iPad Air: From bomb to 'da bomb'!

When Apple launched the 13-inch iPad Air last spring, I thought it would do well.

I figured lots of consumers would want a big-screen iPad, especially one priced a lot lower than the iPad Pro — the only other tablet in Apple’s lineup with a 13-inch display.

But consumers reacted with a big shrug. The big-screen iPad Air apparently doesn’t sell as well as either the much-lower-priced, entry-level iPad 10 or the more expensive iPad Pros.

People want a low-end, low-cost iPad (the iPad 10) or a high-cost, high-powered iPad Pro, not the medium-priced, medium-performance iPad Air in the middle.

The good news is Apple seems to have woken up to that fact, and is readying what sounds like a very worthy update to a sadly neglected device.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• I think Apple has achieved some remarkable environmental reforms under Tim Cook, and now the company is reportedly trying to go even further with its first “carbon negative” product. The upcoming Apple Watch SE isn’t just carbon neutral, it might actually remove carbon from the environment. If that sounds nuts, here’s how.

• In what’s become an annual tradition, Apple remade its homepage Monday to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

• Our exclusive sale on a great 8-in-1 EDC charging cable is still going strong. Just $20 for this fast-charging keychain cable with USB-C, Lightning and more is a great deal.

• Apple finally adopted RCS messaging for iPhone, making texting friends and family on Android much better. Here’s all you can do with it.

• Apple often excels, but it doesn’t always do everything right. Remember the infamous "Lemmings" ad?

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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