From the mini to the Pro, here’s how Apple can fix everything wrong with the iPad.
After a long and fruitless year, there is finally some hope for fans of the iPad. Following a false alarm in October, it now seems almost certain that Apple will kick off 2024 with some new iPads after, for the first time since the device debuted in 2010, finishing a calendar year with no launches or upgrades whatsoever.
The iPad’s inconsistency isn’t all that surprising. Arriving three years after the iPhone, many pundits believed it could go on to be even more successful than its predecessor, thanks to its larger screen and greater capabilities as a work machine. Following the tech logic that multiple specialist devices are always eventually replaced by versatile all-rounders, it was thought that consumers would stop carrying around a separate smartphone and laptop and just use a tablet. Despite an initial boom in sales, the iPad revolution never quite happened, and Apple’s tablet remains a relatively minor component of its annual revenue.
But that doesn’t mean Apple has given up on the iPad. The latest rumors say 2024 will be a big year for the Cupertino tablet, with new models, new features, and every line getting some kind of an update. Fourteen years after its debut, Apple has a rare opportunity to reboot the iPad and inject some real excitement into the tablet again. Provided, that is, Apple does exactly what I say.Step 1: Simplify the range
The key here is simplicity because the iPad range at the moment is far too confusing. There are four separate lines available in Apple’s store, with one of these further subdivided by size and another available in two different generations. They all get updated on different (irregular) cycles and at different times, which means you never know when a model is going to be replaced, and the best choice for the average user (as I explain in this iPad Air review) is constantly changing. Apple has even committed the branding sin of calling one of its iPads simply “iPad,” so you don’t know whether someone is talking about the range as a whole or specifically its cheapest model.
The iPad Air should follow the MacBook Air and become the entry-level tablet.
I write about iPads all the time and even I find the range baffling. How the average consumer is supposed to know which is which, and how to choose the right model for their needs, is beyond me.
