I have been meaning to write such an article for a while now and now I have got the time to do it, so let's begin! I have been going through Apple's product lineup and I sense danger. Danger that Apple has been familiar when Steve Jobs was fired from the company. I think that the Apple product lineup is really confusing. They need to clean it up and fast!
Let's start with the cleanest product line up, and that must be the Macs and iPods. So currently there are 5 Macs (including desktop and notebooks) that Apple is providing. We have an iMac (Normal and Retina ), Macbook Pro (Retina), Macbook Air (11" & 13") and the 12" Macbook (Retina). Even though this is much less confusing than their iPhone and iPad lineup there are still some issues with this lineup.
Macbook Pro without the retina display is available for purchase at $1099, while the new Retina Macbook Pro starts at $1299. Why do they still have the 13" Non- Retina Macbook Pro still available for purchase. This just adds more to the confusion. Secondly, why have 11" Macbook Air when the 12" Macbook Retina is available. The only main reason for this is the fact that 11" Macbook Air costs $899 while 12" Macbook is priced at $1299. With this lineup Apple might not bring Retina Macbook Airs since the 12" Macbook with Retina replaces 11" MBA for most people.
I think the Macbook Air lineup is in danger of extinction if Apple drops price of the 12" Macbook. Even if they keep the Macbook Air lineup as it is, no one will consider buying it because it has non-retina display, and even if they do update their Air lineup with Retina display, then people will be confused between 12" Macbook or 11" Air. (CONFUSION)
Now let's talk about iPods. Well there isn't much to talk about it as Apple hasn't updated their iPod lineup in more than 2 years. It's a bit disappointing how the Cupertino based company is ignoring one of their major product line ups. iPod is how one gets into the Apple iOS ecosystem and lets not forget how the click-wheel iPod brought Apple back in the tech business. Currently we have an iPod Touch with a 5MP camera, a retina display (4") and sub-par specifications. Then we have an iPod Shuffle and the iPod Nano. It's the most cleanest and easy to understand Apple lineup!
The iPhone lineup is less confusing but it is a bit odd. We have 4 iPhone models currently available. The iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s. The only odd thing about this lineup is that iPhone 5c. Why do we have a phone that has a plastic body, no Touch ID and poor specifications. I don't think anyone buys this phone over iPhone 5s. Had there been an iPhone 5 in the place of 5c then it would have made more sense. It's odd having a plastic phone between top-level phones.
The iPad lineup is very confusing. So essentially we have 5 iPads currently available. We have iPad Air 2 and iPad Air. Then iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 1. And here is the pricing. iPad Air 2 starts at $499 and the iPad Air starts at $399. Then we have iPad Mini 3rd Gen that starts at $399, then the iPad Mini 2 that starts at $299 and iPad Mini 1st gen which is available for $249. Alright now lets analyse this. The iPad Air 2 and iPad Air pricing seems perfect to me. However, the confusion arises when the iPad Mini 3 having same specifications as the iPad Mini 2 is $100 more in pricing and is same in price as the iPad Air. So if you want to get Touch ID on a larger iPad, then you have to go for the $499 iPad Air 2 and if you want to get the Touch ID on iPad Mini then you have to purchase iPad Mini 3 for $399 however the specifications of iPad Mini 3 and 2 are same. This is where Apple confuses users. Just for a Touch ID you are paying $100 more while the specifications are same. This is bizarre!
Adding more to the confusion is the iPad Pro which is becoming more and more of a reality after the introduction of iOS 9. Check out this link for all the iOS 9 content. The iPad Pro will just add more confusion to this mess. Here is what Apple should do about the iPad lineup! Keep the iPad Air 2 and iPad Air. Discontinue the iPad Mini and iPad Mini 2 and lower the price of iPad Mini 3 to $349. So we have just one product from the iPad Mini line up and 2 from the bigger iPad . Then they can put iPad Pro in there as a third option. And one more thing Apple, next time when you update a device, please update the specifications as well. Just adding a sensor and charging $100 more is absurd.
Last but not the least is the Apple Watch. Apple Watch has 3 versions. Sports, Watch and Edition. Each of these versions have different configurations and models. Well for more details on the sky high pricing of these useless watches check out Apple's website! For those who don't know I am not a huge fan of Apple Watch hence I called it "useless". I am waiting for the Apple Watch 2, hopefully its more useful!
So here is a detail analysis of Apple products and how they are priced! iPad is the most confusing lineup followed by the Apple Watch. What do you think about it? Leave your feedback down below in the comment section!
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