If you are thinking of buying one of Apple’s new iPads forget it because they are nothing more than old machines that have been tarted up with a new processor and memory upgrade.
The housing is the same old iPad design that Apple delivered back in in 2015 and is indictive, of a Company that is struggling to deliver a cutting-edge product and instead relying on upgrades from third party manufacturers.
Steve Jobs the designer of the first iPad and the iPhone would be turning in his grave at the actions of Apple management today.
What has changed? Is that Apple has put a new processor inside, upgrading from the A8 to the A12 Bionic, which is the new chip powering the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR and then call a product new.
It has tweaked the storage options to 64GB or 256GB. It has replaced the 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera with a 7-megapixel camera.
Could you image what would happen if Acer, Lenovo, HP or Dell tried to sell you a PC that was 4 years old and the only upgrade was a new Intel processor, memory and a new camera.
If you want a seriously cutting-edge tablet take a look at the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab with its wafer thing chassis, OLED screen and fast processor.
For four years now Apple has been gouging consumers buying their iPads and iPhones and the faithfully are being sucked in simply on the strength of a brand name that was created in the Steve Jobs era and was built on dynamic new products and cutting-edge design.
The fact that Apple chose to release their latest iPads quietly, without the usual Apple rev up of their fan base speaks volumes, that this was a dead duck announcement.
Digital Trends said ‘At first glance, the new iPad Mini looks identical to the old one. At second glance, it still looks identical. That’s because it is identical. It has the same big bezels above and below the 7.9-inch screen; the same Touch ID home button; the same aluminium back in the same space grey, silver, or gold colours.
If you waited four years for this, you’d be forgiven for being a little underwhelmed. It’s the bare minimum. Apple hasn’t even changed the price – it will start from US$400 just like its predecessor. You have to feel sorry for any poor sap who bought an iPad Mini 4 recently.
They went on to claim that Apple is the only company that can get away with this kind of thing.
Personally, I think Apple has become one of the biggest rip off Companies in the tech space today. They want to gouge partners such as Spotify and Netflix, deliver minimal upgrades but still keep charging a premium price.
The fact that it’s already manufacturing tablets with these designs makes it inexpensive for Apple to tweak the guts and rake in more profits. It did the same thing with old iPhone 5 skeletons, pressing them into service as the iPhone SE with all new insides.
Digital Trends editorial staff said that ‘If you believe Apple’s hype about what good design is and the direction it’s working towards, then you have to frown as it dusts off old designs like this and calls them new. It’s impossible to get excited about these new iPads because they aren’t exciting, and Apple knows that.
