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Apple Reportedly Launching Larger iPad in October 2014, Larger iPhone in May 2014
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I'm a couple weeks away from getting a 5s and I hate it when analysts announce a earlier than usual release date for the iPhone. They did it soon after the iPhone 5 came out last year saying Apple would release the 5S in the spring. I don't want to wait until May and I find out it was another BS rumor. Maybe I should get the 5s next month and get the Jump add-on when I "jump" from Verizon to T-Sprint.
Why not? I see such comments all the time and frankly I don't get it. A larger screened iPad is exactly what many of us want. Further a larger screen and more RAM would enable an array of apps that the current machines can't support. Screen size does matter when it comes to apps!
My only concern would be final weight.
Pretty ironic that you're pointing out the iPad mini fitting in a pocket when it dwarfs any large-screened phone that you'd previously derided for not being able to do the same.
You have a faulty premise here, the number of SKU's in the 90's didn't kill Apple, it was rather the product line not fitting the market at the time that was the problem. At this time Apple only has two tablet models, it isn't hard to see beyond that and frankly three or four models won't confuse shoppers on bit.
SKUs only become excessive when they don't have clear distinctions between each product.
It's inevitable that an iPad this size would replace the MBA. How do you improve on the size and portability of the current MBA? By getting rid of the permanently attached keyboard and make it a touch screen. And then you have...a 13" iPad!!
While I agree that iOS needs lots of improvements, running two apps side by side isn't big on my list. Better file management would do wonders for the platform. Especially a common directory to access user files from.
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What you want and what the rest of the world wants are two different things! Most of the world has rejected the large screened cell phones, sales have been terrible relatively. Unless Apple can make such a phone compelling it has a good chance of becoming Apples first iOS flop.
Honestly I'd rather see Apple come out with a cell phone sized around the iPhone 4. I really have no need for yet another bulge in my pocket!
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The massive cell phones have been a complete failure in the market place in general. It isn't a question of "your" it is a question of economics and Apples ability to design a phone that size that is compelling. Apple doesn't need a cell phone with Mac Mini like sales.
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All one needs to do is look at the Android market where such phones have abysmal sales records. It is very much a niche product and as someone else pointed out a hand bag item.
I'm not sure what sort of problems folders cause you on iOS 7 but I don't see an issue. Admittedly iOS needs lots of improvements but the basic functionality of the OS is pretty good. The OS does need to be extended to better support more involved apps but that is not a big surprise. All OS's evolve over time.
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What you want and what the rest of the world wants are two different things! Most of the world has rejected the large screened cell phones, sales have been terrible relatively. Unless Apple can make such a phone compelling it has a good chance of becoming Apples first iOS flop.
Honestly I'd rather see Apple come out with a cell phone sized around the iPhone 4. I really have no need for yet another bulge in my pocket!
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The massive cell phones have been a complete failure in the market place in general. It isn't a question of "your" it is a question of economics and Apples ability to design a phone that size that is compelling. Apple doesn't need a cell phone with Mac Mini like sales.
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All one needs to do is look at the Android market where such phones have abysmal sales records. It is very much a niche product and as someone else pointed out a hand bag item.
Have they? The Galaxy S4's sell in rather spectacular amounts, and even the relatively giant ass Note 2's and 3's have a healthy market. That's hardly most of the world rejecting something.
See, correlation doesn't equal causation. That's basic statistics. You need to ask yourself this: do people buy iPhones in drove because of the smaller screens, or because of the strength of the brand? Does each sell of an iPhone SPECIFICALLY point towards wanting smaller screens, or that they like iPhones in general? You're assuming X because of Y, without having anything to back up your argument.
Like laptops can be docked and used with a monitor, keyboard and mouse?
But with a tablet, you could have the dock include a GPU and extra components that provide extra power beyond what the tablet can do, itself? ...I could see something like that happening.
However, an iPad will never have the processing power of desktop computers of the same era. Well, unless companies stop developing and advancing the CPU and GPU in the desktop computers. The iPad already has the power of desktop computers....of a decade or more ago. The iPad, a decade from now, may have the power of the desktop computers of today. But they will never have the same power at the same time.
Oh really.. what size issues exactly is that? My eyesight is quite fine and I need to cringe everytime I try to read something on my iPhone. Too damn small and it causes eyestrain for prolonged use.
Can't see any reason why would I need giant pocket or handbag for a larger phone. Even my friends' SGS3 or HTC One fits most pocket just fine. So maybe it's you who have "size" issue?
please cite your evidence the iPhone "causes eyestrain for prolonged use". I experience none. sounds like your eyes are going.
I really don't like the word convergence here. For one I don't think it will ever happen the way many imagine. The bigger issue is that OS evolve, even if iOS never happened, Mac OS would continue to improve and morph into something new.
The other issue is the disproportionate performance capabilities of the Mac and cell phone processor hardware. By virtue of the desktop/laptop environment Mac OS devices will always have more power at their disposal to realize more advance features. Users like wise will want access to that power.
In simple terms both OS's will continue to evolve with borrowing in between. However I don't see convergence anytime soon.
ehh. would be nice to have an Apple option in the 4.7-5" area.
I've used devices from 3" blackberries, 3.5" iphones, 4" iphones, 4.7" Android / Blackberries devices and now am using a 5.5" Note II.
for my own personal preferences..
4.2" and under felt too small and cramped. they were perfeclty functional, but just didnt feel right.
the 5.5+ segment feels to large. The common complaints about "fit in your purse/pants" is just fanboy talk. it fits anywhere a 5" phone does quite easily and it is always in my pants pocket. However, the actual operation of the device, for my hands (they're not big hands) is too big as trying to one hande the device is troublesome or impossible.
My next device will be 4.7-5". if Apple doesn't have a device in this sector, Apple will not be my next phone.
I'm not brand specific. I will use any brand device that fits my needs. I like iOS and it's platform. I just dont like apple telling me what I like using in ways of hardware options and giving me absolutely zero choice
I've used devices from 3" blackberries, 3.5" iphones, 4" iphones, 4.7" Android / Blackberries devices and now am using a 5.5" Note II.
for my own personal preferences..
4.2" and under felt too small and cramped. they were perfeclty functional, but just didnt feel right.
the 5.5+ segment feels to large. The common complaints about "fit in your purse/pants" is just fanboy talk. it fits anywhere a 5" phone does quite easily and it is always in my pants pocket. However, the actual operation of the device, for my hands (they're not big hands) is too big as trying to one hande the device is troublesome or impossible.
My next device will be 4.7-5". if Apple doesn't have a device in this sector, Apple will not be my next phone.
I'm not brand specific. I will use any brand device that fits my needs. I like iOS and it's platform. I just dont like apple telling me what I like using in ways of hardware options and giving me absolutely zero choice
I wouldn't say that. The A7 and higher end Snapdragons are already pawing at the doorsteps of the entry level i3's in performance, which are all considerably more powerful than the Core 2 Duos we thought were the most awesome things ever not even 5 years ago.
ARM chips have come a long way really fast.
Apple has been telling developers for years to to assume resolution or screen sizes so at this point if the developers haven t gotten their act together they may just say tough luck. Beyond that they have been working real hard on XCode and the tools to make Ui's adaptive to the device they are on.
As far as WWDC, maybe they do or maybe they don't. It would likely depend upon how well the new phone runs apps out of the gate.
As for development cycles, that is always subject to change. Apple ran 64 bit ARM development in parallel with the development of the best 32 bit ARM core out there. Nobody even had a clue. As such the development cycle for a larger iPhone could be running in parallel. An A8 chip could easily have been running in parallel too, especially if that chips goal was a better GPU to drive a high resolution display.
Apple is a very different company these days with far more resources than they ever had in the past. You can't really look to the past to determine how Apple will behave in the future. They have for example built themselves up into a massive engineering powerhouse when it comes to ARM based SoCs for example.
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It would be A very bad thing if it was MS like. Apple can add a lot more capability to iOS without dragging the Mac into it.
As far as WWDC, maybe they do or maybe they don't. It would likely depend upon how well the new phone runs apps out of the gate.
As for development cycles, that is always subject to change. Apple ran 64 bit ARM development in parallel with the development of the best 32 bit ARM core out there. Nobody even had a clue. As such the development cycle for a larger iPhone could be running in parallel. An A8 chip could easily have been running in parallel too, especially if that chips goal was a better GPU to drive a high resolution display.
Apple is a very different company these days with far more resources than they ever had in the past. You can't really look to the past to determine how Apple will behave in the future. They have for example built themselves up into a massive engineering powerhouse when it comes to ARM based SoCs for example.
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It would be A very bad thing if it was MS like. Apple can add a lot more capability to iOS without dragging the Mac into it.
iPhone 5s is just like iPhone 5. May release only makes sense. In fact, the earlier, the better.
Here we go again with product fragmentation. This kind of behaviour is what happened to Apple in the 90s and nearly led to their downfall. What do you do when you can't introduce truly different and innovative products? Just do a million variations on what you already have in order to fool people into thinking you're growing. What did Steve Jobs do to save the company when he came back? He SLASHED the SKUs and then innovated - what a novel idea!
This continuing fragmentation of product SKUs is really going to mean they're caught off guard very shortly unless they...wait for it...innovate!!!
This continuing fragmentation of product SKUs is really going to mean they're caught off guard very shortly unless they...wait for it...innovate!!!
I agree!
Thanks for the informative and knowledgable reply!
He did have a good reply. However I see one area where Apple might put Mac OS on ARM based devices. That would be for extremely low powered laptop devices. Here Mac OS would be the primary OS but iOS would be supported via ""emulation"" so that iOS apps could run in a window. Such an approach would give the ARM based laptops an instant software base. All Apple would need to do is to create a window personality that is UIKit.
Normal Mac OS apps would run as before, this assuming they are compiled for ARM. It would give Apple a software base that would make the transition to an ARM laptop easier. Obviously because of the difference in the UI many of those iOS apps wouldn't be all that useful on a laptop but it would get the platform started.
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It isn't so much you as there wasn't enough people like you to keep the product going. This is similar to the XServe discontinuation, the XServe users where upset but do we really expect Apple to build a product that doesn't support itself in the market place. XServe was lucky to do 5000 machines a quarter, the 17" MBP did better but most likely not well enough to pay for the engineering to keep it viable. In general 17" laptops are a hard sell these days.
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Apple has exactly two tablet sizes these days unless you count the Touch as a tablet. Adding one to make three does not result in a bunch of form factors. If anything it is a rational move on Apples part to cover certain markets.
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You really don't understand how iOS works!! I'd suggest downloading XCode and the SDK documentation before post again on this subject.
This would be a terrible idea, considerably worse than MS' one OS to fit them all approach.
The best thing for Apple to do here is to play the wait and see game. Instead of forcing everyone over all at once, they should see how ARM develops over the years, and allow iOS to expand to take advantage of that extra power. If it starts encroaching on x86 territory, and people are regularly using iPads for higher end tasks, they can nix Macs entirely and become an all ARM shop. Because they've already got the platform developed and supported, they're not losing much of anything. Though if ARM doesn't take, and people are continuing to buy and use Macs for all the heavy lifting, they can continue on as usual without any super awkward transitional period.
Likewise, assuming the S4 is selling well as a result of the large screen is equally fallible. I know you are not making this argument, just wanted to make sure the other side of the coin was represented.
They sell because they are arguably the best Android phone on the market - although an argument could be made that screen size is a differentiator among flagship Android handsets. Screen size is much less a differentiator between the iPhone and the various flagship Android phones. The platform is the differentiator. Note phones do have a niche market relative to the S4 and iPhone.
The thing is that iOS being the platform that it is, introducing a new screen size, as troublesome as it may be on the developer side (both internal and 3rd party), would most likely only have a positive effect on sales of iOS devices. People that want to jump (or return, or continue with from a different iDevice) to the Apple ecosystem but liked a bigger screen will now have very little excuse not to do so.
Fans of Android won't move regardless, and the same is true of fans of iOS. The average consumer, though, may not be platform loyal. However, 6 years down this crazy road we've been on, and the average consumer's mobile savvy has grown to the point where a larger and larger section of the market know that because of their software investments (i.e. apps and ecosystems) they are more and more locked in to whatever platform they have been with, and thus more and more platform loyalty is embedding itself in the market. This process will only continue and both platforms will be fighting over fewer and fewer first time adopting consumers, and even fewer flipping consumers.
This actually works out better for Apple, because iOS is Apple, whilst the various Android OEM's will always fight among themselves for Android's share of the pie. This is why you will continue to see an Apple product near the top of, if not at the top of, the best selling lists - because everyone who chooses iOS is by default also choosing iPhone.
Obviously not the case with Android, where the consumer can choose from a multitude of hand sets, even if you limit it to the "flagship" models from the various OEM's. That's why the Galaxy S flagship models have been impressive from a sales perspective, because it must be a pretty damn good phone to have been taking 2nd to the iPhone in sales for the past few years, it having more competition to deal with - other Android phones as well as the iOS juggernaut.
And it has less to do with the screen size than the total package, I would venture to say.