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iPad Pro M1

apple.com

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Re: iPad Pro M1

#61

Post by masklinn »

SahAssar wrote: post #38
masklinn wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably never. The divergence between macOS and ipadOS is not technical, it's that Apple believes a touch-oriented and a pointer-oriented interface are completely different things.

ipadOS has pointer support and the preferred way to do pointer interactions on macOS seems to be touchpads (not mice), so the gap is definitely not as large anymore.

> ipadOS has pointer support

Yes, but it does not mandate a pointer.

> the preferred way to do pointer interactions on macOS seems to be touchpads (not mice), so the gap is definitely not as large anymore.

A touchpad is a pointer device with a similar level of precision and interaction as a mouse. One completely unlike touch.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#62

Post by paxys »

When they announced it I was briefly excited at the prospect of finally seeing macOS on an iPad, but for some reason Apple continues to be stubborn about it.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#63

Post by afpx »

Austin_Conlon wrote: post #6

What kinds of iPadOS workflows benefit from this most? The device never seemed lacking in performance.

I have the previous version with the keyboard, and I love it as a general tablet. I use it for writing down ideas, reading, and an occasional game. But, there’s nothing in this new model that seems to be worth upgrading for.

I could never see my iPad Pro as a workstation replacement. Is that what they plan on doing? I don’t see the benefit.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#64

Post by supernova87a »

Correct me if my layman's understanding is wrong, but the M1 in an iPad is not as significant a change as it was in the Macbook/Mini, isn't that correct?

iPad was already using Apple's Arm A12/13 chip, etc so this is kind of incremental?

Re: iPad Pro M1

#65

Post by jrockway »

Toutouxc wrote: post #35

A moment of silence for the guys working on the MS Surface devices. There are still reasons to get the Surface instead of an iPad, but the M1 in an iPad sounds like a hit.

Apple needs to do something about the software situation. You can write computer programs on a Surface. You can do CAD and play AAA games on a Surface. Windows, for all its flaws, does have a lot of software that targets it. Big things, and the long tail. iPad OS is rather limited.

I have an older iPad Pro and I like it better than any laptop I've had. It doesn't have any configuration to tune, it doesn't require a 2 hour update every time you turn it on (like my Surface Pro did). But, you can't deny that it is limited; you have to SSH somewhere to do real work, and its hardware isn't exposed to web applications. (For example, it has a 120Hz display, but web apps can't use it.)

Even with these limitations, it's still my favorite mobile device. For $20/month I have unlimited 4G anywhere in the country, and so sshing somewhere to do real work is no problem. (The whole pandemic thing really killed my desire to travel, though, so it just sits on a table until I use it to read a book or something.) But, there's no need to upgrade it; it's fast and the battery lasts forever. Only better software would make me want to upgrade, and it's not there yet. People still treat the iPad like a toy. I'm willing to treat it as a computer, but people that make software I use aren't quite there yet ;)

Re: iPad Pro M1

#66

Post by georgeecollins »

Toutouxc wrote: post #35

A moment of silence for the guys working on the MS Surface devices. There are still reasons to get the Surface instead of an iPad, but the M1 in an iPad sounds like a hit.

Wow, as a Surface and an iPad owner I really disagree. The M1 is great. But iOS means that the iPad is mostly a device for media consumption and maybe writing or drawing. It had all the power you need to do that with the A12.

The surface can run JetBrains, Godot, Blender, a bunch of IDEs that make it useful as productivity device for a person in tech. Most people don't need that, so I am sure the iPad will sell great. But there is still a need for laptops/ tablets (whatever weird hybrid that is becoming) that are not locked down.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#67

Post by joshhart »

Spartan-S63 wrote: post #13

It'll be interesting to see if iPadOS 15 steps us any closer to laptop/desktop class usage. The biggest thing holding back iPad from being a real laptop replacement for so many is the software. It's also not as simple as porting macOS to iPad. I get Apple's hesitancy from a usability and a product cannibalization standpoint, but it's time they step things forward.

Another idea I think is interesting. If we reach that level of usability and tech with an iPad, then it seems plausible that we could build tech where you just need to bring an iPhone near a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and you instantly have a usable environment for things we think of as desktop. We've seen usability across devices with things like the google suite or Evernote improve over time, but if you had a single device with you everywhere then data sync is totally solved.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#68

Post by mulmen »

Spartan-S63 wrote: post #13

It'll be interesting to see if iPadOS 15 steps us any closer to laptop/desktop class usage. The biggest thing holding back iPad from being a real laptop replacement for so many is the software. It's also not as simple as porting macOS to iPad. I get Apple's hesitancy from a usability and a product cannibalization standpoint, but it's time they step things forward.

I have zero interest in using a worse laptop. Touch screens are an anti-feature. For decades we have tried as an industry to do touch interfaces on “real” computers and it’s always horrible because it’s not actually a thing worth doing.

With M1 Macs being a thing I have no idea what benefits an iPad offers.

Re: iPad Pro M1

#70

Post by paxys »

masklinn wrote: post #12
ksubedi wrote: post #5

How long before MacOS and iPadOS have enough feature parity that they get merged?

Probably never. The divergence between macOS and ipadOS is not technical, it's that Apple believes a touch-oriented and a pointer-oriented interface are completely different things.

Yet almost every marketing photo of the iPad Pro shows it with a keyboard + trackpad attachment.
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