get more engagement…