thanx_al

sconosciuto said:

I wish I could think of a reason to justify buying such a machine.

Unfortunately there are still a few Windows apps (not games) that will not run on ARM. I would love to ditch my Intel MBP and iMac and go all in on Apple silicon, but until recalcitrant app makers port to Apple silicon, or at least ARM, I have to keep my last gen MBP for a while.  

I don't know how the tech press keeps getting away with such ridiculous assertions but they do. It's like people who think we have a functional public health system. Our system is the most expensive with the least basic coverage system among any industrialized nation. Our spending is off-the-charts, highly unequal, and millions of people are just beginning to learn the enormous disaster that tying health insurance to a job represents. But you know, just like the tech press, people want to live in an alternative universe, facts be damned. 

Pointing out that the mini contradicted Jobs statement misses the point. The mini wasn't produced because it was a great size. It was produced to squeeze value out of the previous gen chips, something that DED alluded to earlier in the article. At that point in time, there was no pro and 9.7" was locked in everyone's mind as the reference size for iPad. The only way to create another vehicle for older chips was to downsize. Additionally, iPad mini has never been a sales beast. It's there to squeeze value out of the recent or last gen chips to increase the economy of scale. Apple is doing this all over the place now (which is probably why current iPad, iPad Air, iPad mini exist at all - to leverage past investments in those chips). 

And still no local file storage? That is more of a barrier for me than mouse support.

CheeseFreeze said:

 And file management isn’t properly covered either. Meh.

You can say that again. The lack of local file storage on iPad Pro is a serious PITA if one wants to truly use it as a laptop/computer replacement. Large files going up and down to iCloud Drive eats mobile data and forget about it if you are on a plane or traveling to a place with spotty/expensive internet. That said, Apple have done a remarkable job in iOS 11 making iPad more usable as a laptop replacement. I don't see any indication they'll bring it or selective sync in iOS 12 but we still have several betas to go.