dpkroh

Minimum Hardware Specifications

I have not seen any mention of this.  

crushed said:

What this article fails to mention is that MDM is a feature of the Enterprise Developers Programme. It is meant for “enterprises” who need in-house apps for their own users and these apps are never meant to be released on the App Store. All these screen time apps are abusing the Enterepise Developers Programme license agreements and releasing the apps on the App Store by requiring special certificates to be installed on your devices. Irrespective of their claim of how useful these apps are, it is a breach of contract. If they want APIs for Screentime, and I sure would like to have access to those APIs this IS NOT the way to go about getting it.

Getting bogged down in these technicalities is IMO failing to see the forest for the trees. The timeline of Apple’s actions doesn’t pass the smell test.

Apple allowed these apps for years.  Quite obvious given their functionality they had to use something more than basic iOS APIs.  Apple can’t reasonably claim they did not know what these apps had been doing for years. Yet Apple approved them over and over again.

Then after Apple finally releases its own competing feature, they begin to ban the competition.  The developers saw the need years ago and provided a solution.  Apple’s screentime interface is IMO one of the worst UIs I have ever seen.   Confusing, messy, disjointed.   Seems to me the real reason Apple is banning competing screen management apps can be summed up as “if you can”t beat them, then ban them”

I was quite excited about the screen time feature when it was announced.  Once it tried it though, I was appalled at just how bad the interface is. I don’t use it.  Tried for a while but just not worth the time fighting with such an awful UI.

wizard69 said:

seanismorris said:

Where the larger iPads can do work, the mini is truly an expensive toy...

Not really.    I’m seriously thinking about getting one for my truck.  It would be a better GPS solution than a tiny iPhone but not so big that it would be in the way like the larger iPads.  I need to put more thought into this but the iPad Min just might be the ideal travel tablet.  

I have had the same idea. In my experience not necessarily worth it, unless you want to have 2 apps open at once like maps and music. Primary issue is having another device to take everywhere.  Don’t want to leave it in the car due to concerns about theft.  I’m happy with my iPhone XS Max for in car use.  

Note that if you want to use the mini as a GPS you need to get the cellular version, as the wi-fi only version does not have a GPS chip.  The wi-fi only version of the mini can approximate your location by scanning local wifi networks, but this is not adequate for active use while driving.

I own the 3rd generation iPad Pro 12.9 and the new iPad mini 5 and also the iPhone XS Max.  Having all 3 is the only “no-compromise” iOS choice for me.

Hardly a toy - the new mini 5 which I recently bought, it is the ultimate consumption device.  Unlike all the larger iPads, the mini is just the right size for holding.  For the same reason practically all e-readers are similar in size to an iPad mini and not larger.  When I am at home, the mini is my primary go-to device.

With Apple pencil support, and a folding keyboard, it is by far the most capable productivity solution that fits into a coat pocket or purse.  For most productivity tasks my iPhone XS Max, even with the same folding keyboard and a decent stylus, is a PITA.  The iPhone XS Max is great for a camera and some basics tasks, but it’s far behind the iPad mini 5 in terms of both a decent consumption and productivity device. Just today using my iPad mini and Apple pencil on the go, I received a document that I marked up with my Apple pencil, and then sent back.  Not as ideal as doing it on the 12.9 iPad Pro, but still a near hassle free experience.  Apple pencil support on the iPad mini is a productivity game changer.

For getting real work done - I tend to do that in coffee shops, I bring along my 12.9 iPad Prom with Apple Pencil V2, and an Apple magic Keyboard.  Even the 11 inch iPad Pro doesn’t come close for productivity.  It’s still too small.  I have used the 9.7, and 10.5 sizes for years, and the 11 inch iPad Pro is not large enough it make a difference.  The experience doing work on anyone these iPads always felt constrained.

The 12.9 iPad is for me the ONLY iPad that makes for a truly effective productivity device.  Large enough for practical split screen, triple columns in the mail app, and extra on screen tools that just don’t fit on an iPad 11.  The latest 12.9 inch iPad Pro is also almost exactly the size of an 8.5x11 inch letter size paper, and very similar to European A4 paper sizes.  Working on documents with a smaller iPad is always a compromise because they cant match “real life” size like the 12.9 iPad can.

Even the larger iPad is not ridiculous to use as a handheld device - something I would not say about the first 2 generations with their large bezels. For Apple News and magazines, pages can be “real-life” size, no need to zoom in on parts of a page.

My MacBook Pro and my iMac at home get very little use.  To me they both feel like outdated computing forms.  There are a very small subset of tasks they can do which they iPads can’t.  Still I rarely use my Macs at all.  They are a much greater pain to maintain to - with needless complexity.  Even with Apple’s help I have yet to get my SSD on the iMac to correctly report free space.  Every since copying over a large folder from iCloud, it has been messed up.  None of the typical solutions have worked. I’m probably going to have to wipe the iMac and restore it.

There is no one size fits all device - not for all people - not even for an individual.

If I had to pick just one iPad - it would be the 2018 12.9 inch pro, but having the new mini 5 allows me to grab the best device for the task,

I likely own more personal Apple products than 99% of AI readers***.  That doesn’t keep me from being objective.  Your last condescending line about how CBC apparently can’t be relied on for complete reporting, is ironic at best.

Even given your above reply that you have had Apple staff tell you alternative recovery options is suspect, especially after your above comment regarding the CBC. It’s a little late to say “oh yeah, thanks for pointing that out”.  You accuse CBC of incomplete reporting yet you fail to address this obvious issue in your article until a reader points it out?  A little convenient I think, and coming after the article seems suspect without being able to prove it.

In the article you also gloss over and dismiss Apple apparently deleting references in its forums to alternative recovery options.You make some weak excuse of legal quagmires of referencing 3rd parties, and then you completely castrate your own argument by trumpeting how it is absurd for someone to confuse Apple users in Apple forums with Apple employees. This in addition to claiming in your comment reply above that you have been told by Apple staff in service situations that there are other options.

Your fail to take Apple to task for deleting this information with the weakest non-sene I have ever read... “well this is Apple’s house, so well we can’t say anything about that”.... seriously.... ? Isn’t that the whole point of the article?

Do you actually believe your article is objective and balanced?

It’s definitely not IMO helping dispel the Apple people as sheep stereotype.

***my personal current Apple products include an iPhone Xs Max, Apple Watch series 4, iPad Mini 5, 3rd gen 12.9 iPad Pro, Apple pencil 1 and 2, multiple Apple TV HD and 4K, MacBook Pro, iMac, and more.......  that doesn’t the numerous additional Apple products that I have purchased for other members of my household or other mostly retired Apple products I still own and have not sold.....