The new iPlod: How Apple’s iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 disprove Darwin’s theory with pure brand power

If Darwin really did say it’s not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change, then the world of mobile tech had better watch out.

 

The lumbering dinosaur that was once Nokia wonderfully proves the point: one moment all conquering and powerful, the next gobbled-up by Microsoft with just a single product range surviving the digestion process.

 

The category's challenge, at least for the immediate horizon, is that change would appear to be coming in incremental steps only. Slightly smaller, a tad thinner, a camera/screen/battery a smidgen better.

 

I, for one, can’t wait for the meteorite to strike and stir things up again. Because following on the back of the iPhone 6 launch and the fallout that saw $23bn wiped off Apple’s share price, we have the arrival of two new iPad models that seem remarkably similar to their earlier incarnations.

 

The Mini 3 is, as far as I can see, identical to the Mini 2 except for Touch ID; and the Air 2 is, erm, thinner.

 

Of course, what Darwin didn’t count on is the power of brand. So despite evidence to the contrary, Appleistas will no doubt drool over the new kit, and queue around the block to be the first to be seen proudly browsing the internet in their local coffee shops and bars.

 

But I can’t help mourn the heady days of technological leaps from dynamic brands that challenged the category, instead of wondering how soon evolution will overtake them and bring us something truly exciting.