Death of 9.7: The death of iPad in the vision of Steve Jobs

Always, iPhones have always been the focus of the second half of Apple's fiscal year. If the iPad comes with it, it is just a "product". The iPad 2019 model is the same: on the sidelines of the controversial iPhone 11s, the iPad appears completely blurred with the A10 chip and only one new feature is . the ability to support SmartKeyboard.

But the same iPad may have marked a major turning point for Apple: for the first time in the history of the iPad category, there's no longer a 9.7-inch version. As the final product line - the last revolution of Steve Jobs, iPad has been attached to the 9.7 inch size for nearly 10 years. With the exception of the iPad Mini, all other iPads are derived from the number 9.7 (iPad Air 2013 and 2014 iPad Pro use this size).

The death of the size chosen by Steve Jobs was accompanied by the death of the strategy he had consistently pursued: The iPad is no longer a priority product for the premium segment . Although the new iPad screen is only 0.5 inches wider than traditional, at least this change has made the difference between the regular iPad (10.2 inches) and the iPad Air (10.5 inches) even harder to receive. know more. Put into practice, this year's "regular" iPad is supporting both Pencil pen and SmartKeyboard keyboard - ie, drawing and editing experience is not too inferior to iPad Pro.

This similarity will push users away from the more expensive iPad Air or iPad Pro. The "regular" iPad is actually inferior to display quality, configuration, performance . But Apple's tablet sales have stopped declining since the iPad was lowered to the iPad price bracket. For them, the most important thing is only iOS (now iPadOS) and the Apple mark on the back.

New trump card

The new iPad launch schedule is also worth mentioning. In both 2017 and 2018, regular iPads were launched by Apple in March; September calendar is for the expensive iPad Pro only. This year, two expensive iPad models, the iPad Mini ($ 400) and iPad Air ($ 500), were reversed to launch earlier this year, while the "regular" iPad was released with the iPhone.

iPhone launch in September is to welcome the year-end shopping season. Apple's move to the regular iPad at the end of the year has a similar meaning: not the iPad Air, the iPad Mini or even the Pro, the "regular" iPad is the most important iPad line. From now on, the new $ 330 tablet is Apple's main weapon in the year-end shopping season. For Apple, the most important group of users is now the group that can only afford the cost of a tablet, not the ones who can always buy an iPad with a chip that is equally strong. Xeon back of the Internet.

The era of 9.7 has ended. Steve Jobs' vision of the group of iPad buyers has also ended. Will later, when the iPhone is as saturated as the iPad, will Tim Cook bring Apple-branded smartphones to the "reasonable" territory like the iPad now?

Let's see.