The new 2022 iPads went on sale this week, but most of our readers won’t be picking one up. Opinions in last week’s survey were against Apple’s new slates and with the same reasoning too: higher price, not enough upgrades to attract potential buyers.
In the case of the iPad Pro 11 (2022) and iPad Pro 12.9 (2022), a MacBook Air is seen as a better tool for getting some work done at any time. macOS has always been geared toward work and creativity, and it’s only gotten better over the years. Finally, is iPadOS ready to let you harness the full power of the Apple M2 chipset?
Well, the new iPadOS 16 brought major improvements to multitasking with Stage Manager, which works even better when you connect your tablet to an external monitor. However, this also works on the M1 iPads, including the latest iPad Air, which despite a recent price hike is still cheaper than the Pros. Considering the 256GB slates, the Air is now $750, the iPad Pro 11″ (2022) is $900. Plus, the 2021 Pros do just as well, unless you really need that scrolling feature with the Apple Pencil.
Pricing is also a big issue for the iPad (2022): it now starts at $450, while the 2021 model is still available for $330. Yes, the new one is better with USB-C and a 5G option (compared to Lightning and 4G), but most don’t see it as $120 better. Therefore, last year’s tablet is considered the best option for those who want a cheap iPad.
And judging by the amount of downvotes (about 2/3), most people don’t want a cheap iPad. Or in some cases they don’t want one new Cheap iPad: Many in the comments said they have an old iPad that still does everything they need and see no incentive to upgrade.
We have no doubt that Apple will continue to sell millions and millions of iPads. But it looks like the 2022 iterations will be part of the pack rather than the leaders.