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if it doesnt run yosemite, count me out. And if it runs Yosemite it should be a MacPad not an iPad Pro
 
the proposed size is not really that big. if you've seen a surface pro 3--its size and weight are very manageable.
 
Excuse me? Uselessness for the mainstream customers (because they don't want to use a pen) but for professionals, in no way!

Heck, now that I've hacked Windows 8.1 on and put an SSD in it, my 11-year-old, that is, very-very early HP TC1100 is absolutely usable with Inkspace and other pen apps. I just love using it with the pen.

So much for early Windows tablets being "useless". They didn't sell in large numbers, that's right - nevertheless, they're much-much better at certain areas (drawing etc.) than any other solution.

There will always be some professionals who need pen input.

But there are over a billion PCs out in the world today... how many of them are pen-enabled?

Apple may be leaving money on the table by not offering a true pen-enabled device.

But that market might be so small that they don't even bother.
 
Do people understand what the word tablet means? It's something you hold unlike a laptop. 12-inches is too big. (That's what she said)
 
I'm thinking this might be something more disruptive:

I'm sure Apple laughs at the Surface, but I give credit to Microsoft for trying - not that I'd ever buy one. I just think Apple could/would be able to do something similar, only better.

If the idea of a dual purpose device is compelling, why not make a device that's both a laptop and a tablet? 2 modes - with just a flip of a switch or some gesture to change between them. Laptops keep getting smaller, lighter, fanless... It's a logical progression. I'd just bet Apple and Jony Ives can get there before MS/HP/Dell:

Some ides:
- Maybe OSX can run on ARM, if not yet, then put two chips in there
- Maybe switching could be fast enough so that handoff would work like charm.
- Maybe the keyboard wouldn't be attached - it could be bluetooth, usable for both, but better usable for "mac" mode. And of course, you could also build one into a case.
- Maybe it would sip the battery a bit less in tablet mode.

I could use it in mac mode at a desk, as a workstation, when I'm doing work...
I could use it as an iPad, walking around, on the couch, etc - when I'm consuming content...

Apple would be able charge a true premium for the dual device, and people would be better off not having too many devices.
 
Do people understand what the word tablet means? It's something you hold unlike a laptop. 12-inches is too big.

Your thinking is so shuttered. The wacom companion is a tablet-it is 4lbs and 13". It is an amazing device that i would never think to use holding in one hand or two! The surface pro 3 is an intermediate form factor that is more holdable but best used on a lap or table. Its certainly a tablet or i have been misusing it for the last 6 months!

The is nothing in the word tablet that "means" small holdable device. Its just that ipad phone type devices hit the market first and have dominated so far. But it has a very limited os, no usable pen functionality and smallish for tasks like technical reading, music art and design.

No one is going to take the ipad away--the market is going to support many devices.
 
I'm thinking this might be something more disruptive:

I'm sure Apple laughs at the Surface, but I give credit to Microsoft for trying - not that I'd ever buy one. I just think Apple could/would be able to do something similar, only better.
...
Apple would be able charge a true premium for the dual device, and people would be better off not having too many devices.

Although MS advertises that surface replaces a laptop--it really doesnt. But its a hugely useful device and i think people will-- increasingly--work with several devices. Somedays i bring a laptop--others a surface--depending on what i'm doing. Cloud storage facilitates this. Oddly enough, my ipad is the device i have stopped using--but many other buyers are into games and apps.
 
hackintoshers got yosemite up and kinda running in a touch capacitive state on their cintiq companions - indicating apple is at least currently incorporating touch into their OS. apparently, mavericks had no such luck.

so hopefully, this iPad pro will see real pro features. would really love to see it dock to a keyboard for OS X and pick up for iOS, but i don't know how possible that is.

if it's just 'an extra row of icons' and maybe some multitasking, i'll start conceding more to people's assertions that apple is playing catch-up.

I have a hard time believing Apple would put out a bigger iPad that is no different except for the screen. I still don't understand what the point of this thinf is unless theres new capabilities here.
 
Just turn the Macbook Air into tablet hybirds. Get rid of the lowly iPad name and people won't view it as a mere toy running a phone OS that is filled with stupid fart apps and god knows what crap else is on app store. Intel processors are fast enough to emulate iOS apps so it can be both a toy and a productive machine--running iOS apps and OSX desktop quality softwares. You can't say the same about turtle-speed ARM cpus. It'll catch on fire trying to emulate OSX.
 
Apple is going to have to innovate in this space soon. The corporate world is moving past tablets and what I am seeing is more and more people looking towards Surface Pro 3 type devices. Mobile and desktop are converging and this is where the growth will be. People don't want a tablet AND a laptop. They want one device that does both, especially if their computing needs are on the lighter end of the spectrum which is probably where 75% of people are.

My employer is moving our execs and mobile folks towards the Lenovo Tablet 10s and away from their iPads. I'm seeing it in other businesses as well. Someone is going to have to make the iOS world and OSX world play nice, and soon. The writing is on the wall.

Nah. Sorry not seeing that.

The problem with the Surface type devices, is they run Windows, which means virus protection, patch updates, etc.

There are big difference between an iPad and a Surface, battery life, weight, connivence, cellular, etc.

For some it will do to replace a iPad with a surface, but that is not a use case for all.

The iPad in business generally serves a different purpose.
 
Keyboard and Productivity

This. this. This.

Mobile and desktop computing needs to be kept separate. Personally I would never use a Surface or an iPad as a laptop substitute. My company gave me an iPad with one of those keyboard case for that "laptop feel"..... So ackward to use. I still use the onboard keyboard 99% of the time.

Interesting point of view. My experience is almost totally the opposite! I bought a Logictech keyboard for my iPad 2 for an overseas journey, because I wanted to travel light, but knew I needed to type a lot.

It transformed my experienced of the iPad!

I now have the keyboard almost permanently fitted to the iPad - it makes it comfortable to use on a couch or in bed because the keyboard can rest on you lap or stomach and you don't have to hold it, like, well, a laptop!

I have personally never found the on-screen keyboard much good. My typing accuracy and speed (normally quite good) is half what I can do on a MacBook, and the virtual keyboard occupies half the screen real-estate.

My experience with the Logitech keyboard was that an iPad could *almost* be used instead of a laptop for basic tasks. It obviously can't run a lot of "serious" productivity software (although this may change over time as vendors offer products for iOS), is underpowered compared to a MacBook (the difference is decreasing), and the screen is still too small.

If Apple do release an iPad plus, it needs to have a good keyboard option. I like the idea of detachable keyboards. Sometime I would like to use the device in tablet only mode (during a commute, standing, in a meeting where a screen can be a "barrier", but the keyboard is absolutely necessary (for me) to be productive.

I will watch this space with interest. Either an iPad 12" + keyboard, or a lighter MBA 12" would fit the bill, but ideally I'd like an iOS / OSX hybrid 2-in-1. An MS Surface "done right".
 
But that market might be so small that they don't even bother.

I do think a lot more people would start using (and demanding!) decent active pens if Apple included it in their tablets. I think 90% of the naysayers in this very topic too would suddenly change their mind. As is always the case here at MR with Apple introducing "previously-shunned-by-their-enthusiasts" features.

After all, pens seriously extend the usability of tablets. (Not the capacitive jokes currently available for the iPads, of course.)

Again: Tablet PC's have been a niche product. Only the geekest of the geeks (like me) have purchased them WRT non-professional graphicians. Including decent pen support in a mainstream consumer tablet would increase the demand for pen support in other tablets by orders of magnitude.
 
I have a hard time believing Apple would put out a bigger iPad that is no different except for the screen. I still don't understand what the point of this thinf is unless theres new capabilities here.
well it could surely have more features than the iPad air, but they could fall seriously short if it's not OS X capable with high-quality pressure-sensitive input via stylus. but if it's merely faster & bigger, with multi-tasking, 4k camera and 500gb running iOS apps - i (and many others) wouldn't buy it. it has to be a surface pro killer.

so to agree with you, i can't personally see a point to this if it's not exceptional - but a lot of people would be just fine and dandy with what i listed. i hope apple knows to shoot for the moon here, rather than make a nicer iPad 'plus'....
 
The problem with the Surface type devices, is they run Windows, which means virus protection, patch updates, etc.

I don't think virii are a problem in Windows 8.1 any more. And one can live with the automatic (no clicking needed) patch installation. Assuming a decently working system setup (hunting down the necessary drivers etc) - but that's a one-time only venture.

Note: currently, I only switch on my Windows desktop / tablet to do some MS ICE'ing (pano stitching), reading my GPS tracker via BT (OS X seems to have a not only incapable, but also broken BT stack compared to Windows) or Inkspace + Wacom work. I don't really browse the net / run games on Windows.
 
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