Revolutions in technology don’t come every year. And that’s a major problem that Apple has brought on itself, leading to unrealistic expectations from consumers and the press. There was the iPod in 2001, iPhone in 2007 and iPad in 2010. Each device has reshaped our society and culture in every imaginable way. It’s also leads to “meh” reactions when Apple releases new products that are great, but not revolutionary. That happened this week when iPad Air was announced.
As the tablet market heats up, with particular pressure from Android and the Kindle Fire HDX, Apple has been put on the defensive to innovate, at least that’s how it’s portrayed in the media. Last year they announced the iPad Mini, which has been a big success due to its lower price point and smaller size, but this was far from revolutionary. The Mini set forth a pattern that Apple has been pretty consistent with: iterative updates each year. The iPad Mini with Retina display was also announced this week, a key feature that was missing from last year’s model. Revolutionary? Absolutely not, but a necessary move for the company, especially as competition releases higher resolution displays.
The Mini’s design influenced the new iPad Air, and will likely also influence future iPhone designs. Outside of being thinner, lighter and faster, not much has happened to iPad since it originally launched. And that’s okay because habits take time to adjust and the future of these devices will lie more in software and services. A great design makes you forget you’re even using a device, and iPad Air brings that closer to reality.
Apple continues to lose market share in the tablet market to cheap Android tablets. Their focus has always been on creating the best user experience, which they’ve achieved with iOS 7. From a device perspective, there really is no direct competition to iPad in terms of total devices sold. Apple announced they’ve sold 170 million iPads since it launched in 2010 and that number is going to climb. Consumers have been clamoring for a redesigned device and a lower price point, which was made by lowering the iPad Mini’s price to $299.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYNP40vfmE
For me, the major disappointment is the missing Touch ID. My guess is that supplies are so constrained for iPhone 5s that they couldn’t incorporate it. This is a must, though, especially when it comes to the enterprise environment. I suspect it’ll be included in the next iterative update. Outside of that, there continues to be no better tablet on the market, especially when you include the massive App Store ecosystem that’s available.
