Well, Apple's Cover and Case double up as a stand. And the Magic keyboard could be used for your desktop computer or laptop as well. So, why the need for a dedicated iPad Pro keyboard that needs to be hooked into the screen? Notice that the magic keyboard allows you to have your iPad screen at a further distance.
any BT keyboard can be used at a distance
if I had a dollar for every time an apple Bluetooth device failed to sync to an apple computing device I'd have a free iPad pro
sometimes a direct connection is in order
wireless may be chic but not always practical in the real world
The Pencil should have been developed for Macs, not iPads. (or for both I guess)
IMHO, that would be silly. Using a "pencil" on a laptop or a desktop would not be really that great. On the desktop the screen (large in my case) is two arm lengths away, it would be a pain to lift my arm up instead of resting it all day long -- and with touch on the desktop it would just make the monitor a greasy mess. And using a pencil over the laptop keyboard and constantly hitting the keys - just awful.
What I expect is not convergence of the devices but for the ecosystem to work seamlessly -- at some point the iPad Pro and the Mac will probably be extensions of one another wirelessly. I can hold or use an iPad for touch or drawing with my eyes working on the iPad (like a supped up trackpad) where I can use a pencil and trace things or draw on it or use it as a virtual whiteboard. I can use software locally on the iPad Pro (which will have a processor that is more than capable) and when it does not fit the job I can look up at the monitor and use an interoperable app on that to do some stuff if the iPad does not meet the task.
For anything that I use alot -- I never have one tool trying to be all things. I have multiple gadgets in the kitchen - each specialized and focused on doing something well - not doing everything half-a**ed. I could do have a microwave that can sort of work like a conventional oven but it sucks badly at it because it was not designed for it. I have both a hand held blender for doing quick mulching in a pot, and I have an actual blender or food processor for similar tasks which it is not suitable for. I am not going to bring a flat-bed truck around with me if I don't need it (if I were needing it for work) because it would be a hassle - different vehicles for different tasks. Many people have both motorcycles or snowmobiles and cars - they are sort of similar but trying to use the same vehicle for all tasks is a nightmare. Simply put, the idea of using one thing to do everything is a broken concept to begin with....
IMHO, that would be silly. Using a "pencil" on a laptop or a desktop would not be really that great. On the desktop the screen (large in my case) is two arm lengths away, it would be a pain to lift my arm up instead of resting it all day long -- and with touch on the desktop it would just make the monitor a greasy mess. And using a pencil over the laptop keyboard and constantly hitting the keys - just awful.
No, stylus input on OS X really IS great. It's an amazing increase in functionality and productivity. The problem is, you have to buy a second expensive external device to do it right now. Having that functionality built-in to at least some models of Mac would be a godsend. There is no reason the screen needs to be two arm lengths away. Most desktop pen input monitors utilize a base that acts as a tilting easel that brings the monitor as close as you want at any angle you want, and easily top right back away and vertical when you don't need them.
Well, Apple's Cover and Case double up as a stand. And the Magic keyboard could be used for your desktop computer or laptop as well. So, why the need for a dedicated iPad Pro keyboard that needs to be hooked into the screen? Notice that the magic keyboard allows you to have your iPad screen at a further distance.
Why would I have a BT keyboard for a laptop that I'm now also carrying with me along with my iPad Pro? Why would i take the BT keyboard from a desktop computer just so i can have something designed not to be mobile to carry with my mobile devices, and now leaving my desktop computer at home or work without a keyboard for whomever else in the household that would want to use it? You're not thinking this through.
The Pencil should have been developed for Macs, not iPads. (or for both I guess)
Why assume that it hasn't? No company excels in both vertical and horizontal integration like Apple. Perhaps the reason they reintroduced the MacBook without updating the MacBook Air to both Retina and IPS is because they plan to do something bold with that using a similarly highly sensitive digitizer in the trackpad and display, perhaps in a convertible or detachable Mac, but still a Mac running Mac OS X.
WOW! Talk about a "revisionist history" or is Stern shilling for Microsoft? Her interpretation of the history of laptops / tablets is totally fabricated to support the views of the author.
Walt - we miss you and your reporting / reviews on the WSJ.
"Apple's introduction video consistency portrays iPad Pro as a large iPad, noting only momentarily that its Apple Pencil can be used to draw with precision on the screen."
From what I've been reading / seeing, this is the biggest criticism potential Pro buyers have of the iPad Pro - that it's just a bigger iPad. Deep down they wish it was running OSX, not iOS.
These who wish it were running OS X haven't yet gotten it. The entire purpose is to not run OS X. The truth is that OS X is no more suited to a tablet form than Win 10 is.
Steve said “sets us up for the next 20 years” in ~2001, so that has always been my metric.
The multitouch is what would do it. Fourth interaction paradigm and all that.
You’re right. We still see computers operated by blinkenlights in, oh... a server room or two. ;)
Since iOS is the pared down version of the OS, I dread to think what building on top of it would mean. And why do so if you already HAVE the built up version?
I thought he said the next fifteen years.
iOS is OS X. The paring down can be reversed to whatever extent Apple wants to.
I don't know what will happen in 2020, but right now Swift is nowhere near the performance level of C/C++ hence, no need to drag it into the low level OS rewriting. And for OS all that matters is speed, and not ease with which a freshman girl at the college can write her first "hello world" program for her iPhone.
I look at it from the other way - that iOS is the foundation / future for Apple and it will "scale up" to handle laptop / desktop use cases. Just like iOS can handle the specific UI cases for Watch, TV, iPhone, iPad, so too, it will do the same for future Apple devices. OSX is an excellent workstation OS for specialized tasks. I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I've got my Air (gen 1) hooked up to a Zagg folio case and keyboard and I love it - it's so small and compact I grab it rather than my MBA all the time now and I've noticed especially with iOS9 that there seems to be such a maturing of iOS that I'm using this device more and more. I'm heading on holiday next week and I'm taking the Air w/keyboard rather than the MBA as it'll do everything I need, but in a smaller footprint, plus it's iOS so detaching it from the keyboard I've got all the goodness and fun of iOS as well. I'm quite interested in the iPad Pro to see how it might replace this setup - as long as it's not too big, I think I'd prefer that to a new laptop (even the lovely MacBook I've considered) because iOS handles most everything and does it quite elegantly and just keeps getting better and better - there's quite a lot of polishing that's taken place in that OS in recent years.
I think the surface pro and book ARE better products than the iPad pro and the only thing stopping me from owning one is Windows and even then it's a pretty thin line. If the hackintosh guys can get OS X running and supporting all of the hardware features I would buy a surface pro 4 and it would replace my MacBook Pro as my daily driver. And it sounds like he has never used one, you don't need to use the pen all the time, it works fine with yer finger. I totally love apple but these editorials are becoming a bit childish. I think he needs to grow up and get out into the real world more or cut back on the boozing.
Until then, I'm getting an iPad pro to play around with.
Can't believe I'm going to defend Microsoft here, but feel in this instance that I should.
I frequently see threads littered with people mocking competitors who simply copy what Apple does, heck DED himself has made many articles to this accord.
With the Surface Microsoft has tried to do something different and to be honest for certain segments of the computer market their way does make sense.
I'm not arguing that the surface is better than an iPad or a MacBook, but it is different.
The surface line keeps getting better and better with each iteration, as one would expect, and personally I applaud Microsoft for trying to create a viable premium device rather than following the "me too" approach of others.
I've used the Surface Pro 2 and 3. I'm not impressed with either. They are clumsy to use. You can't use the full screen resolution in many apps, because Microsoft sets the screen resolution to somewhere around 1024 X 768 so that you can actually stab at a menu or other screen item. Apple des something similar with its retina screens for their OS X machines as well. Otherwise it's hard to see, much less tap, one of those tiny items.
Since Windows was never designed for tablet use, despite the disastrous combo machines of the 2000's, Surface tablets are considered to be "computers" in the classic sense by IDC, whereas Gartner considers them to be tablets, hence the difference in reporting of the two firms as to sales numbers.
The iPad is far more natural to use as a tablet than Windows will ever be since Microsoft was forced to reverse its course from Win 8 to Win 10. They had the right with RT, but no one wanted another tablet OS. Between android and iOS, all the popular bases are covered, from $50 tablets, to $1,000 tablets.
People who buy Surface devices don't really want a tablet, they want a Windows device in a lighter form. But you really need a keyboard.
That's very cute, but it doesn't follow the timeline, as keyboards have been available for the ipad since mid 2010, shortly after it came out. I also don't recall Tim stating that Apple invented the idea of a type cover. So the cartoon is a bit off as far as reality is concerned.
Until truly professional software arrives, the iPad Pro will still be just an iPad. It's taking a looong time for a professional software developer to develop a completely new iPad offering of their apps. And it might not even make sense to the company. Adobe is finally getting it, and slowly doing something about it. I hope others will follow. I'm in the animation industry, and hoping for Toon Boom Animation to make a Harmony version for the iPad Pro. I can't see it happening anytime soon though... If ever.. I think the iPad pro is the perfect platform for startups. A professional animation software can truly make sense on the pro, so anyone doing it right before the big guys will truly have a good head start.
Until truly professional software arrives, the iPad Pro will still be just an iPad.
It will always "just be" an iPad...... it is the leading/bleeding edge, but I have no doubt that the next generation of normal sized iPads will incorporate similar features as the iPad Pro (with whatever compromises are required to keep the price in the "normal" range). The screen, the pencil will eventually work with them. According to what I have heard from some "artists" that have had limited early access to the iPad Pro the "pencil" is actually very good (not perfect, but probably the best available for reasonably affordable prices).
Comments
apple's hubris will not serve them well
their arrogance has taken them far, but Steve is dead now
Tim serves the shareholders, not the customer
when Apple releases a tablet laptop hybrid that runs iOS and OS X everyone will marvel at their innovation
reading some comments here it's obvious many do nothing resembling 'work' with computing devices
keep eating soup with a fork and let me know how that works out for you
any BT keyboard can be used at a distance
if I had a dollar for every time an apple Bluetooth device failed to sync to an apple computing device I'd have a free iPad pro
sometimes a direct connection is in order
wireless may be chic but not always practical in the real world
you know, where actual work gets done?
The Pencil should have been developed for Macs, not iPads. (or for both I guess)
IMHO, that would be silly. Using a "pencil" on a laptop or a desktop would not be really that great. On the desktop the screen (large in my case) is two arm lengths away, it would be a pain to lift my arm up instead of resting it all day long -- and with touch on the desktop it would just make the monitor a greasy mess. And using a pencil over the laptop keyboard and constantly hitting the keys - just awful.
What I expect is not convergence of the devices but for the ecosystem to work seamlessly -- at some point the iPad Pro and the Mac will probably be extensions of one another wirelessly. I can hold or use an iPad for touch or drawing with my eyes working on the iPad (like a supped up trackpad) where I can use a pencil and trace things or draw on it or use it as a virtual whiteboard. I can use software locally on the iPad Pro (which will have a processor that is more than capable) and when it does not fit the job I can look up at the monitor and use an interoperable app on that to do some stuff if the iPad does not meet the task.
For anything that I use alot -- I never have one tool trying to be all things. I have multiple gadgets in the kitchen - each specialized and focused on doing something well - not doing everything half-a**ed. I could do have a microwave that can sort of work like a conventional oven but it sucks badly at it because it was not designed for it. I have both a hand held blender for doing quick mulching in a pot, and I have an actual blender or food processor for similar tasks which it is not suitable for. I am not going to bring a flat-bed truck around with me if I don't need it (if I were needing it for work) because it would be a hassle - different vehicles for different tasks. Many people have both motorcycles or snowmobiles and cars - they are sort of similar but trying to use the same vehicle for all tasks is a nightmare. Simply put, the idea of using one thing to do everything is a broken concept to begin with....
The only one hyping them is Microsoft and a few tech-head bloggers. The market at large, however, doesn't care.
Lmao. Just LMAO.
Show me the competition's numbers that demonstrate the folly of Apple's "hubris."
Define "work" with computing devices.
No, stylus input on OS X really IS great. It's an amazing increase in functionality and productivity. The problem is, you have to buy a second expensive external device to do it right now. Having that functionality built-in to at least some models of Mac would be a godsend. There is no reason the screen needs to be two arm lengths away. Most desktop pen input monitors utilize a base that acts as a tilting easel that brings the monitor as close as you want at any angle you want, and easily top right back away and vertical when you don't need them.
Why would I have a BT keyboard for a laptop that I'm now also carrying with me along with my iPad Pro? Why would i take the BT keyboard from a desktop computer just so i can have something designed not to be mobile to carry with my mobile devices, and now leaving my desktop computer at home or work without a keyboard for whomever else in the household that would want to use it? You're not thinking this through.
Why assume that it hasn't? No company excels in both vertical and horizontal integration like Apple. Perhaps the reason they reintroduced the MacBook without updating the MacBook Air to both Retina and IPS is because they plan to do something bold with that using a similarly highly sensitive digitizer in the trackpad and display, perhaps in a convertible or detachable Mac, but still a Mac running Mac OS X.
Walt - we miss you and your reporting / reviews on the WSJ.
These who wish it were running OS X haven't yet gotten it. The entire purpose is to not run OS X. The truth is that OS X is no more suited to a tablet form than Win 10 is.
I thought he said the next fifteen years.
iOS is OS X. The paring down can be reversed to whatever extent Apple wants to.
You meant to say "a freshman boy" of course.
I look at it from the other way - that iOS is the foundation / future for Apple and it will "scale up" to handle laptop / desktop use cases. Just like iOS can handle the specific UI cases for Watch, TV, iPhone, iPad, so too, it will do the same for future Apple devices. OSX is an excellent workstation OS for specialized tasks. I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I've got my Air (gen 1) hooked up to a Zagg folio case and keyboard and I love it - it's so small and compact I grab it rather than my MBA all the time now and I've noticed especially with iOS9 that there seems to be such a maturing of iOS that I'm using this device more and more. I'm heading on holiday next week and I'm taking the Air w/keyboard rather than the MBA as it'll do everything I need, but in a smaller footprint, plus it's iOS so detaching it from the keyboard I've got all the goodness and fun of iOS as well. I'm quite interested in the iPad Pro to see how it might replace this setup - as long as it's not too big, I think I'd prefer that to a new laptop (even the lovely MacBook I've considered) because iOS handles most everything and does it quite elegantly and just keeps getting better and better - there's quite a lot of polishing that's taken place in that OS in recent years.
I've used the Surface Pro 2 and 3. I'm not impressed with either. They are clumsy to use. You can't use the full screen resolution in many apps, because Microsoft sets the screen resolution to somewhere around 1024 X 768 so that you can actually stab at a menu or other screen item. Apple des something similar with its retina screens for their OS X machines as well. Otherwise it's hard to see, much less tap, one of those tiny items.
Since Windows was never designed for tablet use, despite the disastrous combo machines of the 2000's, Surface tablets are considered to be "computers" in the classic sense by IDC, whereas Gartner considers them to be tablets, hence the difference in reporting of the two firms as to sales numbers.
The iPad is far more natural to use as a tablet than Windows will ever be since Microsoft was forced to reverse its course from Win 8 to Win 10. They had the right with RT, but no one wanted another tablet OS. Between android and iOS, all the popular bases are covered, from $50 tablets, to $1,000 tablets.
People who buy Surface devices don't really want a tablet, they want a Windows device in a lighter form. But you really need a keyboard.
I'd love seeing her try. I've tried, and it's difficult enough to to be discouraging. Apparently, she's one of the few able to work it that way.
Very nice, but you haven't actually said anything.
That's very cute, but it doesn't follow the timeline, as keyboards have been available for the ipad since mid 2010, shortly after it came out. I also don't recall Tim stating that Apple invented the idea of a type cover. So the cartoon is a bit off as far as reality is concerned.
I think the iPad pro is the perfect platform for startups. A professional animation software can truly make sense on the pro, so anyone doing it right before the big guys will truly have a good head start.
Until truly professional software arrives, the iPad Pro will still be just an iPad.
It will always "just be" an iPad...... it is the leading/bleeding edge, but I have no doubt that the next generation of normal sized iPads will incorporate similar features as the iPad Pro (with whatever compromises are required to keep the price in the "normal" range). The screen, the pencil will eventually work with them. According to what I have heard from some "artists" that have had limited early access to the iPad Pro the "pencil" is actually very good (not perfect, but probably the best available for reasonably affordable prices).