On the evening of May 7, Apple’s special event called “Let’s Fly” officially ended, and Apple released the new iPad Pro and iPad Air.
However, compared to previous all-night live broadcasts, Apple has specifically changed the time this time, specifically changing it to 10 pm Beijing time (7 am Pacific time in the United States). This seems to be to take care of domestic consumers.
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However, Apple’s move does not seem to have caused too many waves. Most of the tech circles who rely on Apple to “eat” are partying – it’s so great!
Is the thinnest iPad in history too great? Price reduction + price increase, is it worthy?
The new iPad released on the evening of the 7th was called a “great” work by some domestic up owners who attended the event. The main reason is that the M4 chip is based on the second-generation 3nm process, giving it the ability to adapt to future Apple AI possibility.
In addition, the thickness of the new iPad Pro 11-inch is 5.3mm, and the thickness of the 13-inch is 5.1mm, which is even thinner than the iPod nano, making it the thinnest Apple product ever.
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But have you discovered that iPad configurations have also been reduced?
The camera of the new iPad Pro has been significantly downgraded, from the original dual rear camera (12MP wide-angle main camera + 10MP ultra-wide-angle) toRear single camera(12MP wide-angle main camera).
Not only that, the 2024 iPad Pro microphone has also been shrunk, and the 2022 model has 5 microphones.shrink4 microphones to the 2024 model.
In addition, the new iPadNone supported The second-generation Apple Pencil released in 2018, the page shows that it only supports Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C). If you buy a new pen, it will make you money again, Cook smiled.
However, on the bright side, although the hardware of the new iPad has been downgraded, the price has been upgraded!
Looking back at the new iPad Pro in the past few years, it is not difficult to see that its price has skyrocketed:
iPad Pro 2016 (9.7-inch, A9X) starting at ?4388
iPad Pro 2017 (10.5-inch, A10X) starting at ?5188
iPad Pro 2018 (11-inch, A12X) starting from ?6499
iPad Pro 2024 (11-inch, M4)? Starting at 8,999
The author has done the math for you. The latest iPad Pro is already twice the price of the 16-year-old iPad Pro, and even the iPad Air11 is priced at 4,799.
And do you really think the M4 you bought is a full-health version? If you pay a little attention, you will find that the new iPad Pro 256/512 version is obviously equipped with the residual blood M4. Ah, this is really hard to resist…
To put it simply, price increase + new chips + partial allocation reduction, you don’t think it will sell out, right?
The country doesn’t buy it anymore?Revenue fell 4%, performance in Greater China plummeted
Facts have also proved that Apple is not as popular in China as before. Take Hot Search as an example. Whenever Apple had a press conference in the past few years, Hot Search started to speculate a week in advance. After the press conference, it would continue to speculate for a week. And just one day after this press conference, there were no more two hot searches about Apple on Weibo.
Next, from a data perspective, let's look at other institutions and Apple's own revenue reports to see if Apple is as popular as before.
A report released by Canalys shows that Apple's sales in the Chinese smartphone market in the first quarter of 2024 plummeted 25% year-on-year, ranking fifth after Huawei, OPPO, Honor, and vivo.
On the iPad, Apple does not seem to have a big advantage: according to Canalys’ global tablet market shipments report for the first quarter of 2024, although Apple’s iPad series still ranks first with a share of 35.6%, it will The growth rate was negative 13.9%, a sharp decline.
The annual growth rate of Huawei tablets has reached 70.2%, and its market share has climbed to third place in the world, posing a great threat to the iPad.
Apple's latest quarterly financial report shows that in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 as of March 30, the company's operating income was US$90.75 billion, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 4.3%, of which Greater China revenue was US$16.372 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8%. Net income was US$23.64 billion, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 2.2%.
For the iPad product line alone, Apple has not released a new iPad since 2022, so the division's revenue fell 17% to $5.6 billion.
The iPhone, Apple's top brand, isn't much better: Apple said iPhone revenue fell nearly 10% to $45.96 billion, indicating weak demand for the current generation of iPhones released in September.
However, Cook has previously said that iPhone sales in China increased this quarter.
However, the market does not necessarily think that Apple will get better. In terms of the stock market, Warren Buffett is reducing his holdings in Apple!
Previously, Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, released its 2023 fiscal year annual report and Buffett's annual shareholder letter. The relevant information showed that in the fourth quarter of last year, Buffett reduced its holdings in Apple, its largest holding.
Calculated based on the average stock price during the period, the market value of the reduction was approximately US$1.822 billion, bringing Berkshire's shareholding in Apple to 5.9%.
Some foreign analysts said that Buffett's reduction in holdings represents concerns about Apple's future development.
Not only that, Apple itself is also buying back its own stock like crazy. Some time ago, Apple announced,Its board of directors has approved $110 billion in stock buybacksa 22% increase from last year’s $90 billion authorization, which will be the largest buyback in Apple’s history.
Apple's move is a strategy to make up for stagnant sales and help Apple promote its career in the field of AI.
What do you think of the new iPad in front of the screen? Do you think it can save Apple today? Will Cook once again become Apple's worst leader? There are limits to a company's innovation. Will Cook put Apple out of business? Tell us in the comment section.
