Apple’s Ludicrously Fast Launch Is A Ludicrous Flop

Photo of Austin Smith
By Austin Smith Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Apple’s Ludicrously Fast Launch Is A Ludicrous Flop

© Apple Inc.. Paris (CC BY 2.0) by sabin paul croce

Apple’s (Nasdaq:AAPL) | AAPL Price Prediction recent release of a new iPad, its first update in three years, failed to make a significant impact on consumers. Despite boasting an M4 chip and other high-end features, the public’s response was lukewarm, suggesting that the product may no longer be seen as essential or sufficiently innovative compared to its predecessors or cheaper alternatives.

TRANSCRIPT: Apple released its new iPad.
It hasn’t had a new one in, I think, three years.
And they came out, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said it was the greatest piece of hardware in the history of the universe.
New M4 chip, ludicrously fast.
And the reaction was… Nothing burger.
I don’t think that anybody cares anymore.
And I don’t know if it’s because the iPad is somewhat dropped as a favorite tool or that, you know, people just don’t want to have to have an iPad and an iPhone and an iWatch and everything else.
Apple now has a disease, and that is we can’t upgrade it well enough.
And people are worried about the fact that that’ll happen with the iPhone 16.
But if you look at the new iPad and you look at the old iPad, the people who can actually tell the difference in terms of chip speed, camera quality, the ridiculously beautiful, apparently, screen glass.
Those sorts of things.
I just think it’s hard to sell this stuff now because it isn’t any different than the one that was before it.
No, and it’s expensive.
And I actually looked as my iPad, my old one has finally died, and I started looking at them and I was like, gosh, I don’t know if I want to spend that kind of money just to read stuff on Sunday.
I looked at it.
If you want to get the 13-inch screen with the nifty little keyboard they’ve invented to sell with it,
You know, like an upgraded storage.
Nothing great.
Right.
It’s $1,800.
Yeah.
The entry-level stuff I saw was like $1,200 to $1,400.
And I’m like, wow, that’s really a lot.
But people ask the questions of why this stuff doesn’t sell better.
And one of the answers is you can go get a tablet like a Lenovo or something.
Yeah.
$499, almost no one knows the difference.
That’s the problem Apple has right now is that it used to be a differentiated product.
It’s still a differentiated brand, but the brand only carries you so far.

Photo of Austin Smith
About the Author Austin Smith →

Austin Smith is a financial publisher with over two decades of experience in the markets. He spent over a decade at The Motley Fool as a senior editor for Fool.com, portfolio advisor for Millionacres, and launched new brands in the personal finance and real estate investing space.

His work has been featured on Fool.com, NPR, CNBC, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, AOL, Marketwatch, and many other publications. Today he writes for 24/7 Wall St and covers equities, REITs, and ETFs for readers. He is as an advisor to private companies, and co-hosts The AI Investor Podcast.

When not looking for investment opportunities, he can be found skiing, running, or playing soccer with his children. Learn more about me here.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618