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The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

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Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#321

Post by Slartie »

gehsty wrote: post #226
Slartie wrote: post #42

The iPad has failed as a general purpose computing device, sure. But it has succeeded (along with other tablet devices of similar form factor) as a basis for a large and growing number of single-purpose use cases in various industries: - iPad POS are popular in smaller coffee shops and similar outlets - iPad-based document viewing solutions are used by pilots to replace large bags with manuals for planes that they us…

I don't think you can really say that the iPad has failed as a general computing device, and that it is propped up by the situations below. What do you think generates $20B in sales? That's a lot of tills flight aids. I think the iPad has succeeded as a general purpose computation device for normal people who use computers for email / music / Facetime / photos etc. Always seems like its the 'power users' who don't se…

That is not what I would consider "general computing device", more like "media consumption device", and yes, it is fairly good at that.

I would require a device to be regularly used for content creation as well in order for it to qualify as "general computing device". But pretty much the only "content creation" that I see happening on iPads in normal peoples' households is writing emails. By that account, our smartphones are certainly more qualified for the "general computing device" tag, because those are regularly used to create photos and videos in addition to mails and instant messages.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#322

Post by 0xCMP »

As someone who uses his iPad Pro regularly, I love all the multi tasking of the iPad.

I know many have written that they have issues with multiple windows on the iPad, but for me it's never been better or easier. My main gripe is keyboard behavior which is very buggy, but not related to how easy/hard it is to make and move apps around the screen.

The fact is that the iPad is only useful because of its software. In my case it'd be useless without Files, Working Copy, Blink, Wireguard, and Screens. Only 1 of those is built-in and still it's a fairly recent addition. And it's the latest version on iOS 13 which is really the version which turbo-charged using many apps together easily. I use these apps to pretty much avoid directly using my "real computers" as much as possible via VMs or remote access via Wireguard.

But, I think we're only seeing the beginning of the iPad. I can relate to the feeling that "we should have more of what we expected by now", but the fact is that designing these power user interfaces, actually redesigning them for touch while making them compatible with existing ones, is very difficult.

A great example for HN is how we develop like we're in the 70s with text terminals and executing commands. Where on the iPad it might make more sense for the terminal to be rich like a REPL where commands/expressions act more like the results of a Shortcut (rich data, not just text) or code might be edited as an AST instead of the text which allows the concept of a "source file" to go away and instead there be a source database. Instead of trying to rebuild the editors we had we build something else designed for testing, iterating, and managing the AST. Dark[1] is a good example of this, but currently focused on the web.

This is all way out there right now, but it makes me think that the iPad is still just getting started.

[1]: https://darklang.com/

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#323

Post by eru »

GolDDranks wrote: post #245

I bought my first and only tablet, an iPad, two years back. I havent't much used it since then. I bet it would be great for reading and watching videos, but the moment I want to type something, I just become needlessly irritated and switch back to my MacBook Pro. It's not just typing on a touch screen; that's awful, but then I bought a keyboard. But using the Dvorak layout, Scandinavian letters and Japanese input in…

I use Dvorak on my Kineses Advantage (and every other keyboard). I tried dvorak layout on the phone and tablet, but didn't like it. I think qwerty's design of making commonly-consecutive letters far apart might actually help here? (Or perhaps the autocorrect is just much better at correcting typical qwerty mistakes than dvorak mistakes?)

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#324

Post by js2 »

pwthornton wrote: post #318
kbutler wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That turns out not to be true. The newer low-end models have various changes from the previous high-end models, including case changes, but also other hardware. The original low-end iPhone SE had the plastic case with the hardware of the 5-something - but a smaller display. The iPad mini had the guts of an iPad 2, except it was a smaller device, requiring a new motherboard and display, and it had a better camera, too…

The iPhone SE had a metal body. I have one in my desk drawer right now. It was fantastic hardware. It just used cheaper cameras and a smaller screen.

My kids still use SEs. It's still a very functional phone. The internals are iPhone 6s era (A9). The plastic phone was the 5c (A6, same as the 5) and it's not even 64-bit so it can't be upgraded past iOS 10. (The SE is three generations newer than the 5C.)

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#325

Post by samatman »

flixic wrote: post #80
Nextgrid wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPad succeeds in these examples because it's a consistent environment with updates. The problem with the cheap Android tablet is that unless the entire world standardises on a single model of tablet for these purposes you'd have all kinds of quirks around hardware, etc. Updates are also another issue even on premium-priced Android devices, so the cheap one is a lost cause.

Updates themselves are an assumption. I imagine a large percentage of cafe checkout and meeting room booking tablets are never updated once installed. The distinction here is Appliance vs Computing Platform. And so far many tablets are seen as appliances, not computers.

If they're iPads, this is unlikely.

All one has to do is leave them connected to power and WiFi overnight.

It's more likely that the typical cafe checkout iPad is silently updated on a regular basis, after close of business, and the staff don't notice at all; since they're going to be password protected, they just punch in in the morning, as usual.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#326

Post by koboll »

I do digital painting on the side, as a hobby. In that field, the iPad Pro, specifically the Procreate app, has been revolutionary -- every single famous digital illustrator, concept artist, and comics artist I follow on Instagram has one, and they post gorgeous work done on them regularly. It's the only tool that comes remotely close to challenging the gold standard workflow of Wacom tablet + Photoshop, and Wacom and Adobe have been feeling the heat, ratcheting up their marketing efforts to try and attract back budding young artists to their tools.

On the other hand, the iPad can't seem to actually replace those tools. Those pro artists still use a Wacom for their professional corporate work. The problem is less the software, I think, than the limitations the software forces by nature of the hardware. For professional work, you need as big a screen as possible -- Wacoms go up to 32". You also need hotkeys for an efficient workflow. Hunting and tapping through menus on a touchscreen is, by nature, going to be slower then having your left hand ready to hit the undo command at a moment's notice. Sure, it might be possible to plug a big external screen and a full keyboard into your iPad, but at that point, is it really an iPad anymore? What professional artist would bother buying an iPad to act as a desktop computer tower when they could buy an actual desktop computer tower with better specs for cheaper?

So the iPad is about as good as it can possibly be: such a good touchscreen tablet that professional artists love it in all situations where they're willing to sacrifice power and flexibility for the convenience of a fully portable touchscreen tablet. It's not very good at replacing a full professional art setup on a desktop. But should it really aspire to be? In other words, I agree with this article, but disagree with its conclusions. Tablets won't replace laptops not because the iPad isn't a good enough tablet, but because they're simply never going to be the most efficient work machine you can buy.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#327

Post by ajmurmann »

apexalpha wrote: post #143

This is excellent. My grandma (89) uses an iPad and iPhone. She can use both these devices exactly because of the simplicity mentioned in the article. 1. Open app by tapping it. 2. Close it by tapping the physical button. (rip) That's it. And that's why my grandma can use it. The first and only device she comfortably uses to this day. People in our (tech) communities tend to overestimate a users ability with technolo…

I've found the very small bezel on newer iPads to be a problem for my parents in their 60s. Since I got them a new iPad they frequently will accidentally exit FaceTime while talking to them and then not know how to get back.

The unintuitive multi-tasking is actually an advantage for them. It's hard to accidentally end up in that mode and they wouldn't have a need to ever use it. If it was easier to get into multi-tasking, they likely would only want to know how to stop it.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#328

Post by JMTQp8lwXL »

monocularvision wrote: post #215
johnwalkr wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was never available on iPad, and is no longer on newer iPhones. It's replaced by a long touch, but this cursor control function has disappeared.

Long touch the space bar in the keyboard to get the trackpad-like functionality back.

Thank you. I had trouble activating this feature. On iOS it seems to work anywhere on the keyboard, not limited to a particular key.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#329

Post by altitudinous »

An article written by a technologist. Only 1% use multitasking.

Software is absolutely the strength.

The extraordinary social impact of iPad on education, bringing technology and books to the masses, especially the non technical, education and entertainment to the young (who can use this device even before they can read), the elderly and most importantly the enablement of the disabled are the greatest achievements of the iPad. This is the device of the 2010's.

Focussing on something like multitasking in the OS is really narrow and misses why this device even exists.

Re: The iPad Awkwardly Turns 10

#330

Post by antipaul »

tiffanyh wrote: post #314

It’s interesting how success & potential is defined. iPad generates ~$20B/year in revenue with huge margins. [1] If iPad was a standalone business, it be the 156th largest company in the world by revenue (Fortune). [2] How can having a single product where only 155 entire companies are bigger than it, “not live up to its potential”? [1] https://sixcolors.com/post/2019/10/apple-results-64b-in-reve... [2] https://fortu…

This is not what the Steve Jobs era prioritized. Revolutionary product first, market share and revenue second.

Gruber follows that philosophy

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