mac_128

MplsP said:

The single USB port on the 12” MacBook is one of the stupidest design decisions made in a long time. That feature alone creates enough usability issues to remove it from consideration. 

lorin schultz said:

mac_128 said:

Apple TV is a high end box [...] a cheap way into the Apple ecosystem to watch what Apple hopes will turn out to be must see TV.

Cheap compared to what, though? Compared to a Mac, yes. Compared to a $50 Fire Stick, not so much.

I'm not saying that the Apple TV is overpriced or that a the Fire Stick is equivalent. I do think the average buyer will make that comparison though, and the price may be high enough to be a deterrent to easy adoption. Look at it like this:

- Amazon wants me to subscribe to its streaming service. I need a device to do that. The device is $50. That's low enough that I probably won't think too much about it.

- Now Apple wants me to subscribe to its streaming service. I need a device to do that. The device costs more than three times as much as nearest thing I can find to compare it to. It's a better device, but it's also much more expensive. I may balk at that.

You and I know it's not fair to compare an Apple TV to a Fire Stick, but I don't know if most people will make the distinction, or even care if shown the difference. The Apple TV may simply be more device than most people need or want, the same way a discrete 5.1 speaker system seems excessive to someone who is satisfied with a sound bar.

Of course, like you say, the unknown in the scenario you describe is the desirability of Apple's content. It may be so awesome that people will be enticed to buy a more expensive device to get access to it. If they're not, maybe a cheaper, simpler option -- like an Apple equivalent to the Fire Stick -- would be a good idea.

lorin schultz said:

macplusplus said:

lorin schultz said:

lowededwookie said:
[...] I can edit video on an iPhone just as easily as using iMovie on the Mac

"Easily," yes. Accurately, no. Fine adjustments are difficult using a finger on a small screen.

There is Pencil for that.

He said he can edit video on an IPHONE. Did you just overlook that or does the iPhone actually support the Pencil now?

macplusplus said:
If you'd watched the Keynote you'd know or you already know that the reason to attach a 4K monitor to iPad Pro is to follow iMovie edits in real time 4K, since the iPad's own display is not 4K.

I did watch the Keynote and I didn't get that impression. To me it looked like just using one possible application among many as an example. Assuming I misunderstood and that really is Apple's sole intent, it seems like a whole lotta tech, effort, and expense for not much payoff.

georgie01 said:

Apart from that, having a trackpad or mouse is another fundamental requirement to making a computer a computer, as it's much quicker and easier to navigate and move files around. There are so many things on a computer that are tough to accomplish with touch controls alone.

To me this is classic problem people have shifting their computing perspective to see the iPad as a real computer replacement. It’s sort of like switching between automobiles—you don’t say the Hyundai Elantra is not a ‘full’ car because you can’t accelerate to pass other cars as quickly as a McLaren P1. Instead you adapt your driving style to compensate for the differences, which inherently means accepting and adapting to limitations. Undoubtedly if everyone grew up driving a McLaren P1 people would resist the Hyundai Elantra as a ‘real’ car, saying you can’t do this or that with it.

I’m not meaning to say you can do everything on an iPad, but you also can’t do everything on a ‘full’ computer. But that doesn’t make either less of a real computing device. I can’t write this post on my computer because I’d never casually take my MacBook Pro as I’m out and about. If everyone grew up with iPads and didn’t know anything about desktop/laptop computers, we’d undoubtedly think they were too cumbersome and overly complex to accomplish most tasks.

txsbaker75 said:

I'm fine with the switch to USB-C as long as Apple does it on the iPhone, too, and soon. But right now their port strategy is a bit of a mess. I realize that Apple wants us to go wireless on earphones, but I would really appreciate it if they would stop killing analog audio ports on devices. USB-C is great in concept, but think about this scenario: I can buy a MacBook Pro with a TRRS audio port, an iPad Pro with a USB-C port, and an iPhone with a Lightning port. In order to use any standard headphones with a TRRS connector, I now have to carry a USB-C adaptor and a Lightning adaptor. Yes, I can do this wirelessly with Apple's W1 equipped Bluetooth headsets. However, to switch between devices, I still have to perform multiple steps to make the switch each time. None of those steps are intuitive. Add to that, I have the Apple earphones that shipped with my iPhone X. There's no way to use them with the new iPad Pro or a MacBook. Since they're putting USB-C on the iPad Pro and enabling high-res display output, I'd really like to see a good way to use that connectivity to expand the productivity features a la Samsung Dex. Dex is a great concept with poor software/OS implementation. Apple has the hardware and the software to make it happen well, I think. The hardest part is really enabling the UI switch so that you can use a mouse/trackpad in docked mode without destroying the workflow/ease-of-use for standard (undocked) iOS. Switching the iPad into a large trackpad with room for some contextual buttons a la the Touch Bar may be the best way IMHO.