The new iPad Pro 9.7″ has surprisingly many improvements to its older, larger sibling. The cameras are understandable, as the size is much easier to hold in hand, but it is disappointing that the color temperature matching has not been a part of the large one already. Otherwise the pricing is surprisingly low compared to the 12.9″ model. The larger screen must still be relatively difficult to manufacture, because it is otherwise difficult to see why one should pay $200 more for one, when the medium model is better specified. Of course, as we can already see with the iPhone, Apple is in the enviable situation of not having to compete against close substitutes, allowing it some measure of pricing discrimination, so this could just be Apple’s decision to increase its profits. I feel though that one would be much better served buying the large Pro instead, the larger screen real estate allowing us to work much more efficiently, especially with two apps side by side.
The iPhone SE is a very nice phone, $250 cheaper than the 6s, and basically only missing 3D Touch1 while having better battery life. It is even a bit heavier than the 5s, so Apple obviously has decided that battery life is now more important than reducing weight even further. It has the potential to be a very popular phone, a lot of great technology, a reasonable price, and no longer any competition in the small but powerful phone space. It will be interesting to see how many people will buy this instead of a 6 or 6s. I would not be surprised if this phone, especially the 64GB model, will capture around 25% market share until the next refresh. At the very least, it will provide very good feedback about which screen sizes people are actually preferring to use, even when this will be biased by price as well. John Gruber has noted in his review that he feels typing on the iPhone SE is a bit problematic, but I do not share this concern, you could type quite fast on the 3.5″ and 4″ iPhones. The issue is more that once you use one size of iPhone, you build a muscle memory for the keys, and you will need a few weeks to a few months to relearn the keys after switching sizes. And until you have finished with your thumb training, you will be frustratingly slow and error prone.
- Plus worse front camera, slightly inferior screen, slightly lower speed, slower fingerprint sensor, no barometer, no 128GB option, none of which I rate as absolutely must have. ⏎