The celebration has not yet settled on the Apple (AAPL, Financial) floor from the blockbuster hit duo of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and yet another launch has been lined up from the Apple bandwagon. The festive season for Apple geeks is going to be more colorful and joyous. At least that is the message being conveyed across the streets from the very look of Apple’s rapid line of product launches.
First the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which had already set the smartphone market on fire gave its closest competitors, Samsung (SSNLF, Financial), a run for their money. We brought you the reactions when the new iPhones hit the shelves in our article titled: ‘IPhone 6 Unsettles The City Roads.’Â With the upcoming release, Apple is trying to repeat the same magic. This time it’s not a smartphone, but the iconic iPad. Let us take a look at what to expect.
The iPads Until Now
Research firm Fiksu has found that the three-year-old iPad 2 is still the most widely used iPad as of April 2014. You won’t have much digging to do to find out why. Apple’s subsequent iPad models, iPad 4 and the iPad mini, were not drastically different from the iPad 2. While the iPad 4 had a sharper Retina display screen, the iPad mini was essentially a dinkier iPad 2.
Last year’s iPad Air showed more promise during the first week after its launch. The upgrade was again minimal, with the only changes being a lighter, slimmer body and a faster processor. Features such as the battery life, operating system, camera and the display quality were more or less identical to earlier models. Sales soon slipped and the adoption of the iPad Air rate as of April 2014 sat at 14.8% – fourth in place after the iPad 2, iPad mini and the iPad 4.
Another area where the tablet falters, which is not just for the iPad but for all tablets, is that they have limited uses. They are great for on-the-go entertainment like reading, watching movies and browsing, but the limited screen size means they are not ideal for getting work done. Also, these tasks can be easily substituted with the more ubiquitous smartphone that has a display sizes close to the tablet. Even Apple has prepped the size of the iPhone with 4.7 and 5.5-inch screen sizes in its latest iPhone 6 models. Hence, the tablets are fast losing its edge in the market.
Compared with iPhones, iPads come with fewer improvements in their upgraded versions and cost more without any carrier subsidies. In many countries, iPhone users upgrade to newer models when their contract comes to an end and quite a number of times they even renew contract midway just to get the new iPhone and are even willing to cough up a few hundred dollars for the latest iPhone. But sadly this is not the case with the iPads. Apple also admits that new iPad buyers are generally first-time users, who hold on to them longer than their smartphones.
To add to it, there are countless cheaper, Android-based tablets in the market that are usually fit for the work that can be done on an iPad. Considering the limited uses and consequently longer shelf life, it makes little sense for tablet users to opt for a new and expensive iPad — unless of course, they come up with options good enough to lure the crowd to the new Apple. We discussed with a few Apple fans and analysts, and let us take you through the expectations that the new slice of Apple would have to meet in order to match its latest siblings - the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
High Expectations from the Upcoming iPad
Let us take you through the popular expectations that the new iPad has to live up to in order to earn its glory:
- There is a new, larger 12.9-inch iPad in the pipeline, but is that what the street is looking for? The screen is big enough as it is but what is required is to optimize the usage of the full screen. Something that will allow both work and fun at the same time, like the split screen feature that we find in the Samsung Note series. How about watching a movie and making a presentation simultaneously in the same screen space? Apple needs to brush up this part in its new iPad and make it versatile in terms of multitasking. iOS is fine for a smartphone but the larger screen space of the tablet has to be used in a smarter way in true sense.
- The iPad is portable. If you are travelling and carry just an iPad, it’s perfect for all your browsing and mailing needs. But if the work is such that you need to do some image editing or serious excel sheet application, then suddenly you are left searching for your good old laptop. This is an area that the iPad needs to address. Probably Apple needs to take a cue from the Blackberry (BBRY, Financial) Passport’s keyboard or the Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) Lumia 2520 which comes with a light touch keyboard packed in its cover flap. If not, then at least a good track pad support or a mouse might make the deal possible for the new iPad.
- Its lighter, it’s faster and the battery life continues to improve — but surely Apple can also add a better camera too as the perfect icing on the cake. The front-facing camera leaves a lot to be desired and pales in comparison to the iPhone. Apple probably thought that not too many would use it to video chat and that is what flares up the weakness of the iPad. In this era of social networking where posting a perfect selfie has taken the front seat, the front camera is one of the utmost requirements for a mobile communication device. The street has tanked up its expectation on the camera enhancement feature of the upcoming iPad just when the iPhone 6 series have become a hit with selfie lovers.
- You can watch Youtube videos on the iPad and even stream them. But if you receive an email with a video or if there is a particular movie you want to watch, then transferring it to the iPad is a hassel. If Apple could, they need to free the iPad of the mobile based operating system and make it more capable in line with a Macbook perhaps and allow more control and flexibility to the user.
Bottomline
Apple is expected to unveil its latest range of iPads on October 16. Will the new iPads receive a similar welcome as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus? It seems quite unlikely unless the new iPad comes with all or at least a few of the above expected features.
A tablet is undoubtedly heavier to carry than a smart phone, but lighter in comparison to a laptop, hence the mindset is that a tablet would be a somewhat hybrid of a smartphone and a laptop and will allow more versatility of application. Unfortunately, any tablet including the iPad has fallen severely short of such expectations of users, though the iPad even more so, due to a high price tag.
If Apple can somehow incorporate the changes, which is not an uphill task for a company like Apple, then perhaps I will be tempted to dump my old iPad and buy their latest offering. So let us keep our eyes set on the launch of the new iPad.
