APPLE has announced that its 2024 iPad will be the first product line in decades to be sold without including the company's iconic free stickers — and fans are torn.
The Apple icon has become one of the most recognizable brand images in marketing history as the company has grown to dominate the tech industry.
Apple has included a couple of stickers inside the box of every Apple purchase since it first added them to the packaging of the Apple II computer in 1977.
Great for marketing — after all, stickers can be stuck anywhere — and seen as a nice extra for customers, the decals soon became an expected element of any Apple purchase.
And for many tech lovers, these stickers have been coveted as beloved collectibles.
But a company memo to staff recently revealed that Apple does not plan on including the stickers in their upcoming rollout of the iPad Air 6 and M4 iPad Pro — for the first time in almost 50 years.
The move was attributed to the company's efforts to go green by 2030, the memo said as first shared by .
Confusingly, the same announcement mentioned that a "limited number" of stickers would be made available at stores for customers who buy the new iPad.
DIEHARD APPLE FANS UPSET
Some dedicated Apple fans on social media said they were shocked by the news.
"This is a crime. Apple has ALWAYS included stickers. They are worried about stickers?" Pandaturn () wrote in the Apple () Reddit thread.
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They replied in comments that removing the stickers for environmental purposes did not make sense.
"Even if it's an environmental thing, a sticker is the least of anyone's worries," Pandaturn wrote.
"Even if most people don't use them, there is an aesthetic appeal of the stickers. Sterile Apple."
SOME GLAD FOR THE CHANGE
But others have said they support Apple's initiative and did not see much value in the stickers anyway.
"As much as I don’t believe them about wanting to do it for environmental reasons, I’m great with this," cpclemens () wrote in the same Apple Reddit thread.
"As an Apple consumer with many purchases, I don’t think I’ve ever once used a sticker."
"Same. Over almost 2 decades of iPods, laptops, phones and iPads the stickers have just gone in the garbage," another person commented.
"They always feel like a waste to me."
The history of the iPad
Here's every iPad model ever released by Apple...
- iPad – April 3, 2010
- iPad 2 – March 11, 2011
- iPad (3rd gen) – March 16, 2012
- iPad mini – November 2, 2012
- iPad (4th gen) – November 12, 2012
- iPad Air – November 1, 2013
- iPad mini 2 – November 12, 2013
- iPad Air 2 – October 22, 2014
- iPad mini 3 – October 22, 2014
- iPad mini 4 – September 9, 2015
- iPad Pro (12.9 inch) – November 11, 2015
- iPad Pro (9.7 inch) – March 31, 2016
- New iPad – March 24, 2017
- iPad Pro (12.9 inch, 2nd gen) – June 13, 2017
- iPad Pro (10.5 inch) – June 13, 2017
- New iPad – March 27, 2018
- iPad Pro (3rd gen) – October 30, 2018
- iPad mini 5 – March 18, 2019
- iPad Air 3 – March 18, 2019
- 2019 iPad – September 25, 2019
- iPad Pro (4th gen) – March 25, 2020
- iPad (8th gen) – September 18, 2020
- iPad Air (4th gen) – October 23, 2020
- iPad Pro (5th gen) – May 21, 2021
- iPad (9th gen) – September 24, 2021
- iPad Mini (6th gen) – September 24, 2021
- iPad Air (5th gen) – March 18, 2022
- iPad Pro (6th gen) – October 26, 2022
- iPad (10th gen) – October 26, 2022
- iPad Air (6th gen) – May 15, 2024
- iPad Pro (7th gen) – May 15, 2024
WINDS OF CHANGE
Apple announced several updates to its iPad products during its Let Loose event on Tuesday, according to
The company said they would no longer use the lightning cable in iPads, instead switching completely to USB type C inputs.
Similarly, the ultrawide camera will no longer be included in the iPad Pro, as researchers said users rarely took advantage of the feature.
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iPads released this year will include improved compatibility for screens and keyboards, making it easier to turn them into workstations.
They also told fans that they would no longer sell the 9th generation iPad, as it had been phased out by newer editions.