linear2202
Steve Troughton-SmithiPad has probably had the most dramatic shift of all of Apple's platforms, since its inception. It began as doing very few things to a very high quality, but now it does almost everything, badly. I hope history finds it to have been more than just an incubator for Apple's Mac silicon during the wayward years
People telling me the iPad is the best ‘light computing’ platform are kinda proving my point. It’s not called iPad Light (and it’s not priced like one either). The Mac is a great light computing platform too, but it also does everything else too. iPad has just never lived up to its potential, and 14 years in I think it’s safe to say never will
Matt Smith@stroughtonsmith disagree. A) light computing isn’t just about price. B) You can get an iPad for less than half the cost of a Mac.
For casual computer users an iPad does pretty much everything they need to. My 70 yo father would rather spend £1k on an iPad vs any computer for the same money because of its ’lightness’. There are plenty of people who don’t need the complexity of a Mac, including its hardware complexity.
MarkV@mttsmth @stroughtonsmith I think the ship on saying iPad was only ever intended for media consumption and “light” couch computing sailed when Apple decided to launch an “iPad Pro” and market it as a computer replacement for the next gen (“what’s a computer?”).
Apple themselves made promises that the product simply hasn’t lived up to. Retroactively saying it was never supposed to be a touch-first productivity device is, in my opinion, ignoring Apple’s own messaging about their product.
@markv @stroughtonsmith they do sell just the iPad, and a lot of people use that in pretty much the identical way as SJ demoed it on its launch.
I’m not ignoring how Apple market a segment of the product line. I have owned every 12.9” iPad and do use it as my main computer attached to a Studio Display.
Who was retroactively saying it’s touch first?
Guy Sedai@stroughtonsmith I think my issue was more with your quote “It began as doing very few things to a very high quality, but now it does almost everything, badly.” It still does everything well that it did well at its inception, but now also has a ton more features/capabilities (i.e. significantly better displays/speakers, multitasking support, pencil/keyboard/trackpad/mouse support, cellular, USB C/peripheral support, resizable windows, etc. But I do agree it has not lived up to its potential.
amonduin@guysedai @stroughtonsmith I think we're finally back to where we were at the iPads first launch. It took years and years to recover from the iOS7 reset in which sooo many Apps got destroyed, functionality removed or hidden, the iPad in those first few years of iOS7 design were the years where some apps really were just blown up phone apps. I think the past few years things are back to where they should have been with the iPad apps properly taking advantage of the screen size again.
Owen 🇦🇺@stroughtonsmith Totally agree! iPadOS is the problem. It’s a waste of time putting an M4 processor in an iPad. If Apple doesn’t make iPadOS more capable like macOS the hardware will never live up to its potential.
Konrad Kołakowski@stroughtonsmith Apple still might have a chance though - but it needs a will from them!
Hardware is here - only software is the issue, they could really "fix" most of the most important roadblocks within one OS update cycle 🤷♂️ They just don't want to.
I remember when they introduced Face ID for iPads Pro in 2018 - I thought: "ok, so this time we'll REALLY add multiple users support and it'll be AWESOME experience!”
It was 6 years ago... 👴
A Hotdog@stroughtonsmith Agreed. I’ll prove your point once again. I love my iPad mini. It’s a fantastic “around the house” device. That’s just what it is. The iPad Pro makes no sense to me as a product category. Oh, it’s got an M chip? So I can surely do my professional development work on it, right? … Right?
@stroughtonsmith I really think Apple needs to let loose in iPad OS
1. Fix up the file system (stop trying to be cloud first, I am constantly dealing with iCloud sync crashing apps while I am in the middle of working on a file).
2. Let apps run for longer in the background before suspension and make it easier to implement long running background tasks.
3. Allow more kinds of Apps so we can have full Xcode.
If we just got 1 and 3 I could use iPad as my only device.
Sumocat 🐈⬛@stroughtonsmith It’s not light computing; it’s life computing. When I’m working, my fingers are on a keyboard. When I’m not, they’re not. That’s how my work-life balance splits while working from home. Even when I’m handling work tasks from my iPad, I don’t feel “at work” until I lift that notebook lid.
Jamie Lawrence@stroughtonsmith the iPad mini is surprisingly brilliant for travel tv/writing/drawing/reading/browsing etc.I struggle to understand the point of the full size iPads though, especially the Pro
Mike Cane@stroughtonsmith iPad -> Leisure Computer. Get your coding paws off it! Buy a Surface tablet.
adacosta@stroughtonsmith I disagree, it’s still great for watching videos in bed, listen to music, light and easy to carry around. Great for casual web browsing and email. Also, if I need a little more screen real estate from my MacBook Pro, sidecar is an excellent extended display feature. It’s just when you try to use it as a Mac replacement it comes up short. #Apple needs to add a Mac optimized mode: window management, multi-tasking in context.
Matt@adacosta @stroughtonsmith Agree - I also use mine for editing photography. The problem is those who try to put Mac expectations on a device that has different strengths.
@mtau @stroughtonsmith These expectations kinda evolved somewhere between iPad 2 and #iPad Pro. I remember the keynote Steve Jobs presented a segment showing how the iPad was being used in environments you didn’t expect. That’s where I think the potential started to shift. But I believe it likely was a bit too much to ask of it. If want a toaster and a refrigerator then a touch optimized #macOS will be needed.
Davide Di Stefano@adacosta I think you just confirmed the initial point.
It’s depressing that after 14 years this platform is only good for consuming media and doing causal work
It’s depressing that after 14 years this platform is only good for consuming media and doing causal work
@dzamir Its depressing that after 40 years, I can't use my #MacBook Pro as a touch screen, use Biometric sign in, use a stylus for creative purposes on that large trackpad and do pretty much the same things we have done on Macs for 30 to 40 years: word processing, email, point and click photo editing, vector illustration, web browsing, email, listen audio, watch videos on YouTube and software development. Last I checked, vast majority of those same tasks are or can be done on an #iPad.
Steve BarnesFor plenty of things, it still seems to me like a better device on the couch or around the house than a phone or a laptop; the original promise proven by time.
What are a few examples of things it once did to a high quality that it now does badly?
@stroughtonsmith I think its gotten better
- Multitasking options w/ split screen/slide over/stage manager (ignorable if you want)
- The best display Apple makes in the 12.9 (MacBook Pro caliber but w/ touch screen)
- Cellular connectivity
- Keyboard/trackpad/pencil support (also ignorable)
Most people have basic computing needs (email, notes, calendar, web browsing, watching media, etc). I’d argue iPad now does all these well, and is best in class for some (modularity/media/notes).
Christof Stadler@stroughtonsmith Well, I still love my iPad and use it every day for “light computing” and consumption. It does this very well, never ever crashes, has a beautiful display and a very good (magic) keyboard. Could not be happier with it.
Chirayu 
@stroughtonsmith iPad's legacy is that it became the modern 'Home Computer'
So many older folks who didn't grow up with desktop computers in their homes, now use iPads as their primary device for all their "computing" needs.
iPad will never become a work computer for professionals no matter what.
Metafrastis@stroughtonsmith My iPad Pro has become my favourite device for reading, browsing, streaming, casual gaming and photo editing. It’s better for these tasks than any other computer I know.
David B@stroughtonsmith I barely use mine. When I want to use a device, I reach for my phone or my laptop. If I don’t feel Ike using either of those, I’m probably interacwith the real world and don’t want the iPad