What’s the point of an iPad? Who needs a tablet in this era of big phones and ultraportable laptops? And even if you do want a tablet, do you really need the premium tablets Apple is making — devices that sell for a couple of hundred dollars more than the pretty capable tablets made by Amazon, Google and many other rivals?
Those are the tough questions Apple has to answer at the event it will hold on Thursday to unveil its new line of iPads.
The company is expected to do pretty much what it does every year: Show off tablets that are faster and thinner than the previous ones. Apple will also probably add its Touch ID fingerprint scanner and Apple Pay, its online payment system, to the tablets. But are these features enough to give new life to the iPad?
That remains a tricky question. Apple’s iPad business is huge, and it isn’t on the verge of death. Jan Dawson, an independent technology analyst, has pointed out that Apple’s iPad revenue exceeds $30 billion a year, a business bigger than McDonald’s. But Apple reported slight declines in iPad sales in its last two quarterly earnings reports. That is a vivid contrast from just a few years ago, when the iPad line was growing faster than the iPhone, and it seemed poised to become Apple’s next big thing. What happened?
Many things. The iPad, which was always an in-between device, is under attack from all sides. Phones have become much more capable in the last few years, and much bigger, so the iPad seems superfluous. Meanwhile, most laptops are far cheaper than the iPad, and many are nearly as thin and light, too. Apple’s rivals have also figured out ways to make pretty good tablets for little money. If you use your tablet mainly for watching media, for instance, Amazon will sell you a very good one that does just that for less than $100. Apple’s cheapest iPad goes for $299.
But the iPad’s biggest problem is that it does not serve a distinct purpose in a world full of lots of other screens. I know many people who love their iPads, but I’ve heard from readers and friends who say their iPads just aren’t as useful as other devices they carry. Sammy the Walrus IV, a clever, pseudonymous technology analyst who writes the blog AAPL Orchard, pointed out recently that part of the problem was the lack of innovation in iPad apps. Whether it is Uber, Instacart or Facebook, scores of start-ups are trying to make better smartphone apps, but the well of interesting tablet apps is drying up. “If I have no interest in downloading or even using iPad apps, I view that as an ominous sign for its future,” Sammy wrote. “My interest is moving elsewhere, namely to iPhone, and soon Apple Watch.”
For Apple, solving this problem — giving the iPad a distinct purpose, a reason to exist that stands apart from phones and PCs — will have to be a long-term effort. But we may start to see the scale of Apple’s response to the issue on Thursday. Or, we may not, and we’ll be left wondering, once more, what the iPad is for.
Related:
Apple to Unveil New iPads, as Rivals Gain Ground
The announcement of the tablets, which are expected to have significant upgrades, is coming as sales have slowed and competition has toughened.