Love this from @ismh - I haven’t written much about the new iPads yet because if I buy one, it will probably be so I can hand my 2022 M2 Pro to my mom (since trade-in is less than a 10th gen iPad with 256GB and cellular costs…which is insane. Not for the trade-in but the iPad 10th gen price) and not b/c I need to upgrade. B/c the software means I still use my iPad primarily as a media consumption device. No matter how great the hardware, the software is the rub. https://512pixels.net/2024/05/the-problems-never-the-hardware/
@johnhood@ismh sadly, I agree with Stephen that we should expect that trajectory. Look, I’m of the opinion that they should have added touch support to the Mac years ago. And frankly, now that you can run iOS apps on Mac, I don’t understand why they don’t just make iPad OS as we know it as the default launcher for iPad Pro that you can exit and then use standard macOS with a mouse and keyboard. But that is clearly not what Apple wants to do.
@luis_in_brief I use mine for writing too — and pre-Apple silicon, it was the best Teams/Zoom device I owned. People can use it for more than content consumption, I’m just saying I don’t right now. I hope that if the new keyboard is too much, there will be third-party options.
@luis_in_brief pre-Apple silicon, using a non-desktop Mac for video calls was a nightmare b/c of how poorly Zoom and especially Teams ran on macOS. That’s a combo of bad software engineering on Teams’ part (I didn’t have a choice. Most users have no choice of what meeting software they can use. Apple employees have to use fucking webex I think) but also the state of the late-model Intel Macs. Apple silicon changed that so that my laptop doesn’t overheat on a call or run out of battery.
@luis_in_brief I mean, I agree. But almost no one has the luxury of choosing what meeting software they can use. Very few of us are in a position to refuse to use the solution our employer chooses. My employer at the time (Microsoft) obviously used Teams. My current employer (GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft but run independently) uses Zoom. I still have to use Teams for some intra-team collabs but at least now my laptop doesn’t overheat when using it.
@luis_in_brief ohhh gotcha yeah no, sorry for not being more clear. I think @jsnell nailed it when he wrote about the Mac’s renaissance putting iPadOS in a tough spot. Pre-AS, even with the extreme limitations, I could make more of an argument to spend $1200+ on an iPad Pro with accessories, just b/c it did some non-consumption tasks so much better. For me, it’s harder to do that now. I still love my iPad but the great hardware doesn’t overcome the software limitations.
@luis_in_brief@jsnell I think for the group of people who consistently buy iPad Prod and accessories, we’re probably a lot closer to being representative than the people Apple shows in its announcements. I think the average iPad user is an iPad Air user. And the new iPad Air is basically the old iPad Pro. But for iPad Pro, I think we’re probably fairly representative. But even yourself, you still own both an iPad and a Mac b/c of limitations you run into.
@KingShawn I’m not going to lie, this does make me irrationally angry. I know it doesn’t matter but it just feels like such a dumb thing to cut. The stickers are part of what made buying Apple products special. I’m not going to make a huge deal out of it but it does make me sad.
@KingShawn not even remotely. To me, it’s all greenwashing. Like removing power bricks from $1500 iPhones but then having them pushed by sales associates at the Apple Store during checkout (extra packaging used for those separate bricks). Or getting rid of leather from cases and replacing them with plastic fabric that is poor quality and also, plastic.
The problem with the iPad as as many have pointed out is that the software hampers what it can do unless you’re willing to contort yourself into a very specific workflow. For most casual users those limitations aren’t an issue and the advantages of the form factor outweigh the deficits. But when you charge MBPro money for a device the trade-offs sting. As @jsnell says, the best solution would be to just let us virtualize macOS on an iPad Pro when using it in certain modes https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/05/the-ipad-pro-is-no-longer-the-future-so-whats-next/
@john@jsnell honestly, Apple loves to ignore these kinds of edge cases on the preposition that every app will use only Apple frameworks and APIs so I don’t think it would be a blocker at all. The reality would be that some apps might only work in one mode or the other. And as I said, default to iPadOS. Make that the primary. But for Pro users on a Pro device with connected accessories, allow macOS mode to work.
@a40yostudent I think a lot of people would! I understand Apple is probably worried about cannibalizing their respective product lines but they are already doing that. And if I’m honest, Apple could charge MORE for an iPad Pro if they did that. Want to convince me to get a 16GB of RAM iPad Pro? Let me run a containerized or virtualized version of macOS and I will give you that $2000. And I’ll still keep my main MacBook Pro!
Any recommendations for USB-C to C charging cables over 10 feet/3 meters long? USB 2.0 speeds are fine, no video transmission needed, just want 100W of power delivery and ideally not as thick as a garden hose