For the past couple of years everyone has wondered when Apple would come out with a 128GB iPhone or iPad, and last fall I think that many were genuinely surprised that the iPad 4 didn’t up the capacity. Well, now we have our answer … and it comes in the form of the 128GB iPad 4. The announcement came today, and the new version of the iPad 4 is going to be available starting Tuesday, February 5.
According to a press release from Apple, the main focus is a sort of ‘Pro’ version of the iPad for the Enterprise – where users of the iPad version of AutoCad, the 48-track recording studio Auria, and other high demand apps will immediately see the benefit of the doubled storage.
The other thing Apple annouced was the pricing – and it exactly follows the existing pattern. The base 128GB iPad WiFi model costs $799, and adding LTE brings it up to $929. As Frank Drebbin said in Police Squad, that’s a lot of Do-Re-Mi …
I have been vocal about my opinion that the current Apple pricing is all wrong for consumers, and this really highlights that situation. While memory prices haven’t changed much in the past couple of years on the lower end, at the higher end efficiencies have reduced pricing. Most other vendors are charging $50 for the memory-doubling upgrades, although no one else is making any money in tablets. When Steve Jobs announced the iPad, people were genuinely surprised at the low $499 price. At $929 nearly 3 years later for the top end, Apple has clearly lost the message. It seems that a more proper approach would have been a slight realignment of overall pricing.
The other thing missing is any mention of the iPad Mini. Perhaps the thought of a $759 128GB LTE iPad Mini looked too ridiculous on paper even for Apple … ?
What do you think? Any interest in the 128GB … even at the price?