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New iPad Air and iPad Mini

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Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#251

Post by ceejayoz »

baobrain wrote: post #239
chrisseaton wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to connect their iPhones/iPads to their computers Why do you need to connect your iPad to your computer? I have never connected mine - everything goes through the cloud or Bluetooth. Are you developing apps on it? That's a pretty niche use-case.

> Are you developing apps on it? That's a pretty niche use-case. A niche but extremely important use case, isn't it? Without app developers the platform is dead.

It's a small enough (and dependent-on-Apple) niche that "use an adapter" is something you can tell the developers to do.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#252

Post by jonfw »

basch wrote: post #207
tolmasky wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These products just feel like “component pipeline optimization” instead of working backwards from customer needs. There should be 3 iPads, all with the same form factor, same connectors (can’t believe I even have to specify this): small medium large, and they should be called iPad mini, iPad, and iPad Pro. The iPad should serve the vast majority of the market. The pro should really feel like it’s for Pros. The mini s…

they should use the same words for all their devices. they need to decide between Mini and Air or make one of those the "regular." Macbook, iPad, and iPhone: Mini, Air, Plus? Air, nothing, Pro? Why is it a Macbook Pro and an iPhone Plus and then a Max? They need one word and one world only for big and powerful, not 3.

Same thing that happened the first time Steve Jobs left. Apple is moving towards being just another consumer electronics company. Unremarkable products and competitive pricing.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#253

Post by gnicholas »

jbigelow76 wrote: post #197
tolmasky wrote: post #30

It is so weird that the iPad Air and iPad mini only support the old Apple Pencil. The iPad mini was my favorite incarnation of the iPad line when it came out, and I was considering getting one again, but I have no interest in needing two different kinds of iPad pencil. Apple keeps creating and extending these arbitrary transition periods. The old Apple Pencil should be in the past. Instead we have an entire other gen…

The new pencil uses inductive charging (and magnets). Adding that to the mini and the non-Pro iPads would drive their prices up (assuming Apple would insist on maintaining the existing margins) when these are supposed to be more budget oriented models.

Yep, and a redesign of the edge of the iPad, which would not be trivial. Of course, this would also make the iPads look much more like the Pro, which they try to position as the premium model.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#254

Post by atomi »

_ea1k wrote: post #206
scarface74 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 1st generation iPad was woefully lacking RAM (256MB) even though the iPhone 4 that came out 3 months later with the same SOC had 512Mb. That led to the iPad being unusable with iOS 5 that came out 2 years later and unsupported after that. The iPhone of the same generation was supported through iOS 7. The 3rd generation iPad was heavy, slow, and had horrible battery life and was discontinued six months later as th…

> So what are tablet users going to leave the iPad for? All of the great Android tablets available? Yeah, this is the sad thing about the current situation. The Apple lineup is a mess, but everyone's "competitive" devices are even messier. I have only Android phones, but my tablet is an ipad.

I couldn't give up Termux.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#255

Post by hammeiam »

crazygringo wrote: post #31
jackfrodo wrote: post #3

I'm 24 years old, work in software. Neither I nor any of my friends uses a tablet for work or pleasure. I guess I know a couple of people who have Surface Pro's, but that's about it. I'm wondering if the appeal of these begins when you get older? Seems like a lot of the market for these is people who are 50+, but I'd like to know if any people under 25 are interested in them.

I got my first iPad a year ago, suspecting I wouldn't use it for anything (and I'm nowhere close to 50). Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong. It's now my primary device for: - Reading and annotating books and papers in PDF format (academic research has never been easier, I use a stylus too) - Mounting to a tripod and recording video (e.g. professional presentations, with a lapel mic connected -- again, screen s…

What do you use for pdf annotation and citation management? I really like hosting my own data with zotero+webdav, but there basically is no interface. On the flip side, Mendeley has a ton of features, and works+looks great, but hosting is paid.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#257

Post by TulliusCicero »

jackfrodo wrote: post #3

I'm 24 years old, work in software. Neither I nor any of my friends uses a tablet for work or pleasure. I guess I know a couple of people who have Surface Pro's, but that's about it. I'm wondering if the appeal of these begins when you get older? Seems like a lot of the market for these is people who are 50+, but I'd like to know if any people under 25 are interested in them.

They're great as a digital babysitter. Sometimes you just need your kid to sit quietly, and they're a total lifesaver for something like long flights.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#258

Post by sascha_sl »

askafriend wrote: post #178
tolmasky wrote: post #30

It is so weird that the iPad Air and iPad mini only support the old Apple Pencil. The iPad mini was my favorite incarnation of the iPad line when it came out, and I was considering getting one again, but I have no interest in needing two different kinds of iPad pencil. Apple keeps creating and extending these arbitrary transition periods. The old Apple Pencil should be in the past. Instead we have an entire other gen…

This is a supply chain optimization and also the reason they can keep the costs low for these products. Cost is important here and the whole reason this product line exists. It’s a mirror of their iPhone strategy where they sell last years model for cheaper. They’re using old components and designs where they think it makes sense, but are being uncompromising about the compute power (e.g. A12 Bionic, AR capabilities)…

Also, I imagine this will boost the secondary market for Gen 1 pencils dramatically.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#259

Post by sascha_sl »

amluto wrote: post #200
vbezhenar wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like lightning port, it's pretty natural compared to USB-C. Male port which could break on cable, female port which won't break on device. USB-C seems like very fragile decision, so it's only good that they don't abandon their better port. That said, they should definitely ship all necessary cables, it's really strange that they trying to save tiny money on premium product.

You have this backwards. Apple’s shoddy (but slim!) cable construction notwithstanding, the Lightning male metal bit is quite strong. The parts that wear out are the springy parts in the female connector. USB-C puts the springy parts in the male connector. (Lightning also seems prone to arcing or overheating damage to the power pins. Source: visual inspection of my many failed Apple and third-party Lightning cables.)

Yes, I've had every lightning cable, apple or not, show darkened and eventually dying 4th pins. It's infuriating. You essentially have to unplug the USB-A side first to prevent it from happening.

Strange enough I've not seen this happen to a lot of other people.

Re: New iPad Air and iPad Mini

#260

Post by mtone »

kalleboo wrote: post #48
landcoctos wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 24 years old, work in software. Neither I nor any of my friends uses a tablet for work or pleasure. We use Ipads for pleasure. It's more pleasant to browse the net on the couch than sitting at a computer.

It's more pleasant to stand a laptop on my lap on the couch than to keep gripping a tablet. And almost all the tablet cases are terrible floppy messes ( especially Apple's with their weak magnets and poor angle choices) This is the main reason I don't "get" tablets. They're just more uncomfortable to use for me. You have to keep holding onto it and you get gorilla arm vs using a trackpad.

I never hold the tablet - a Kindle is the upper limit of what I'm willing to hold.

At home my (coverless) iPad always sits on a 3rd party stand, so I simply put the stand on my lap. And maybe have a coffee in hand. And maybe a plate with a toast.

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