苹果曾考虑推出一款塑料底盘的低成本iPad但最终决定放弃

在苹果官网上的第九代iPad目前起售价329美元，是产品线中价格最实惠的平板电脑，采用了铝等优质材料，尽管有大量报道称这是低成本机型，但它肯定不是用“廉价”的材料制造的。据报道他们曾考虑使用塑料来进一步降低价格，与其他产品竞争，不过苹果并没有走这条路。

据彭博社的Mark Gurman报道，苹果团队在讨论将塑料iPad与低成本的键盘配件捆绑销售时准备以低于500美元的价格出售，他们的想法是向chromebook开战，从chromebook那里夺取市场份额，并可能使iPad成为教室里的新标配。

最后他们认为大部分客户可以升级到最新的型号，主要是为了媒体消费，同时使用蓝牙键盘进行一些工作，假设苹果开始提供一款塑料制成的低成本iPad，在这种情况下，这种廉价的材料可能会慢慢地进入其他产品，以瞄准更多的客户，但需要牺牲高质量的硬件为代价，但大多数学校都很有钱，这就是苹果放弃这个想法的原因。

The ninth-generation iPad listed on Apple’s website currently starts from $329, is the most affordable tablet in the company’s lineup, and is made using premium materials such as aluminum. Despite a multitude of reports referring to the device as a low-cost model, it certainly is not made using ‘cheap’ materials. However, an all-metal iPad lineup may not have existed as the company reportedly thought of using plastic as a way of bringing down that price further and competing with other products. It looks like Apple refrained from going down this path in an attempt to offer customers the best hardware it can manufacture, with the best materials available. Apple’s team apparently discussed bundling a plastic iPad with a low-cost keyboard accessory and selling it as a single package for under $500, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. On the ‘Power On’ newsletter, the idea was to take the battle to Chromebooks, taking market share away from those machines and possibly making the iPad the new standard in the classroom. “This is why Apple internally considered launching an iPad with a plastic back and plastic keyboard that ships together in one box for under $500. The idea was seemingly abandoned, but that was probably Apple’s only real hope of ever giving Chromebooks a run for their money in most schools.” Apple’s launch history has only comprised of products that come bundled with chargers, earphones, or cables. Never was there a time when the company bundled an entire keyboard, which is quite the opposite of other companies such as Samsung, a firm that continues to provide a boatload of freebies for early adopters when it unveils new products. Apple’s current strategy could revolve around creating a demand for customers where they believe that the product itself is rife with quality and that they should purchase different and pricey accessories to get the best experience possible. With the iPad 10, which was supposed to be the ‘affordable’ successor to the iPad 9, features a starting price of $449, and to complete that experience of ‘replacing’ your laptop, customers need to purchase another Magic Keyboard Folio, which costs $249, along with an Apple Pencil (1st generation) for $99. Customers are not required to pick up these accessories, and some of them could upgrade to the latest model predominantly for media consumption while using a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard to get some productivity work on it. Suppose Apple had started providing a low-cost iPad that was made of plastic. In that case, it is possible this inexpensive material would slowly have made its way to other products in an attempt to target more customers, but at the expense of quality hardware. Should Apple start bundling better accessories with its products at a more attractive price? Tell us in the comments.