Author | Li Xianhuan
Editor | Dong Yuqing
On the evening of October 18, the official website of Apple updated the new iPad Pro and the tenth generation iPad. There was no press conference, nor did Cook promotion, and this year's new Apple iPad was launched "quietly".
Compared with the previous generation, the updates of the new iPad Pro and the tenth generation iPad seem a bit salty and uneven.
The upgrade of the new iPad Pro includes the M2 chip developed by Apple, which supports the new Apple Pencil hover experience; the tenth-generation iPad has a full-screen design, the screen is enlarged to 10.9 inches and a Type-C interface switched to.
. Seeing the price of this release, you may understand why Apple did not hold a separate press conference. This time, Apple has significantly raised the prices of two new iPads. The starting price of the new iPad Pro 11-inch is 6,799 yuan, which is 600 yuan more expensive than the previous generation, and the 12.9-inch is 800 yuan more expensive; the new tenth generation iPad has a starting price of 3,599 yuan, which is a full 1,000 yuan more expensive.
At the same time, the original iPad products have also ushered in price increases to varying degrees. This time, the limited upgrade makes the two new products seem to be in line with the update of the comprehensive price increase. The new iPad Pro did not bring any surprises compared to the previous expectations. The key upgrade of
is to use the M2 chip that Apple just released in June this year and has been used on many laptops. The official website introduces that the M2 chip uses 8-core central processor , which is up to 15% faster than M1, and is equipped with a 10-core graphics processor, up to 35% faster. In addition, the new iPad Pro supports the new Apple Pencil hover experience.
The new version of iPad Pro has not changed its appearance in terms of appearance. The appearance, camera, weight, etc. are the same as the previous generation. The screen is still in the 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions, and is available in silver and space gray, as well as 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacity configurations. The upgrade of
chip is indeed the core, but the performance of the two chips, M1 and M2, has been compared by the market on MacBook Air, and performance improvement is icing on the cake for most users.
In comparison, the price changes seem to be even greater. The starting price of 11-inch has increased by 600 yuan, starting from 6,799 yuan; the starting price of 12.9-inch has increased by 800 yuan, starting from 9,299 yuan. Among them, the price of the top-end iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2TB cellular version is as high as 19,799 yuan, which has exceeded the price of the top-end MacBook Air. Some Apple fans say that even as a productivity tool, iPad Pro is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
pic/Apple official website
According to the introduction, iPad Pro will be open for ordering on the official website from October 20 and will be officially released on October 26.
iPad Pro is called "changing cores and not changing shells", while iPad 10 seems to be more conscientious, so-called "changing shells and changing cores".
iPad 10 screen slightly increased from the current 9th generation 10.2 inches to 10.9 inches, with a resolution of 2360 x 640, 500 nits brightness, and supports original color display. In terms of shooting, the iPad 10 is equipped with a horizontal 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle front camera, and the rear camera has also been upgraded to 12-megapixel, supporting shooting 4K videos. In terms of
chip, it has been regularly upgraded to A14 chip, and has added support for 5G networks. The upgrade of
iPad 10 looks all-round, from the screen, interface to the camera and chip, but unfortunately, the iPad 10 is still a non-full-fitting screen, and the touch layer and the frame parts of the display are fixed, leaving a gap between the two layers.
Compared with the fully-fitting screen of iPad Air and Pro, using Apple Pencil to pass through the screen of the basic iPad makes people feel like it is separated by a layer of glass. Apple has not chosen to improve this annoying experience, and Apple has not upgraded the anti-reflective coating for iPad 10.
In addition to the screen and appearance, iPad 10 has abandoned the Lightning interface and turned to the Type-C interface. So far, all Apple iPad series have abandoned the Lightning interface and switched to the Type-C interface, supporting 20W fast charging, and only the old iPads insist on using the Lightning interface.
popularization of Type-C interface is a trend for all smart devices, but now iPad has changed its interface, which has exposed the embarrassing problem of inconsistent interfaces. The iPad only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, and the first-generation Apple Pencil has only one charging method: charge through the Lighting interface. The iPad 10 with Type-C interface cannot directly charge the Apple Pencil.
The solution given by Apple is to launch a Type-C to Lighting interface adapter, priced at 67 yuan. The degree to which this "patch" is worth complaining about is no longer a problem with "knife method". Even if the additional price is not considered, the Apple Pencil can only connect to the iPad through two cables. This picture does not even look like a smart device in 2022.
pic/Apple official website
But in this way, the increase in the new iPad is more exaggerated than iPad Pro. With the capacity still maintaining 64GB and 256GB, the starting price jumped directly to 1,100 yuan, and the starting price of 3,599 yuan.
This makes the previous generation of products look more "scented". In contrast, they are much cheaper.
Apple is very familiar with this operation. After the release of the MacBook Air M2 chip version, the old M1 version still retains the price difference between the two in the market can even exceed 2,000 yuan. The two new iPads are launched with a price increase, and Apple retains the previous generation of products, which can also be regarded as leaving consumers with a more cost-effective choice.
Apple's price increases, and it is difficult to see a miracle in the tablet market
Compared with small-scale upgrades, iPad's price increases are carried out without any difference.
According to Apple's official website information, all versions of iPad mini 6 that do not involve product upgrades have increased by 200 yuan, with a starting price from 3,799 yuan a few days ago to the current 3,999 yuan; iPad Air 5 has increased by 400 yuan, 500 yuan, 500 yuan, and 600 yuan depending on the version, with a starting price of 4,799 yuan; iPad 9 has increased by 100 yuan, with an official website price of 2,499 yuan, and is now sold for 2,599 yuan.
The first generation Apple Pencil has to be equipped with an additional USB-C to Lightning adapter, and the price has increased by 71 yuan. In addition, the price of AirTag, which is not related to iPad products, has also increased by 20 yuan.
Apple did not give too much explanation for this price increase. But from the market perspective, due to the rising cost of raw materials and labor, smart devices such as the Meta VR headset Quest 2 and Sony PS 5 have different price increases.
Exchange rate is also an influencing factor.
Apple announced at the end of September that it would raise the prices of software and software in-app purchase projects in Apple app stores in many countries and regions, involving 28 countries and regions around the world from Europe to Asia, including all countries that use the euro, as well as Sweden , Japan, South Korea, Chile , Egypt , Malaysia , etc. Market analysis believes that as the dollar strengthens, Apple needs to offset the impact of local currencies' weakness against the dollar through price increases. The exchange rate factor of
is also reflected in the iPad price increase this time. For example, the iPad 9, which raised the price by 100 yuan in mainland China, maintained the original price in the United States.
pic/Visual China
is generally price increase and upgrade is limited. The iPad and the global tablet market behind it will usher in a dull cycle.
As two of the most representative product lines under Apple, iPhone and iPad face completely opposite fates in the domestic market in the first half of 2022. According to Canalys data, in the first half of this year, against the backdrop of a historic decline in the domestic mobile phone market, the iPhone achieved a 25% growth, while the market share of the iPad business continued to decline. Among them, in the second quarter, iPad brought Apple revenue of US$7.224 billion, a slight year-on-year decline.
Canalys analyst Emma Xu said that this is the result of restrictions on supply and logistics, coupled with market competition. With the entry of domestic Android manufacturers and the continuous improvement of the Android tablet ecosystem, especially in the audio and video entertainment and online course learning scenarios, entry-level iPad is not the only choice.
In addition, the report of market research agency Strategy Analytics also pointed out that the demand for remote office, online classes and home entertainment that has exploded in the past two years has peaked. Data in the second quarter showed that global tablet shipments fell by 15%.
IDC predicts that global tablet shipments will decline by about 6.8% in 2022. Due to the slowdown in consumer demand, education demand has been basically met and is expected to shrink further in 2023.
