You're thinking pro-consumer, not like pro-bottom line Apple.Yeah, I don't fully get this move either. It's both an improvement and a regression from the Apple 1st gen Pencil.
A Macworld article nicely sums up the confusing Pencil and iPad lineups:
It's time that Apple reduce their cluttered iPad line and reduce it to about 4 items:
- iPad Pro (2 sizes)
- iPad mini
- regular iPad (or call it iPad Air, whatever)
Apple sells more of the higher-end iPads by offering several many iPads that are incredibly low value comparatively.
The lower end options both generate high profit margins whenever Apple sells them because of how cheap they are to make. But they also serve to illustrate and underline the much higher value you get from spending just a little more to get an Air or a Pro.
The same goes for the Pencil line-up.
-$79 is $50 less than $129. But most consumer will feel they lose those $50 dollars instead of saving them once they study the Apple Pencil comparison chart and see how little $79 gets them.
Suddenly, $129 seems like a great deal and not like an exorbitantly expensive price for a tablet stylus.
Apple are masters of the "decoy" product strategy. It's not going to change when it serves them as well as it does.