"For years, critics have trotted out the trite notion that iPad is "not powerful enough to be a real computer" and therefore only good at "consumption."
This is a very poor evaluation and deliberately stirs things up to take a stab at 'critics'.
Firstly, for years the critics were right. It has only been recently and through advances across the board (processors, graphics, iOS advances etc) that iPads like the Pro have taken a big step forward.
For years the iPad was mainly a consumption device with creative options. I wonder, out of all the iPads ever sold, how many were purchased with the purchasers seeing them as 'real' computers or simply additional devices to give them more flexibility?
The word 'trite' is out of place and even the word 'critics' is dubious. 'Commentators' would fit better.
I haven't used an iPad Pro so can't speak about it as a real computer but if you line up a desktop, a laptop and a tablet and ask a user to carry out real computer tasks, I'm sure the tablet would see little use, even if it were more powerful than the other two.
Tablets are great, they have a use. Take the above example and ask me to carry out the same tasks while sitting on a train. The tablet would get more attention this time around but depending on the task I'm sure the laptop would be the preferred option.
However, for most of its existence, the tablet has not aimed to fulfill the role of a 'real computer', it has aimed to be flexible while overlapping some of the functionality of real computers but overwhelmingly fulfilling the role of a mobile consumption device. It has done that very well (at least the iPad has).
It was able to do this principally on price. If it had been much more expensive people would have stayed with their laptops. Making it economically viable as a platform was key. That factor and initial success, also provided some tailwind to distance it from other tablets.
With the groundwork done, it was just a question of staying ahead of the pack. The Mini was another key moment although previously, we had been told there was no need for a smaller tablet.
Precisely because it is not a real computer but nevertheless manages to cover users' needs so well, people don't feel the need to upgrade so often. This doesn't represent the decline of the tablet. It's a natural situation although definitely accentuated by the lack of new updates to the line. That is a management problem not a tablet problem.
The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version.
There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices.
I have some data from Spain for 2016. I think Spain has one of the highest ratios for mobile phones per inhabitant and one of the most frequent upgrade cycles.
As far as sales for 2016 go, the iPhone was at number 5 (but with the iPhone SE). Huawei took top spot with the P8 lite, a phone that was heavily promoted by carriers during the year.
As we see smartphone saturation in the developed world, it will be harder to sell premium devices and their will be far more quality competion in that space. Far more than ever before and Apple has already been overtaken in some aspects.
Huawei today announced the P10 and P10 Plus in Barcelona. A day before the MWC officially kicks off in the same city. For premium phones, they seem to offer a very good deal for the price.
"real computer tasks"
That's where you lost me.
"real computer tasks" used to require a mainframe computer sitting in a nearby building.
Somebodies thought about taking newly developed microprocessors and creating a "Personal Computer". and yeah, Apple was in on that early with the Apple I and II. Pretty soon, developers created software for these "Personal Computers" that would accomplish many of the same "real computer tasks" that mainframe computers did. But it didn't stop there.
Somebodies thought that command line interfaces could be replaced with Graphical User Interfaces to make it easier to do "real computer tasks" on "Personal Computers" and yeah, Apple was in early on that as well with the Macintosh.
Apple has been in on everything that has happened in personal, desktop, portable, and mobile computing since almost the start of the "Personal Computer" revolution. I'm pretty sure that Steve Jobs had an idea on how the iPad could be used as a computer to do "real computer tasks". How about we wait a bit longer to see if the iPad does indeed morph into a form factor that can do "real computer tasks", because I'm not seeing much of a barrier to that happening.
As for your statement that "The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version. There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices."
You really don't have a clue about how Apple's ecosystem and product roadmap will play out, and I'd argue, it will be a long time before Chinese OEM's can put all of the pieces together to match or exceed Apple's ecosystem, no less Apple's hardware.
And please, you might want to hold off hawking your Android OS devices in this particular thread.
I'm sorry you got lost. Perhaps you are just being obtuse. I'm sure you got the gist of the post even though you chose not to 'get' it.
As for 'hawking' I have no idea what you are talking about. I have an Android and iPhone 6 at home. I'm probably more qualified to talk on the subject of Android when pitted against iOS phones/tablets than your average AI member.
I gave information relevant to iPhone in a particular market, and not an insignificant market at that. I supported that information with some facts.
Perhaps you saw those facts as 'alternative' facts. That's up to you. The point is that, as with every market, there is a saturation point. The market I mentioned is entirely representative of that with 73% of the population using smartphones and there being a frequent upgrade cycle. Now, do you think the smartphone has reached saturation point in the developed world? Do you think that Android phones have consistently been stepping past Apple on features and how those features are implemented? Producing phones of the same build quality as iPhones? With a broader spread of pricing?
Answer those questions then ask yourself what Apple can bring to the table to distance itself from competitors again? To put it back out in front or do we already have what most users want from a phone and in sufficient quality?
Most will agree that massive growth for iPhone in its current presentation is unlikely and that competition will be intense. More intense than ever. The iPhone 8 will surely do well. It's going to fall in a major upgrade cycle. Thinking otherwise wouldn't make much sense. Economically speaking, the worst of the financial crisis has passed.
Will Apple be content with retaining its current users? Surely not. So, how will it approach the future? Apple has effectively fallen to pieces in Spain. Not so in the UK where users remain very loyal to the brand - at least up to now, but the results in Spain are surely cause for concern because they know Huawei will try to replicate its success there (not only in trumping Apple but also Samsung) in Spain (leveraging it's mobile networking hardware and carrier deals) in other markets.
I don't particularly like the P10 but it is just one phone on its roster and users can fine tune exactly where they want to be on that roster. Huawei is also offering an improved antenna array on the P10 (which supports 4.5G) and promising far better performance in difficult situations (tunnels etc), and improved holding of voice calls.
As Android isn't tied to an 'ecosystem' as such it doesn't really matter if Chinese OEMs want to replicate Apple's or not. After all Android holds 80%+ in spite of the integration that Apple has achieved. The Apple eco system is great for some Apple users but it isn't something the rest are envious of. The ecosystem is also a source of frustration. Simple file management and transfer is still incredibly backwards thinking and often broken. Try taking a photo and sending it directly to the phone in front of you for example If what you seek is a behind the scenes ecosystem then that is already there and managed by Google. That is something that is a very good earnings driver for Google even if it means you are providing data to Google to process.
Nobody has a clue about Apple's roadmaps. Sometimes not even Apple itself! So much for vision! Sometimes Apple gets things right and sometimes it doesn't. Believe me, we don't have large screen iPhones because Apple thought it would be great to have them. Ditto on the issue of smaller screens on the iPad. We have them because market research showed that not having them was not going to give users what they wanted.
I don't find that Spain, with 0.61% of the world's population is all that indicative of the world's smartphone sales. I would note that Spain was especially hard hid by the "Great Spanish Recession" so we really don't know yet if Apple's market will in Spain will improve.
I don't see much value in Android OS being 80% of the market if Apple still makes all but 10% of the profits, though Google does profit in most areas other than China.
Your complaints about Apple Marketing and iOS file management are noted, as is the fact that Apple was late to that phablet and small tablet, albeit it doesn't seem to have had any impact in sales in the long term. How about you throw in how successful Apple has been with AirPods and killing the headphone jack?
To wrap it up, you prefer Android OS devices, and aren't interested in the Apple ecosystem. The rest of your points are your conjecture, which is fine, but hardly something that needs detailed response. You might want to read Part two of DED's Editorial, in AI above.
Spain is sometimes a test bed. Size doesn't matter although 60 million is a great number of potential customers to cater to. It also has some decent telecommunications backbone infrastructure. A Swedish company has rolled out 1GB fibre in an area near Barcelona to consumers at low cost, MWC has been based in Spain for few years now. Over half of the world's higher management of telecos are in Barcelona this week, not only to present new products but to plan the future of the internet and the infrastructure that supports it. Many tests and trials for 4.5 and 5G are carried out in Spain using already deployed infraestructure or prototypes from the likes of Ericsson and Huawei. It wasn't casual that Huawei focussed on Spain to push its handsets. It did the same in Finland and the Nordic regions:
"Dynamic growth in the CEE & Nordic Region
According to GFK’s POS Measurement reports Huawei including the Honor brand recorded effective growth in the CEE & Nordic Region: the company reached a volume market share of 11.6% in the region in Q1 2016, an increase in Huawei/Honor Smartphones sell-out of 293% comparing Q1/2016 with Q1/2015.
GFK noted that Huawei/Honor`s smartphone sell out showed significant growth in the examined countries as well with increase (in comparison of the same period last year) of 124% in the Czech Republic, 118% in Denmark, 512% in Finland, 214% in Greece, 82% in Norway, 833% in Poland, 252% in Romania and 435% in Sweden. Austria showed the largest market share growth with an increase of 1144%. In Q1 2016, Huawei/Honor`s market share reached 5,4% in Sweden.
The analysis shows that Huawei’s strategy of focusing on premium mid- to-high end products has been successful
Those numbers are for Huawei and a little dated (Q1 2015 vs Q1 2016) but are representative of what the company is doing. That isn't bad for a company that only got into the handset business a few years ago.
Make no mistake, they are in for the long run and the sights are on everything from the low end to the high end, including Apple and Samsung.
Market share is growing and growing fast. The P10 is not scheduled for release in the US but it would be foolish to think the US isn't in its plans and it would be foolish to think Huawei had no chance in the US. They could fail horribly but that is to be seen.
After having used Honor, Huawei and iPhones, there is no way I'm going back to an iPhone at current pricing. I don't hate the iPhone. Far from it but there is so much more on offer from Huawei that even a lowly Honor phone would satisfy your everyday iPhone user for a far lower price point. Even dual SIM which is perfect for many business users.
On the other hand, my iPad Mini is my favourite tablet.
As for Air Pods, I think they're nice if you can get them to stay in. Unfortunately my ears don't hold button type earphones well.
The biggest deal for me, to make the iPad more fit into my workflow, is to open up file management. I'm working with animation, illustration, video editing, music. Media creation in other words. Out of these four segments, I find only illustration is efficient over iCloud Drive. As soon as you're working with video, animation or making music (any sort of timeline based content, I guess), the file directories are simply too big to be shared, backed up, loaded efficiently over iCloud. The wait!! The iPad should support external drives. It should support Logic Pro X, Final Cut Pro X even. And they should be able to work directly with media and projects that are stored on an external drive. No copying.
With USB-C/3 it should also offer native support of the iPad Pro as a wired, no-lag, retina, extended pen/ touch display for the Mac. It should just be there, you know. It should've been there years ago. And certainly with the iPad Pro 12" launch that already has a USB-3 chipset.
When the device starts to fill it can be a royal pain moving files to and from an iPad. If it's local, iTunes can throw a tantrum and tell you there's not enough space available (even though there is). As you say iCloud simply isn't practical sometimes.
There isn't even a BT profile for file transfer. I'd say direct mass storage support is something most users would be glad to see.
Good analysis and the suggestions for improvements are all relevant, but you have missed the big improvement that is totally necessary if the iPad is to be truly post-PC: native handwriting recognition. <...>
Handwriting ! relics of the past ! who still uses handwriting ?
Are you suggesting that using a keypad is more natural than handwriting? People only type because the technology does not allow HWR, not the other way around. I am not suggesting that keyboards, real or virtual, be banned, but you are implying that HWR should be banned. The reality is that many of us (people who work outside IT) spend a lot of time in meetings where it is not practical to type or dictate, so I carry a notebook and an iPad. I would like to just carry an iPad and I suspect there are millions like me. Apple already owns the IP for HWR, yes they have to open up the archives and update the code, but it's not the same as building the code from scratch.
Incorrect -- people type because it's much, much faster than writing by hand.
To be fair, he did say 'when it's not practical to type'. He wasn't saying typing was slower, just that currently, most people type notes because handwriting them isn't really an option.
"For years, critics have trotted out the trite notion that iPad is "not powerful enough to be a real computer" and therefore only good at "consumption."
This is a very poor evaluation and deliberately stirs things up to take a stab at 'critics'.
Firstly, for years the critics were right. It has only been recently and through advances across the board (processors, graphics, iOS advances etc) that iPads like the Pro have taken a big step forward.
For years the iPad was mainly a consumption device with creative options. I wonder, out of all the iPads ever sold, how many were purchased with the purchasers seeing them as 'real' computers or simply additional devices to give them more flexibility?
The word 'trite' is out of place and even the word 'critics' is dubious. 'Commentators' would fit better.
I haven't used an iPad Pro so can't speak about it as a real computer but if you line up a desktop, a laptop and a tablet and ask a user to carry out real computer tasks, I'm sure the tablet would see little use, even if it were more powerful than the other two.
Tablets are great, they have a use. Take the above example and ask me to carry out the same tasks while sitting on a train. The tablet would get more attention this time around but depending on the task I'm sure the laptop would be the preferred option.
However, for most of its existence, the tablet has not aimed to fulfill the role of a 'real computer', it has aimed to be flexible while overlapping some of the functionality of real computers but overwhelmingly fulfilling the role of a mobile consumption device. It has done that very well (at least the iPad has).
It was able to do this principally on price. If it had been much more expensive people would have stayed with their laptops. Making it economically viable as a platform was key. That factor and initial success, also provided some tailwind to distance it from other tablets.
With the groundwork done, it was just a question of staying ahead of the pack. The Mini was another key moment although previously, we had been told there was no need for a smaller tablet.
Precisely because it is not a real computer but nevertheless manages to cover users' needs so well, people don't feel the need to upgrade so often. This doesn't represent the decline of the tablet. It's a natural situation although definitely accentuated by the lack of new updates to the line. That is a management problem not a tablet problem.
The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version.
There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices.
I have some data from Spain for 2016. I think Spain has one of the highest ratios for mobile phones per inhabitant and one of the most frequent upgrade cycles.
As far as sales for 2016 go, the iPhone was at number 5 (but with the iPhone SE). Huawei took top spot with the P8 lite, a phone that was heavily promoted by carriers during the year.
As we see smartphone saturation in the developed world, it will be harder to sell premium devices and their will be far more quality competion in that space. Far more than ever before and Apple has already been overtaken in some aspects.
Huawei today announced the P10 and P10 Plus in Barcelona. A day before the MWC officially kicks off in the same city. For premium phones, they seem to offer a very good deal for the price.
"real computer tasks"
That's where you lost me.
"real computer tasks" used to require a mainframe computer sitting in a nearby building.
Somebodies thought about taking newly developed microprocessors and creating a "Personal Computer". and yeah, Apple was in on that early with the Apple I and II. Pretty soon, developers created software for these "Personal Computers" that would accomplish many of the same "real computer tasks" that mainframe computers did. But it didn't stop there.
Somebodies thought that command line interfaces could be replaced with Graphical User Interfaces to make it easier to do "real computer tasks" on "Personal Computers" and yeah, Apple was in early on that as well with the Macintosh.
Apple has been in on everything that has happened in personal, desktop, portable, and mobile computing since almost the start of the "Personal Computer" revolution. I'm pretty sure that Steve Jobs had an idea on how the iPad could be used as a computer to do "real computer tasks". How about we wait a bit longer to see if the iPad does indeed morph into a form factor that can do "real computer tasks", because I'm not seeing much of a barrier to that happening.
As for your statement that "The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version. There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices."
You really don't have a clue about how Apple's ecosystem and product roadmap will play out, and I'd argue, it will be a long time before Chinese OEM's can put all of the pieces together to match or exceed Apple's ecosystem, no less Apple's hardware.
And please, you might want to hold off hawking your Android OS devices in this particular thread.
I'm sorry you got lost. Perhaps you are just being obtuse. I'm sure you got the gist of the post even though you chose not to 'get' it.
As for 'hawking' I have no idea what you are talking about. I have an Android and iPhone 6 at home. I'm probably more qualified to talk on the subject of Android when pitted against iOS phones/tablets than your average AI member.
I gave information relevant to iPhone in a particular market, and not an insignificant market at that. I supported that information with some facts.
Perhaps you saw those facts as 'alternative' facts. That's up to you. The point is that, as with every market, there is a saturation point. The market I mentioned is entirely representative of that with 73% of the population using smartphones and there being a frequent upgrade cycle. Now, do you think the smartphone has reached saturation point in the developed world? Do you think that Android phones have consistently been stepping past Apple on features and how those features are implemented? Producing phones of the same build quality as iPhones? With a broader spread of pricing?
Answer those questions then ask yourself what Apple can bring to the table to distance itself from competitors again? To put it back out in front or do we already have what most users want from a phone and in sufficient quality?
Most will agree that massive growth for iPhone in its current presentation is unlikely and that competition will be intense. More intense than ever. The iPhone 8 will surely do well. It's going to fall in a major upgrade cycle. Thinking otherwise wouldn't make much sense. Economically speaking, the worst of the financial crisis has passed.
Will Apple be content with retaining its current users? Surely not. So, how will it approach the future? Apple has effectively fallen to pieces in Spain. Not so in the UK where users remain very loyal to the brand - at least up to now, but the results in Spain are surely cause for concern because they know Huawei will try to replicate its success there (not only in trumping Apple but also Samsung) in Spain (leveraging it's mobile networking hardware and carrier deals) in other markets.
I don't particularly like the P10 but it is just one phone on its roster and users can fine tune exactly where they want to be on that roster. Huawei is also offering an improved antenna array on the P10 (which supports 4.5G) and promising far better performance in difficult situations (tunnels etc), and improved holding of voice calls.
As Android isn't tied to an 'ecosystem' as such it doesn't really matter if Chinese OEMs want to replicate Apple's or not. After all Android holds 80%+ in spite of the integration that Apple has achieved. The Apple eco system is great for some Apple users but it isn't something the rest are envious of. The ecosystem is also a source of frustration. Simple file management and transfer is still incredibly backwards thinking and often broken. Try taking a photo and sending it directly to the phone in front of you for example If what you seek is a behind the scenes ecosystem then that is already there and managed by Google. That is something that is a very good earnings driver for Google even if it means you are providing data to Google to process.
Nobody has a clue about Apple's roadmaps. Sometimes not even Apple itself! So much for vision! Sometimes Apple gets things right and sometimes it doesn't. Believe me, we don't have large screen iPhones because Apple thought it would be great to have them. Ditto on the issue of smaller screens on the iPad. We have them because market research showed that not having them was not going to give users what they wanted.
I don't find that Spain, with 0.61% of the world's population is all that indicative of the world's smartphone sales. I would note that Spain was especially hard hid by the "Great Spanish Recession" so we really don't know yet if Apple's market will in Spain will improve.
I don't see much value in Android OS being 80% of the market if Apple still makes all but 10% of the profits, though Google does profit in most areas other than China.
Your complaints about Apple Marketing and iOS file management are noted, as is the fact that Apple was late to that phablet and small tablet, albeit it doesn't seem to have had any impact in sales in the long term. How about you throw in how successful Apple has been with AirPods and killing the headphone jack?
To wrap it up, you prefer Android OS devices, and aren't interested in the Apple ecosystem. The rest of your points are your conjecture, which is fine, but hardly something that needs detailed response. You might want to read Part two of DED's Editorial, in AI above.
Spain is sometimes a test bed. Size doesn't matter although 60 million is a great number of potential customers to cater to. It also has some decent telecommunications backbone infrastructure. A Swedish company has rolled out 1GB fibre in an area near Barcelona to consumers at low cost, MWC has been based in Spain for few years now. Over half of the world's higher management of telecos are in Barcelona this week, not only to present new products but to plan the future of the internet and the infrastructure that supports it. Many tests and trials for 4.5 and 5G are carried out in Spain using already deployed infraestructure or prototypes from the likes of Ericsson and Huawei. It wasn't casual that Huawei focussed on Spain to push its handsets. It did the same in Finland and the Nordic regions:
"Dynamic growth in the CEE & Nordic Region
According to GFK’s POS Measurement reports Huawei including the Honor brand recorded effective growth in the CEE & Nordic Region: the company reached a volume market share of 11.6% in the region in Q1 2016, an increase in Huawei/Honor Smartphones sell-out of 293% comparing Q1/2016 with Q1/2015.
GFK noted that Huawei/Honor`s smartphone sell out showed significant growth in the examined countries as well with increase (in comparison of the same period last year) of 124% in the Czech Republic, 118% in Denmark, 512% in Finland, 214% in Greece, 82% in Norway, 833% in Poland, 252% in Romania and 435% in Sweden. Austria showed the largest market share growth with an increase of 1144%. In Q1 2016, Huawei/Honor`s market share reached 5,4% in Sweden.
The analysis shows that Huawei’s strategy of focusing on premium mid- to-high end products has been successful
Those numbers are for Huawei and a little dated (Q1 2015 vs Q1 2016) but are representative of what the company is doing. That isn't bad for a company that only got into the handset business a few years ago.
Make no mistake, they are in for the long run and the sights are on everything from the low end to the high end, including Apple and Samsung.
Market share is growing and growing fast. The P10 is not scheduled for release in the US but it would be foolish to think the US isn't in its plans and it would be foolish to think Huawei had no chance in the US. They could fail horribly but that is to be seen.
After having used Honor, Huawei and iPhones, there is no way I'm going back to an iPhone at current pricing. I don't hate the iPhone. Far from it but there is so much more on offer from Huawei that even a lowly Honor phone would satisfy your everyday iPhone user for a far lower price point. Even dual SIM which is perfect for many business users.
On the other hand, my iPad Mini is my favourite tablet.
As for Air Pods, I think they're nice if you can get them to stay in. Unfortunately my ears don't hold button type earphones well.
You sound like an advertiser, missing the whole point to DED's post.
If Apple wants to sell a significantly larger number of iPads, it only needs to do two things to iOS: implement a file system and give mouse capabilities. (After all - it was Apple that said your hands belong on the keyboard when defending the MacBook Pro's touch bar. It's hypocritical to call the iPad Pro a "Super Computer" and not apply that same logic).
But Apple won't do that because they're more concerned with revenue from their laptops than they are in bringing a true solution that customers want.
So I bought a Surface and am loving it (you know - that whole "toaster/refrigerator hybrid Cook said doesn't work). And if Apple ever does make those two changes to iOS I'll be the first to come back. But as it stands now it's a real pain to even download stock video from the Internet to an iPad for a video project - something I do with ease on my Surface daily.
So much for the iPad Pro being a "super computer."
I have an Air2 and really like it but right now it just for using in bed and on the sofa. There is nothing that impresses me about the iPad Pro other than it being overpriced.
If they add mouse support then I'll definately buy a new iPadPro, but if the the SurfacePro5 and SurfaceBook2 come out first I'll definately take a look there. I wish the SurfacePro and SurfaceBook had a builtin LTE like the iPad.
I'm hoping for mouse support in the iPad but not holding my breath. I think that it will happen but take longer than many would like - More on the order of 5 to 10 years. One should keep in mind that Apple now has 4 operating systems to maintain (macOS, phoneOS, tvOS, and watchOS). Apple has already said that they will be implementing the new Apple File System in all these operating systems. Each will take time. As Apple updates other common system services it will take more time.
I would like for Apple to also create a iHub like Echo that runs an enhanced SIRI. This will add another OS into the mix. CarOS would be another. SIRI is the most important common component for all of Apple's operating systems, unfortunately it needs lot of work.
Because of all these things Apple has lots of work ahead and I don't expect from the coming iPadPro refresh. It certainly seems funny that they are doing commercials for the iPad now and not after new features come out. Maybe they have a ton of inventory to get rid of or maybe there's nothing new to add in the upcoming refreshes.
You can't ignore the fact that the Surface can operate either as a laptop or a tablet and then criticize it for only being a laptop with a touch screen.
You can't ignore the fact that Surface doesn't excel in either role.
You can't ignore the fact that the Surface can operate either as a laptop or a tablet and then criticize it for only being a laptop with a touch screen.
You can't ignore the fact that Surface doesn't excel in either role.
It seems to be doing pretty well to me, it's basically the only game in town for Windows tablets, and the Surface Book has been very positively written up by most as a laptop. It's small, powerful, and has industrial design a grade above most of its competitors.
Where do you think it's deficient or substantively lagging its competition?
Personally I can't see myself being rid of a clamshell laptop and going mostly tablet - ever.
Even if I'm just puttering about the web, I do a fair bit of typing. For that, a vertical screen with a horizontal keyboard and trackpad on the same pane makes too much sense, The clamshell didn't stick around for 25 years for nothing. Sure, you can get keyboards for tablets, but it makes things more finicky, a solution in need of a problem. The single position iPad Pro keyboard would let the iPad flop right on to my face in bed on my back for example.
The price and the weight of the 12" Macbook or 13" rMBP is also pretty similar once you spec the iPad with the same storage and keyboard. To me, the Mac is multitudes more useful.
"For years, critics have trotted out the trite notion that iPad is "not powerful enough to be a real computer" and therefore only good at "consumption."
This is a very poor evaluation and deliberately stirs things up to take a stab at 'critics'.
Firstly, for years the critics were right. It has only been recently and through advances across the board (processors, graphics, iOS advances etc) that iPads like the Pro have taken a big step forward.
For years the iPad was mainly a consumption device with creative options. I wonder, out of all the iPads ever sold, how many were purchased with the purchasers seeing them as 'real' computers or simply additional devices to give them more flexibility?
The word 'trite' is out of place and even the word 'critics' is dubious. 'Commentators' would fit better.
I haven't used an iPad Pro so can't speak about it as a real computer but if you line up a desktop, a laptop and a tablet and ask a user to carry out real computer tasks, I'm sure the tablet would see little use, even if it were more powerful than the other two.
Tablets are great, they have a use. Take the above example and ask me to carry out the same tasks while sitting on a train. The tablet would get more attention this time around but depending on the task I'm sure the laptop would be the preferred option.
However, for most of its existence, the tablet has not aimed to fulfill the role of a 'real computer', it has aimed to be flexible while overlapping some of the functionality of real computers but overwhelmingly fulfilling the role of a mobile consumption device. It has done that very well (at least the iPad has).
It was able to do this principally on price. If it had been much more expensive people would have stayed with their laptops. Making it economically viable as a platform was key. That factor and initial success, also provided some tailwind to distance it from other tablets.
With the groundwork done, it was just a question of staying ahead of the pack. The Mini was another key moment although previously, we had been told there was no need for a smaller tablet.
Precisely because it is not a real computer but nevertheless manages to cover users' needs so well, people don't feel the need to upgrade so often. This doesn't represent the decline of the tablet. It's a natural situation although definitely accentuated by the lack of new updates to the line. That is a management problem not a tablet problem.
The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version.
There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices.
I have some data from Spain for 2016. I think Spain has one of the highest ratios for mobile phones per inhabitant and one of the most frequent upgrade cycles.
As far as sales for 2016 go, the iPhone was at number 5 (but with the iPhone SE). Huawei took top spot with the P8 lite, a phone that was heavily promoted by carriers during the year.
As we see smartphone saturation in the developed world, it will be harder to sell premium devices and their will be far more quality competion in that space. Far more than ever before and Apple has already been overtaken in some aspects.
Huawei today announced the P10 and P10 Plus in Barcelona. A day before the MWC officially kicks off in the same city. For premium phones, they seem to offer a very good deal for the price.
"real computer tasks"
That's where you lost me.
"real computer tasks" used to require a mainframe computer sitting in a nearby building.
Somebodies thought about taking newly developed microprocessors and creating a "Personal Computer". and yeah, Apple was in on that early with the Apple I and II. Pretty soon, developers created software for these "Personal Computers" that would accomplish many of the same "real computer tasks" that mainframe computers did. But it didn't stop there.
Somebodies thought that command line interfaces could be replaced with Graphical User Interfaces to make it easier to do "real computer tasks" on "Personal Computers" and yeah, Apple was in early on that as well with the Macintosh.
Apple has been in on everything that has happened in personal, desktop, portable, and mobile computing since almost the start of the "Personal Computer" revolution. I'm pretty sure that Steve Jobs had an idea on how the iPad could be used as a computer to do "real computer tasks". How about we wait a bit longer to see if the iPad does indeed morph into a form factor that can do "real computer tasks", because I'm not seeing much of a barrier to that happening.
As for your statement that "The iPhone will probably hit a similar plateau after sales settle for the next version. There will be a lot of pressure from competitors offering premium phones at far lower prices."
You really don't have a clue about how Apple's ecosystem and product roadmap will play out, and I'd argue, it will be a long time before Chinese OEM's can put all of the pieces together to match or exceed Apple's ecosystem, no less Apple's hardware.
And please, you might want to hold off hawking your Android OS devices in this particular thread.
I'm sorry you got lost. Perhaps you are just being obtuse. I'm sure you got the gist of the post even though you chose not to 'get' it.
As for 'hawking' I have no idea what you are talking about. I have an Android and iPhone 6 at home. I'm probably more qualified to talk on the subject of Android when pitted against iOS phones/tablets than your average AI member.
I gave information relevant to iPhone in a particular market, and not an insignificant market at that. I supported that information with some facts.
Perhaps you saw those facts as 'alternative' facts. That's up to you. The point is that, as with every market, there is a saturation point. The market I mentioned is entirely representative of that with 73% of the population using smartphones and there being a frequent upgrade cycle. Now, do you think the smartphone has reached saturation point in the developed world? Do you think that Android phones have consistently been stepping past Apple on features and how those features are implemented? Producing phones of the same build quality as iPhones? With a broader spread of pricing?
Answer those questions then ask yourself what Apple can bring to the table to distance itself from competitors again? To put it back out in front or do we already have what most users want from a phone and in sufficient quality?
Most will agree that massive growth for iPhone in its current presentation is unlikely and that competition will be intense. More intense than ever. The iPhone 8 will surely do well. It's going to fall in a major upgrade cycle. Thinking otherwise wouldn't make much sense. Economically speaking, the worst of the financial crisis has passed.
Will Apple be content with retaining its current users? Surely not. So, how will it approach the future? Apple has effectively fallen to pieces in Spain. Not so in the UK where users remain very loyal to the brand - at least up to now, but the results in Spain are surely cause for concern because they know Huawei will try to replicate its success there (not only in trumping Apple but also Samsung) in Spain (leveraging it's mobile networking hardware and carrier deals) in other markets.
I don't particularly like the P10 but it is just one phone on its roster and users can fine tune exactly where they want to be on that roster. Huawei is also offering an improved antenna array on the P10 (which supports 4.5G) and promising far better performance in difficult situations (tunnels etc), and improved holding of voice calls.
As Android isn't tied to an 'ecosystem' as such it doesn't really matter if Chinese OEMs want to replicate Apple's or not. After all Android holds 80%+ in spite of the integration that Apple has achieved. The Apple eco system is great for some Apple users but it isn't something the rest are envious of. The ecosystem is also a source of frustration. Simple file management and transfer is still incredibly backwards thinking and often broken. Try taking a photo and sending it directly to the phone in front of you for example If what you seek is a behind the scenes ecosystem then that is already there and managed by Google. That is something that is a very good earnings driver for Google even if it means you are providing data to Google to process.
Nobody has a clue about Apple's roadmaps. Sometimes not even Apple itself! So much for vision! Sometimes Apple gets things right and sometimes it doesn't. Believe me, we don't have large screen iPhones because Apple thought it would be great to have them. Ditto on the issue of smaller screens on the iPad. We have them because market research showed that not having them was not going to give users what they wanted.
I don't find that Spain, with 0.61% of the world's population is all that indicative of the world's smartphone sales. I would note that Spain was especially hard hid by the "Great Spanish Recession" so we really don't know yet if Apple's market will in Spain will improve.
I don't see much value in Android OS being 80% of the market if Apple still makes all but 10% of the profits, though Google does profit in most areas other than China.
Your complaints about Apple Marketing and iOS file management are noted, as is the fact that Apple was late to that phablet and small tablet, albeit it doesn't seem to have had any impact in sales in the long term. How about you throw in how successful Apple has been with AirPods and killing the headphone jack?
To wrap it up, you prefer Android OS devices, and aren't interested in the Apple ecosystem. The rest of your points are your conjecture, which is fine, but hardly something that needs detailed response. You might want to read Part two of DED's Editorial, in AI above.
Spain is sometimes a test bed. Size doesn't matter although 60 million is a great number of potential customers to cater to. It also has some decent telecommunications backbone infrastructure. A Swedish company has rolled out 1GB fibre in an area near Barcelona to consumers at low cost, MWC has been based in Spain for few years now. Over half of the world's higher management of telecos are in Barcelona this week, not only to present new products but to plan the future of the internet and the infrastructure that supports it. Many tests and trials for 4.5 and 5G are carried out in Spain using already deployed infraestructure or prototypes from the likes of Ericsson and Huawei. It wasn't casual that Huawei focussed on Spain to push its handsets. It did the same in Finland and the Nordic regions:
"Dynamic growth in the CEE & Nordic Region
According to GFK’s POS Measurement reports Huawei including the Honor brand recorded effective growth in the CEE & Nordic Region: the company reached a volume market share of 11.6% in the region in Q1 2016, an increase in Huawei/Honor Smartphones sell-out of 293% comparing Q1/2016 with Q1/2015.
GFK noted that Huawei/Honor`s smartphone sell out showed significant growth in the examined countries as well with increase (in comparison of the same period last year) of 124% in the Czech Republic, 118% in Denmark, 512% in Finland, 214% in Greece, 82% in Norway, 833% in Poland, 252% in Romania and 435% in Sweden. Austria showed the largest market share growth with an increase of 1144%. In Q1 2016, Huawei/Honor`s market share reached 5,4% in Sweden.
The analysis shows that Huawei’s strategy of focusing on premium mid- to-high end products has been successful
Those numbers are for Huawei and a little dated (Q1 2015 vs Q1 2016) but are representative of what the company is doing. That isn't bad for a company that only got into the handset business a few years ago.
Make no mistake, they are in for the long run and the sights are on everything from the low end to the high end, including Apple and Samsung.
Market share is growing and growing fast. The P10 is not scheduled for release in the US but it would be foolish to think the US isn't in its plans and it would be foolish to think Huawei had no chance in the US. They could fail horribly but that is to be seen.
After having used Honor, Huawei and iPhones, there is no way I'm going back to an iPhone at current pricing. I don't hate the iPhone. Far from it but there is so much more on offer from Huawei that even a lowly Honor phone would satisfy your everyday iPhone user for a far lower price point. Even dual SIM which is perfect for many business users.
On the other hand, my iPad Mini is my favourite tablet.
As for Air Pods, I think they're nice if you can get them to stay in. Unfortunately my ears don't hold button type earphones well.
You sound like an advertiser, missing the whole point to DED's post.
It is beyond ironic that you say I sound like an advertiser when DED's premise is to 'sell' Apple.
I tried to do code school on my iPadPro, without an attached keyboard it was no go, so why not get the iPad keyboard I hear you ask, because its flimsy and only offers a good stable working position when at a table unlike my MacBook Pro which will rest on my lap sitting on a bed or most anywhere, it also has eight times the battery life of the iPadPro and runs a full OS. Do I think the iPad is the post PC world saviour, hmm let me think about that one for a second
I tried to do code school on my iPadPro, without an attached keyboard it was no go, so why not get the iPad keyboard I hear you ask, because its flimsy and only offers a good stable working position when at a table unlike my MacBook Pro which will rest on my lap sitting on a bed or most anywhere, it also has eight times the battery life of the iPadPro and runs a full OS. Do I think the iPad is the post PC world saviour, hmm let me think about that one for a second
LOL... So you can't do serious work such as coding while in bed... So sad! .... I guess that spells the end of the IPad... After all, what good is it if it doesn't work in bed? Desks are so 20th century..
Good analysis and the suggestions for improvements are all relevant, but you have missed the big improvement that is totally necessary if the iPad is to be truly post-PC: native handwriting recognition. ....Native HWR will truly be the killer app for the iPad - and if the patents are strong enough, uncopyable.
You say that, but I haven't handwritten anything of any length in 25 years. Two things happen when I attempt to handwrite now:
my penmanship is awful, and
my hand cramps quite badly, making it painful to continue for any length of time.
While i suspect I'm probably in the minority on the last point, cursive has gone out of the curriculum at schools, penmanship as a skill died long ago, and keyboards have been the primary input for, well, decades. Voice is poised to become the next major input method, although it's inappropriate for some settings. But handwriting? That's a dinosaur trapped in amber.
Comments
"Dynamic growth in the CEE & Nordic Region
According to GFK’s POS Measurement reports Huawei including the Honor brand recorded effective growth in the CEE & Nordic Region: the company reached a volume market share of 11.6% in the region in Q1 2016, an increase in Huawei/Honor Smartphones sell-out of 293% comparing Q1/2016 with Q1/2015.
GFK noted that Huawei/Honor`s smartphone sell out showed significant growth in the examined countries as well with increase (in comparison of the same period last year) of 124% in the Czech Republic, 118% in Denmark, 512% in Finland, 214% in Greece, 82% in Norway, 833% in Poland, 252% in Romania and 435% in Sweden. Austria showed the largest market share growth with an increase of 1144%. In Q1 2016, Huawei/Honor`s market share reached 5,4% in Sweden.
The analysis shows that Huawei’s strategy of focusing on premium mid- to-high end products has been successful
Source: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/huawei-swe/pressreleases/huawei-smartphone-growth-up-435-in-sweden-1400483
Those numbers are for Huawei and a little dated (Q1 2015 vs Q1 2016) but are representative of what the company is doing. That isn't bad for a company that only got into the handset business a few years ago.
Make no mistake, they are in for the long run and the sights are on everything from the low end to the high end, including Apple and Samsung.
Market share is growing and growing fast. The P10 is not scheduled for release in the US but it would be foolish to think the US isn't in its plans and it would be foolish to think Huawei had no chance in the US. They could fail horribly but that is to be seen.
After having used Honor, Huawei and iPhones, there is no way I'm going back to an iPhone at current pricing. I don't hate the iPhone. Far from it but there is so much more on offer from Huawei that even a lowly Honor phone would satisfy your everyday iPhone user for a far lower price point. Even dual SIM which is perfect for many business users.
On the other hand, my iPad Mini is my favourite tablet.
As for Air Pods, I think they're nice if you can get them to stay in. Unfortunately my ears don't hold button type earphones well.
There isn't even a BT profile for file transfer. I'd say direct mass storage support is something most users would be glad to see.
If they add mouse support then I'll definately buy a new iPadPro, but if the the SurfacePro5 and SurfaceBook2 come out first I'll definately take a look there. I wish the SurfacePro and SurfaceBook had a builtin LTE like the iPad.
I'm hoping for mouse support in the iPad but not holding my breath. I think that it will happen but take longer than many would like - More on the order of 5 to 10 years.
One should keep in mind that Apple now has 4 operating systems to maintain (macOS, phoneOS, tvOS, and watchOS). Apple has already said that they will be implementing the new Apple File System in all these operating systems. Each will take time. As Apple updates other common system services it will take more time.
I would like for Apple to also create a iHub like Echo that runs an enhanced SIRI. This will add another OS into the mix. CarOS would be another. SIRI is the most important common component for all of Apple's operating systems, unfortunately it needs lot of work.
Because of all these things Apple has lots of work ahead and I don't expect from the coming iPadPro refresh. It certainly seems funny that they are doing commercials for the iPad now and not after new features come out. Maybe they have a ton of inventory to get rid of or maybe there's nothing new to add in the upcoming refreshes.
Where do you think it's deficient or substantively lagging its competition?
Even if I'm just puttering about the web, I do a fair bit of typing. For that, a vertical screen with a horizontal keyboard and trackpad on the same pane makes too much sense, The clamshell didn't stick around for 25 years for nothing. Sure, you can get keyboards for tablets, but it makes things more finicky, a solution in need of a problem. The single position iPad Pro keyboard would let the iPad flop right on to my face in bed on my back for example.
The price and the weight of the 12" Macbook or 13" rMBP is also pretty similar once you spec the iPad with the same storage and keyboard. To me, the Mac is multitudes more useful.
.... I guess that spells the end of the IPad... After all, what good is it if it doesn't work in bed? Desks are so 20th century..
- my penmanship is awful, and
- my hand cramps quite badly, making it painful to continue for any length of time.
While i suspect I'm probably in the minority on the last point, cursive has gone out of the curriculum at schools, penmanship as a skill died long ago, and keyboards have been the primary input for, well, decades. Voice is poised to become the next major input method, although it's inappropriate for some settings. But handwriting? That's a dinosaur trapped in amber.