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The iPad will kill the Macbook.

I

Ijustfarted

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
209
0
Pro, air, everything.

just give it a few years. 6-7 years tops.

I already know all of you will call me retarded but maybe a few years later someone could bump this and say "you know what, that guy ijustfarted was right." :D
 
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I'd say iPad 5 might kill 90%, who knows. It all depends on how long moore's law can keep up.

I'd say in the not to distant future desktops will be no more than a docking station for portable device.
 
I don't think 6-7 years but more like 5 tops. Technology is growing very fast - faster than you think. In 5 years an iPad will be more powerful than today's MacBooks in terms of power and usability. No doubt.
 
Could be but I doubt it, at least not in the simple sense we are talking about here. More likely both platforms will grow into things we'd barely recognize.

They really are different devices. On the iPad you use one app at a time and the apps are full screen. On the desktop or laptop if you are working on something you probably have multiple screens open on a much larger screen with access to more resources. On some more complex projects I'll have 8 to 10 apps running at once with the occasional Applescript running in the background.

I suppose the iPad could dock into a 30 inch screen and drive that but why would you do that? In five or six years iCloud might be so all encompassing that you'll just walk up to any computer and it will come alive with your docs and apps. In that time hardware might be so inexpensive there will be little incentive to dock things. Perhaps you'll just have a flash drive with a thunderbolt interface and that will have a few terabytes of your data stored on it.You can just dock that wherever you go.

Wasn't there a small Apple laptop with a 12" screen in the 90s that had a docking station? The laptop probably cost $3k to $4k and the docking was around $1,200. Makes the iPad seem really cheap.
 
I have no doubt this will happen eventually. When that is we don't know. A few things will need to happen first: IOS and OS X will need to become one platform in order to ease people into the transition. Then the technology for the iPad will need to become powerful enough to run programs like the ones we use on our laptops. Also, software developers will need to be supporting this move in order to provide content for these iPads. I also agree with an above poster about future MacBooks being more like docks for their iPads.
 
I don't think this will happen, at least not within 5 years. At the moment, the iPad shows no signs of being as open as a laptop; it's still a super-closed ecosystem. It's still missing true multitasking just like every other tablet on the market, and it doesn't have even half of the capabilities of a laptop at the moment. I think that eventually, iOS will get a revamp that makes it much more compatible with Mac OSX. However, the iPad doesn't even have a real port on it. And I can't imagine using Photoshop on an iPad in the next 5 years. The iPad is a great device and has great potential, but I still think it has a long way to go before it starts to really cannibalize the Macbook.
 
Shotgun OS said:
I don't think this will happen, at least not within 5 years. At the moment, the iPad shows no signs of being as open as a laptop; it's still a super-closed ecosystem. It's still missing true multitasking just like every other tablet on the market, and it doesn't have even half of the capabilities of a laptop at the moment. I think that eventually, iOS will get a revamp that makes it much more compatible with Mac OSX. However, the iPad doesn't even have a real port on it. And I can't imagine using Photoshop on an iPad in the next 5 years. The iPad is a great device and has great potential, but I still think it has a long way to go before it starts to really cannibalize the Macbook.
Click to expand...

Who needs ports when you have iCloud. ;)
 
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In a few years, possibly. The world is steadily changing.
 
Ijustfarted said:
Pro, air, everything.

just give it a few years. 6-7 years tops.

I already know all of you will call me retarded but maybe a few years later someone could bump this and say "you know what, that guy ijustfarted was right." :D
Click to expand...

Why posting this? So you can point back to this thread if it happens and tell everyone you are the revolutionary thinker? Thousands of people already said the same thing and since the launch well over a year ago it was discussed on all mayor technology media.
 
We're already at the point where we have all the processing and graphics power an average user could need that can be fitted into a tablet. Give it two or three years and the tech will be exceptionally better. All one would need to carry around is a case which offers a keyboard attachment and one would be set.

But you see the problem with what you're saying, don't you? In 6-7 years, an iPad will no longer just be an iPad. It will be a touchscreen laptop, and a tablet at the same time. One will be able to choose whether they carry a keyboard with them. This already exists, but not exactly in the same functionality (an iPad is not a full-functioning computer).

But in 6-7 years, there will still be more powerful processors and graphics solutions being offered that require proper cooling. Meaning laptops will still be around.

So honestly, no, tablets aren't going to take over laptops. They will integrate and become a hybrid between the two (more-so than they already are), and laptops will still exist but might hold less of a grip on the market.
 
Let's think about the endgame and work back from that. Ideally, we'd all love a fully capable, no compromises machine that's as light and versatile as an iPad. To get to this point, we need tremendous improvements in processor and power efficiency. And, either iOS apps need to match the complexity of OS X apps, or we need iOS and OS X to merge onto one device. Not nearly informed enough to know which is more likely, but I think we can all see the day when no Flash is not an issue and when we can do with an iPad almost everything we'd need to do on a PC/Mac, including content creation stuff. How long will this take? Who knows. Five years would not surprise me.
 
neutrino23 said:
Could be but I doubt it, at least not in the simple sense we are talking about here. More likely both platforms will grow into things we'd barely recognize.

They really are different devices. On the iPad you use one app at a time and the apps are full screen. On the desktop or laptop if you are working on something you probably have multiple screens open on a much larger screen with access to more resources. On some more complex projects I'll have 8 to 10 apps running at once with the occasional Applescript running in the background.

I suppose the iPad could dock into a 30 inch screen and drive that but why would you do that? In five or six years iCloud might be so all encompassing that you'll just walk up to any computer and it will come alive with your docs and apps. In that time hardware might be so inexpensive there will be little incentive to dock things. Perhaps you'll just have a flash drive with a thunderbolt interface and that will have a few terabytes of your data stored on it.You can just dock that wherever you go.

Wasn't there a small Apple laptop with a 12" screen in the 90s that had a docking station? The laptop probably cost $3k to $4k and the docking was around $1,200. Makes the iPad seem really cheap.
Click to expand...

The PowerBook Duo and its Duo Dock

The iPad could possibly kill the laptop, but i believe may not be as powerful as a laptop since the space to put in powerful CPUs and GPUs is so little.
 
My iPad couldn't replace my MacBook at the moment. It's great for cool apps and games and basic internet stuff, but the MacBook still has the edge, and IMO is easier to use in real life, even if it doesn't have a flashy touchscreen and UI.

However, who knows what they'll do in the future. It's clear now that Apple is closing the bridge between iOS and OS X, though it's dumbing down OS X instead of smartening up iOS, which is the wrong way around, but let's see if there's any middle ground as it all rolls out in the coming years shall we?
 
Introducing the new iCaraplTunnel, good luck with that..... iPad will never replace laptops, it's a nice to have..... if they did stop making laptops no business is really going to blink seeing as Lenovo and sony make better laptops anyway.
 
garybUK said:
Lenovo and sony make better laptops anyway.
Click to expand...

Looking at a plastic Lenovo T410 (i5) as I type, only the matte screen is what I miss on the Macbook - that said the new business range (x220, t420, t520) are fitted with poorer quality screens which I hate just as much as glossy (just as well i'm not getting upgraded for a while).
 
Won't happen. When you are old like me you prefer doing even the basic stuff on a 23" monitor using a desktop keyboard and mouse. Nice as the iPad is, it is too small to replace anything but netbooks that also suffer from being small. Should they eventually merge OSX and iOS then an iPad might have every capability a desktop/notebook has, but its screen size will remain a disadvantage.
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure about the iPad killing the Macbook.

Ive been an iPad launch user and ever since then I quit using my 15" Macbook Pro for 95% of my non-work related tasks. I completely thought I was over computers and the iPad was everything.

But recently I traded in my MBP for the new 11" Macbook Air and I'm refunding my love for Macs again. I'm able to REALLY multitask, I'm typing fast on a keyboard, I'm viewing flash videos, I'm using arrow keys and a trackpad to precisely highlight or navigate, I'm fully connected to all my files and I'm doing this all from the comfort of the couch with a 2lb device.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still in love with the iPad, but I just don't feel either are necessarily superior and the future is going to be a hybrid of the two. The iPad needs more flexibility and power and the Macbook Air needs a touchscreen. So I don't think the iPad will "KILL" the Macbook, I believe more that the iPad will BE the Macbook.
 
Ijustfarted said:
Pro, air, everything.

just give it a few years. 6-7 years tops.

I already know all of you will call me retarded but maybe a few years later someone could bump this and say "you know what, that guy ijustfarted was right." :D
Click to expand...
This has already been predicted by just about every technology pundit and his Aunt Edna. Their problem is that the MacBook family continues to grow. Apple competitors are struggling. Not so, Apple. Not so, its products.

As for your out-on-a-limb prediction of 6-7 years? That is two computer generations. You can make any prediction to come to fruition in two generations. How will I operate my iPad Server while driving my flying car?
 
In order for the iPad (or any tablet) to kill the MacBook, it'll have to borrow so many features from Macs that it'll more or less become a MacBook.

The thought of having to use an iPad as one's only computer makes me giggle.
 
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