Apple have just announced the new ‘base’ iPad, certainly the bigger single update that the iPad has seen and move that says goodbye to the older looking form factor, but can it be considered the base iPad any longer?
It depends on your definition of the word base. Do you judge the ‘baseness’ by price or by feature set?
If you judge it by price then the 10th generation iteration is no longer the cheapest iPad, as Apple are still selling the 9th Generation at a cheaper price (although this price did increase from £329 to £369 in the UK). £499 as a price does not say base, that’s encroaching onto low premium territory. Apple’s only base price products are the Apple Watch SE and the Mac Mini.
For me, once the new model is out, then the older model, which, yes is still available, shouldn’t be considered part of the line up.
My true iPad lineup:
iPad (10th Generation)
iPad Mini (6th Generation)
iPad Air (M1, 5th Generation)
iPad Pro (M2, 6th Generation)
If you look at feature set, then yes, the iPad (based on the list above) is the gateway into the Apple tablet market, it has the most inferior chip (in the A14 bionic) and uses the outdated 1st Generation Apple Pencil and this makes, together with the price makes it the base, but as Apple are still selling the 9th Gen iPad, surely this is still the base?
The iPad Mini is smaller but argueably better than the iPad, with it’s size being the only disadvantage to it, if a larger screen size is a your preferred feature. If the iPad Mini was the same size as the iPad it would be considered as an iPad Air lite, although, I can see future where Apple put a M chip in the iPad Mini, further widening the gap between the Pro, Air, Mini and the A chip iPad. Do you think the iPad will ever recieve an M chip in the future too? It’s already been futureproofed with the addition of the USB-C connector.
What does the future hold for the iPad? Do you think a four (different) iPad lineup is too much? Let me know in the comments.