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New iPad Air, powered by M4

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Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#211
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Photoshop and video editing. Until the M chips, the app options were slim, and now iPads get new M chips as they come out. You might ask — doesn’t it suck to do either on an iPad? Yep, yet even on my iPhone, I use Photoshop all the time. VMs are not very CPU demanding usually — usually more RAM demanding.

How do you do any productivity on it if getting files in and out is such a pain? I had M4 iPad PRO and is just collecting dust. Too clunky to use.

If you're in the apple ecosystem, the "normal" way is to just literally drag and drop files between devices with your mouse, use airdrop, copy on one device then paste on another, etc. "Continuity" makes it stupidly easy, but not advertised well.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#212
post #18

I'm about to head to the gym with my 12.9-inch 2017 vintage iPad Pro, which is still going strong. I prop it up on the elliptical trainer every other day or so for entertaining me while I grind out an hour of cardio. I use it for reading, watching YouTube, listening to music, audiobooks, etc. It's been my regular gym buddy for years, and is showing no signs of needing to be replaced. It's stuck on iPadOS 17.7.10, whi…

There is no greater punishment for a corporation’s shareholders and employees than making a product so good and so reliable it doesn’t need to be replaced for a very long time.

Which is why we need regulations on the subject.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#213

My current iPad is the iPad Air 3 (the one with the backlight issue that's never been acknowledged, to my understanding.) Can someone explain to me why an iPad at all, let alone an iPad Air, needs as powerful a processor as a M4? That's stronger than my laptop (a M2) where I run multiple VMs and more.

They don't need it. Apple is introducing new hardware for the sake of introducing new hardware. Personally, they need to put the iPad on a two-year release cycle and focus on improving iPad OS.

[deleted]

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#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.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#215
post #202

Had an M4 iPad Pro for nearly 2 years. Everything's so fast and fluid I doubt I'd notice if the CPU were twice as fast. If this ever died I'd likely replace it with an Air - the Pro is overkill for what's basically a consumption device.

I think the big difference why I would go for a pro if I ever replace my mini is ProMotion. It seems like even in this new model you are stuck with the old lower refresh rate which is quite jarring.

Performance wise, even older ipads were well beyond what I need so if you can handle lower refresh rate for sure a better deal.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#216
post #117

To what end? I genuinely don’t get the purpose of these high end processors in a tablet. Like more power is nice but what would I do on it that needs it? Serious gamers mostly steer clear of Apple. Video editors presumably use desktops/laptops. Browsing doesn’t need power. Video watching doesn’t need it. Programming on iPads is cumbersome. Who is the target audience that gains from this?

Music production is the killer feature that benefits a lot from CPU performance.

I only recently bought an iPad for the first time this year after realizing this was feasible. I’ve always preferred digital music workflows, but hated dealing with a laptop and DAW. iOS supports AUv3 plugins and cross app audio, so it’s pretty much a full DAW experience (I use loopy pro). The form factor forces AUv3 devs to design smarter interfaces.

Plus, I dislike using the iPad for literally anything else, so I’m less likely to get distracted :)

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#217

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.

Could not agree more, it's wild my AppleTVs now ask for which profile is using it but the iPad still hasn't gotten this.

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#218
post #117

To what end? I genuinely don’t get the purpose of these high end processors in a tablet. Like more power is nice but what would I do on it that needs it? Serious gamers mostly steer clear of Apple. Video editors presumably use desktops/laptops. Browsing doesn’t need power. Video watching doesn’t need it. Programming on iPads is cumbersome. Who is the target audience that gains from this?

It lets the iPadOS/app devs write slower software without you noticing too much

Re: New iPad Air, powered by M4

#219

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.

I am convinced they’ve done research that says they would sell a meaningfully smaller number of units if they added this feature. Sigh…
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