蘋果曾考慮推出一款塑料底盤的低成本iPad但最終決定放棄

來源：WCCF Tech

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在蘋果官網上的第九代iPad目前起售價329美元，是產品線中價格最實惠的平板電腦，採用了鋁等優質材料，儘管有大量報道稱這是低成本機型，但它肯定不是用“廉價”的材料製造的。據報道他們曾考慮使用塑料來進一步降低價格，與其他產品競爭，不過蘋果並沒有走這條路。

據彭博社的Mark Gurman報道，蘋果團隊在討論將塑料iPad與低成本的鍵盤配件捆綁銷售時準備以低於500美元的價格出售，他們的想法是向chromebook開戰，從chromebook那裏奪取市場份額，並可能使iPad成爲教室裏的新標配。

最後他們認爲大部分客戶可以升級到最新的型號，主要是爲了媒體消費，同時使用藍牙鍵盤進行一些工作，假設蘋果開始提供一款塑料製成的低成本iPad，在這種情況下，這種廉價的材料可能會慢慢地進入其他產品，以瞄準更多的客戶，但需要犧牲高質量的硬件爲代價，但大多數學校都很有錢，這就是蘋果放棄這個想法的原因。

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.