Apple introduces M4 chip

They mean that this OS only runs iPad apps, it doesn't let you run the kind of software you expect to take full advantage of the CPU.

If I'm understanding your point correctly that wouldn't prevent them from offering higher ram specs for the lower storage eg. 512 gig macs. So it seems like it is just price gouging

> Welcome to being old!

This has nothing to do with age. I have an iPad Pro that I barely use because it has been designed for use cases that I just don't have.

I don't do any digital art, don't take handwritten notes, and don't need to scan and/or mark up documents very often. I don't edit photos or videos often enough to need a completely separate device for the task.

I mostly use my computers for software development, which is impossible on an iPad. I tried running my dev tools inside an iSH session, and also on a remote Linux box that I could SSH into. It wasn't a great experience. Why do this when I could just run VS Code or WebStorm on a Mac?

I also write a lot -- fiction, blog posts, journal entries, reading notes -- which should technically be possible to do well on the iPad. In practice there just aren't enough powerful apps for serious long-form writing on a tablet. Microsoft Word on iPad lacks most of the features of its desktop counterpart, Scrivener doesn't support cloud sync properly, iA Writer is too limited if you're writing anything over a few thousand words, and Obsidian's UI just doesn't work well on a touch device. The only viable app is Ulysses, which is ... okay, I guess? If it floats your boat.

I sometimes do music production. This is now possible on the iPad via Logic Pro. I suppose I could give it a try, but what does that get me? I already own an Ableton license and a couple of nice VSTs, none of which transfers over to the iPad. I can also download random third-party apps to manipulate audio on my Mac, or mess around with Max4Live, or use my Push 2 to make music. Again, this stuff doesn't work on an iPad and it never will, because the APIs to enable these things simply don't exist.

There are tons of people who use Windows because they need to use proprietary Windows-based CAD software. Or people who need the full desktop version of Excel to do their jobs. Or academics and researchers who need Python/R to crunch data. All of these people might LOVE to use something like these new iPads, but they can't because iPadOS just can't meet their use cases.

I really like the idea of a convertible tablet that can support touch, stylus, keyboard, and pointer input. The iPad does a great job at being this device as far as hardware and system software is concerned. But unfortunately, it's too limited for a the kinds of workflows people using laptops/desktops need to do.

> but it is about selling luxury hardware.

While Apple is first and foremost a hardware company, it has more or less always been about the "Apple experience". They've never "just" been a hardware company.

For as long as Apple has existed, they've done things "their way" both with hardware and software, though they tend to want to abstract the software away.

If it was merely a question of selling hardware, why does iCloud exist ? or AppleTV+, or Handoff ? or iMessage, or the countless other seemingly small life improvements that somehow the remainder of the industry cannot seem to figure out how to do well.

Just a "simple" thing as switching headphones seamlessly between devices is something i no longer think about, it just happens, and it takes a trip with a Windows computer and a regular bluetooth headset to remind me how things used to be.

As part of their "privacy first" strategy, iMessage also fits in nicely. Apple doesn't have to operate a huge instant messaging network, which undoubtedly is not making a profit, but they do, because having one entry to secure, encrypted communication fits well with the Apple Experience. iMessage did so well at abstracting the ugly details of encryption that few people even think about that that's what the blue bubble is actually about, it more or less only means your message is end to end encrypted. As a side effect you can also send full resolution images (and more), but that's in no way unique to iMessage.

Apple always had the fastest, the biggest, the best. Or at least they have to claim that to justify the price premium.

Previous iPads had the best screens in a tablet even if they weren't oleds. Now that they finally use oleds, they have the best oled screens and the best screens in a tablet.