back to article New iPad revealed. Big price cut is main feature

Apple's best products succeed because they solve non-obvious problems. PCs were too ugly to use in polite company until the iMac came along, and software therefore stayed in back offices rather than in places where it would be useful to interact with a computer. The iPod addressed the fact that while CDs were less fragile than …

  1. J.Smith

    Count me in

    Your article sounds so cynical. In reality, Apple are doing a marvellous job, and a red phone! Count me in! And they're contributing to charity, that's a poke in the eye to people who criticise them for not paying taxes.

    1. Chet Mannly

      Re: Count me in

      Except the money they donate to charity is actually tax deductible, so they get to pay even less tax...

      1. AMBxx Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: Count me in

        Do we give the OP the benefit of the doubt and assume he forgot the Joke icon?

        1. jason 7

          Re: Count me in

          Yeah it must have been a joke. No one could be that retarded.

          As for another tablet...wow so 2010.

          1. Bitbeisser

            Re: Count me in

            > Yeah it must have been a joke. No one could be that retarded.

            Don't underestimate the combined stupidity of true Apple fanbois...

            And I personally won't care for any iPad until they put at least a SD card slot in it. Now that would be news, but then it would make it actually more usable, and Apple won't have any of that...

      2. Ilsa Loving

        Re: Count me in

        > Except the money they donate to charity is actually tax deductible, so they get to pay even less tax...

        Not really... A percentage of 0 is still 0.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    New iPad

    Did anyone else notice that both the new iPad and the new iPhone still come with regular USB cables, rather than USB‑C cables, so if you've bought last year's MacBook, you're still having to shell out for dongles.

    Ridiculous....

    Does Apple really believe in switching over to USB-C or not ?

    1. anothercynic Silver badge

      Re: New iPad

      Because, my good man, the majority of their market is still on USB. If they included a USB-to-USB-C converter in the box, it would make more sense...

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: New iPad

        People are more far likely to want to charge their iPad (from a USB-A wall socket, car adaptor, power bank etc) than they want to connect it to a Macbook.

    2. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: New iPad

      "Did anyone else notice that both the new iPad and the new iPhone still come with regular USB cables, rather than USB‑C cables, so if you've bought last year's MacBook, you're still having to shell out for dongles."

      If you compare the number of people who bought last year's MacBook with the number of people using any other Macs, plus the number of people using a Windows PC, I'd say this is a benefit for maybe 96% of all iPad customers.

      I always find the use of words interesting. I have not once in my life used the words "shell out", it sounds too much like someone being a pretentious idiot who thinks he is writing for some publication. Same for "dongles" instead of "adapters". It's a bloody adapter that you would need, not a dongle. And there is no reason actually to plug that iPad into your MacBook. The only people having a need for that are developers, and they usually have some seven port hub connected to their MacBook.

      1. Ilsa Loving

        Re: New iPad

        > And there is no reason actually to plug that iPad into your MacBook.

        Unless something has changed, you ned to plug your iDevice into your Macbook at least once to register it with iTunes and enable wireless syncing. After that, it doesn't matter, true. But that first step is kinda important.

        1. robin thakur 1

          Re: New iPad

          Not really, Your Apple Music shows up the same on iTunes on your Mac as it does on your iPad. Your library music shows up using iTunes Match. I guess if you didn't have either Apple Music or iTunes Match, then.perhaps you still need to connect it physically to the Mac/iTunes, but I haven't used it that way for literally years now.

  3. bazza Silver badge

    Same Old Tricks?

    $130 price differential for installing a cellular modem chip? WTF?

    Surely that's taking the piss. What am I missing here? Does that include airtime too? In which case it's arguably quite good value. Otherwise it seems they've swapped their habit of gouging the market over the price of flash for charging huge amounts for a $5 part.

    It's also running contrary to what's going on in the cellular world. Data allowances are getting to be huge on even quite moderately priced contracts (I get 30GByte / month for £20). I can't remember the last time I bothered switching WiFi on on my mobile. And WiFi is slower than my cellular connection.

    The WiFi ones are quite temptingly priced though, I could always tether it to my mobile, but I'm expecting the UK price to be higher :(

    1. Steve Todd

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      Given that Huawei want £150 for a wireless router that handles the LTE cat 6 spec, and you also get AGPS/GLONAS in the iPad (which can also double as a wireless router) then $130 doesn't seem wildly unreasonable.

      1. James 51

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        The difference in weight between the two models is 9 grams so the modem and antenia is probably in there, it's just the sim cradle that is added.

    2. anothercynic Silver badge

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      bazza, primarily UK price differential = US price is tax excl vs UK price is VAT incl, plus shipping, customs and duties to and in Europe. And the WiFi-only vs Cellular price differential has always been around that ($130/part). It does *not* include airtime (are you mad?).

      1. bazza Silver badge

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        @anothercynic,

        "bazza, primarily UK price differential = US price is tax excl vs UK price is VAT incl,"

        Yes you're quite right. I wasn't intending to lay that particular point on Apple's doorsteps, other than they're another multinational which quite happily exploits the benefits of free trade and tax loopholes, whilst lobbying to prevent individual customers from benefiting from grey imports, etc. This distortion of the global market does no one any favours apart from the companies who can afford to wine/dine/lobby the politicians who make it the rules.

    3. Vince

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      The difference in the cellular one is the price and weight. It doesn't come with some wonderful other benefit.

      The difference between 32GB and 128GB on the iPhone SE is £100, but is otherwise identical. No other benefit.

      This is the Apple model. It works because people do keep buying the stuff they peddle.

      Heck, the "new" iPad is indeed based on the iPad Air, not iPad Air 2 design, has the A9 - not the A9X or the A10 Fusion, and is generally new-but-old. It doesn't have the laminated display either. I guess it's an "upgrade" if your iPad is really old, but I imagine if it is you either don't want a new one or find it still good enough (we still see people using the original iPad despite being really outdated), so I'm not sure who this is designed to appeal to. £70 odd cheaper than the now removed iPad Air 2, seems fair given there's nothing in it that's current generation.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        It's 'difference' not 'differential'. One is a noun, the other is an adjective. The only time you use 'differential' is when describing another word, such as 'differential analysis' or 'differential gearbox'.

        There's a lot of politicians who've misused the word on the radio - it's almost as if they want to use the wrong word because it has more syllables.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Same Old Tricks?

          It's 'difference' not 'differential'.

          It depends on whether we're talking about gradients or not. Given the exclamation, "That's a bit steep!", often uttered by someone startled at the price, reference to gradients would seem to be perfectly acceptable. And a differential is a measurement of gradient.

          Or did you not know that?

          1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

            Re: Differential

            Thanks for the memories Not. I'm sure there are more than a few commentards here who had nightmares when faced with 2nd order differential equations as a student. I know my saviour was switching to Laplace Transforms. I still have my book on them by K.A. Stroud.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Differential

              Laplace Transforms were part of my day release HNC (and two evenings at one point). Harder than any maths I did for my degree (well it felt like it as the time, holding down a full time job too). Maybe I just was good at maths by then, once I started the full-time degree, the maths felt like a breeze in comparison (as did the degree).

              I used to have to take the statutory sick leave nearer exam time (below a threshold that got noticed) just to have time to complete the HNC coursework on time, while working. Luckily, my boss at the time, turned a blind eye to it.

            2. Alien8n

              Re: Differential

              I've still got my copy of engineering mathematics by K A Stroud somewhere around here as well. Haven't opened it in 27 years though...

              1. Unep Eurobats

                Re: Differential

                What's wrong with 'gap', eh?

                1. Dave 126 Silver badge

                  Re: Differential

                  > What's wrong with 'gap', eh?

                  Nothing. Gap is a noun, so saying 'there is a gap' is correct usage.

            3. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Differential

              Thanks for your memories too - K.A. Stroud; "Calculus a Programmed Approach" got me through 1st year university maths.

          2. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: Same Old Tricks?

            > It depends on whether we're talking about gradients or not. Given the exclamation, "That's a bit steep!", often uttered by someone startled at the price, reference to gradients would seem to be perfectly acceptable. And a differential is a measurement of gradient.

            > Or did you not know that?

            Your example sentence is not of the same form.

            In your example, the word 'steep' is describing the word 'that', which is correct. In your example, the word 'steep' isn't being treated as a noun. So, saying 'that is steep' is correct, but saying 'that is a steep' (or 'that is a differential') is incorrect.

        2. HipposRule

          Re: Same Old Tricks?

          Bit ironic that in a grammar criticising comment that the grammar was wrong - it should be 'There are'

        3. Glenturret Single Malt

          Re: Same Old Tricks?

          The oldest copy of Chambers Dictionary (published 1972) that I have at home includes definition of differential as a noun as well as an adjective and gives as an example "pay or price differential".

          The phrase has therefore been in use for around half a century at least and probably rather longer in order to become sufficiently well established to get into the dictionary.

        4. Glenturret Single Malt

          Re: Same Old Tricks?

          I am sympathetic to your point about politicians use of words. My pet hate at present is the indefinite article pronounced "ay" instead of "ah".

    4. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      " ...for charging huge amounts for a $5 part"

      If you can buy a 4G MIMO cellular modem with a built in GPS/GLONASS chipset for $5, I'm sure Apple's procurement execs would love to hear from you.

      And Steve Todd you're absolutely right.

      1. Vector

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        "If you can buy a 4G MIMO cellular modem with a built in GPS/GLONASS chipset for $5, I'm sure Apple's procurement execs would love to hear from you."

        I doubt it since that price is probably about right. I did a spot check on the interwebs and, though this is not a comprehensive survey by any means, I found a Qualcomm LTE modem (just the chip) for $10.60 each in lots of 10! Didn't look at the specs, so although probably not as capable, I'm fairly confident that Apple, with their buying power can get the chip you describe at about 5 bucks.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      "$130 price differential for installing a cellular modem chip? WTF? Surely that's taking the piss. What am I missing here?"

      Because that's what they've judged to be the market value, or rather what the market will bear.

      If you are running a business and selling stuff at cost, then good luck to you sir.

      1. bazza Silver badge

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        Because that's what they've judged to be the market value, or rather what the market will bear.

        I know all that. I was really questioning whether Apple's view as to what the market would bear is accurate. The article itself refers to a decline in iPad sales, and a big part of the reason why is price. If Apple want sales to improve markedly, charging $130 extra for a variant that really doesn't do that much more is sending a poor signal to punters. Who wants to buy it when they know they're being taken advantage of?

        Amazon are selling 4G USB dongles for less than £50. Wholesale price of the components is going to be, what, 10% of that, less if you're a big buyer like Apple?

        1. Annihilator

          Re: Same Old Tricks?

          "I was really questioning whether Apple's view as to what the market would bear is accurate. The article itself refers to a decline in iPad sales, and a big part of the reason why is price"

          I assume they probably have a good idea of price points. They probably also know that the vast majority of the wifi+mobile models are purchased by corporates, or through telcos. And there will be an element of the wifi+mobile models enabling the wifi-only models to be sold cheaper. For the same reason an extra 96GB storage doesn't cost £90.

          I imagine the decline in iPad sales is related to a saturated market. The only real sales are on upgrades these days - if you wanted an iPad, you'd have one by now.

          1. tiggity Silver badge

            Re: Same Old Tricks?

            "if you wanted an iPad, you'd have one by now."

            Disagree.

            I would be quite happy with an iPad to play with ... but not at current UK Apple prices.

            A non essential purchase (which an iPad would be), needs to be relatively cheap otherwise it cannot be justified for many people (obv. not those addicted to new & more shiny, but those with a clue)

      2. JLV

        Re: Same Old Tricks?

        >market will bear

        Agree with you, but...

        There is a real risk in exposing too much of your pricing strategy, esp @ premium end of market. It'd be more clever to add some other features to muddle the issue, even with a _higher_ price gap. That's where the new touchbar on the MBPS "help".

        Now, no one is accusing Apple users of being overly price-conscious. But people still buy stuff believing "it's worth it". When you price in incremental 16GB flash additions @ $100, people eventually notice. Ditto $500 for an extra 8GB ram and bigger SSD (on the MBPs). These are well-known components in after-market, easy to price.

        So those customers may gain a bit too much insight into the value, or lack thereof, you are offering. It's too much transparency.

        Personally, I'd be interested in replacing my iPad 4, but I need the cellular model because it (probably) is the only with a real GPS. I have offline mapping apps, Navistar and PocketEarth that don't make much sense wo GPS.

        Sorry, $130 still feels like I am being gouged. No matter what the nitwit talking about "iPad routers" is claiming.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      Check the difference between an iPhone 6S and an iPod Touch. It's roughly the same comparison, and has a similar price difference.

    7. Steve the Cynic

      Re: Same Old Tricks?

      "And WiFi is slower than my cellular connection"

      That's probably the backhaul from the WiFi access point to the Internet that's at fault there. I noticed a *big* difference when I got fibre installed ("up to 20Mbps" replaced by "at least 200Mbps"). It's not *much* faster than 4G (possibly because my main use of it is separated from the AP by two walls), but does have the advantage of not counting towards my use of 4G data(1), although I got an upgrade to 20GB / month along with the fibre upgrade.

      (1) There are still a few things that iOS won't do over cellular data links but will do over WiFi, notably automatic downloads onto the iPad of apps that I get on my phone, and updates to apps that are already on the iPad.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meh!

    and that is it for the year in terms of 'new' (or copied depending upon your POV) stuff from Cupertino.

    They will be so busy moving into the 'Doughnut' that they won't have time to do new things.

    A perfect opportunity for the likes of Samsung to make hay and take all the profits from the mobile space.

    But will they?

    1. SteveK

      Re: Meh!

      Haven't apple already patented "taking all the profits from the mobile space"?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Meh!

      "A perfect opportunity for the likes of Samsung Chinese manufacturers to make hay and take all the profits from the mobile space."

      I suspect that despite being cheaper than the competition Huawei is making quite good margins.

    3. ThomH

      Re: Meh!

      Maybe we should discuss in late December whether this really was " it for the year in terms of 'new' ... stuff from Cupertino"; I'd be highly surprised if the ten-year anniversary of the iPhone passed without Apple doing something interesting (for Apple's definition of 'interesting') to the design.

      My primary problem with the iPad is that they're on the iOS deprecation curve. My computer is a 2011 MacBook Air. I am aware that it is a little slow and that RAM is constrained but it's running the latest OS and applications at a workable speed. I'll upgrade at some point because I'm still an active Mac user. The iPad we have is a year younger, being the third-generation model, but cannot run the latest version of the OS and is a dirge with the version of iOS 9 that represents its last gasp. As a result I'm unlikely to upgrade, because I essentially no longer use an iPad. So why buy a new one?

    4. Annihilator

      Re: Meh!

      "A perfect opportunity for the likes of Samsung to make hay and take all the profits from the mobile space."

      Samsung are too busy spending money on adverts that scream "look! we quality control these things! honestly!", presumably in a lab that has a rather paranoid halon system.

  5. James 51

    If you're going to hobble a tablet with 32gb of memory then there should be a micro sd card slot to allow for users to add ut themselves. At this price there is no excuse.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      They are multi-purpose devices.

      An iPad used for watching movies whilst travelling might be hobbled by having little storage. An iPad that is mainly used in the home (as most are) for watching iPlayer or a bit of web browsing isn't so hobbled.

      Indeed, it is that most iPads are used mainly on the home that means people are slow to upgrade them, hence slow sales (battery life isn't as crucial when a charger is always within reach. A newer, lighter model isn't as desirable if you're not carrying it around with you)

      1. James 51

        You'd hope Apple would aim for more than covering the use case for the least demanding users. That arguement is why you could have small built in memory (to shave a few $ off the price) but stick a few videos, some music, a game or two and a few apps and that starts to fill up quite rapidly .

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          I guess the more demanding 15% of users will buy the version with more storage. Or if they really must travel with dozens of movies, they can use a Lightning memory stick.

          The Reg have reported on surveys that strongly suggest most iPads are used in the home, where local networked storage or streaming video services negate the need for lots of iPad storage.

  6. Jon Lamb

    Non bonded screen

    I've heard that it has a non bonded screen and if so will be just like the original Air's touch screen, ie bouncy and feeling a bit cheap.

    1. James 51

      Re: Non bonded screen

      cheaper and easier to replace though.

  7. trevorde Silver badge

    But she's got a new hat

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaOgZwk9rN8

  8. wolfetone Silver badge

    "Some of the proceeds from each will go towards (RED)'s HIV/AIDS testing, prevention and treatment programs."

    Sorry to be cynical but for a company that uses a slave labour camp in China to produce an over priced phone, they can do a bit more than just sharing "some" of the proceeds of those particular phones.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re Slave Labour Camp

      Can you provide us with recent evidence that this is actually happening?

      If you can then you should be awarded 'Gold' membership.

      I am sure ALL the Apple haters here would love to get their hands on real evidence that Apple are using such a device to build phones in 2017.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Re Slave Labour Camp

          Thanks for those. I hope we will still be critical of Foxconn when all those workers are sacked as they replace all (or almost all) of them with Robots which is their stated aim.

          And other evidence of the Suicide rate seems to show that it is lower for Foxconn workers than the population in general in China.

          IMHO that is hardly a slave labour camp when compared to say the Russian Gulags.

          1. wolfetone Silver badge

            Re: Re Slave Labour Camp

            "IMHO that is hardly a slave labour camp when compared to say the Russian Gulags."

            I don't care. I want my Gold membership. You promised.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Re Slave Labour Camp

              "I don't care. I want my Gold membership. You promised."

              It wasn't a promise, it was an aspiration and or an indication of a possibility, with no intention of delivery from those raising it. Also fairly sure it was 350 million Gold memberships / week.

        2. gnasher729 Silver badge

          Re: Re Slave Labour Camp

          You claimed "Slave labour camp". No evidence of that.

          It seems you just picked some websites who reproduce the same old stuff again. For example the child labour at Foxconn, which turned out to be a completely made up story by some journalist / performer.

          Foxconn has about 1.2 million workers. With the average US suicide rate that would be about 40 suicides every year. It seems that Foxconn workers are considerably more happy than the average American.

    2. robin thakur 1

      This is utter rot. It would take a truly foolhardy company indeed not to have acted on the previous damaging reports of worker injustice in the manufacturing plants, and Appl ehas many eyes watching its every move. Mistakes might occur in long supply lines which are highly cost sensitive, but how they are rectified also matters. Where they have acted, they should be applauded, not given continual grief by somebody who knows next to nothing about what is happening on the ground now.

      Show me the magical fairy lands and environments where Google, LG, and Samsung and the rest make their phones with generously remunerated workers working in a happy atmosphere and show me which fairtrade phone you use while we're at it.

      Apple is also right to give some of the proceeds of their red phones and other products to charity regardless of the tax status. Would you rather the charity simply gets nothing?

  9. Mage Silver badge
    Coat

    PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

    Um, maybe the IBM and Wang.

    But there were models styled better than any Mac, even before the Mac existed.

    Most people put ugly (or not) bumpers / covers on their iPhone or iPad. To me that indicates a design failure.

    1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

      Re: PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

      "Most people put ugly (or not) bumpers / covers on their iPhone or iPad. To me that indicates a design failure."

      You can call iPads and iPhones many things, but design failure is not one of them. People put bumpers and cases on their devices because they want to protect the design, not hide it.

      1. Mage Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

        Yes, people were just holding it wrong.

        Apple fans may hate this, but Apple concentrates too much on appearance and not the functionality of the design.

        A decent design doesn't need "protected" (except by copyright). Design is absolutely not just about radius of corner or colour. Those are mere details of the surface appearance.

        Cosmetic details != Design.

        Apple stuff is simply Braun / Rams minimalist philosophy carried to an extreme with physical robustness, internal functionality, repairability etc sacrificed. Considering the MASSIVE profit margin, average performance etc, Apple products are a triumph of marketing and cosmetic design over functionality and value.

      2. jelabarre59

        Re: PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

        You can call iPads and iPhones many things, but design failure is not one of them. People put bumpers and cases on their devices because they want to protect the design, not hide it.

        While the design of the hardware isn't that bad, Jony Ive and company need to be severely slapped for whatever it is Apple calls their "flat"-design UI.

      3. Alumoi Silver badge

        Re: PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

        People put bumpers and cases on their devices because they want to protect the design, not hide it.

        Protect the fragile product AND hide the design. There, much better :P

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: PCs were too ugly to use in polite company

      "Um, maybe the IBM and Wang."

      I think Wangs are still considered a bit ugly to use in polite company unless you are very friendly with someone indeed.

      (The noise from those daisy wheel printers, of course.)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Surely you mean 7 and 7 plus?

    Surely you mean 7 and 7 plus? Dont set people off on 7s rumours already :)

    GeeS11XaaR

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think you have missed the bigger story here, the fact that the iPad Mini now holds the key price point of $399 which the every other iteration of the larger iPad (1, 2, 3, 4, Air, Air 2) was priced at on release.

    What Apple are trying to tell you is that the iPad Mini has taken the crown from the original iPad as the current best seller, and will be promoting it as such from now on.

    With the new 'iPad', they have basically done what they did to the 'MacBook' (pre-touchbar version) which was a lower-spec laptop because it had a mobile chipset in it, and also dropped 'Air' from the name.

  12. caffeine addict

    Red and Pink and tired all over

    Hang on... isn't painting something CharityRed or GirlyPink the internationally recognised sign that something is old technology and is in desperate need of a gimmick to make clueless people buy it?

    It certainly used to be about 10 years ago.

    1. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: Red and Pink and tired all over

      "Painting something CharityRed" gives you a product where buyers automatically donate to a charity, and get a product that clearly shows that they donated to that charity. And the Product Red color is actually quite nice. It's would you buy to get noticed.

      So "desperate need of a gimmick to make clueless people buy it" is rather stupid, and insulting to the cause of the charity.

      1. caffeine addict

        Re: Red and Pink and tired all over

        Fair enough. But when did you last see a Product Red tie in with a new product? I've only ever seen it on older tech, and only ever heard people describe it as "yeah, but the charity gets some money from it" as if they are completely unable to give money to a charity themselves...

  13. JDX Gold badge

    32/128Gb only

    It seems an odd choice to drop 64... or why not drop 32 and have 64/128 only?

    I thoguht you could get 256Gb iPhone/iPad or is that only on the iPad Pro range? I'm out of date with iPads, still running an iPad2 and an iPad Retina (3) but a reduction in price is welcome and takes them out of the luxury range, which the iPad Pro now fills nicely.

    1. Sp0ck

      Re: 32/128Gb only

      Same here, they must either have a huge stock of 32Gb memory hanging around or they know that people who buy the 32Gb fill it up quite quickly and then need to upgrade because they can't put a flippin' memory stick in it!

      1. Hugh McIntyre

        Re: 32/128Gb only

        The iPhone 6s did the same - 32GB/128GB only, And the iPhone 7 only supports 32/128/256GB.

        I assume the reason is to push people to 128GB since if people decide 32GB is too small and want 64GB, they will be forced up to 128GB since there's no way to add memory later. If they offered a 64GB version with a price in the middle, fewer people would pay for 128GB.

        The 32GB version is definitely limited nowadays but Apple probably wants a lower spec for the entry-level model to keep the cost down, and the fact that 64GB is a better choice for many people will force them to 128GB :(

        1. jelabarre59

          Re: 32/128Gb only

          The 32GB version is definitely limited nowadays but Apple probably wants a lower spec for the entry-level model to keep the cost down, and the fact that 64GB is a better choice for many people will force them to 128GB :(

          Or they could simply decide the price is still way too high, especially for being locked into their walled garden, and won't buy any of them. I could buy an eminently-hackable Fire or Nook Tablet for fifty bucks, and have something the form-factor of an iPad mini without having to lick the poison apple.

  14. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    New Tablet

    My trusty Samsung Tab 8.9 died recently and I'm thinking of getting a replacement media player and browser for around the house because there are some things for which a tablet is the better form factor. But the thing is: I'm far less likely to pay a premium for a secondary device and it looks like I could pick up something suitable with an SD slot (useful to load up for going on holiday) for around € 200. So I'm unlikely to be tempted by the Apple.

    However, I think the price cut has less to do with market share than the exchange rate: the dollar is quite a bit stronger than it was a year ago and with recent rate rises are likely to keep it that way.

    1. Bob Camp

      Re: New Tablet

      My iPad 4th gen died after just three years (at least I got it for free). And unfortunately, my daughter is part of an iGroup that uses iMessage so I have to buy a new one. But we're otherwise an Android household because we aren't fools and want to keep our money.

      It's weird because a refurbished iPad Air with 16GB will be just $10 less than this brand new 32 GB iPad. I'm hoping Apple also drops the prices of their refurbs. Maybe the eBay prices will drop as well.

      1. jelabarre59

        Re: New Tablet

        unfortunately, my daughter is part of an iGroup that uses iMessage so I have to buy a new one

        Sorry, but if someone can't use a Linux/Android-compatible protocol, I can't be arsed to talk to them.

  15. Evil Auditor Silver badge

    Problem: net revenue's lower than wanted.

    Solution: red iPhone

    1. Philippe

      Product (Red) has been around for 10 years and available on every Apple product bar the iPhone. The iPhone is 10 years old. It makes sense to have it now.

      Not sure it's totally related to revenue. It's must have some kind of marketing impact too by launching at about the same time as the Samsung Galaxy S8. Keeps those headlines going until the next refresh around September time.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I did a double take at 128GB of memory in an iPad until I realised the mistake.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Storage, not memory

      Agreed! It might be slightly pedantic, but I do expect an esteemed technical publication such as The Register to correctly differentiate between the terms "storage" and "memory".

      (And don't start me about those people who refer to the ground outside as "the floor"...)

  17. Nifty Silver badge

    Are the release dates for UK? And will the prices be $1=£1 as I expect?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      No it's worse that that, the iPad Mini for $399 in US is £419 in UK ("Includes VAT of approx. £70")

      https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/17/apple_sings_another_itune_following_brexit_prices_rising_by_up_to_a_third/

  18. Marty McFly Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Evolution and not revolution

    The decline of Apple and the iThingy continues. A faster processor, lower price point, and fancy color are not a revolution. They are a simple evolution of the market place.

  19. John 104

    So... I can still go get a Galaxy Tab for around $200 and it does all the things an iPad would do except icloduy crap. Not seeing a compelling reason for a consumer to want one?

  20. Duffaboy
    Trollface

    Meanwhile in Blighty

    It will cost twice as much

  21. andy 103

    Missing the point

    I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Apple could charge 2 grand for a tablet, or even a phone, and still sell them.

    It's to do with the brand perception and the fact that for the average person using their technology, it does "just work". Nothing to do with how good the technology is, as such, or whether they're pushing any boundaries.

    That's why when you get people coming out saying oh well I could build you a Linux tablet and you'd have thousands of pounds left to spend on a charity of your choice, and there's no dodgy tax avoidance company attitude involved... nobody cares.

    Apple's best asset is the fact they know how to *sell* products - it's never been about whether they're groundbreaking! Selling and making money is what they do. This is called "a successful business" :D

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Missing the point

      "It's to do with the brand perception and the fact that for the average person using their technology, it does "just work""

      This may generally be the case and I'm not arguing against it. But there are two other cases which I've seen, both several times over:

      1. Someone buys an iPhone and can't work out how to use it to do more than make phone calls. But because everybody tells them iPhones are very easy to use, they assume they are stupid. Whereas if it was another maker, they would say "this thing is too hard to use." So they just make phone calls. When I've been setting people up with 2FA, several times they've said "What's that on my phone?" "A text message." "Does it do texts?"

      2.Someone buys an iPhone, it makes calls and they find out how to send texts and that's it. A relative may set them up with Facetime. They are not very curious and are quite happy. They don't know "how much phones should cost" so when told that a Moto G4 (say) would comfortably exceed everything they need at a fraction of the price, they express surprise. But they will still buy an iPhone next time because they know where the Apple shop is, and because Facetime will only work on Apple products.

      I'm not in any sense blaming Apple for this, they make a very capable product. The same goes for Office; I've just had to solve a badge production problem because the local expert decided to design security badges in Word. Few desktop users need many of the functions of Word and fewer still use them well (according to desktop support guys I've talked with, anyway.) But it isn't Microsoft's fault; it's managers, and people who assume that they need the most expensive of everything because they are special snowflakes, even when they never do more than type an A4 memo in 12 point Times New Roman, or whatever the current version happens to be.

  22. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    Trollface

    iPhone SE?

    I'll hold out for the iPhone SE/30.

  23. ChrisMcD

    Apple appear to be changing their pricing strategy

    I suspect that the poster who commented on "what the market will bear" is correct, but did not look at Apples broader strategy.

    Apple are arguably better at pricing than they are at technology. Now they have cleaned up on the top end of the market they are making sure that the entry level products tie users into the "Apple Ecosystem". With Apple getting a lot of profit growth from "services" tied to products, there is a subtle change to encourage early/young adopters to choose Apple products.

    Points to consider

    1) There is a strong suggestion the "new" iPad is a reaction to the success of Google's Chrome Books in the education market. Traditionally Apple dominated that market and used it to "educate" kids to start with Apple products and then stay with them as adults. Educational buyers are very price sensitive so this looks like a new version of the eMac.

    2) Apple watches now start much cheaper than their competitors. The likely result is that Apple will own this specialised market as competitors drop out.

    3) Apple's phone range also shows that they are looking at "entry level" products - with the belief that this is for new markets like India.

    I use Apple products a lot, but am very well aware that "caveat emptor" applies when choosing one of their products - which is why I am wondering what to buy to replace my iPhone4!

  24. Gene

    Works for me

    My loyal iPad2, bought the day it appeared, just crapped out. This is a perfect replacement. I'll be ordering one promptly.

  25. Darth Fader

    Is it April 1st

    Please tell me this article was a joke or in some way connected to Red Nose Day.

    The iMac put software in offices - it's true some who had no choice at that time did use MAC.

    Have we seen sensible growth since that time - NO!

    Yes MACs were ahead of the game in the early/mid 90s. However, like many similar companies they believed there own spin.

    My office does have a variety of Apple products which we use for testing - NOTE I said testing.

    Does anyone use Apple, they have a free choice, and the simple answer is JUST ONE. One of the team likes the iPad mini to play games on.

    1. Roopee Bronze badge

      Re: Is it April 1st

      MAC = Media Access Control, FYI, nothing to do with Apple (which if you're reading The Reg you really should already know, or at least recognise as a ubiquitous networking acronym).

  26. David 138

    I need a new 7 inch tablet and a sub £300 32gb mini would have been a good option. Its not worth that much money to watch the odd movie. Will stick with android, and hope for a new Nexus 7 before mine implodes.

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