Apple WWDC 2022 announcements

[OtinG]

Apple iPads decreased is sales by 14%. None of the other devices showed a decrease. Personally, I think people are getting tired of waiting for iPadOS to catch up with the iPad hardware capabilities. I have lost patience myself. I doubt I ever buy another higher end iPad unless they get iPadOS to be more useful. They are not worth the money they cost when Apple gives them such a useless OS. Might as well buy the cheap ones and just use them for browsing the internet from the couch.

The mini is great for reading though. So i'll likely get a replacement for my iPad mini 5 in a few years.

[ilovejedd]

iPad sales were unusually high for 2020 and 2021 though due to work/study from home. It’s just gone back to normal levels now. Macs are still in the middle of the Apple chipset transition so I expect that’ll boost sales for a while.

And really, more than 50% of iPad sales are from the regular iPad. The iPad Pros represent a small fraction of the iPad market.

Personally, I’m okay with iPad Pro models fully cognizant of the fact that “Pro” just means more expensive. I use iPads for 8+ hours each day so I don’t mind paying extra for creature comforts (FaceID, higher storage capacity, cellular). If I consider $/hr cost, the iPads cost me so much less per hour than traditional computers since I tend to use them way more and iPad lifespan is more or less around the same as laptops now.

I don’t buy iPads to use them as Macs anyway. I got the iPad because I wanted a tablet and for that function, I find them better than other Android and Windows tablets/2-in-1s I’ve tried.

[OtinG]

I respectfully disagree. I think it is strange how people want to base their thoughts on Pro model iPads on the manner in which a word like "Pro" should be interpreted. That is an argument with semantics, not the facts. The facts are that iPad Pro models are quite capable of doing a heck of lot more than they currently can due to the restriction of a very lackluster iPadOS. They cost like premium, high powered devices too. But they are not capable of really doing much because Apple refuses to give them an iPadOS that can do much. So you get best in class hardware coupled with worst in class OS. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the weakest link with iPads is iPadOS. The interface is also a mess and very poorly written.

The fact that iPad Pro models don't sell well should be a sign to Apple. Why would the average person spend enough money to buy a MacBook Air M1 on a Pro when it won't do much more than the cheaper iPads? Get the ports fully supported to industry standards and rewrite that garbage called iPadOS and the Pros will likely sell a lot better.

[ilovejedd]

Consider other Apple devices with Pro in their names:

iPhone Pro
AirPods Pro

I think my cousin just spent $1500 on his iPhone Pro but there’s no way that will be replacing his MBP for work. They aren’t really pro devices and are primarily just more expensive. Only the Macs have Pro lines that are actually geared towards heavy duty professional use.

In your ideal world, iPad Pros would be more similar (software-wise) to Macs. In reality though, the iPad Pros are still just iPads—just higher end, more expensive ones. Heck, even the iPad Air 5 currently has the same guts and offers the same level of productivity (AP2 & Magic Keyboard compatibility) as the iPad Pro 11”.

Regardless of Apple marketing, I don’t think Apple really wants people to buy iPad Pros instead of Macs. They want customers to buy iPads (whether Pro or not) in addition to Macs (hence Continuity, Sidecar, Universal Control, etc).

As for the interface being a mess, for pure tablet use, I find iOS/iPadOS is still better than Windows.

Besides, even if iPad Pros don’t sell as much as lower end iPads, Apple probably has much higher profit margins on these. I reckon this (and iPhones) is probably what helps pay for R&D and tooling that eventually trickles down to lower end models.