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23/10/2012

Apple event: the good and the why?

Let's start with a recap of today's announcements.

The MacBook Pro 13" is getting the retina treatment while the iMac and the Mac Mini are getting an update.The new iMac with thin bezel display looks amazing and the new MacBook was a must after the Retina 15" version.

The iPad Mini was announced with specs similar to what was in te rumors in the last days: no Retina display, 329$ starting price with 16GB and WiFi.

In my opinion both the lack of Retina and the price are quite disappointing. I should add that the thin bezel on the sides is, still in my opinion, a bad choice: that's exactly the place I usually hold the tablet! But I should try it to give a fair judgement. Anyway, as I concluded before, they will sell tons of iPad Mini despite all of that. Apple magic!

Now that we're done with the good and the so-and-so let's get to the real "why did you do that?" point: the fourth generation iPad..

I'll start by naming this the iPad 3S. Yes, I know that the last iPad lost its number and so on, but this is still the iPad 3S. Take an iPad 3, change some gear under the hood and the charging port and you've got the iPad 3S.

The main thing I don't understand is why bothering with such a refresh. The last iPad was released 6 month ago and Apple usually keeps its year cycles with constant precision. That has been a good practice as it gave the consumer some clue on when he should buy or wait for the next generation and enough time to the buyers to not feel "I just bought it and it's already obsolete!". That is one of the recurring points used in Android vs. iOS debates too..

The only sensible answer is probably that Apple is finally sensing the pressure in the tablet space that they dominated easily till now. Microsoft with its massive user base is coming with Windows 8 and a set of desktop features not supported by current tabs and in Cupertino someone is not so confident they can withstand the attack.

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