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Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

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Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#61

Post by ghaff »

rnk wrote: post #56
ghaff wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument is that it's legacy and it will die because USB-C is better is a variety of ways. And in true Apple fashion, Apple is killing it somewhat aggressively. Though it's not just Apple. Something like a Google Pixelbook is USB-C only as well.

The same thing can be said for the unnecessary apple lightning plug - it serves no purpose other than apple selling adapters and blocking usb-c use. Yet it keeps being used. Lots of companies have things with only usb-c but the real problem is not new use, it's the billions of devices with usb-a plugs on them. In my house there are probably 10 usb-c plugs across several computers and 100 usb-a things to plug in.

The main purpose lightning serves is that it removes a barrier to Apple customers upgrading to the next iPhone. Apple will get to USB-C--probably sooner rather than later; I wouldn't bet against this year--but that's actually a case of getting onto a standard even though there's no real advantage right now for Apple customers and some pain.

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#62

Post by realityking »

smoldesu wrote: post #54
threeseed wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacBook Pro is not designed for everyone. Content creators rely on SD cards everyday and cameras actively sold today use it. Devices stopped being shipped with USB-A a long time ago now.

I have a hard time believing that people use SD cards more frequently than they do USB-A. Sure, photographers probably get good use out of it, but developers, students, content creators who aren't shooting with DSLR, animators, musicians, 3D artists, regular artists and video editors will probably never touch it. There are plenty of fairly common USB-A peripherals still in use anyways. A lot of audio interfaces, mice…

How many of those devices have fixed cables? I bought a few USB-C to Mini-USB/Micro-USB/Micro-USB3/USB-B/Lightning cables and replaced all the cables on my devices.

Now if only my car had a USB-C plug…

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#64

Post by hbn »

perardi wrote: post #41
galogon wrote: post #2

The Watch, Mac and iPhone are doing great but the iPad lacks ambition and doesn't seem to have a direction. Who is in charge of the iPad division at Apple?

I remember headlines calling the iPad a big iPod touch when it came out. …which is maybe kinda true? I have no idea if they want to make it a “Pro” device, despite the Pro moniker, because you still have such weird multitasking UI paradigms and so many limitations in terms of pro features. (Audio routing comes to mind. You can’t have Audio Hijack for iOS.) And the value proposition of a fully loaded iPad with keyboar…

I think it's really just a limitation of the formfactor. It's first and foremost a touchscreen-centric device. Sure, you can clip a keyboard onto it to type easier and get a weird not-quite-cursor to interact with it, but at it's core, it will always be a touchscreen device, and as such can't expect users to keep peripherals on them at all times to make it more usable. So the OS will always be targeting the vast majority of its users, who are just poking at a touchscreen.

And touchscreen interfaces need to have all their points of interaction on them, or hidden behind non-obvious gestures which does not make for a very good power-user software interface. And iOS at its core (I know they call it iPadOS now, but let's be real, it's iOS with a half-hearted splitscreen/windowing system on top) is made to be a walled garden. A nice walled garden, sure. But not something for productivity, other than its own very specific scenarios, like digital art where you're only planning on drawing, and not going too far outside of the clean-cut path that it expects to be used in.

So for most people, it's just another screen to watch Netflix and YouTube. And it's pretty expensive for that.

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#65

Post by smoldesu »

realityking wrote: post #62
smoldesu wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a hard time believing that people use SD cards more frequently than they do USB-A. Sure, photographers probably get good use out of it, but developers, students, content creators who aren't shooting with DSLR, animators, musicians, 3D artists, regular artists and video editors will probably never touch it. There are plenty of fairly common USB-A peripherals still in use anyways. A lot of audio interfaces, mice…

How many of those devices have fixed cables? I bought a few USB-C to Mini-USB/Micro-USB/Micro-USB3/USB-B/Lightning cables and replaced all the cables on my devices. Now if only my car had a USB-C plug…

Mice, keyboards and webcams are typically non-negotiable. Audio interfaces are pretty regularly replaceable, but it certainly doesn't improve the compatibility quotient by leaving the ports off it.

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#67

Post by windowsrookie »

tacker2000 wrote: post #34
lvl102 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPad has so much potential with M1 now. They can make it a hybrid with iOS and MacOS for example. In fact, I’d be shocked if that’s not what they end up doing with the M2 line of iPad Pros.

Yea, what if one could instantly switch between macos and ios? Imagine having a super powerful ipad pro running mac os for your work stuff, and when you are lying on the couch you detach the keyboard and any external monitors and switch to the more touch friendly ios. I think that would be a much better approach than to try to merge the 2 OSes into one hybrid OS that can do neither this nor that very well.

I don't think Apple would ever bring full MacOS to the iPad. I could imagine them allowing M1 native Mac Apps to run on the iPad tho.

Since the iPad and the Mac use essentially the same CPU now, why not allow Apps to be cross platform between the two? I know you can run some iPad Apps on the Mac, but why not the other way?

If you could run Mac apps on the iPad, would that hurt mac sales? Possibly. Although, I could imagine many non-mac users would buy an iPad if it could run VS Code.

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#68

Post by bee_rider »

chrischen wrote: post #58
bee_rider wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like just constantly have a dongle hanging off the side of your laptop, waiting to get bent? Possibly damaging to port?

Then don't get the dongle. Just upgrade your accessory to use USB type C. Having a bulky USB A port just to appease the 1% of users who spend $2000 on a shiny new macbook but cheap out on a mouse they've been using from the 90s? I exaggerate, but if you really want to keep your old accessories then leave the dongle permanently attached to the accessory. You can get like a 10 pack for like $5 probably.

It isn't really a matter of cost, so much as the inconvenience of replacing all the peripherals I've accumulated over time (ignoring the fact that there isn't even a USB-C version of my favorite keyboard).

Yes adapters are possible, however an even better solution (in that it doesn't require remembering to bring an adapter everywhere) is just to buy a different brand of laptop.

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#69

Post by bee_rider »

leipert wrote: post #59
bee_rider wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like just constantly have a dongle hanging off the side of your laptop, waiting to get bent? Possibly damaging to port?

More like: constantly attached to the cable. Only USB-A device I use is a printer and I have an adapter permanently attached to the cable.

That's a solution I guess. It could result in an annoying edge case if you wanted to for example bring your laptop somewhere else, and borrow a peripheral there. (I'm sure someone will be along to correct me, with the information that using a laptop as a portable device is some niche use-case that Apple shouldn't care about).

Re: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

#70

Post by jhou2 »

galogon wrote: post #2

The Watch, Mac and iPhone are doing great but the iPad lacks ambition and doesn't seem to have a direction. Who is in charge of the iPad division at Apple?

I would argue that the typical reader at hacker news is not the target audience for iPad. Think young children and grandparents. My elderly mother loves her ipads. She has three of them. She can watch youtube on them, check email, chat apps, play music, control her TV. My preschool nieces and nephews love the iPad similarly for youtube and games. iPads are the easiest to use computers for people who are, for one reason or another, functionally computer-illiterate.
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