danvm

tht said:

thedba said:

Here are my “on a napkin” calculations.

An iPad Pro 13” = $1299

Smart keyboard w/trackpad = $319

Total: $1618

OTOH MacBook Air = $999

MacBook Air 15” (you know productivity) = $1199

Does anyone really think that folks arguing for “productivity” and “real work” are going to start buying iPads by the truckload because of this?

With iPadOS 26, I could do it for work if Office365 for iPadOS is featured enough to work with the MS Office files I have to deal with. Office365 is what really holds any non-MS system from being used in corporate environments, and Microsoft loves, just loves, to tune Office features just right so that Windows versions have the best features, macOS versions are neutered but just good enough not to get into antitrust issues, web versions are neutered a little more then macOS versions but probably doable now for Word and Powerpoint (maybe Excel?), and "mobile" versions (Android, iOS, iPadOS) are basically baby versions only for reading and light manipulation.

So, if Office365 is as good as the macOS version, I think I would be just as productive with it as I would a 13/14 laptop.

MS Office apps for iPad have been developed for +10 years under many limitations iPad had for years.  Recently Apple is removing those limitations, and it's adding many desktop elements.  Could it be possible that MS consider removing the limited iPad versions of their apps, and replace them with the full featured macOS version, that is a Universal application? Who knows.  

I'd get a 2 TB storage version with cellular. Would have a magnetic docking stand, a 27" 4K or higher monitor, mechanical keyboard and trackpad/mouse. Would get a Pencil and a sleeve. So, when I'm carrying it around, it would only be about 1.6 lbs or so. In a backpack, it would be about 2 lbs. Just about half the weight all-around. The big benefit to me is being able to take hand-written notes, but I may be too old to relearn that now.

But would the IT department buy it by the truckload to deploy it, or offer it as an option for users? Who knows? They barely accommodate Macs. There would need to be some cheap and easy way to put their own profiles onto it (Face ID disabled, App Store disabled, their own set of apps, etc) and to manage both the software and hardware. If this hurdle can be overcome, I don't see why not.

What you describe is what I experienced 10 years ago with my Surface Pro 4.  Now that iPad is getting closer to a desktop experience, I expect to see developers moving away from the full-touch experience to a hybrid one.  I'm looking forward to those changes.

Wesley_Hilliard said:

danvm said:

Wesley_Hilliard said:

ChiIrishReed said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

ChiIrishReed said:

It’s time for Tim Cook to be fired. Steve Jobs would be and is rolling over in his grave. Nothing groundbreaking or innovative has happened under Cook’s watch. I’ve been an active apple fan since 2000. Apple intelligence last year (and Siri) was nothing but false promises and vaporware starting with WWDC 2024. Apple AI this year is still woefully behind any of its competitors. Apple’s tech is behind Android features that have been out for years on other phones (and yes I know those phones are less secure and have bloatware - but that doesn’t invalidate the point) and yet Apple is selling these as new and revolutionary software updates. Tim is too cautious and these promises of a new OS every year, except some features being available later in the year (just wait customer) in an  iOS update is nothing but lies and poor product development year after year. It’s not necessary. Gone are the days when Apple was innovative and the OS actually had every feature when it was released the first time, without promises for later. Same with the hardware. Incrementalism is not only boring, it’s costing Apple its edge. What is apple working on? 

Seven years ago, still evergreen.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/25/defending-tim-cook-why-apple-remains-in-good-hands

Let me pull a select quote.

"If Steve Jobs Was Still Alive"

"If Steve Jobs were alive today" are arguments are, by their very nature, specious and ridiculous. For one thing, they're based entirely on conjecture, as no one knows exactly how someone who has been dead for close to seven years would react to a unique situation arising today, much less the adherence to Moore's Law in iPhone processors that Intel has failed to deliver for the Mac. It's an argument that's impossible to prove and equally impossible to refute.

For another, these arguments implicitly invoke a fictitious, idealized version of Steve Jobs who always did everything right and never made mistakes or became embroiled in crises at Apple — one bearing virtually no resemblance to the actual Steve Jobs.

Ok. Delete the sentence about Steve Jobs and look at the rest of the comment. Where is the lie about Siri, about AI, about Apple being behind and promoting vaporware and not having anything complete issued at roll out time? 

Your comments read like a Samsung fan in a forum circa 2014. They're tired, old arguments that never prove true. Siri still works in its core competencies and sucks greatly at things outside of those, and Apple promised an update that didn't arrive. That's annoying, but it's one feature out of a dozen that shipped in 2024/2025. There was never vaporware, just hallucinating AI that had a higher-than-desired miss rate.

Google and OpenAI might be okay with 30% or greater fail rates, but not Apple. Apple's focus on incremental updates and products that actually enhance a user's life are what sets it apart. Cook's reluctance and ability to step back and rethink shows why he's an excellent CEO in a world where Humane and the Cybertruck exist.

I'd also love to know where Android is ahead, specifically. To my eye that OS has languished over the past six years or so in favor of announcing party tricks that never ship. Or is Google's graveyard of PR ploys a figment of my imagination?

And what was Apple doing in leaps and bounds before that it isn't doing now? Other than releasing a new product line twice a decade, where exactly has Apple ever moved fast, broke things, and came out ahead of the competition other than privacy and security? Apple is good because it is cautious. I don't understand people's drive to change that.

Could we say that Apple is also OK with the 30% fail rates of OpenAI, considering how they integrate ChatGPT with iOS 26? If it's so bad as you think, why Apple is integrating with it?  

Should Apple be concerned when Google tells you to put glue on pizza or when Amazon sells you a scam product? ChatGPT isn't an Apple product, it is a service heavily labeled as such that exists outside of Apple Intelligence. It is also siloed in a way that should keep hallucinations to a reasonable level. The chatbot isn't available when using ChatGPT via Siri; the session ends the second you close the active dialogue.

Though that doesn't mean the implementation is fool proof. Visual Intelligence via ChatGPT called Mario Kart World a fan-made game and didn't know what the Switch 2 was in the photo. 

Apple made an agreement to make Google Search the default engine in all Apple devices and also said Google Search was the best search engine.  

Apple CEO Tim Cook says this is the best search engine out there - Fast Company

I think they should be concerned when a service like Google Search, that they integrated in their devices, do not perform well. Apple also made partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT in their devices becasue they think is the best AI service for their devices, even with the 30% failure rate you mentioned.  Are you saying that integrating ChatGPT was a mistake?

Wesley_Hilliard said:

ChiIrishReed said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

ChiIrishReed said:

It’s time for Tim Cook to be fired. Steve Jobs would be and is rolling over in his grave. Nothing groundbreaking or innovative has happened under Cook’s watch. I’ve been an active apple fan since 2000. Apple intelligence last year (and Siri) was nothing but false promises and vaporware starting with WWDC 2024. Apple AI this year is still woefully behind any of its competitors. Apple’s tech is behind Android features that have been out for years on other phones (and yes I know those phones are less secure and have bloatware - but that doesn’t invalidate the point) and yet Apple is selling these as new and revolutionary software updates. Tim is too cautious and these promises of a new OS every year, except some features being available later in the year (just wait customer) in an  iOS update is nothing but lies and poor product development year after year. It’s not necessary. Gone are the days when Apple was innovative and the OS actually had every feature when it was released the first time, without promises for later. Same with the hardware. Incrementalism is not only boring, it’s costing Apple its edge. What is apple working on? 

Seven years ago, still evergreen.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/25/defending-tim-cook-why-apple-remains-in-good-hands

Let me pull a select quote.

"If Steve Jobs Was Still Alive"

"If Steve Jobs were alive today" are arguments are, by their very nature, specious and ridiculous. For one thing, they're based entirely on conjecture, as no one knows exactly how someone who has been dead for close to seven years would react to a unique situation arising today, much less the adherence to Moore's Law in iPhone processors that Intel has failed to deliver for the Mac. It's an argument that's impossible to prove and equally impossible to refute.

For another, these arguments implicitly invoke a fictitious, idealized version of Steve Jobs who always did everything right and never made mistakes or became embroiled in crises at Apple — one bearing virtually no resemblance to the actual Steve Jobs.

Ok. Delete the sentence about Steve Jobs and look at the rest of the comment. Where is the lie about Siri, about AI, about Apple being behind and promoting vaporware and not having anything complete issued at roll out time? 

Your comments read like a Samsung fan in a forum circa 2014. They're tired, old arguments that never prove true. Siri still works in its core competencies and sucks greatly at things outside of those, and Apple promised an update that didn't arrive. That's annoying, but it's one feature out of a dozen that shipped in 2024/2025. There was never vaporware, just hallucinating AI that had a higher-than-desired miss rate.

Google and OpenAI might be okay with 30% or greater fail rates, but not Apple. Apple's focus on incremental updates and products that actually enhance a user's life are what sets it apart. Cook's reluctance and ability to step back and rethink shows why he's an excellent CEO in a world where Humane and the Cybertruck exist.

I'd also love to know where Android is ahead, specifically. To my eye that OS has languished over the past six years or so in favor of announcing party tricks that never ship. Or is Google's graveyard of PR ploys a figment of my imagination?

And what was Apple doing in leaps and bounds before that it isn't doing now? Other than releasing a new product line twice a decade, where exactly has Apple ever moved fast, broke things, and came out ahead of the competition other than privacy and security? Apple is good because it is cautious. I don't understand people's drive to change that.

Could we say that Apple is also OK with the 30% fail rates of OpenAI, considering how they integrate ChatGPT with iOS 26? If it's so bad as you think, why Apple is integrating with it?  

StrangeDays said:

No, you just have it wrong. First, your Windows Surface device from ten years ago sucked. I’m fairly certain iPadOS will not. 

Although my SP4 wasn't perfect, neither was the iPad I had at the time. I was far more productive with my SP4 than my iPad, that didn't had keyboard w/ trackpad, Pencil, FaceID, multitasking, side-by-side applications or windowing.  While typing, I remembered when the SP4 had a higher consumer satisfaction compared to the iPad. Maybe the SP4 wasn't as bad as you think.

Microsoft tops Apple in tablet satisfaction rankings | Cult of Mac

Second, you’re confusing a touchscreen laptop with a touchscreen tablet with keyboard & pointer support. The tablet is still 100% designed for touch as a first-class citizen, but gains the ability of keeping hands down on keyboard for added productivity use cases, without sacrificing the primary use case. And because it’s an iPad and not a crummy Windows laptop, you’re not going to have shitty battery life. 

Adding keyboard & pointer productivity support to a touch tablet is inherently better than adding touch to a keyboard & pointer device. 

I am not confusing touch screen and laptops Ultimately both devices feature touchscreens with keyboards trackpads, allowing users to choose the input that suits best without being restricted to one. Secondly, while I acknowledge that Apple prioritize touch interface with the iPad, it compromises the experience when attempting to use it as a desktop replacement. Conversely, the Surface was designed with the desktop experience as a priority, and it affected its usability as a tablet. In the end, neither device is flawless. However, I would argue that the Surface excels as a productivity device, while the iPad performs better as a consumption device. Now you see iPadOS 26 adding more desktop elements.  Looks like the days of 100% designed for touch are over.  

You might not know this, but the latest Surface Pro 12 and 11 devices with Snapdragon have a battery life comparable to the newest iPad. It seems like they resolved the problems I experienced with my SP4 that had Intel processor.

It's interesting how each iPadOS update seems to make it more like the Surface Pro 4 I had a decade ago. I also recall Apple's comments about toaster/fridge combos and how terrible touchscreen laptops were. Now, with iPadOS 26, the iPad has become the very device Apple once criticized. Good on them for embracing the change.