I suspect a Swift 3.1 release to support the new iPads -- then a major Swift 4.0 Beta at WWDC.
Why do you need a new version of Swift to support new iPads?
I over-simplified. I suspect that Apple OSes will have some new capabilities that will be available to developers in Xcode/Swift 3.1 -- and these will exploit features of the new iPads.
Hard to believe the Air2 is more than two years on the market now. Light, thin, fast, I love it. But even with a spec bump, will people with 32-bit iPads finally upgrade? No iOS 11 for them, so maybe.
I wonder if/how much the IBM MobileFirst partnership will influence the intro of new iPads -- especially CPU/GPU RAM.
I suspect a Swift 3.1 release to support the new iPads -- then a major Swift 4.0 Beta at WWDC.
And, at some point in the near future, the ability to run Apple Pro Apps (Also 3rd-party Pro apps) and Xcode on the iPad.
For example, here's the AutoDesk Formit 3D Mdeling App running on an iPad Pro Apple/Pencil
Developers of other 3D Modeling programs, such as Sketch, appear to be investigating porting their apps to iPad Pro.
Very interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have in mind for the 10.5".
Have you used the Pencil for editing video, by the way?
Not really! The UI for iMovie or FCP (when linked to a Mac) aren't designed for iPad/Pencil input, yet.
For example, you'd need a cursor to be displayed on the iPad screen to perform granular, precise editing of sound fades or masking with Bezier curves in SliceX.
I remember having a discussion with someone not too long ago about the future of the iPad. He thought the iPad Air series had a future while I didn't. My reasoning has not changed since then and I'm fairly confident that my predictions will play out this year.
What I expect from the upcoming refresh is a renewed push with the Pro brand. The Air brand will be retired for good and there might even be the possibility of a 7.9" Pro. With sales declining, the only way Apple can keep the revenue flowing is with higher-priced Pro tablets and I expect them to release newer Pro models in various sizes. I'm not sure what they will do with the Mini (Apple usually doesn't care too much about the lower-end) and there is a distinct possibility that they will axe the 7.9" model entirely.
It's pretty clear that the Air 2's days are numbered, but only time will tell if the Air brand has any legs left. The Pro brand is Apple's latest gamble at reviving the iPad and I don't think they are about to give up on it just yet.
I remember having a discussion with someone not too long ago about the future of the iPad. He thought the iPad Air series had a future while I didn't. My reasoning has not changed since then and I'm fairly confident that my predictions will play out this year.
What I expect from the upcoming refresh is a renewed push with the Pro brand. The Air brand will be retired for good and there might even be the possibility of a 7.9" Pro. With sales declining, the only way Apple can keep the revenue flowing is with higher-priced Pro tablets and I expect them to release newer Pro models in various sizes. I'm not sure what they will do with the Mini (Apple usually doesn't care too much about the lower-end) and there is a distinct possibility that they will axe the 7.9" model entirely.
It's pretty clear that the Air 2's days are numbered, but only time will tell if the Air brand has any legs left. The Pro brand is Apple's latest gamble at reviving the iPad and I don't think they are about to give up on it just yet.
"Reviving" and "give up on it" are a bit hyperbolic -- while sales are down, they're still amazingly good. The ipad revenue alone is more than most SV companies, that's how good they are. It had explosive growth coming off the blocks, now they're cooling -- but still very high. I could only dream of having a product do as well as the "down" ipad sales.
All my iPads are 64-bit, and I'm pretty happy with the A2. But— I'm jonesin' for the small iPad Pro and Pencil for sketching electrical/electronic schematics.
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For example, you'd need a cursor to be displayed on the iPad screen to perform granular, precise editing of sound fades or masking with Bezier curves in SliceX.
What I expect from the upcoming refresh is a renewed push with the Pro brand. The Air brand will be retired for good and there might even be the possibility of a 7.9" Pro. With sales declining, the only way Apple can keep the revenue flowing is with higher-priced Pro tablets and I expect them to release newer Pro models in various sizes. I'm not sure what they will do with the Mini (Apple usually doesn't care too much about the lower-end) and there is a distinct possibility that they will axe the 7.9" model entirely.
It's pretty clear that the Air 2's days are numbered, but only time will tell if the Air brand has any legs left. The Pro brand is Apple's latest gamble at reviving the iPad and I don't think they are about to give up on it just yet.