txsbaker75

The missing ability to fold the keyboard out of the way is really a negative for me on the new design. I use my iPad Pro/Smart Keyboard in that configuration a lot. Not just to stand it on a table, but also it makes a very nice handle when carrying it around to do site surveys. The camera is unobstructed in that mode, so I can take and insert pictures into my notes and then annotate directly on them. I don't like taking the keyboard off while I'm doing this because then I have to set it down while I work and keep track of where I put it. Right now, I can walk an entire facility with just my iPad Pro (w/Smart Keyboard) and Apple Pencil. I'd like to upgrade to the new model, but one thing that has me waiting is to see what the 3rd party vendors come up with in this regard.

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.

MS has been shoving DirectX on devs for more than a decade despite having serious flaws for at least the first 5 generations. Devs cried for years that OpenGL wasn't sufficient for 'real games' and many petitioned Apple to create something to give them better performance like DirectX (yes, it offered performance benefits even while being buggy). Apple comes out with Metal as serious competition to DirectX and suddenly they're terrible for requiring Metal. That's even despite the fact that OpenGL is already being largely deprecated in favor of Vulkan in an effort modernize it because it's begun to seriously lag behind pretty much everything else in use today. And there's absolutely nothing stopping anyone from developing a way to use OpenGL on top of Metal which is probably what someone in the open source community will do.

If this is meant to be a Benchmark standard for partner devices, they're a bit behind their partners. Samsung already makes a very similar product for much less money.
https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/chromebooks/12-14/samsung-chromebook-pro-xe510c24-k01us/