The non-flatness isn't an operation issue (I don't use mine flat on a table) but it just doesn't feel right.
I'll probably get a case. And part of the reason for that is that the sides are very slick. A little more texture there would be good. But that's just my preference.
A very useful app for me is 'Clinometer' it requires being flat on a table, or on edge. (I use it for landscaping, leveling furniture, laying floors and framing rooms). Think Bubble level and surveyors transit in one.
It appears I need a 'squared edge' cover to continue to use it 'hands free'. Either that or get a mounting frame with 3 degrees of square.
and the thing is, the flushness of the camera is a complete non-issue.
The iPhones from 4 through 5s seemed to cause much more wear on Levis front pocket area than the previous models. I'll let you know in about 6 months or so if the protruding camera causes excessive wear. I thought the issue of using it while flat on a table was going to be annoying, but like you, it really isn't for me either and I use mine in that manner quite a bit because I don't get iCloud email on my workstation so it makes it easy to see my emails and texts without having to reach in my pocket while seated.
err. if your iPhone and watch can do NFC, why does your iPad need to do NFC? and aren't the parts of a phone and a watch 'separate'?
The magic of Apple Pay and POS interaction is 'signing it' with a biometric. your phone is in your pocket, your iPad is in your bag. your watch is on your arm and monitoring your HR (another biometric). The goal is NOT to pull something out of your bag to pay for something (from the end user perspective. just wave your phone and touch your screen, or extend your watch arm to the PoS device.
I think the purpose if for the business owner to be able to use the ipad as a Point of Sale that supports Apple Pay. Lots of small businesses use iPads with Square readers to replace full blown computer point of sale terminals. This iPad will almost certainly have a way to accept payments via Apple Pay because it makes too much sense for Apple. Currently Apple Pay needs to have one of those "tap or swipe" terminals which are expensive and don't interact with iPads (to my knowledge); thus, excluding the small businesses that use iPads (and their customers) from using Apple Pay to accept payments.
If Apple could include a card swipe mechanism accessory (for those without iphones or a supporting card vendor) and do an Apple built application for accepting Apple Pay payments, they'd be able to truly launch a whole system of Apple Pay that can compete and beat the current systems out there. Just supplement with an old school cash register and you're done.
err. if your iPhone and watch can do NFC, why does your iPad need to do NFC? and aren't the parts of a phone and a watch 'separate'?
The magic of Apple Pay and POS interaction is 'signing it' with a biometric. your phone is in your pocket, your iPad is in your bag. your watch is on your arm and monitoring your HR (another biometric). The goal is NOT to pull something out of your bag to pay for something (from the end user perspective. just wave your phone and touch your screen, or extend your watch arm to the PoS device.
The iPad is owned and operated by the store. You complete your transaction on the iPad, using iPhone or Apple watch as your credit card.
If the store's iPad doesn't have nfc, then they would need a separate little terminal for the "tap" function (similar to how stores have it now, with separate debit/credit terminals, and then a "tap"/"pay pass" type device)
err. if your iPhone and watch can do NFC, why does your iPad need to do NFC? and aren't the parts of a phone and a watch 'separate'?
The magic of Apple Pay and POS interaction is 'signing it' with a biometric. your phone is in your pocket, your iPad is in your bag. your watch is on your arm and monitoring your HR (another biometric). The goal is NOT to pull something out of your bag to pay for something (from the end user perspective. just wave your phone and touch your screen, or extend your watch arm to the PoS device.
You missed the point. An iPad as a point of sale register is connected to back end systems through its wifi connection. So why have a separate NFC terminal for customers to wave their iPhone or Apple Watch in front of when that iPad that was used to total your purchase could also be the NFC terminal you wave your iPhone or Apple Watch in front of.
If Apple could include a card swipe mechanism accessory (for those without iphones or a supporting card vendor) and do an Apple built application for accepting Apple Pay payments, they'd be able to truly launch a whole system of Apple Pay that can compete and beat the current systems out there. Just supplement with an old school cash register and you're done.
I think Apple Pay is going to be incompatible with swiping cards because it relies on secure tokens which are not part of the traditional credit card system.
err. if your iPhone and watch can do NFC, why does your iPad need to do NFC? and aren't the parts of a phone and a watch 'separate'?
The magic of Apple Pay and POS interaction is 'signing it' with a biometric. your phone is in your pocket, your iPad is in your bag. your watch is on your arm and monitoring your HR (another biometric). The goal is NOT to pull something out of your bag to pay for something (from the end user perspective. just wave your phone and touch your screen, or extend your watch arm to the PoS device.
His point was if the iPad had Nfc to communicate with the iphone/watch, then mom and pop stores could use these new iPads as points of sale so you and I (with iPhones/watches) could pay with them
The iPads should include nfc so they can be used as Point of Sale terminals in stores. A simple communication from iPhone/Apple watch to an iPad and the transaction is complete without a bunch of separate par
While I don't care about the thickness, though Benj will say that it's way too thick, I do care about the weight. Thinner should mean lighter. Even my Air weighs too much when I'm reading in bed. If I get the 6+, I may use that in bed instead.
Weight is more important, but some chipping away at thickness helps those that do use cases. We certainly don't want to have battery life impacted, but current iPad Air battery life is good & there haven't been many complaints (not compared with iPhone). It would be great if the iPads could get a screen bump to Retina HD, since that might be the most important selling point of a tablet. That with TouchID/?Pay, slightly less weight & thickness, the A8 processor (wish as well it could be more RAM for Safari purposes), would make for a pretty compelling upgrade for all those not on the iPad Air.
Question that is more forward looking, is what improvements HW wise (beyond the CPU/GPU annual improvements) can be done to the iPad to drive sales growth? If the rumours are true, then the iPad would have a top-of-line display, biometric security, ultra slim (and getting lighter) form factor, secure data storage for online/e-commerce, and improved camera. NFC for POS terminal would be a good plus & could position for other applications as well. But if all of that is this year, it gets even harder to think "what more" for next year.
My view is that focus needs to be on software & services, to drive new use-cases, to spread the iPad into more areas. As is debated on AI constantly, while the iPad is superior to a traditional PC for those applications that need high mobility/touch/always-on, it is not going to displace the "PC on the desk" in the office at this time, nor is it clear it is a replacement for a PC for students (and by PC here, I clearly am including the Mac). The focus has to be on how to change the game, and develop the use cases that can improve productivity by altering workflows, such that the "PC on the desk" isn't needed, as the job function itself has changed. Clearly the expectation is that the IBM partnership will help in the enterprise/business space. I think that iOS 8 had more focus on "non consumer" than any other release. Maybe Apple is doing more here in the Education space, but we don't see it reported. Just curious what others think.
The new iPads memory will probably configured like iPhone 6s, 16GB, 64GB, 128GB. I have advocated this more than a year ago. Still, I feel that Apple has treated the iPads as a second c;ass citizen compared to iPhone. One important hardware component Apple has never cared to add to the wifi iPads is the GPS chip. This makes me think the iPad design team or even the higher execs are either ignorant or shortsighted on hardware specs. They seem don't understand the two additional very useful features a GPS chip can bring to wifi-baded iPads, geotagging photos and navigation.
Apple needs to make iPad more appealing. It has so far been treated as a 2nd child receiving the left over from the 1st child (being the iPhone). My recollection is that it has always been behind iPhone in terms of CPU, Camera (back and front), Flash, TouchID.
The sale of iPad will continue to slow down further unless Apple takes action. Bringing iPad with everything the iPhone6 plus has CPU, Touchid, NFC, better camera/stabilizer, flash, and adding 2GB of RAM, multi-window-multi-tasking, HD multiple resolution fullHD & 2xHD & 4K.
I did not get the iPad air as the changes were not worth the upgrade effort.
PS. iPad-pro option would go a long way to create more choices for potential buyers.
\Not sure it really needed to be thinner though...
Quote:
Originally Posted by plovell
There is such a thing as "too thin" and I think the iPhone 6 is anorexic.
When I said I thought it was a bad idea to use hard-wired RAM and Apple-specific storage just to make the Retina MacBook Pro a few mm thinner, everyone said I "don't get it."
Are some of you starting to question Apple's push for paper-thinness in general, or do you have different expectations of a tablet than you do of a laptop, specifically that laptops should be made thinner but tablets should not?
--
As an aside, only tangentially related to the subject, I eventually decided that soldered RAM is fine since I always order what I need at time of purchase anyway, and that the benefits of PCIe-connected storage probably outweighed the hassles associated with an absence of after-market upgrades. Turns out, I was right in the first place. Not being able to alter the factory configuration makes buying a used machine more difficult. Turns out most people who sell used Airs on Craigslist bought the minimum configuration. Finding one with more RAM and storage is a challenge, and, unlike most computers, I can't just buy a basic unit and upgrade it myself.
Why do I keep hearing that people want iOS devices to have 2GB of RAM? It eats up more power and what does it really deliver -- Safari tabs that don't have to reload? Hardly worth it.
By keeping every device at 1GB, it forces developers to keep a sharp eye on resources and not become lazy with memory management. Working with limitations forces developers to be efficient.
Also, as a DF reader suggested, it could be a supply issue. There simply may not be enough if Apple doubled the amount of RAM on the hundreds of millions of devices sold.
Gionee Elife S5.1 is a 4.8" smartphone that's 5.1mm thick but has a 2,100 mAh battery. If they can put that battery in a thinner chassis what's stopping Apple from doing it?
Regarding the camera not being flush, it's not flush on the Sony Xperia Z3 either but no one seems to be complaining about it.
Would help if you actually put the right info...
The actual thickness of the phone is not 5.1 mm but 5.55 mm (it is S5.5, not S5.1), and the screen is 5 inch, not 4.8 inch.
The internal volume is within 5% of one another (6, 5% bigger), so Id guess the difference comes to the screen
(Amoled screens being thinner).
Seemingly, the Iphone has significantly more internal components (if you look at the specs)...
Despite all that, the Iphone 6 has a 50% HIGHER battery rating on gsmarena (not an Apple fan site) than that phone... Yes, 25% less battery, but 3 times the performance AND it lasts 50% longer too...
Why do I keep hearing that people want iOS devices to have 2GB of RAM? It eats up more power and what does it really deliver -- Safari tabs that don't have to reload? Hardly worth it.
Actually, for *ME*, that all by itself with NO other benefits whatsoever would make it worth it. Portable web browsing was one of three features that attracted me to the iPhone in the first place. It has turned out to be a dismally disappointing experience. Anything that can be done to improve it (like a bigger screen -- thanks, Apple!) is welcome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unicron
By keeping every device at 1GB, it forces developers to keep a sharp eye on resources and not become lazy with memory management. Working with limitations forces developers to be efficient.
By that reasoning we should not install faster and more powerful processors either then, to keep developers on their toes.
Comments
I've never asked the question before. Actually, I still haven't- that was a statement.
Sorry if you've heard the statement before, your highness.
The non-flatness isn't an operation issue (I don't use mine flat on a table) but it just doesn't feel right.
I'll probably get a case. And part of the reason for that is that the sides are very slick. A little more texture there would be good. But that's just my preference.
A very useful app for me is 'Clinometer' it requires being flat on a table, or on edge. (I use it for landscaping, leveling furniture, laying floors and framing rooms). Think Bubble level and surveyors transit in one.
It appears I need a 'squared edge' cover to continue to use it 'hands free'. Either that or get a mounting frame with 3 degrees of square.
I've never asked the question ... Actually, I still haven't- that was a statement.
You're "statement" had a question mark at the end... a lot of folks would consider that a "question"... lol...
How long before some idiot tries to bend it?
So, that's not a question? lol....
and the thing is, the flushness of the camera is a complete non-issue.
The iPhones from 4 through 5s seemed to cause much more wear on Levis front pocket area than the previous models. I'll let you know in about 6 months or so if the protruding camera causes excessive wear. I thought the issue of using it while flat on a table was going to be annoying, but like you, it really isn't for me either and I use mine in that manner quite a bit because I don't get iCloud email on my workstation so it makes it easy to see my emails and texts without having to reach in my pocket while seated.
err. if your iPhone and watch can do NFC, why does your iPad need to do NFC? and aren't the parts of a phone and a watch 'separate'?
The magic of Apple Pay and POS interaction is 'signing it' with a biometric. your phone is in your pocket, your iPad is in your bag. your watch is on your arm and monitoring your HR (another biometric). The goal is NOT to pull something out of your bag to pay for something (from the end user perspective. just wave your phone and touch your screen, or extend your watch arm to the PoS device.
I think the purpose if for the business owner to be able to use the ipad as a Point of Sale that supports Apple Pay. Lots of small businesses use iPads with Square readers to replace full blown computer point of sale terminals. This iPad will almost certainly have a way to accept payments via Apple Pay because it makes too much sense for Apple. Currently Apple Pay needs to have one of those "tap or swipe" terminals which are expensive and don't interact with iPads (to my knowledge); thus, excluding the small businesses that use iPads (and their customers) from using Apple Pay to accept payments.
If Apple could include a card swipe mechanism accessory (for those without iphones or a supporting card vendor) and do an Apple built application for accepting Apple Pay payments, they'd be able to truly launch a whole system of Apple Pay that can compete and beat the current systems out there. Just supplement with an old school cash register and you're done.
The iPad is owned and operated by the store. You complete your transaction on the iPad, using iPhone or Apple watch as your credit card.
If the store's iPad doesn't have nfc, then they would need a separate little terminal for the "tap" function (similar to how stores have it now, with separate debit/credit terminals, and then a "tap"/"pay pass" type device)
Edit: exactly Jordan.murry
You missed the point. An iPad as a point of sale register is connected to back end systems through its wifi connection. So why have a separate NFC terminal for customers to wave their iPhone or Apple Watch in front of when that iPad that was used to total your purchase could also be the NFC terminal you wave your iPhone or Apple Watch in front of.
If Apple could include a card swipe mechanism accessory (for those without iphones or a supporting card vendor) and do an Apple built application for accepting Apple Pay payments, they'd be able to truly launch a whole system of Apple Pay that can compete and beat the current systems out there. Just supplement with an old school cash register and you're done.
I think Apple Pay is going to be incompatible with swiping cards because it relies on secure tokens which are not part of the traditional credit card system.
His point was if the iPad had Nfc to communicate with the iphone/watch, then mom and pop stores could use these new iPads as points of sale so you and I (with iPhones/watches) could pay with them
:-)
Because who on Earth owns a Sony?
The iPads should include nfc so they can be used as Point of Sale terminals in stores. A simple communication from iPhone/Apple watch to an iPad and the transaction is complete without a bunch of separate par
what have YOU been smoking . ROFL
While I don't care about the thickness, though Benj will say that it's way too thick, I do care about the weight. Thinner should mean lighter. Even my Air weighs too much when I'm reading in bed. If I get the 6+, I may use that in bed instead.
Weight is more important, but some chipping away at thickness helps those that do use cases. We certainly don't want to have battery life impacted, but current iPad Air battery life is good & there haven't been many complaints (not compared with iPhone). It would be great if the iPads could get a screen bump to Retina HD, since that might be the most important selling point of a tablet. That with TouchID/?Pay, slightly less weight & thickness, the A8 processor (wish as well it could be more RAM for Safari purposes), would make for a pretty compelling upgrade for all those not on the iPad Air.
Question that is more forward looking, is what improvements HW wise (beyond the CPU/GPU annual improvements) can be done to the iPad to drive sales growth? If the rumours are true, then the iPad would have a top-of-line display, biometric security, ultra slim (and getting lighter) form factor, secure data storage for online/e-commerce, and improved camera. NFC for POS terminal would be a good plus & could position for other applications as well. But if all of that is this year, it gets even harder to think "what more" for next year.
My view is that focus needs to be on software & services, to drive new use-cases, to spread the iPad into more areas. As is debated on AI constantly, while the iPad is superior to a traditional PC for those applications that need high mobility/touch/always-on, it is not going to displace the "PC on the desk" in the office at this time, nor is it clear it is a replacement for a PC for students (and by PC here, I clearly am including the Mac). The focus has to be on how to change the game, and develop the use cases that can improve productivity by altering workflows, such that the "PC on the desk" isn't needed, as the job function itself has changed. Clearly the expectation is that the IBM partnership will help in the enterprise/business space. I think that iOS 8 had more focus on "non consumer" than any other release. Maybe Apple is doing more here in the Education space, but we don't see it reported. Just curious what others think.
The new iPads memory will probably configured like iPhone 6s, 16GB, 64GB, 128GB. I have advocated this more than a year ago. Still, I feel that Apple has treated the iPads as a second c;ass citizen compared to iPhone. One important hardware component Apple has never cared to add to the wifi iPads is the GPS chip. This makes me think the iPad design team or even the higher execs are either ignorant or shortsighted on hardware specs. They seem don't understand the two additional very useful features a GPS chip can bring to wifi-baded iPads, geotagging photos and navigation.
Apple needs to make iPad more appealing. It has so far been treated as a 2nd child receiving the left over from the 1st child (being the iPhone). My recollection is that it has always been behind iPhone in terms of CPU, Camera (back and front), Flash, TouchID.
The sale of iPad will continue to slow down further unless Apple takes action. Bringing iPad with everything the iPhone6 plus has CPU, Touchid, NFC, better camera/stabilizer, flash, and adding 2GB of RAM, multi-window-multi-tasking, HD multiple resolution fullHD & 2xHD & 4K.
I did not get the iPad air as the changes were not worth the upgrade effort.
PS. iPad-pro option would go a long way to create more choices for potential buyers.
\Not sure it really needed to be thinner though...
There is such a thing as "too thin" and I think the iPhone 6 is anorexic.
When I said I thought it was a bad idea to use hard-wired RAM and Apple-specific storage just to make the Retina MacBook Pro a few mm thinner, everyone said I "don't get it."
Are some of you starting to question Apple's push for paper-thinness in general, or do you have different expectations of a tablet than you do of a laptop, specifically that laptops should be made thinner but tablets should not?
--
As an aside, only tangentially related to the subject, I eventually decided that soldered RAM is fine since I always order what I need at time of purchase anyway, and that the benefits of PCIe-connected storage probably outweighed the hassles associated with an absence of after-market upgrades. Turns out, I was right in the first place. Not being able to alter the factory configuration makes buying a used machine more difficult. Turns out most people who sell used Airs on Craigslist bought the minimum configuration. Finding one with more RAM and storage is a challenge, and, unlike most computers, I can't just buy a basic unit and upgrade it myself.
By keeping every device at 1GB, it forces developers to keep a sharp eye on resources and not become lazy with memory management. Working with limitations forces developers to be efficient.
Also, as a DF reader suggested, it could be a supply issue. There simply may not be enough if Apple doubled the amount of RAM on the hundreds of millions of devices sold.
Gionee Elife S5.1 is a 4.8" smartphone that's 5.1mm thick but has a 2,100 mAh battery. If they can put that battery in a thinner chassis what's stopping Apple from doing it?
Regarding the camera not being flush, it's not flush on the Sony Xperia Z3 either but no one seems to be complaining about it.
Would help if you actually put the right info...
The actual thickness of the phone is not 5.1 mm but 5.55 mm (it is S5.5, not S5.1), and the screen is 5 inch, not 4.8 inch.
The internal volume is within 5% of one another (6, 5% bigger), so Id guess the difference comes to the screen
(Amoled screens being thinner).
Seemingly, the Iphone has significantly more internal components (if you look at the specs)...
Despite all that, the Iphone 6 has a 50% HIGHER battery rating on gsmarena (not an Apple fan site) than that phone... Yes, 25% less battery, but 3 times the performance AND it lasts 50% longer too...
Why do I keep hearing that people want iOS devices to have 2GB of RAM? It eats up more power and what does it really deliver -- Safari tabs that don't have to reload? Hardly worth it.
Actually, for *ME*, that all by itself with NO other benefits whatsoever would make it worth it. Portable web browsing was one of three features that attracted me to the iPhone in the first place. It has turned out to be a dismally disappointing experience. Anything that can be done to improve it (like a bigger screen -- thanks, Apple!) is welcome.
By keeping every device at 1GB, it forces developers to keep a sharp eye on resources and not become lazy with memory management. Working with limitations forces developers to be efficient.
By that reasoning we should not install faster and more powerful processors either then, to keep developers on their toes.