March 2019 New Apple Products Released. Product details and opinions.

thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 20:25
Last edited 05/04/2019 - 12:44

Update: AirPower has been officially cancelled by Apple.

The Apple event is over, and was focused on software.

Towards the end of the week before, Apple quietly released a few products.
These being:

  • iPad Air 10.5 (2019)
  • iPad mini 5 (5th gen)

  • AirPods 2 (2nd gen)

  • Updates to iMac

Now I am an owner/user of 4 Apple devices & I am thankful to the entry-level priced models: iPhone SE, iPad (5th gen), iPod Touch (6th gen), Apple TV 4 (4th gen).
I am aware of Apple’s flaws and disappointments, they should be doing a lot better in certain areas, so I will try to give a level headed approach to the newly released devices. And hopefully the details and mentions of these products can help your purchasing decision or lack there of.
i will not be commenting on the iMac as I have never owned an Apple computer or used one.

Firstly, the iPad Air 10.5 (2019)

The Good/Meh:

  • Larger 10.5 inch laminated display (laminated: the screen and the glass are as one. The 5th/6th gen iPad are missing this laminated display)(trivial IMO, but some swear by it, may improve Apple Pencil experience.)
  • Up-to-date internals (A12 Bionic, 3GB ram etc)
  • At 6.1mm thick, slightly thinner & lighter (even with larger screen) than 5th/6th gen iPad.
  • Still has 3.5mm headphone jack
  • 7MP front-facing camera (upgrade from 1.2MP of 6th gen iPadi)
  • Smart connector + True Tone display
  • Supports 1st Gen Apple Pencil

The Bad:

  • Larger 10.5 inch screen is shared with the previous 10.5 inch iPad Pro (which had a screen blotch issue, where a significant sized blotch of discolouration appears on the screen) (this makes you want to wait awhile to make sure this issue is fixed with the new batch of screens)
  • Standard 60hz display (no biggie IMO, Apple Pencil users may disagree.)
  • 8MP rear-facing camera (same as older iPads, has not been upgraded in a long time)
  • Marketed as “iPad Air”. Not a direct replacement of the 6th gen iPad. So at starting price of $779 is out of reach for those wanting to upgrade from the normal iPad.
    (I will acknowledge they still have the 6th gen iPad for sale on Apple’s website, but this was slightly disappointing as I personally skipped the chance to trade-in and upgrade to 6th gen iPad in order to go for the 7th gen model, now known as the 2019 iPad Air.)

This is Apple’s decision to fill in the gap between iPad Pro series, and base normal iPad’s.
Which is dissapointing, they could have easily sold this at a lower price, slightly above the 6th gen iPad (even with upgraded internals and larger screen), replacing the 6th gen iPad, but they chose to keep the 6th gen on the market, call the new one “iPad Air” and price it accordingly.
The upgrades are not worth the final price IMO.

iPad mini 5 (5th gen)

The Good:

  • The product many people loved and appreciated due to its size, is now back.
  • Up-to-date internals are a big upgrade from the last gen iPad mini 4 and equal to the iPad Air 10.5 (2019). (A12 Bionic, 3GB ram etc)
  • Laminated display as was the previous gen iPad mini
  • Still has 3.5mm headphone jack
  • 7MP front-facing camera (upgrade from 1.2MP of iPad mini 4.)
  • True Tone display
  • Supports 1st Gen Apple Pencil

The Bad:

  • Price is still at a premium for the smaller model, although this has always been the case. If things were as they should be the iPad mini would be similar in price to the 6th gen iPad, but smaller with more up-to-date internals.
  • Standard 60hz display (no biggie IMO, Apple Pencil users may disagree).
  • 8MP rear-facing camera (same as older iPad mini’s, has not been upgraded in a long time)

AirPods 2 (2nd gen)

The Meh:

  • Slightly improved battery life and charge from 15 mins compared to 1st gen AirPods.
    (3 hours talk time vs 2 hours. And from 15 mins charge; 2 hours of talk time vs 1 hour).
    (Also worth noting ‘listening time’ is an identical 5 hours per charge as the AirPods 1.)
  • Wireless changing (I don’t think this is anything special, some people may think it is.)
  • ‘Hey Siri’ function added (they still need to work on Siri more IMO)

The Bad:

  • Not much else has changed. Manufacturing dates on AirPods 2 suggest they were ready for release at the end of last year (October-November) but they held off because 1st gen AirPods were selling so well and/or AirPower delay/issues.
    Update: AirPower has been officially cancelled by Apple.
  • The pricing. $319 for AirPods 2 with wireless case, $249 for AirPods 2 with normal case. $129 for just wireless charging case.
    (The upgrades internally [most likely firmware optimisation for slightly increased talk time] and the wireless charging case are not enough to justify the $319 cost. They should have had them priced at the same RRP of $249 since the upgrades are so minor.)
    (The wireless charging case for $129 is an odd option to have. I think Apple expects not to sell many of these, so they did not produce many units, and intentionally priced it to convince (very few) people (who planned on getting the wireless case for AirPods 1) to purchase the new AirPods 2, even though the difference between the AirPods 1 & 2 are minimal.)
    The best thing I can say here is, if you own the AirPods 1, you should still be happy, as the differences between gen 1 & 2 are so minor.

Epilogue:
Personally being in the Apple eco-system, I have always had good hopes for new releases and such. And have been satisfied with the low-cost line of products.
One thing I should mention is a previous offical statement by Apple that went something along the lines of “we are a brand for everyone.” meaning they do not intend to be a premium/luxury oriented brand.
This seems to be becoming less and less the case, slowly prices keep going up (sometimes quite dramatically).
Would also like to address the previous/recent quality control issues. This kind of thing should be avoidable by a large company such as Apple. Hopefully reviews and experiences from future products are positive without these errors of production.
(My previous post mentioning issues here.)

Also worth mentioning I was looking forward to the iPod touch 7th gen release. Reliable sources indicate it does exist, but it’s release seems to be delayed for whatever reasons.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

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Comments

  • afoveht on 29/03/2019 - 20:33
    +1

    What about the ugly?

    afoveht on 29/03/2019 - 20:33 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 20:34

      I have mentioned that in detail in another post. Give me a sec I will link it.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/433183
      *under ‘The Bad’ section.
      Not all the ugly, but mostly from my own experience and experiences shared by others.

    • ChillBro on 29/03/2019 - 22:23

      Look in the mirror lol

      • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 22:26
        -1

        Be nice please. They were referring to the company.

  • conservative on 29/03/2019 - 20:45

    what's an apple product?

    conservative on 29/03/2019 - 20:45 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 20:47

      You are being conservative.
      I have updated some of ‘The Good’ as ‘The Meh’ as that is more accurate.

  • jimbobaus on 29/03/2019 - 21:13

    iPad Air is not 7th gen iPad.
    It’s a new iPad Air.
    7th gen iPad (cheaper range) will launch with new iPhones and iPad pros at end of this year.

    Traditionally they have out of “sync” launches in March each year however they just launched them with no fanfare. The event was saved for their services announcement.
    “Non sync” March announcements.
    Red iPhone 7 rage.
    iPhone SE
    Ipad 5th gen (first really affordable 9.7 model) (followed by 6th gen with pencil support the same year but towards end)

    Step/Oct/November is usually
    Macs and iphones but this has become more about iPads of late. Although they have started doing two events a year now. iPhones and watch in sep Mac and iPads in October. Last October was all about the mini so iMac was held back

    As for a few other points.
    The AirPods gen 2 were not held back cause gen 1 was selling so well. It was help back as they expected AirPower to launch in December and wanted these to launch along side. When they realised AirPower was not gonna happen they delayed until they simply had no choice but to launch them. AirPower is actually on the gen 2 packaging, that’s how much they expected the two to launch together.

    The 10.7 blotches on the screen was not “widespread” in fact a search of Apple forums and various sites finds little mention of it. It appear maybe you had the issue and are describing it as “widespread”

    As for pricing.. Apple has ALWAYS marketed itself as “luxury” they had a $20,000 Apple Watch ffs. The pricing is becoming better actually as they are now pricing to the market not basing it on the usd only. This is why japan and such places have actually seen big drops In rrp on some devices. Apple prices have always been higher. A lot of people will tell you the prices can be justified by the longevity of their products. You get a lot more life out of them and the resale is very good too. It’s like Toyota .. they charge a premium price use they know their place in the secondary market as much as the primary one.
    The gen 2 airports were never going to be the same rrp as the gen 1. The h1 chip alone justifies the price jump tbh.

    Ok now I’m rambling so I am gonna say I am done.
    Apologies for spelling mistakes. I am semi drunk typing on a phone lol.

    • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 21:14

      Yes I mentioned the fact the new iPad Air is not 7th gen iPad. Please read again carefully, maybe when you are sober.

      I am more interested in these ‘cheaper’ minor releases, therefore I have written about them. I am not in the market for the brand-new iPhone, or other flagship products.

      I am only basing these issues on personal experience and experience of others who I have heard from. So no it may not be an accurate description of the entire market.

      I agree with you when it comes to holding value and resale, they are a lot better than their competitors.

      • jimbobaus on 29/03/2019 - 21:18

        Yeah I may have skimmed parts. Apologies for my rambles lol.

        • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 21:21

          Thats quite alright. The post itself (my post) is a bit of a ramble.

  • try2bhelpful on 29/03/2019 - 22:19

    They should’ve removed the home button and reduced the bezel for the mini. The form size is good but it needs the extra screen real estate.

    • thebadmachine on 29/03/2019 - 22:21

      Yeah you would think so, but. Less bezels means less to hold onto on the sides. I actually thought about this as with my current 5th gen iPad, the bezels on the sides are just right.
      Any-less and I would be accidentally tapping the touch-screen.

      Also keeping the same design would have saved on costs, therefore lower price.

      • try2bhelpful on 29/03/2019 - 22:28

        It is not an issue with the Pro. I have a cover with a stand so I don’t tend to hold it.

      • try2bhelpful on 30/03/2019 - 09:11

        I think I'm peeved is because I hung out for a new mini, with the better real screen estate, and then bought the pro because I figured they had abandoned the mini range. Then they release this and it still didn't give me the better screen real estate. FFS if they are going to wait this long at least give us the logical choice.

        • thebadmachine on 30/03/2019 - 14:33

          The Pro is an entirely different device though. 10.5 to 13-inch screen vs 7.9-inch. You should be content with the extra screen real-estate from what you have (a big upgrade in screen size). I think it’s a bit much to think Apple will apply their tiny bezel design to all their products.
          They only have it on their flagships, as one of their incentives to buy top-models.

          • try2bhelpful on 30/03/2019 - 15:17

            @thebadmachine: I agree, to a certain extent, but the mini would not infringe on the Pro market, per se. Nobody would buy a mini for business instead of the larger devices. This would just position a product very nicely for the commuter.

            • thebadmachine on 30/03/2019 - 16:18

              @try2bhelpful: Yes the Mini would not infringe on the Pro market. Still they will reserve the Pro features for Pro products. I think pro-motion 120hz/edge-to-edge screen/quad stereo speakers may come eventually, but not until the Pro products have new unique features to offer.
              By the way AirPower has been officially cancelled by Apple.

  • Gandalf the Thrifty on 29/03/2019 - 23:00
    +1

    No mention of the Titanium Apple Credit Card?

  • Allan on 30/03/2019 - 08:23

    As someone who uses a lot of Apple products here's some things to add

    iPad Air is basically a cheaper iPad Pro 10.5. I'm guessing trying to brand it like the MacBook.

    iPad mini whilst should have better pricing is just following US pricing and it doesn't seem as cheap. Great little product the size is really great for out and about and would be better for gaming - less weight and fatigue in holding.

    AirPods user since launch and they are really one of the better priced Apple products. IMO if I was buying, get the version 1 for cheaper whilst you still can.

    iMac is still the same design and upgraded internals. Screen is really class leading. However, selling with regular hard drives when MacBooks come with SSDs, every other product has snappy storage is really a big negative. I made the mistake of getting one with fusion drive whilst still useable could be a lot faster.

    These releases are just simple hardware upgrades to keep range "up to date" and for them to adjust pricing if required around the world

    • thebadmachine on 30/03/2019 - 14:59

      Hi thanks for your comment.
      I think that it would be more accurate, to describe iPad Air 2019 as 7th gen iPad internals in a iPad Pro 10.5 body.
      Agree with the releases being to keep their range up-to-date, but also squeezing in more options can be confusing for the customer. If Apple were to stick to their older ways of simplicity and innovation, they should have 3 solid grades with innovations each time new products are released/updated. Instead it seems they are adding to their product line with minor changes which makes things slightly under-whelming and confusing.

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