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Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

sixcolors.com

41–50 of 630 posts

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#41

I'd buy an iPad immediately if I could run MacOS on it.

I don't get why this is still impossible in 2023, with M1 in both macbooks and ipads.

I'm sure at some point someone at apple has built a prototype and did extensive testing, I'd love to know why was that shut down. And whether it was a business related issue, or a tech/UX related issue.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#42
I do not want to do my work on an iPad. I have never understood what the Mac was lacking that the iPad might provide. The essay explains the perfection of the Mac: You can do anything with it. If you are a developer, you can really do anything with it.

For me, the iPad is the optional one (not that I would ever not take it). My MacBook is pretty close to being a perfect device for work. iPad is a perfect device for, well, everything else. Done.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#43
An iPad with (any) Bluetooth keyboard and mouse along with codespaces (or replit, gitpod, et al) works well. As long as you accept that what you’re using isn’t a full blown computer, it’s absolutely enough. All about managing expectations.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#44
post #6

When the iPad first came out, people knocked it as "a big iPod touch". But…maybe that wasn't a bad thing? I feel like the iPad, despite alllll the efforts to seemingly make it a pro device, is an iPhone, but bigger. It's great for messages, browsing Facebook, and watching video, and that's just fine. Because that serves a lot of people's needs, and trying to add in a bunch more stuff just overloads the touch interfac…

I think "iPad is a big iPod" worked great, but then they brought out the iPad Pro. That thing was supposed to be for Professionals doing Professional Work Things. After that came the iPad Mini, which is an iPad but smaller (so it's an iPod but bigger but smaller?).

Weirdly enough, I don't think the iPad Pro is more than just the iPad but faster and bigger. There are tons of model-based software restrictions between the different models for what I assume are market segmentation reasons.

Meanwhile, Samsung has had Dex for a few years now, and it works great. It's included on any midrange product and up and it feels like what you would expect from "what happens when I plug my phone/tablet into a USB C dock".

Apple's reveal of their weird multitasking iPad interface was quite humorous to me. It just screams "don't try to do anything professional on here" compared to the existing solutions Samsung have provided for years.

Too bad Qualcom/Samsung/Mediatek can't figure out how to compete with Apple. Dex on an iPad could replace many people's laptops and desktops and compete with Microsoft's Surface series.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even Final Cut Pro on iPad requires staying in the foreground during exports.

Never understand why apple ships their iPads and Macbooks with such little ram by default. Yes I understand profit, but it really limits what these devices can do. The numbers have not really changed much in the last several years...

Limiting the amount of ram goes a long way in reducing power consumption. It takes constant voltage to keep the cells alive, even when the device is locked and seemingly doing nothing.

The iPad really does have great battery life on the other hand.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#46
It's quite disappointing. They have so much potential but Apple do not want to meet it for whatever reason, maybe they do not want people cutting into their MacBook sales. Beautiful UI but poor UX, especially its file management which is nothing short of abysmal.

I travel with an Android tablet now — and while they have their own problems they still are far more functional and flexible than iPads. Want to watch a movie that's not on Netflix or Prime? Just find a torrent and open Flud. You can use it as a FTP server, basically anything you need, an Android tablet is perfect for. My iPad is delegated to note taking now with the pencil.

It's also pretty clear that iPads nowadays are the lowest of Apple's priorities.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacOS allows me to run any software I want. It has a terminal, and allows me to run scripts. It has a shared file system and offers true multi-tasking. You can already run some iOS apps in MacOS. I'd like a single computer where I can switch between mobile / pencil usage and desktop keyboard / mouse usage.

That's exactly what I have with a convertible Chromebook. Super Snappy ChromeOS for web browsing. It can run Android apps, or stream them from my phone. Flip it around and it's a BIG tablet. 15.6" 4k screen. Going back into computer mode I can run full blown Linux, very quickly via Crouton or virtualized slightly less quick with official Crostini. Can also do a lot of the terminal stuff directly in the ChromeOS shell…

Sounds interesting. What model did you get? Does it have a stylus?

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#48
The concept of this website (sixcolors.com) is bewildering to me. I sincerely hope the authors are being handsomely paid by Apple behind the scenes, otherwise they just spend their lives doing free advertising for a trillion dollar corporation.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even Final Cut Pro on iPad requires staying in the foreground during exports.

Never understand why apple ships their iPads and Macbooks with such little ram by default. Yes I understand profit, but it really limits what these devices can do. The numbers have not really changed much in the last several years...

Apple wants strict market segmentation. Why would they sell you once device that does everything when they can sell you 2 or 3 devices for specific tasks.

There might even be some logic to that with each device optimized for it's specific best purpose. It also doesn't hurt that it makes them more money.

Re: Giving up the iPad-only travel dream

#50

I know Apple has a strong resistance to the two-in-one form factor, but an M-series MacBook Air with detachable screen that seamlessly transitions between macOS and iPadOS is basically my dream device.

They want to sell you two devices, and a monthly subscription to iCloud to interoperate between them.

I really don’t buy these kinds of explanations when it comes to Apple products. They would love to sell you a 2-in-1 device for twice as much.

I just don’t think the UX is good enough for their standards. MacOS is poorly suited for touch interactions, and iPadOS is poorly suited for mouse cursor oriented interactions. 2-in-1s are just terrible UX experiences that Apple doesn’t want to be associated with.

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