Maybe Apple moving into the modem space will get us there but it does feel like some sort of purposeful market segmentation
Or let us run Mac apps on the darn iPad.
An M-series 12” would be amazing. Or heck, with how powerful A-series SoCs are these days, even one of those would likely be sufficient and yet far more efficient and powerful than those awful Intel CPUs the original 12” was saddled with.
Pretty sure it would kill battery life, and play very poorly with their suspend-wake functionality.
They termed it decision paralysis.
[0] https://scottfenstermaker.com/too-much-choice-the-jam-experi...
Pretty sure that worked on me. I waited for the iPhone SE 4 (now called the 16E), then when I saw the feature set for the price, just went for the vanilla 16. This was while I was knowing exactly how the 16E was acting as a price anchor to move me to the next tier.
Where you make the prices of a maxed out lower tier product be more expensive than a barebones higher tier, so it incentives you to "ladder up" your product choice.
Best explained by MKBHD
'The paradox of choice' says the exact opposite. When presented with more jams to sample, more groceries shoppers stopped to try, but less actually bought. Reducing decisions is conversion 101.
home work
portable iBook | PowerBook
-----------------
desktop iMac | PowerMacAnd for desktops, the Mac Mini, iMac and MacPro.
For phones, Apple was selling the 3G, 3GS, and iPhone 4.
For iPods, they were selling the Shuffle, Nano, regular iPod and the iPod Touch.
So selling three regular iPads and the Mini is nothing different now.
There are so many devices out there that you can probably find the perfect thing for you. For some of us, the iPad Pro is a great choice.
There's also people who work in Procreate with a million layers and need all the horsepower and RAM they can get.
At this new model’s cost, it’s hard to recommend. But it does make last year’s M2 models (and older M1 models) more sensible for this purpose.
The famous "four quadrant" product matrix expanded to "Good, Better, Best" across most their product line towards the ends of Job's era. Airpods/Pro/Max. Apple Watch SE/10/Ultra. iPhone 16e/16/Pro (with some size variations).
I keep seeing people saying it's complicated but it's really not.
There's some reason they haven't done this and I'd love to know what it is. IMHO, it should have been iPad-first and then ported to the phone later.
Or maybe it’s just general Apple dysfunction. It took them 14 years to port the Calculator app after all.
Now I just need to find good texturing and basic modeling applications I can use on the iPad and I could do a lot more from the comfort of my couch or even outside in the spring.
ZBrush especially on the iPad is an impressive feat and is almost a 1:1 port. I don’t have years and years of ZBrush experience so I actually much prefer the iPad ZBrush GUI to the traditional one.
edit: Shoutout to Paperlike screen covers.
It doesn’t come close to doing all of my computing but it helps me immerse in areas I struggle with on a laptop or desktop.
I realize I’m blessed to be able to split my computing across multiple nice devices.
I've been using an iPad Air (with Paperlike) for the past 4 years for basically running my life at school, and I can't imagine going back to working with actual paper for daily note-taking and homework assignments. It's great for reading whitepapers and marking them up while laying on the couch.
That functionality by itself justifies its existence in my estimation.
In tablet mode, iPad OS. Touch being the primary operation. Basically just as we see it now.
In a pseudo desktop mode, macOS, where you get the power of a laptop in a smaller form factor. You can optionally try to use this in touch mode in a pinch but it's not necessarily designed for it.
The win would be seamless switching. Including apps... if I have photoshop open on iPad, dock, convert to Photoshop for Mac. I.e. you "dock" your iPad and it converts to a more Mac-like experience. Undock, you get the iPad experience.
To me, this would be ideal. I don't generally _need_ a laptop for personal use, so this would be a serious boon for me as I use my iPad all the time in the evening for simple consumption, but I also have a MacBook over here that gets used a few times a week, which is a costly device for how little it gets used.
The trouble though is, once you get an acceptable laptop keyboard and a corresponding screen, the resulting device seems excessively heavy and bulky when flipped over into the tablet form factor. You probably won't want to hold it up for more than 10 minutes.
I like the idea of one all-in-one device, but it's hard to see a way around these things. The cheesy tiny portable "keyboards" they make for tablets are pretty lame for extended typing, but better keyboards are too heavy for tablets. Meanwhile, I expect a desktop device to have the compute horsepower and RAM that are tough to get in a proper tablet form factor.
It is a computer, just a little different.
I have tried to incorporate it into my daily workflow (maybe use it to help with diagramming), but it ends up collecting dust. Or used to watch films in bed.
Using it as a glorified Kindle also doesn’t work well.
Skip the neuro-"science" chapters and do the drawing exercises only. It really works!
We also have a newer one, and my kid uses it for much of her free to draw in Procreate. I am not very artistic, but she is, and I am not sure if the difference here is age or artistry.
It could be the period of life - there are times when we have more space for exploration, and at that time, if we come across art and it "clicks", we might spend hours doing that. At another period, that same activity might seem pointless/not interesting.
This is with an iPad Pro 2021.
In hindsight I should have purchased a Surface Pro tablet again, but I was so angry on the constant driver issues and similar problems.
the 12" Macbook was special
Went down a rabbit hole recently looking at some Chinese ones by Chuwi, nearly pulled the trigger too
Are there any use cases (apart from drawing maybe. I can't draw a stick figure if my life depended on it so that's not for me) for developers?
I bring my iPad to the coffee shop and leave my laptop at home when all I want to do is send emails and read. I don't think I could do "heavy" work on it, but it's great for quick stuff. The fact that it has 5g means I don't mess around with finding wifi. I wouldn't pay extra for the 5g (tethering works perfectly), but I got a few free unlimited data lines back when various US cell companies were fighting to churn customers.
There are hundreds of fantastic apps out there from mixers, sequencers to excellent synthesizers, effects and samplers. For an idea of what this can look like, here's a video: https://youtu.be/ft8erjlzg4A?si=lCg77DZAUYNa1SEf
Add a midi controller and you can make pretty much any kind of music you want.
A great benefit over mac / pc computer based music making is that the apps are very affordable.
For my needs it's mostly perfect. Can have it with me at all times without requiring a bag. Much more portable than an actual laptop while the screen is more comfortable in size/ratio than the usual 6.8 inch phones.
iPadOS isn't my favorite but the form factor makes up for it.
They're basically never better than a laptop at things laptops are good at (though often serviceable enough that folks don't need both) but excel at other use cases where laptops aren't great.
I'd consider getting a used model when the prices have dropped a bit, but full-price for something that feels a little half-baked is tough. Especially because the hardware otherwise feels exceptional.
I'm looking at the Surface Pro, which does basically the same thing and also has conveniences like USB ports for peripherals. Or try out the iPad Pro, but that's getting into "BIG" territory.
I'm experimenting with replacing my personal laptop with an iPad Pro this year. I'm not a professional content creator, photo or video editor, etc. So far it's been great. I write a lot, creative writing, journaling, and lots of note taking. It's been wonderful for all of these tasks and it basically goes with me everywhere.
iPads are amazing for other things though:
- they're the best platform to read comics or mangas
- they're great to learn/play piano with dynamic sheets
- they're great for games (Balatro on iPad is top tier), and basically anything where tactile is good as an input control (GarageBand is nice to use on iPad)
- they're great for travel
You can do many things with an iPad, developing is not one of them.
Plugged into my keyboard & monitor I can use one of several “codespaces” solutions and if I’m traveling it’s a better screen than a phone.
I can’t use it for work admittedly but that’s mostly about corporate control of my device, not capability.
That, and the normal consumption stuff - web, streaming TV/movies, magazines, news, etc.
Never bothered trying to build software with it - that's why I own a MBP.
I love the idea of an iPad, but they just don't really fit into my life I guess.
The original Surface RT might have had the best form factor I've used for plane movies - 16:9 screen with built-in kickstand. 16:9 is sub-par for basically everything other than tv/movies though.
You're absolutely right, when people stop caring -- that's when Apple should be concerned.
OK, so the predominant opinion of HN seems to be that Apple is really good at marketing. So, which target group are they, brilliantly of course, addressing with this repetitive word salad?
Wow they really reused that word three times in once sentence. Ouch.
Shes a consumer through-and-through, and an iPad is great for that- and occasionally calling people.
Unfortunately she’s had her current iPad for about 8 years, so it has aged out of security updates- so I am looking to upgrade her. Battery still holds charge though, at least enough that she doesn't complain.
For the iPhone, there once was a time that $600 was the cost of the highest end phone. Now Apple has created a pricing architecture (and laddering) where $600 today only gets you the entry level iPhone.
Similarly with iPad. They have been able to get consumers now to buy effectively a 2-year old components inside an iPad Air and still command a premium price ... and making it feel "new".
I'm not knocking Apple.
I'm genuinely impressed with their pricing architecture and strategy they have been able to execute on over the years.
These are for Q4 2024:
Hardware: 98B revenue, 59.5B cost of sales, 38.5B gross profit, 40% gross margin
Services: 26B revenue, 6.5B cost of sales, 19.5B gross profit, 75% gross margin
Look on page three of this: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/320193/00003...
So you can't exactly look at the margins in insolation.
I wonder if US tariffs on China have something to do with this, and the US price is more than it would have been.
What is the point of iPad Air? It's compatible with the latest Apple Pencil, but iPad isn't, but iPad Pro is, and the Pencil Pro is only compatible with iPad Pro, iPad Air (not M1), and iPad ... MINI (not iPad). (Edit: Actually the Apple Pencil for our iPad Air M1 isn't even sold anymore, I guess?)
The Apple Pencil USB-C compatibility matrix is even more confusing.
Why is this division of Apple run like Google's messaging apps?
iPad ($349) iPad Mini ($499) iPad Air 11" ($599) iPad Air 13" ($799) iPad Pro 11" ($999) iPad Pro 13" ($1299)
So from a pricing perspective, it does kind of make sense. The naming is all over the place though.
The iPad Mini is more expensive and better specced than the iPad. And then the Air sounds like it should be a light version of the iPad, but is actually better specced than the iPad.
My guess is that non technical people don't care about things like names and spec, but buy iPads based on pricing. And if people are buying the entry level iPad, why drop it?
My mom also uses one of those magnetic keyboard attachments; she needs a new one because it's in rough shape. Come to find out some of them are over $300.
iPad Air = regular iPhone
iPad Pro = iPhone Pro (Max)
iPad mini = iPhone mini (if it still existed)
Look at the demo video that goes with this blurb. Graphical artifacts and pop-in everywhere.
Common knowledge was they wanted to move away from the M3 quickly because it was on TSMCs first gen 3nm processing technology that had lower yields
They might have lost the reserved spot at TSMC as well
My 13” M4 iPad Pro Cellular is like a Mercedes. I could have bought a nice laptop instead. No financial analysis can justify it, but it’s luxurious and totally worth every penny.
But wait, given how iPad Pros now have the same SoC as MacBook Airs, but are crippled (or should I say, “computationally challenged”?), it wouldn’t surprise me if a MacBook Air with built-in cellular connectivity would just make iPad Pro dead in the water.
Pro has the strongest differentiation:
120hz ProMotion, LiDAR, Thunderbolt, least weight, Face ID, studio microphones, wide lens camera, …
M-series chip (Stage Manager) and Apple Intelligence, Pencil Pro support
smaller
?What you actually want is for iPadOS to shed the limitations of the mobile OS it evolved from. That's a whole different set of asks; many of which cross different but equally strongly-held red lines. A lot of the features of macOS that make it useful for developers - the native UNIX shell, Virtualization.framework, third-party distribution, the ability to relax signature verification on software[1], files that live outside of app containers[2], and most importantly, root access - are all things that Apple considers outmoded and insecure. Insamuch as macOS still supports them, it's because software developers require them to work, so Apple has a policy of keeping software development corralled to macOS instead of letting developers and their attendant security issues spill over into their "device platforms".
[0] Going all the way back to Steve Jobs having his engineers make a tablet computer demo out of sheer spite for Windows XP tablet edition
[1] Or, on Apple Silicon, outright just sign your own OS kernel
[2] On other Apple platforms, your "On My iPad/iPhone" files live inside of a special container for the Files app; and there's another container for iCloud files. There is technically still a home directory, where all your app containers live, but you can't see or interact with it unless you jailbreak.
1) 230m iPhones
2) 50m iPads
3) 25m Macbooks
Macbook is pretty much niche product to them comparing to Windows market share. Many would still wanna own Macbook even if iPad would support MacOS. They would sell much more iPads and bring bring more users to their ecosystem, familiarise those that used Windows before and maybe they would buy Macbook later on.
A.I. is in its infancy now, but I expect significant improvements over the next year or two.
Edit: I just want a big screen for drawing and watching movies on the plane with.
Screen. The Pro screens are better. How much that matters is up to you. Given I am into photography and wanted to have the nicer screen this mattered to me. You can also get the nano-textured glass on the Pro but I don't believe you can on the others. This is a super pricey option though.
Processor. The Pro has M4, Air has M3.
USB-C port differences. I believe the Pro line have faster USB-C transfer speeds. Not sure if this has changed but it used to be a thing.
I skipped the Apple Pencil this time around, I just didn't use it enough with my previous iPad Pro to justify getting it again. I've had it for two months, so far I am happy with the decision.
There are probably others, so your point is certainly valid, that it is a pain to find the legitimate differences that might matter without digging into the specs.
iPad AIR (pro lite)
iPad mini (mini with iPad tech)
iPad Pro (for artists or people who think they can replace their MacBooks with it but in the end they can’t)
I agree that the lineup is a bit muddled, but going down the specs list you can check which differences are important to you.
iPad 477 g
Air 460 g
Pro 444 g
For the iPad, they basically have the good, better, best product line with the addition of the Mini for special cases. It's not really that complicated.
I'd say that the main complications are that the Pencil Pro only works on the Air and Pro and the keyboards have to fit the exact case size so they are not as universal as ideal. Most people don't need the pencil and not everyone needs the keyboards.
Desktops - Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Pro.
Laptops - Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro
iPods - Shuffle, Nano and regular iPod
Phones - 3G, 3GS, and iPhone 4
* iPad is for kids/edu
* iPad Air is for adults (most people)
* iPad Pro is for adults who want to flex or who have a company credit card.
That said, with the Air having M3 and being available in 13”, I’ll have to take a long hard look at whether that screen is worth the extra money to me. I’d imagine that’ll remain one of the differentiators between the Pro and Air.
I do get an iPad about every 5 years and I don’t use a computer at home so splurging on the high end isn’t a huge concern for me. So not sure if I’ll be willing to give up the really nice screen.
I've been waiting and hoping for some third party to come along and clone the Smart Keyboard Folio. If they did, I'd repurchase an M4 iPad because other than the keyboard it was great.
I was just looking at the apple website to see if the Smart Keyboard Folio is available for the new iPads and it looks like that product line is gone for all iPads. Such a shame because it was a great product. I suspect it didn’t feel premium-enough for Apple management.
Though I agree most workflows aren't remotely capable software-wise compared to Mac counterparts.
Local AI models and gaming also come to mind.
Then they extrapolate from this, “If you buy an iPad Pro you are just doing it to flex.”