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You’re very likely right. But keep in mind that the youngest kids are using touch-first devices more and more. So medium to long term it is an investment to have an OS and a platform already in place for more advanced tasks than watching YouTube. I hope iPadOS evolves to meet those kids needs in the future. I don’t think they care about the Mac, Windows, or any other desktop OS.
There are a lot of future adults that have brains geared towards touch interfaces that will likely never be comfortable with interacting with a computer primarily one point at a time. There are user interfaces that these folks will create, with multitouch as an assumption, that will benefit from a more expansive surface. The original “Microsoft Surface” (now called PixelSense) was an exploration in this area, but, as most of the adults at the time were still geared towards mouse and pointer, the interfaces were touch enabled versions of point and click interfaces.

There will come a time when having all 10 fingers touching a device capable of 10 or more finger input will be “just the way things are done” just as the mouse became how things are done.
 
The pertinent question is if the traditional laptop is on the way out
Great question. When Tim Cook announced the very first iPad Pro (9.7" screen size) he said this about the device: "iPad Pro is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing"

Given what we're seeing today, this quote makes a lot of sense.
 
That is very true, but since this is technology we are talking about so at what point would getting a 16" iPad be a long term investment for kids. I have a young child currently (nearing 3) and she uses a iPad mini to watch her shows and all, as an experiment in the past I let her use a 11" iPad I previously had to watch her shows then introduced the mini and she instantly went to the mini. Now I know that my child is very young (you did say youngest of kids), but she went to the mini because she could handle it better, even at her age she chose something more manageable then a bigger screen, and even when I have my 12.9" iPad around she doesn't mess with it because it is just large already.

I believe you have a point with touch-first devices and learning apps that utilize this with being able to drag and drop and write with like the pencil, but until typing really gets solved on a touch device a keyboard will be needed especially for school work and grade levels when writing essays and such are done
I'm sorry, I wasn't making myself clear. The point I was trying to make is that iPadOS has a place as a next-generation OS if/when Apple decides that is mature enough to replace the Mac. I'm probably talking decades in the future given the snail-like pace that iPadOS is taken to get to where it is now (neither here nor there).

I'm not saying put macOS on the iPad. I'm saying make iPadOS as capable as macOS with the advantage of being a touch-first OS since the touch-first OSes are now the most used by people and that trend is only going to get worse. So in that scenario, if you want a MacBook-like experience, you would use a big iPad with a keyboard. If you want a desktop-like experience, you would pair the iPad to a big monitor.


Back to the 16-inch iPad: It's great that they make the device, but if iPadOS doesn't get better than what it is now, it's just a waste of time and money except for designers/ilustrators. So, I agree with you, it wouldn't be a great investment given what the OS is now.

And by the way for people saying it's too heavy: Just because it's a big iPad doesn't mean you are going to use it as you use the smallest iPad, sitting on the toilet watching videos. The point of a big iPad is to have a huge canvas, not to be used as a light-travel thing. Just like a 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't designed for light-travel. You would use it sitted down at a desk. People were saying similar things when the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was launched.
 
...and they'll call it the IPAD PRO MAX ULTRA PLUS STUDIO. I don't mind having screen size options, but I really hate when they lock certain features only to the bigger models. I do miss the simplicity of the product lineup when Steve ran things. We didn't always get what we wanted, but at least we knew we had THE device that did everything and had all the latest features. It's gotten very convoluted and confusing.
 
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Great question. When Tim Cook announced the very first iPad Pro (9.7" screen size) he said this about the device: "iPad Pro is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing"

Given what we're seeing today, this quote makes a lot of sense.
Precisely. That's my thinking. When the first iPad dropped in 2010 I tought the iPad would be the future of the Mac. I'm still waiting for that, to be sure. I don't see how they can co-exist when the iPad Pro seems to serve the same needs of a laptop. If iPadOS were as capable as macOS, why would the Mac exist?
 
Precisely. That's my thinking. When the first iPad dropped in 2010 I tought the iPad would be the future of the Mac. I'm still waiting for that, to be sure. I don't see how they can co-exist when the iPad Pro seems to serve the same needs of a laptop. If iPadOS were as capable as macOS, why would the Mac exist?
Macs would still exist for two reasons:

1. For legacy workflows (ie: for users that will need access to command line tools)

2. For more horsepower. Macs with Apple Silicon have much more powerful SoC's and can be configured with up to 128GB RAM. I don't see iPads getting that kind of performance anytime soon.
 
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Ive seen over the last couple of years MacOS and iPadOS starting to merge. I think in the near future will will have 1 OS on all devices. Except iOS of course. Similar hardware architecture, Similar features. The gap between iPad and a Mac is starting to look a lot smaller.

And watchOS, and tvOS, and realityOS...

Because using macOS with your finger or a pencil is just so much better than a keyboard and mouse?

By the time you buy Apple's extremely overpriced keyboard and trackpad to go with this extremely overpriced iPad, you could just buy the MBP16 and use the savings on a vacation.

Excepting the fact that the entire idea behind the iPad is the touch screen, which the MacBook Pro does not have...

Macs would still exist for two reasons:

1. For legacy workflows (ie: for users that will need access to command line tools)

If we get a macOS Lite, I would think the Terminal would be a part of that...?

2. For more horsepower. Macs with Apple Silicon have much more powerful SoC's and can be configured with up to 128GB RAM. I don't see iPads getting that kind of performance anytime soon.

There will definitely be room for more powerful Macs, but the allure of the larger iPad Pro with some variant of macOS is highly compelling for the "casual prosumer"...?
 
If we get a macOS Lite, I would think the Terminal would be a part of that...?
I'm doubtful. macOS Lite tells me, it's a macOS for iPads. IOW, macOS without the "legacy" bits (ie: AppKit, Terminal, etc.) and no sideloading.
 
I'm sorry, I wasn't making myself clear. The point I was trying to make is that iPadOS has a place as a next-generation OS if/when Apple decides that is mature enough to replace the Mac. I'm probably talking decades in the future given the snail-like pace that iPadOS is taken to get to where it is now (neither here nor there).

I'm not saying put macOS on the iPad. I'm saying make iPadOS as capable as macOS with the advantage of being a touch-first OS since the touch-first OSes are now the most used by people and that trend is only going to get worse. So in that scenario, if you want a MacBook-like experience, you would use a big iPad with a keyboard. If you want a desktop-like experience, you would pair the iPad to a big monitor.


Back to the 16-inch iPad: It's great that they make the device, but if iPadOS doesn't get better than what it is now, it's just a waste of time and money except for designers/ilustrators. So, I agree with you, it wouldn't be a great investment given what the OS is now.

And by the way for people saying it's too heavy: Just because it's a big iPad doesn't mean you are going to use it as you use the smallest iPad, sitting on the toilet watching videos. The point of a big iPad is to have a huge canvas, not to be used as a light-travel thing. Just like a 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't designed for light-travel. You would use it sitted down at a desk. People were saying similar things when the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was launched.
Gotcha, okay yes I 100% agree with iPad needing to be sped up to be the device that it can be, we are on the 2nd gen of M-series chips on the iPad and by what is capable on the equivalent Mac the iPad severely limited. The little sneak peak preview of DaVinci Resolve coming to the Ipad certainly proves the capability especially since it appears to be pretty close to 100% to the desktop version from some deep dive videos I have seen into looking at all the icons available and screen shown.

Oh I completely understand the larger size being for a larger canvas and think the 16" will be great for that, I just think the niche for it will be small in comparison to current iPad size line-up much like the iPhone mini still selling a good amount, but one the niche market has theirs it kind of dried up.
 
Check "Microsoft Surface Studio 2" and you will see what you can do with bigger tablet.

studio is more like a touch screen iMac. Its non portable, runs full OS, and costs $3500. Its not something you scribble on in the airport's lounge.
 
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issue is no doubt this will be more than the macbook pro 16 inch given cost of a MK. Im curious to see why people want this.
 
issue is no doubt this will be more than the macbook pro 16 inch given cost of a MK. Im curious to see why people want this.
What does the price of the MK have to do with it? Any BT keyboard works, there are plenty of options here. Indeed not having a keyboard at all is a perfectly valid option. There is no need to inflate the perceived cost by adding 1st party accessories as 'must have' additions.

People want this over a 16" mbp - or indeed any MacOS based system, because it's a completely different device. It's baffling to me why people cant work this out.
 
What does the price of the MK have to do with it? Any BT keyboard works, there are plenty of options here. Indeed not having a keyboard at all is a perfectly valid option. There is no need to inflate the perceived cost by adding 1st party accessories as 'must have' additions.

People want this over a 16" mbp - or indeed any MacOS based system, because it's a completely different device. It's baffling to me why people cant work this out.
What does it have to do with it? quite alot if you plan on using it your lap. BT keyboards work fine if you are only on a desk. If you want to use it in more than one place you will need a MK or something along those lines with a 3rd party company which will still not be cheap.

This has gone behind being ideal for a tablet. 10/11 and 12.9 inch tablets really is the limit in terms of using it with a smart folio. anything more than that becomes a massive cost for poor portability. the ipad pro 12.9 is about the biggest without it becoming a pain to use or hold in anything but a keyboard.
 
What does it have to do with it? quite alot if you plan on using it your lap. BT keyboards work fine if you are only on a desk. If you want to use it in more than one place you will need a MK or something along those lines with a 3rd party company which will still not be cheap.

This has gone behind being ideal for a tablet. 10/11 and 12.9 inch tablets really is the limit in terms of using it with a smart folio. anything more than that becomes a massive cost for poor portability. the ipad pro 12.9 is about the biggest without it becoming a pain to use or hold in anything but a keyboard.
You are entitled to your opinion, but its not a fact. As a tactile editing/drawing surface, larger often equals better, and other metrics are not overly relevant.
 
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What does it have to do with it? quite alot if you plan on using it your lap. BT keyboards work fine if you are only on a desk. If you want to use it in more than one place you will need a MK or something along those lines with a 3rd party company which will still not be cheap.

This has gone behind being ideal for a tablet. 10/11 and 12.9 inch tablets really is the limit in terms of using it with a smart folio. anything more than that becomes a massive cost for poor portability. the ipad pro 12.9 is about the biggest without it becoming a pain to use or hold in anything but a keyboard.
There are two different ideas which people seem to be conflating.

The cost of an iPad is irrelevant. Do you enjoy using an iPad with detachable keyboard (13" or 16") more than a MacBook enough to justify its cost? If yes, get the iPad.

The size of the iPad is irrelevant. Do you accept bringing an iPad with detachable keyboard (13" or 16") will be similar to bringing the same sized laptop? If yes, get the iPad.

There is no correct answer and you don't have to understand anyone else's motivation for buying and enjoying an iPad instead of a MacBook.
 
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Entirely new? What, like round or something?
Perhaps I used the wrong word - I ment I hope it's an opportunity to do something a bit more innovative than just a "bigger" iPad with iPadOS.
  • removing the back camera and use the space for something else
  • ability to use multiple pencils at once (e.g. whiteboard)
  • 16" actually foldable, so you can use it as sort of two regular ipads pasted together
 
Unless you are spending your time with file management, iPadOS is fine. Different but fine. Apps though is another matter but it gets better every year. It is a coevolution between hardware, the OS and then software. That evolution has happened for far longer on Macs and thus the better software. A 16 inch would give an incentive to produce more capable apps just like the M1/M2 and 16 Gb RAM does.
Getting files from one place to another, one app to another, one person to another or one format to another, all extremely common in most workflows and all are bottlenecks in iPadOS.
 
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