Steve Troughton-SmithApple was once convinced the future of computing was 'apps', so iPad was designed married to that idea. But we're 16 years on now, and the present of computing is AI, and IDEs, command lines and virtualization, and Python, and git, and scripting and automation. iPad risks being completely left behind as a computing platform by not supporting any of that stuff properly, and developer interest has been waning for years now. It's well past time for iPad to get its shit together, and open up
Olivier Roux (moose)@stroughtonsmith @cstross I don’t get why people want iPads to be “real computers”. I love my iPad as what it is: a great tablet for reading, browsing the web, watching videos, gaming etc. I’ve been a Mac user since 1984 and not once have I missed multi windows on iPad. Each device has its own uses.
@stroughtonsmith @cstross maybe iPads should not cost USD3000? That’s pro laptop territory… I think even Apple is not clear on what iPad should be.
@stroughtonsmith @cstross because they apparently cannot find a way to make it useful to you? You love the hardware but find the software limiting, which is what a section of iPad buyers have been complaining about since the original model. Maybe it’s because the iPad is fundamentally not for them? (Not trolling here, I find this actually an interesting question)
@otolithe @cstross macOS is getting closer to iPadOS every year; maybe the Mac is fundamentally not for you?
(These are silly arguments, and I've been hearing them for 16 years, yet Apple has steadily aligned closer and closer to what I've been asking for all that time. iPad has been my only 'laptop' since 2012, and I use it for hours a day — but that doesn't mean I can't point out what else the platform needs. My iPad is the most expensive and powerful computer I own)
@stroughtonsmith @cstross I absolutely love the Mac (since my first 512 Mac), I work on a Mac all day long, and really don’t like the trend to make it more iPad/iOS like. Just like I’m not a fan of attempts to make iPads more like Macs. I like a tool for each purpose/context I guess…
adacosta@otolithe @stroughtonsmith @cstross Anyone spending 3k on an #iPad is no different from anyone buying a maxed out M3 Ultra Studio when the cheapest Mac Mini would suffice. #Apple unfortunately created this problem with the introduction of the Pro line, the iPad should never have strained from original idea as being a simple device for consumption. But, MBA's at Apple had other ideas. iPad should still be the same 9.7 screen and nothing more.
Charlie Stross@adacosta @otolithe @stroughtonsmith Disagree! My iPad mini is the best ebook reader ever! Whereas the iPad solves a problem the WIMP UI paradigm can't, namely chording gestures.
Fazal Majid@cstross @adacosta @otolithe @stroughtonsmith agreed, I got a PocketBook reader to see what the fuss is about e-ink and frankly can't understand why anyone would prefer the grainy, low-contrast screens over an OLED or LCD iPad.
That said, the iPad's limitations are a direct consequence of Apple's self-interested control freakery. I am writing this on a Google Pixel Tablet running GrapheneOS, and while the hardware is nowhere as nice as my matte iPad Pro M4 13" or iPad mini, the software runs rings around them. Like a full-featured email client that can show full email headers and will auto-load images from designated senders only, or Tor Browser that doesn't require contortions. Also the calm from an OS that is not festooned with self-shilling ads.
Also, the hill I will die on: the real value of tablets is you can and should hold them vertical in portrait mode, which is why I found Apple moving the FaceId can to the long edge so galling.