An (Apple) Education
The reality distortion field meets a market it can’t penetrate…
Okay, I’ve sat on it for a bit. And read some slightly less hot — lukewarm? — takes. I still think this week’s Apple event was a swing and a miss.
Update: And now I’ve sat on it even more — I’m adapting this post from the preamble of a newsletter earlier this week — and if anything, I feel even more strongly about this.Look, I love the iPad. However much you think you love the iPad, I probably love it more than you do. I use it for ~90% of my computing needs these days (and the other ~10% is about work-related auth issues — with a slight nod to the preference to editing my writing on the “desktop web” as well — though I mainly write on the iPad). The iPad might be my favorite computer, period.
But. I think Apple is throwing away an opportunity here with the iPad in schools.¹ On paper, what they announced this week looks and sounds decent. Higher-end features at the lower entry price point. But they seem oddly focused on the specs and as such are missing the (obvious) little things.
I totally agree with this piece by Troy Wolverton. This educational iPad needs to include some sort of case. Ideally a case that holds an Apple Pencil. And ideally an Apple Pencil that comes with the iPad. Oh, and a keyboard.
I know how this must sound. I used to make fun of people who said the iPhone needed a physical keyboard. This is different. The reality of our current world trumps Apple aiming for the future here, at least in this segment of the market. If Apple really wants to compete with Chromebooks in schools, these are the table stakes.
I can hear it now. But, but, but — the iPad is a more high-end device than those Chromebooks. Sure. I agree. Doesn’t matter. If Apple’s goal is to get the most profit out of schools and students, okay. That in no way should be the goal here. It’s about planting seeds that will grow into profitable fruit down the line. Obviously. This is what Apple used to do. And it worked beautifully. But they’re not doing that here. And I’m not sure why.
Actually, I think we all know why. This is Apple’s playbook to a T. The issue is that their playbook is out of date in this market. This is Apple playing 1950s-era basketball in the era of Steph Curry. They’re being lulled by past success.
What I really fear is that Apple has sort of lost touch with reality here. The reality is that many schools can’t afford pencils, let alone $100 Apple Pencils (which will get lost, broken, etc). I’m exaggerating slightly, but also not really. Apple used to get away with selling expensive machines to schools (albeit at a discount), but the world has changed.
Technology is now ubiquitous. And unfortunately “cheap” has to outweigh “beautiful” in our current school environment.²
So can Apple still do what it does on the consumer side and sell to schools that are less price conscious? Maybe.³ But that’s clearly not the message Apple was trying to convey with this event. They may think this $299 iPad is a great deal — and it probably is — but it doesn’t matter. It’s not the right price point for the market they’re going after. They’re going to miss the market much like they missed in India with the iPhone. For much the (high-level) same reason. The reality distortion field’s kryptonite is real world economics.
The winning hand here is a $199 iPad. One more thing: with a keyboard case and Apple Pencil included. Apple would never do this, of course. The margins would be slim or — gasp — non-existent. That is not in Apple’s DNA. And that’s the problem. You have to view this as either a loss-leader — again, get them hooked early — or as an entry-point for subscription-based services.⁴
Or you do it because you’re the most valuable company in the world, our education system is in shambles, you make the best products, and this is the right thing to do, shareholders (of which I’m one) be damned.⁵
I’ll note that this is (what I would consider to be) the second miss in a row for Apple, the first being the HomePod . And if you include the MacBook Pro Touch Bar, there’s an undeniable trend here. The AirPods are brilliant. The iPhone X is great. But the batting average is dropping…⁶
¹ That said, I do believe the focus on iPad, as opposed to MacBook, is the right one. This is the device (tablets in general) that kids are increasingly growing up with and gravitate towards. Skate to where the puck…
² Which I’m not sure is even a fair way to frame it. It’s less about “cheap” and more about “functional” — again, this is about operating in reality. “Beautiful” and “brilliant” are great, but decidedly decadent in this market.
³ My bet would be this doesn’t move the needle much, even at fancy schools. And again, this event was clearly staged to show that Apple still “has it” when it comes to the education market, after years of getting dunked on by Google.
⁴ Something which Apple has been — and should be — playing up in recent years. Selling into schools is a huge pain. But Apple has the resources to do it — they’re already doing it! Just not very well, these days…
⁵ Thank you for this indulgence. I know this sounds out of touch with reality, but Apple loves to tout their role these days as a broader cultural beacon. They could quite literally put their money where their mouth is here…
⁶ Yeah, yeah, “grade point average dropping” was perhaps a better fit given the subject matter, but makes less sense.
