iPad

The future of Steve Jobs’ iPad vision for Post-PC computing

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Daniel Eran Dilger, Apple Insider:

In 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad as a new product category between the smartphone and notebook. It ended up dramatically shifting demand in the PC industry, but sales have since plateaued. Here’s what Apple can do, has done and is doing to build iPad into the Post-PC future of computing.

And:

The reason Apple is now increasingly targeting PCs in its iPad advertising–rather than other tablets–is that there’s little value left in the outside “tablet market” to grab. Not even the second place tablet maker Samsung is doing well in tablets.

Interesting, thoughtful piece. A bit of a long read, but if you are interested in the business side of the iPad and Mac, worth your time.

Apple’s new iPad Pro campaign

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[VIDEO] These four spots (embedded in the main Loop post) started running on Friday. As Rene Ritchie points out, these spots have that “I’m a Mac” feel to them.

The difference is that there is no character carry, no one who appears in all the ads. The design and tone is what carries from spot to spot.

See what you think.

On the future of the iPad

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Jason Snell, writing for Macworld:

Look out to 2025 and imagine a futuristic computing device made from Apple that’s larger than a phone, filling the ecosystem that currently is filled by laptops and iPads (and maybe even desktop Macs). This is a thin, light device, with battery life and sensors and other features that we can only dream about today.

And:

Apple seems to see the Mac as a rock-solid platform for laptop and desktop computers that people depend on to do their jobs. The Mac is, in many ways, defined by the fact that it’s a keyboard-and-trackpad-driven system with a windowed user interface. If you take that away and simplify the Mac, you might be able to get to something a bit closer to the iPad–but you risk losing some of the key attributes that make the Mac what it is.

And:

The iPad, on the other hand, seems not too far away from that 2025 device already. What’s required is an evolution of the very simple touch interface pioneered by the iPhone in order to provide the tools that sophisticated and demanding users need to get their jobs done. With the addition of iCloud Drive and support for other cloud services, Apple basically gave the iPad a browsable file hierarchy.

For the iPad to get there, however, Apple will need to up its game when it comes to growing iOS. After all, 2025 is only eight years away; a new iPad feature or two every other year between now and then won’t get it done. iOS needs better peripheral support, more sophisticated windowing and multitasking, improvements to file handling, better support for application and system automation, and a whole lot more. But if Apple puts the work in, the iPad could be that device in 2025–and still clearly be recognizable to a visitor from 2017 as an iPad.

Is the iPad the future? Will we continue to live in a hybrid world, with the Mac on the desk, the iPhone in pocket, and the iPad the larger portable device in between? Or will the iPad evolve into a device capable of filling its current slot as well as replacing the need for the Mac?

Interesting questions. Clearly, the answers will depend on the technology that comes our way over time. Will we see power sipping flexible screens that can fit into our pockets and unfold into large screens as needed? Will battery life become indefinite? Will quantum computing significantly raise the performance bar? Will gesture detection become sophisticated enough that our computers will allow us to type even if our hands are in our pockets?

If the answer to those questions are true, the computing devices of the future might bear little resemblance to what we have now. Though I’d bet that the Apple brand will still be just as strong.

The iPad keeps frowning

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One down point in Apple’s numbers was reported iPad sales. Jason Snell:

Apple sold half as many iPads for the 2016 holiday quarter as it did in 2013.

And:

Meanwhile, average selling price sagged, after a brief buoying caused by the release of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro—a sign that during this sluggish holiday period, iPad sales were largely comprised of older, cheaper models.

I chalk this up to iPad maturity. My iPad is more than a year old, and I don’t have any sense that it is slow, outdated. I use it regularly, and have no performance complaints. Sluggish performance is a major factor that would drive me to replace my iPad.

Jason again:

The iPad has 85 percent of the market of tablets priced over $200. The important facts here: Apple’s not interested in selling a sub-$200 iPad, and so that means it’s doing spectacularly well in the market.

If there’s a problem, it’s that Apple built a product that does what it is supposed to do and does it so well that it does not bear replacement. And that’s not a problem for me.

The Mac and the mouse cursor

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See the main Loop post for a look at two thought experiments, one from Rob Rhyne (via John Gruber) and the other from Mark Hibber. Both quite interesting.

iPads are as good as sedatives at calming kids down before operations

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Quartz:

Using iPads to distract and lower anxiety levels prior to surgeries requiring general anaesthesia proved as effective as traditional sedatives, French researchers found.

Comparing the effects of the drug midazolam on 54 children, administered orally or rectally, with 58 others who played age-appropriate games on an iPad 20 minutes prior to anaesthesia, the researchers found that both the drug and the tablet equally blunted anxiety.

I can’t help but think that an iPad would always win against a drug applied rectally. But that aside, this is good stuff.

Why is the iPad Pro a ‘computer’? Because Apple’s courting the business market.

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Hayley Tsukayama, writing for the Washington Post:

There’s a good reason to sell the iPad Pro as a “computer” rather than a tablet. Tablet sales have been slowing. And while computers are also in a sales slump, there is growth in the “detachables” category — devices that blend the tablet and the traditional laptop and have, well, a detachable keyboard. Casting the iPad Pro this way is important to Apple to catch the eye of businesses and business people, who may want something light but still functional for work.

Balanced with this quote from Steve Jobs:

What I love about the consumer market, that I always hated about the enterprise market, is that we come up with a product, we try to tell everybody about it, and every person votes for themselves. They go ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ and if enough of them say ‘yes,’ we get to come to work tomorrow. That’s how it works. It’s really simple. With the enterprise market, it’s not so simple. The people that use the products don’t decide for themselves, and the people that make those decisions sometimes are confused.

And:

The business market has changed in ways that blunt Jobs’s old criticisms. He didn’t like that enterprise devices weren’t personal; that’s no longer the case in a BYOD world. Even when there’s a set list of devices approved by a workplace, it almost always includes an iPhone, an iPad or at least some iOS-friendly apps.

And businesses are a great market for the tablet and the “post-PC” vision that Jobs envisioned with the introduction of the iPad. With a more mobile workforce, the iPad and the iPad Pro — along with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and other 2-in-1 devices — make a lot of sense for moving from hotel room to living room to board room.

Interesting take, interesting read.

Microsoft: What’s a computer? Just ask Cortana.

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[VIDEO] A few weeks ago, Apple put out this iPad Pro commercial, notably asking the question, “What’s a Computer?”

Microsoft has an answer, a new commercial (shown in the main post) that reminds me of the “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” ads of a decade ago, though this time with the roles reversed.

Walt Mossberg on replacing the laptop with an iPad Pro

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At its core, this article is a review of Logitech’s new Create iPad Pro keyboard and case:

This new snap-on keyboard is (in my view) not only better than Apple’s, but it completes the smaller iPad Pro as a great productivity device. In fact, I’m writing this entire column using it. It’s from Logitech and it’s called the Create 9.7. It costs $130, which is $19 less than Apple’s Smart Keyboard for the 9.7-inch iPad.

I do see this as a solid solution to a problem: Finally, a case built with the Apple Pencil in mind. I find it incomprehensible that Apple did not solve this problem themselves.

As to replacing my laptop: As I’ve said many times before, the iPad won’t truly be a replacement for my laptop until I can develop iPad apps on one.

The iPad’s unfinished business

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Jean-Louis Gassée takes on the topic of the iPad as a computer replacement in this excellent writeup for Monday Note. It’s a thoughtful read, touching on a number of different aspects of the iPad as a replacement for the Mac.

Click through to the main post for the link and some quotes from Jean Louis’ article, as well as my thoughts on the chasm between the Mac and iPad.

Apple patents Digital Crown mechanism for iPad

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Patently Apple:

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that Jony Ive and his team have considered expanding the Apple Watch’s digital crown to other iOS devices such as the iPad. Apple notes that the digital crown could be used as a volume controller or locking the touch screen, turning on the touch screen, taking a picture, resizing text and other actions.

This is an interesting choice. The digital crown is effective for sliding back and forth through a list or set of settings. The trick is to connect the digital crown to a specific element in the user interface.

[…]

iOS 10’s built in magnifying glass

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One of my favorite features of iOS 10 is the built-in magnifying glass, super useful if you need to read some small print or get a close-up look at something tiny.

Before iOS 10’s Magnifier, to get a close-up look at some small print, say, I would open the camera, do my best to focus close in, take a picture, then hop over to Photos, and pinch out to zoom in on the details. That is now no longer necessary.

If you’ve got access to the iOS 10 beta, give this a try:

  • Go to Settings > General > Accessibility. You should see an item called Magnifier.
  • Tap Magnifier, tap the switch to turn it on, then exit settings.
  • Now, triple click the home button to launch Magnifier (You might also see an alert asking you to choose between Assistive Touch and Magnifier – Tap Magnifier).

Just like a magnifying glass, move your iPhone or iPad over the thing you’re trying to magnify. Magnifier will keep the focus sharp and close in. The interface allows you to turn on the flash, slide to zoom in and out, and even grab a still image.

This is a brilliant addition to iOS. Very glad to have it around.

The beta cascade: Why Apple’s latest OS’s require each other

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Dan Moren, writing for Macworld:

My Apple Watch, much as I like it, is hardly an indispensable part of my everyday life. And ready I was to go ahead and install the watchOS 3 beta when I ran up against a bit of a brick wall—because in order to install the watchOS 3 beta, I also needed to install the iOS 10 beta on my iPhone.

AnandTech’s deep dive look at the 9.7″ iPad Pro display

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AnandTech does their typical great job digging into the details. In this case, Brandon Chester keeps the focus on the 9.7″ iPad Pro display, looking at things like DCI-P3 gamut support and the underpinnings of True Tone.

Putting iPad Pro keyboard solutions through their paces

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Jason Snell used the TapTyping app to measure his typing speed using the two iPad Pro keyboards, the soft keyboard, and the 12.9″ Magic Keyboard. Very useful info if you are in the market for an iPad and do a lot of typing.

Jason Snell’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro review

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Jason Snell does an excellent job laying out all the details on the 9.7 inch iPad Pro. A terrific review. I especially love his thoughts on Apple’s product naming.