Mar 22 2016

New iPad and iPhone Buying Guide

The new movie Steve Jobs takes place in three acts, each of which is set in the 30 minute period before a major Apple Announcement.

I suspect that the movie would be much less dramatic if the lead character was Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cooke, who last night was the keynote speaker at the Apple ‘spring’ event.

Major new iPhone upgrades are always announced in September, so announcements at this time of year are usually incremental.

Steve Jobs liked to keep the product line very simple so it was easy for customers to know what to get, and easy to manage stock.

There were no great surprises in this product launch, but some worthwhile additions to the product line.

There is a new iPhone SE, that is the same size as the iPhone 5 (4 in) but has all the other new features of the iPhone 6 (4.7in) and iPhone 6S+ (5.5in) , including a better camera, faster chip, ‘3D Touch’, and Apple Pay

There is a new iPad Pro, that is the same size as the regular iPad (9.7 in) but otherwise has the features of the large iPad Pro (12.9 in), including speakers, retina display, and Apple pencil. (sounds good to me)

The new iPhone and iPad will be available from March 31st – only a few sleeps away.

iOS 9.3 is available right now as a software update on your iPhone or iPad. You will hardly notice. The update includes ‘Night Shift’, which changes the screen brightness and colours depending on the time of day, and a revamp of the News App.
There is an upgrade to CarPlay, which is available in newer cars and puts the iPhone operating system onto your car dashboard. Better maps and suggestions are the main improvement

The Apple Watch has new Nylon watch bands (I’m sure third party versions will be available soon) The watch itself scored a price decrease. New models may come out later this year.

 

This is my current iPhone and iPad buying guide

iPhone

• iPhones are usually better value as part of a contract
• See a comparison of plans at WhistleOut
• They are also available for outright purchase, which does enable you to use cheaper SIM only plans from Amaysim or Kogan Mobile
• The three phones are now basically the same apart from size.
• You need more than 16Gb. You do. Don’t be tempted by the cheapest.
• 64Gb is now the only option, which makes things easy, apart from a 6S Plus which does have an 128Gb at $1529.
• The old iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are still available in Australia at a $150 discount on the iPhone6S and iPhone6S Plus respectively. That is unlikely to make a significant difference on a plan.

Phone	Screen	Memory	Price $AUD
iPhone SE	4 in	64Gb	$829
iPhone 6S	4.7 in	64Gb	$1229
iPhone 6S Plus	5.4 in	64Gb	$1379

 

iPad

• The iPad range is confusing. Steve would not be happy.
• iPad Minis are too small for me
• The iPad Mini is available as iPad Mini 2 (old processor) or iPad Mini 4. There is no iPad Mini 3.
• I would always pay the $200 and get an iPad with Cellular as well as Wifi, unless you live in complete WiFi land.
• SIM cards for iPad are readily available when travelling overseas.
• I think the big iPad Pro is probably too big unless you are using it for design work or replacing your laptop.
• 256 GB iPad Pros are available for an extra $250
• 32 GB iPad Pros are available for $250 less. Don’t do it.
• The new small iPad Pro is the same size and weight as the iPad Air 2
• My choice is the new small iPad Pro, 128 GB, Wifi + 3G

 

iPad	Screen	Memory	Wifi	Wifi + Cell
Big iPad Pro	12.9 in	128 Gb	$1499	$1699
(new) Small iPad Pro	9.7in	128 Gb	$1149	$1349
(old) iPad Air 2	9.7 in	64Gb	$729	$899
iPad Mini 4	7.9 in	64Gb	$699	$859
iPad Mini 2	7.9 in	32Gb	$429	$589