Apple Has Missed A Beat With 2022 iPad Line, Expert Says — What Cupertino Can Do To Turn It From Confusing To Sensible

The 2022 iPad Pro is the smallest update in that model’s seven-year history, in contrast with new tablets from Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Samsung and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL GOOG Google, which have made recent strides in the category, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his weekly “Power-On” newsletter.

What Happened: The new models got 15% faster processors but didn’t get the typical camera upgrades, Gurman said. Features such as Magsafe charging and a new design with glass on the back, which the Apple expert had hoped for, didn’t make it to the new iPad Pro. For those owning a 2018 iPad Pro or something older, it would be a fair purchase but those owning newer iPads are left with little reason to step up, he added.

Two features that were part of the new low-end iPad — a revamp to the Magic Keyboard accessory and the relocation of the front-facing camera to the landscape edge, were missing from the new iPad Pro, Gurman said. While those are minor improvements, in the long run, their omission is puzzling, he added.

Gurman expects the new base iPad model to be “quite popular,” given its new design, colors and price. This variant, armed with an A14 chip and a 10.9-inch screen size, has a starting price of $450, he noted. This would be Apple’s competing product to Microsoft Surface Go 3, he added.

Apple made some confounding decisions with the base iPad model too, Gurman said. The new iPad doesn't support the second-gen Apple Pencil from 2018 but will work only with the original stylus launched seven years ago, he said. Since the new iPad moved from Lightning to USB-C, users can’t charge the original Apple Pencil with their iPad without an included adapter, he added.

Munster also said the $249 Magic Keyboard Folio suggests the iPad plus Magic Keyboard will cost around $700, making it a non-starter among students.

See Also: Why Big Tech Earnings, October CPI Print Could Be Near-Term Market Drivers: Gene Munster On These 2 Catalysts

Gurman’s Recommendations: Gurman suggests the following for Apple with the iPad lineup:

• Entry-level iPad SE, priced at $329 and geared toward education users.
• iPad and iPad mini, both mid-tier products, can be made by merging the features and specifications of three iPads, namely the new entry-level model, the Air and the current mini.
• High-end iPad Pro, which would be the current iPad Pro but ideally with significant improvements.

Apple should then streamline its keyboard-attachment strategy so that every iPad, except the iPad mini, would get the same Magic Keyboard, Gurman said.

“If Apple wants to turn the iPad family from something confusing to sensible, simplifying the line would be a great start,” the columnist said. The company should subsequently bring full macOS-like multitasking to the iPad and do away with the failed Stage Manager solution.

If Apple can make a Microsoft Surface-like machine running macOS within the Apple ecosystem, it could lose sales from consumers who would buy both a Mac and an iPad, Gurman said. The company can make it up in the long term because of how popular such a product would be, he added.

Price Action: Apple ended Friday’s session at $147.27, up 2.71%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Best Technology Stocks Right Now