12.9-inch iPad Pro powered by M1, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB, with keyboard: $1498.
13-inch MacBook Air powered by M1, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB, with keyboard: $999.

Are we being pranked? Apple’s products seem optimized for profit much more than when the original iPad was introduced for $499.

@manton better screen technology no? Maybe not $500 better.

@manton An XDR stand-alone display is $6000. I’d say putting that tech into the iPad is easily worth a couple hundred bucks.

@manton If, as many expect, the M1 iPad takes on the ability to use at least some Mac software, I can see why the iPad costs so much. It's every bit as capable as the MBA, and then some, with a better display and touch screen.

@manton Not only does it have the much better screen remember that that screen is a touch screen. Also, a much better front camera and a back camera as well. I'd think those would all contribute to the added cost.

@manton Also worth remembering, in terms of the original that you mention, the current base iPad sells for $329... a fantastic device for quite a bit less than the original at $499. It would seem to me that what they've done is maintain that base affordability (even less now) and added features and increased capability on top of that for those that want it. Choice is good!

@gpittman I don't think we're going to see Mac software on the iPad. I also think folks hoping iPadOS 15 will be dramatically more advanced than 14.5 are going to be disappointed... But we'll find out soon!

@joec @terrygrier Yeah, the screen is definitely better, but it still strikes me as odd that so much work is being put into the high-end of the iPad line.

@manton If they had stuck with the A series chips, I would agree with you. But they didn’t. And that really can only mean one thing. I may end up being one of the disappointed ones, but I can’t thing of a single other reason they would have made that move.

@Denny That's true. Maybe a better question is why the Mac doesn't have a better camera.

@gpittman I think it's all branding. "This is as powerful as a Mac.” I hope Apple keeps making it easier to have cross-platform iOS/macOS apps, but I don't think porting from Mac to iOS is in the cards.

@manton That's just it. They don't have to do any porting. It's already been done. The iPad has always been overpowered for the work it does. Why widen that gap even fruther unless you plan to close with software capabilities?

@manton I know. I was nodding my head a bit during your podcast this week. But my one question was, if they had just renamed the chip A14X and put THAT into the iPad, would that have struck us all the same way?

In many ways, the name M1 is just marketing. And being able to say one chip can power such a range of devices is a good story. I think it's that simple.

Also, economies of scale.

I still believe strongly that Pro iPad is a very different audience than Pro Mac users. Everyone expects them to merge, but I think they are serving their two markets well, and maybe shouldn’t be compared so much. Though it's hard for us old-schoolers to resist.

@manton I have been a Mac user since 2006. I've been an ipad onlg user for 1.5 years (MacBook died on me, it was during the terrible keyboard era, then they announced silicon is coming), so been waiting while using Ipad exclusively. Easily the most capable computer I have ever owned, except for coding anything. For me I couldnt do my work without the iPad. I have managed without the mac...

@manton If it helps, the iPad starts at $329 for something comparable to that original $499 one (obviously scaled up to 2021 specs 😛). They've definitely gone up market with the Pro line, that's for sure.

@mattbirchler It does help! I love that the basic iPad is more affordable than ever.

@manton If you want sticker shock, look at the price jump from 512 GB to 1 TB (and 16 GB RAM)! There's definitely weird comparisons to be made at the base Macs and the high-end iPads. The non-CPU hardward is clearly better on the the iPad, and there are things that can'be be done on a Mac. And there's a bunch of stuff you can do with that intro Macbook Air that the iPad can't accomplish, including some basic tasks for many. Apple makes giving device recommendations for less tech-savvy friends and family more complicated every year...For that matter, it's more complicated for all of us!

@manton Tech product pricing isn’t about what something costs to build. If it were my business I would be pricing to recover R&D investment and I’m certain both hardware and software R&D costs for iPads is much higher than laptops. And it is the Pro versions that keep pushing the boundary of capability forward (later trickling down to the non-Pro versions). Whenever iPads hit the wall on innovation the Pro price premium will be eroded due to consumer value judgements (just like consumers judged the original Homepod to be over priced).

@manton It may not be called an iPad but we are eventually going to see macOS on a touch enabled device in some way. So many UX decisions in Big Sur have to be for touch.

@ronguest I still find the pricing strange, but that's a good point about the trickle-down. I may just be bitter that Apple hasn't updated the iPad Mini in a while. 🙂

@joec Maybe the M in M1 is for "marketing”. I think you're right about the different audiences, but the hardware is so similar now that I keep falling for the trap of comparing that instead of use case.

@manton M1 is a series of systems on chips , whereas the Ax was more like three chips in a system

Yes marketing… also design… M1 is def a different call for what Apple sees of themselves as an integrated hardware designer

@manton I do think that current MBA and MBP entry levels are transitory things... and are going to be updated and make for a better pricing comparison.

@manton I need to change my email address, how do I go about doing that?

@manton More thoughts on this…

Because, as you mentioned in your original post the iPad started as a non-pro device, an easy to use tablet for everyone, the tech community, 10 years later still views it from that base level. It’s been debated for years as to whether it should even be called a computer…

Add to that its original OS was a simple OS from the iPhone, meant to be easy to use and not complicated…

We have a sort of decade old bias that this device, now a full on, incredibly powerful computer, should be cheaper.

Put another way…

If the iPad did not exist but Apple, on April 20, 2021 announced the iPad Pro as an entirely new computing device at this price, I doubt anyone would question the value of it they way they do with that 10 year history and it’s growing pains into a more powerful device.

Add to this that much of the debate continues to be that the OS is still too simple and available “pro” apps are missing and it only adds to the idea that this computer should somehow be valued less.

One last note… 4 years ago I sold my MacBook Pro when I realized I was mostly using my iPad Air 2 for portable computing. At this point I make my living as a freelance web and graphic designer with the iPad Pro… 90% of my work is done on the iPad. As soon as Serif begins selling Affinity Publisher for iPad (likely sometime in 2021) my MacMini will only be used as a file server/iTunes media server. I’ll be earning my living 100% from an iPad and of course there are others doing the same.

Of course iPadOS needs to get better and it will. It has been steadily for a decade. As the Files app improves, proper 2nd display support is added, and more fully featured apps trickle in these last bumps will be flattened out. We’re very close. And with this new hardware I don’t think we’ll be seeing the debate continue much longer.

@Denny I agree with you on the way we view the iPad as 90% of the issue. I've made three attempts to switch to the iPad as my only computer (two full on, one half hearted) and I've yet to succeed, however, it is in my hands for almost, almost, everything. It was roughly a year ago that I realized the issue was me. I was trying to use my iPad the way I used my MacBook, and I was looking for tools and apps that worked as I did on the laptop. When I had that epiphany, I almost Immediately found myself going exactly the opposite, where I began looking for tools and apps on my MacBook that worked the way the ones on my iPad did. I may be in a position to no longer require my mbp here very soon, and I'm going to give it a good try with a new iPad Pro.