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New iPad Air, powered by M4

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Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#591

Post by alwillis »

tomaskafka wrote: post #234
moolcool wrote: post #214

The iPad would go from a never-buy to a buy-right-away for me, if they added user profiles. It'd be a nice thing to have on your coffee table, where anyone in the household can pick it up and be logged into all of their stuff. Windows XP had this feature. Chromebooks have this feature. It's inexcusable that such an expensive gadget can only have one user.

Tim Cook's fear of people not buying a full set of Apple devices for each person is the driving force behind not just the lack of multiuser support, but also the overall nerfing of iPadOS. For the past 5+ years it's been, "This will be the year of real work on the iPad," but they keep circling around it, trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

> trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

This clearly isn’t the case—the iPad Pro got the M4 processor in May 2024; the Mac didn’t get the M4 until October. So for a few months, Apple’s most powerful chip was only available for the iPad Pro.

And while the M5 MacBook Pro and the M5 iPad Pro were announced together in October 2025, none of the other Mac models have been updated to the M5.

It’s possible more M5 Macs will be announced this week; we’ll see.

I don’t think it matters to Apple whether you spend $1,000+ for an iPad or for a MacBook.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#592

Post by atoav »

NetMageSCW wrote: post #444
atoav wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why we need regulations on the subject.

No, we really don’t. Perhaps regulations on recycling, but punishing poorer people who can’t afford an iPad isn’t the answer.

You think regulations on planned obsolescence punish poorer people? How? As someone who had a friend who would only eat white bread at the end of the month having his old laptop not work would be a freaking emergency.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#593

Post by swe_dima »

gyomu wrote: post #452
swe_dima wrote: post #436

Maybe my pockets are not deep enough, but I completely fail to understand the value proposition of iPad Air vs the regular iPad. If you want something powerful or big - go with Pro, if not - choose the "regular", much cheaper. What am I missing?

Better chip (A series vs M series), better screen (sRGB vs antireflective fully laminated P3), more options available (1TB, 13”), little qol things like a better WiFi chip. It’s just a nicer device for a bit more money ($349 to $599). Not everyone wants to jump all the way to $999 for the Pro.

fair enough, thanks for elaborating

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#594

Post by atoav »

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #576
atoav wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why we need regulations on the subject.

Yes we should regulate that Apple fully support an iPad Air 2 with 2GB of RAM. My iPad Air 2 with 3GB of RAM barely runs iOS 26. While we are at, the EU should also force Apple to make macOS 26 run on an old Mac LCII from 1992

I am not sure if you are being sarcastic here (the tone needed to identify it doesn't work well in the internet).

But yes. My view on the issue is: companies need to support their products with software for a predefined time and after that they should be forec to open source everything needed so people can keep the thing running themselves.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#595

Post by alwillis »

tomaskafka wrote: post #234
moolcool wrote: post #214

The iPad would go from a never-buy to a buy-right-away for me, if they added user profiles. It'd be a nice thing to have on your coffee table, where anyone in the household can pick it up and be logged into all of their stuff. Windows XP had this feature. Chromebooks have this feature. It's inexcusable that such an expensive gadget can only have one user.

Tim Cook's fear of people not buying a full set of Apple devices for each person is the driving force behind not just the lack of multiuser support, but also the overall nerfing of iPadOS. For the past 5+ years it's been, "This will be the year of real work on the iPad," but they keep circling around it, trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

The huge advantage for some people: you can get a cellular data connection for an iPad.

If you need internet connectivity on the road regardless if Wi-Fi is available, only the iPad has that option.

Yes, you can use a Mac laptop with your phone acting as a hotspot but unless you have unlimited data, that gets expensive real fast.

Now that Apple makes their own cellular modems, it should be feasible to add them to MacBooks in the near future.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#598

Post by hyperbolablabla »

tomaskafka wrote: post #234
moolcool wrote: post #214

The iPad would go from a never-buy to a buy-right-away for me, if they added user profiles. It'd be a nice thing to have on your coffee table, where anyone in the household can pick it up and be logged into all of their stuff. Windows XP had this feature. Chromebooks have this feature. It's inexcusable that such an expensive gadget can only have one user.

Tim Cook's fear of people not buying a full set of Apple devices for each person is the driving force behind not just the lack of multiuser support, but also the overall nerfing of iPadOS. For the past 5+ years it's been, "This will be the year of real work on the iPad," but they keep circling around it, trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

I don't understand how a trillion dollar company can't at this point say "you know what, I think we're good on the profit front, let's convert some of that into improving UX"

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#599

Post by ahtihn »

alwillis wrote: post #595
tomaskafka wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tim Cook's fear of people not buying a full set of Apple devices for each person is the driving force behind not just the lack of multiuser support, but also the overall nerfing of iPadOS. For the past 5+ years it's been, "This will be the year of real work on the iPad," but they keep circling around it, trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

The huge advantage for some people: you can get a cellular data connection for an iPad. If you need internet connectivity on the road regardless if Wi-Fi is available, only the iPad has that option. Yes, you can use a Mac laptop with your phone acting as a hotspot but unless you have unlimited data, that gets expensive real fast. Now that Apple makes their own cellular modems, it should be feasible to add them to Mac…

> Yes, you can use a Mac laptop with your phone acting as a hotspot but unless you have unlimited data, that gets expensive real fast.

And why exactly is that different from having the cellular connection on iPad? You can have the exact same data plan on your phone that you use as hotspot.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#600

Post by MetalSnake »

alwillis wrote: post #595
tomaskafka wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tim Cook's fear of people not buying a full set of Apple devices for each person is the driving force behind not just the lack of multiuser support, but also the overall nerfing of iPadOS. For the past 5+ years it's been, "This will be the year of real work on the iPad," but they keep circling around it, trying not to make iPads accidentally powerful enough for someone to skip buying a MacBook.

The huge advantage for some people: you can get a cellular data connection for an iPad. If you need internet connectivity on the road regardless if Wi-Fi is available, only the iPad has that option. Yes, you can use a Mac laptop with your phone acting as a hotspot but unless you have unlimited data, that gets expensive real fast. Now that Apple makes their own cellular modems, it should be feasible to add them to Mac…

Why is it getting expensive when using the phone as a hotspot, but not when using the iPad or MacBook directly with cellular data?
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