Andy Hawthorne
I write and I code.
Products from Apple: when is the best time to buy?
There is never a right time to buy products from Apple. As you go through the process of deciding to buy, Apple will be busy moving through their product release cycle. What that means is: no sooner have you made a purchase, a new version appears.
Or that’s how it feels. For example, if like me, you purchased a first generation iPad, then you will have experienced the same slightly miffed feeling when the iPad 2 came out less than a year later.
Apple are very good are creating a buying cycle. This is demonstrated by the results of a survey carried out by market research firm GfK. The core statistic shows that 84% surveyed said they would get the stay with iPhone for their next handset, while only 60% of Android users said they would stay with Android phones. The news is worse for RIM. Only 48% said they would stay with a Blackberry.
Of course, that may change next year, with the introduction of the new version of Windows, and the continued growth in sales of Android based devices. At the moment though, once you have purchased an iPhone or iPad, when it’s time to upgrade, you will get the next version of those devices. Apple know that, they work hard to ensure that’s what happens.
Some will say it is down to clever marketing. That might be true. But there is something important about the actual products too. For example, if you are still using a first generation iPad, you have a device that is still better than most other tablets out there. Better in terms of build quality, user experience, and the availability of apps.
The question is, does it really matter if you using an older version? While using my iPhone 3G for example, I still had a more advanced smart phone than most other manufacturers had on offer. Even several years after its release. Now I have an iPhone 4, is the 4s so much better that I must upgrade immediately? No, not at all.
Likewise, if you own an iPad 2, how much many more tasks do you complete, than when you were using a first generation model? The truth is, probably not many. The first generation iPad is still superior in many ways to any other tablet available. The iPad 2 is just icing on the cake – for now.
So when is the right time to buy? Probably at the point of release, if you want to be right up to date. At least then, you will have the latest version for a while.
But the truth is, that is not a proper reason to buy. I recently purchased an iPad 2 (well, my wife got it for me as an early Christmas present), but the reason was clear. We already had a first generation iPad. However, my wife uses it as her only computing device. So we were sharing for a while.
Not being able to create multiple users though, meant that it was getting more difficult for both of us to get the most out of it. The answer was simple: get another one. Apple understand that decision process too. But at least there was some sort of justification for our purchase.
Did it bother me that iPad 3 will most likely appear in March 2012 according to the rumour web sites? No, not really. My purchase of an iPad has always been about productivity. I’m writing this post on my iPad, from a draft I wrote on it, and from notes I have stored on it.
Glancing across the room, my wife is using her iPad to chat to a friend via iMessage, browse the web for Christmas present ideas, and I think I saw a session of Angry Birds there too!
The point is, we both use our iPads in different ways. Does it matter which version we are using? Not in the slightest.
So when is the right time to buy? When you can afford it, and when you can justify it. Versions don’t really matter at all. Unless the new version will have a killer feature that you just have to have of course…
