Apple has a weird problem with the iPad. It's not that Android tablets are eating their lunch. It's that iPads from three or four years ago are still perfectly fine for most people.
The tablet market has always been Apple's to lose, and they're still dominating it. But the upgrade cycle has slowed way down because previous generations were built so well. If your 2020 iPad Pro still handles everything you throw at it, why spend another grand?
This creates a strange situation where Apple's quality becomes a sales obstacle. Unlike iPhones, which get new features that feel essential every couple years, iPads have hit a plateau where the improvements are incremental at best.
For anyone using iPads in their workflow, this is actually good news. You're not missing out by skipping a generation or two. The older models handle AI apps, creative tools, and productivity software just fine.
The question is whether Apple can find compelling reasons for upgrades beyond slightly faster chips and marginally better screens. Right now, the answer seems to be no, and that's a problem Apple created by making their tablets too good in the first place.
