Official Apple Multi-touch 'Mac tablet' discussion, poll and mock-up thread.

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I suspect tablets, when they are done properly (i.e. when Apple does one) will begin to replace notebooks. I think Apple's ultra-portable--the one they are most definitely working on--may not even be a notebook.



Think 10", thin slab of tough plastic or aluminum with hardened iPhone-like multi-touch glass display. Probably no optical disk-slot either. Just a simple looking, powerful OS X tablet device, like the iPhone's big brother if you will. Same virtual-keyboard, and same great, touchable software. Only this time it will have a real processor, a large screen, and full-blown OS X. This will be Apple's first real multi-touch Mac. No mouse, no hardware keyboard, just OS X. You've all seen the patents I'm sure, the ones where the buttons grow when the display is touched, this would enable someone to easily press the button they wanted to. i.e. close, minimize or zoom etc. etc. Touch screen is the future, and the future may be closer than most of us think.



I did mention this is the Mac tablet mock-up thread too, so feel free to show all of us how good this thing could look, thanks.





Here are some images from some recent Apple patents over the last couple of years:

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 179
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Feeling EDGY? Take two MacTablets and call me in the morning?
  • Reply 2 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Say hello to Mac touch.

















    (The Leopard desktop is on there only to show you guys it's a Mac. The Leopard UI would obviously need to be specially tailored for finger input.)
  • Reply 3 of 179
    THANK GOD



    i was in desperate need of relief from the iphone



    Yes.



    Right on Ireland, I think I actually posted on this (among with many others) a while back. I think 10 inches would be the perfect size and maybe a 7 inch too, to round out the line. I believe one of the coolest features it could have, would be a picture viewing action when it was docked, maybe even with some sort of frame. It could even sync wirelessly while it charges in a dock in your house away from your computer.



    kcd
  • Reply 4 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Picture frame idea is a great one 'kcd', this tablet could even be useful when not being used.



    It's funny no one seems interested in a Multi-touch Apple tablet thread, yet if Apple came out with it all would be all over it.
  • Reply 5 of 179
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    There was a Newsweek (?) article a while back about the iPhone where it stated that during the big Microsoft tablet computer push, Apple indeed was going to respond with a tablet of there own. These patent sketches were part of that development process. Obviously, they took a lot of the ideas and applied them to the iPhone.



    There's room for an Apple "tablet" like computer. Perhaps it is the rumored MacBook thin. But imaginary spec-wise:



    11" 1152x768 resolution multi-touch screen

    10.5 x 7 x 0.75 inch form factor

    Full-size hardware keyboard

    1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo

    32 GB flash

    1 SO-DIMM slot with 512 MB memory

    BT/WiFi/HSDPA/WiFi radios

    2 USB ports

    Audio in/out ports

    Min-DVI out.

    No optical

    No trackpad/nipple

    $799



    Why hardware keyboard? I don't think a soft keyboard UI would be there yet. Too many people feel the top of the keys to get themselves oriented while typing. That's a really tough piece of software to write...
  • Reply 6 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    1. Clearly you are missing the point of this thread.



    2. That processor is by no means fast enough.



    3. Where'd you price that thing, heaven?



    4. If you wanted to plug in an external Apple (or any other brand) keyboard you could, via USB.
  • Reply 7 of 179
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Yeah, I was hoping for a Macbook sized 13" touch-screen computer but I've always wanted to see Apple make a 10-inch machine. I don't particularly agree with removing the optical drive though. If there's no keyboard and Sony can fit one on a 10-inch with a keyboard then I'm sure they can fit it in quite easily.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by THT


    $799



    I don't see it being cheaper than the lowest Macbook but you never know. If it was cheaper, it would be a big hit in schools. I think it would be very popular in hospitals too. The processor, although slower isn't terrible. It's still dual 1.2GHz and the lowest Mini is dual 1.66GHz and it's fine for most things. It would be great to see a dual 1.83 though.



    I think they can get rid of the keyboard as people can easily plug in a USB one.



    I think it would also come with a magnetically latched fold over panel to prevent scratches.
  • Reply 8 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin


    I think it would also come with a magnetically latched fold over panel to prevent scratches.



    Well it could, but I'm talking a tablet with iPhone-like glass.
  • Reply 9 of 179
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    The iPhone has me in it's spell. I voted yes.
  • Reply 10 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    The iPhone has me in it's spell. I voted yes.



    LOLLS
  • Reply 11 of 179
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    1. Clearly you are missing the point of this thread.



    2. That processor is by no means fast enough.



    3. Where'd you price that thing, heaven?



    4. If you wanted to plug in an external Apple (or any other brand) keyboard you could, via USB.



    1. I voted no.



    2. It's a freaking 1.2 GHz Core 2 Duo! And it has to be an enclosed that's 0.75 inches thick. It really only can live in an enclosure thats 0.5 to 0.6 inches thick. That's 2 cores operating at 1.2 GHz. I chose it because it's the ultra low voltage version that has a TDP of something like 10 watts. It's fast enough and it's really really low power.



    3. It's a price point slotted between the iPhone ($599) and the MacBook ($1099). You don't want it to have the same price as a iPhone or the MacBook



    4. One could. But I'll take the extra 0.25" in thickness required to make it a laptop with a touchscreen and a unique folding mechanism to put it in a tablet form.



    5. For a tablet, it probably needs to be less than 1 lb, maybe even 1 lb. I'm afraid all I've got are fantasy specs. For something of this size, 10+ inches, to weight less than one pound, it would require some ultra light weight materals. I don't think it really can be done...
  • Reply 12 of 179
    aries 1baries 1b Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    1. Clearly you are missing the point of this thread.



    2. That processor is by no means fast enough.



    3. Where'd you price that thing, heaven?



    4. If you wanted to plug in an external Apple (or any other brand) keyboard you could, via USB.



    Plug?\



    PLUG?!



    This is the early 21st Century, man! Get a hold of yourself!



    Bluetooth!



    And a STYLUS!!!!!!



    V/R,

    Aries 1B
  • Reply 13 of 179
    aries 1baries 1b Posts: 1,009member
    Do you see the unrealized genius of the iPhone?



    When Apple launched The Phone Everyone Wants, they also distributed the environmental test article for the Tablet to more than half a million testers and they made about 50% profit doing it!. Now they'll get real-world data on the durability of the materials, manufacturing techniques and packaging techniques that they'll use for The Tablet. My iPhone regularly notifies me that it's notifying Apple how things are going in/on my phone!



    God those people are smart!



    And I still want my STYLUS!



    V/R,



    Aries 1B
  • Reply 14 of 179
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    So, Aries, are you for or against an Apple tablet?
  • Reply 15 of 179
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    I didn't vote because you omitted many options on the tablet debate. But I don't think this one is going to happen. And actually I think that the size of that screen in the picture was just to throw people off. I think was intended for iPhone all along. This patent is only a year old. Apple has been working on the iPhone for that long at least.
  • Reply 16 of 179
    slewisslewis Posts: 2,081member
    Null.
  • Reply 17 of 179
    rickagrickag Posts: 1,626member
    I could be wrong, but anyway, the problem I see with a tablet is that by its' nature might need more processing power due to the graphical interface. Yet the market seems to want a lower priiced product.
  • Reply 18 of 179
    snoopysnoopy Posts: 1,901member
    Why not a small tablet, maybe 4" X 7" or there about? I see people in stores going around with devices about that size, apparently taking shelf inventory. A small touch screen table might be ideal for that job, and many other jobs to for that matter.



  • Reply 19 of 179
    slewisslewis Posts: 2,081member
    Null.
  • Reply 20 of 179
    spindriftspindrift Posts: 674member
    I think the iPhone has proven that you wouldn't need a hardware keyboard on a device like this. Granted it's not something you would want to write your thesis on, but that's not the what tablets are aimed at, and as Ireland said, just plug in a USB keyboard if you really need to.



    There are YouTube clips of people already typing quite quickly and accurately on the iPhone. A larger touch interface would make it almost as fast as a regular board once you were used to it.
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