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Apple's Dan Riccio Says 2018 iPad Pro 'Meets or Exceeds' Quality Standards of Design and Precision, More Info to Come
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In case anyone wants more details about surface flatness specifications, here's a link: https://www.gdandtbasics.com/flatness/
The flatness of a surface is the distance between two parallel planes that sit just above and just below the surface of interest. So in this case, the entire iPad surface (the screen surface or the back-side surface) would need to fit between two parallel planes that are 0.4mm apart. What is tricky here is that this flatness specification is for a surface, and does not account for thickness of the object. A key benefit for using geometric tolerances like flatness, is that parts can have greater thickness variations and still be acceptable. A flatness specification is appropriate to use here though.
Quality is something that can be continuously improved, but at a cost. Add another process, improve the material, reject more etc. In the end, all these costs are factored in with the required profit objects - finally leading to the price we pay. Usually all this process gets improved and optimized over the production run, leading to some savings from optimization and some extra cost from improvements. In the end the product quality tends to improve without an increase in cost.
All this sucks for me as an early purchaser of a 2018 top-spec iPad, that has a bit of a bend.
The flatness of a surface is the distance between two parallel planes that sit just above and just below the surface of interest. So in this case, the entire iPad surface (the screen surface or the back-side surface) would need to fit between two parallel planes that are 0.4mm apart. What is tricky here is that this flatness specification is for a surface, and does not account for thickness of the object. A key benefit for using geometric tolerances like flatness, is that parts can have greater thickness variations and still be acceptable. A flatness specification is appropriate to use here though.
Quality is something that can be continuously improved, but at a cost. Add another process, improve the material, reject more etc. In the end, all these costs are factored in with the required profit objects - finally leading to the price we pay. Usually all this process gets improved and optimized over the production run, leading to some savings from optimization and some extra cost from improvements. In the end the product quality tends to improve without an increase in cost.
All this sucks for me as an early purchaser of a 2018 top-spec iPad, that has a bit of a bend.
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I would think there should be a angle of deviation spec as well.
Steve Jobs would've NEVER allowed this! Never!
Dan Ricco sounds like your stereotypical car salesman in a movie.
Seems like stereotypes have validity.
Seems like stereotypes have validity.
Steve definitely had a total different vision of how Apple should operate. My guess is that Apple has become the Xerox company he spoke of in interviews:
You’re right, that’s why pool tables aren’t flat
Which is not the main issue at hand.
The other thread made it very clear (to me at least) that the outrage wasn't so much over the fact that iPads were coming bent out of the box, but the seemingly blasé and tone-deaf response coming from the Apple (according to TheVerge's account, by any rate).
Finally, after one full day, we now have a transcript of the statement that will be going out, and it turns out it is nothing like what TheVerge reported at all. These media outlets really need to learn to stick to facts and cut back on the sensationalism, because ultimately, they are doing a disservice to their readers and viewers.
Which again brings me back to my original point - return or exchange the iPad if you are not happy with it, or simply hold off on buying on if it freaks you out and wait till you are confident the manufacturing kinks have been ironed out. Save the outrage, because at this point, it's painfully obvious that a site could report on something as benign as what Tim Cook had for breakfast and we will still get several hundred posts, all critical. Apple is doomed! Where's my new Mac Pro? Fire Tim Cook! Bring back Forstall! Steve Job would have never...
Just another day in Macrumours land.
Jumping to conclusions, I never specified the reason for the decline, much less than it was due to this issue. There’s more than one reason. It’s an environment where arrogance like that shouldn’t be tolerated.
Don’t assume one’s understanding of the market based on one comment. Seems to be a common problem these days.
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Tell the truth, you werent ever going to be buying an iPad Pro at all
My personal truth is:
- I have a 10.5" iPad Pro and was immediately infatuated with the new form factor when it was announced. My device just turned a year old and I wouldn't mind trading it in already.
- Then, I saw the PRICES in Europe.
- Then, the lack of headphone jack got to me. OK, fine, sure, maximise space utilisation on a phone, but on the iPad?! And not even include a USB-C to 3.5" jack out of the box? The penny pinching has grown pretty irksome.
- Then, all the reviews came in. Basically corroborating what we all expected, that "it's just another iPad" (a very pretty and powerful one, admittedly, but still..)
- I went from skeptical to annoyed finding out I had to buy the whole equipment again (keyboard & pencil) with no option to trade the old ones in or backwards compatibility.
- The first reports of bending and second-guessing its structural integrity flattened my interest even more.
- Finally, reading this today just got me to say "**** it"
I'm ANGRY that over the past years Apple's leadership has turned us all customers, loyal or not, old timers or new, into caveat emptors while they coast on brand recognition alone. Something's got to give. I hope the tumbling AAPL stock might knock some sense into Cupertino.
I’m so happy people express their opinions and what’s making me more happy is the fact that those opinions are getting louder. Apple has been deaf since at least 2012. My opinion is that we’ve reached a turning point and Apple has reached the peak in arrogance and greed. Apple certainly needs a correction and I hope their falling stock price, growing unsatisfied customers base, will give it a push in the right direction.
Greed and arrogance do have a limit.
Yet, you bought three which are now all in the hands if your one and only son? Does not sound to me as if you are an efficiency expert...
This 400 micron variance is less than half a millimeter (or the width of fewer than four sheets of paper at most)
Maybe I just see things differently.Tim should pay you or at least give you a discount. You like everything what’s coming out their pipelines and are very happy with a bend iPad. I’ll bet you’re even happy with dogsh*t if it comes with an Apple branding on it
Which is ironic, don't you think? Apple's very own tagline - think different. So easy to preach, so difficult for most people to practice. Even Apple's own self-professed faithful.
I suppose it does help that my Apple products are working very well for me, and I seem to be in this phase where their product design decision are (generally) in line with how I use my products. In that I find I haven't really been disadvantaged by what they took away, while being in a position to benefit greatly from the new features added.
My iPad came perfect out of the box (then again, I did personally inspect it at the Apple Store before making my purchase), and going by Apple's statement, it shouldn't bend any further. As you all likely know by now, I am a teacher using his iPad to help teach in the classroom. I like the writing experience afforded by the pencil, loved peer-to-peer airplay of the Apple TV, enjoy the wide ecosystem of affordable iOS apps that have allowed me to do what I couldn't on my work-issued windows tablet laptop, and the Smart Keyboard is turning out to be a pretty good typing experience overall.
It's currently the year-end holidays, so I have taken to jogging in the morning, and I am using my Apple Watch every day to track my workouts. Thanks to AirPods, I haven't really missed the removal of the headphone jack.
Currently typing this response on my 5k iMac. My 2012 MBA is currently sitting in a drawer, and I found that the combination of desktop + tablet has been working well enough for me that I don't feel like I am disadvantaged by not having a macbook at all (I have my windows laptop for school stuff like accessing network files and printing).
I don't run out to buy every single product that Apple releases. I do my homework, and get only those which suit my needs, and they have continued to work great for me. Is the new iPad Pro expensive. It sure is, but like the other apple products I have gotten, I expect it to eventually pay for itself in the form of greater productivity and fewer problems overall compared to say, using a laptop to do the stuff I do on my iPad.
So yeah, I am a happy and satisfied Apple customer, and I see myself staying one for a good many years to come.
Earlier this week, Apple told The Verge that some 2018 iPad Pro models are shipping with a slight bend in the aluminum chassis, which is a side effect of the manufacturing process that is not expected to worsen over time or negatively impact the iPad's performance.
Many MacRumors readers were concerned about Apple's position that a noticeable bend is not a manufacturing issue, prompting MacRumors reader Craig to send an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook to express his concerns.
While Cook didn't respond, Craig did get a reply from Apple's VP of hardware engineering, Dan Riccio, which he shared with MacRumors and we which we have confirmed to be from Apple's corporate mail servers in Cupertino, California.
In the email, Riccio says that the iPad Pro's design "meets or exceeds" all of Apple's quality and precision standards.
Apple's specification for iPad Pro flatness is up to 400 microns, which is "even tighter than previous generations." Riccio reiterates that this level of flatness won't change during normal use, nor does it affect function. From the email:
Riccio's email also says that a company statement was not included in the original information disseminated by The Verge, and that Apple will be reaching out to media outlets to comment officially.
The original email was sent late on December 20 and suggested a comment would come "later today," but that didn't happen, so it's not quite clear when Apple will provide more info to the media. We may be hearing an official, more reassuring statement on the 2018 iPad Pro before the end of the day.
Minor bending of the new iPad Pro models first came to light shortly after the devices launched, and new iPad Pro owners who noticed bends shared their concerns on the MacRumors forums.
Apple was quiet on the issue until this week, when the company told The Verge that the bending is a side effect of the manufacturing process and not a defect that impacts iPad performance.
The bend is said to be the result of a cooling process involving the iPad Pro's metal and plastic components during manufacturing. iPad Pro models experiencing this issue are exhibiting the problem right out of the box, according to Apple, so it's not an issue that shows up or worsens over time.
Apple told The Verge that concerns over the structural rigidity of the iPad Pro are unfounded and that it stands by the product.
Article Link: Apple's Dan Riccio Says 2018 iPad Pro 'Meets or Exceeds' Quality Standards of Design and Precision, More Info to Come
These *******s will not admit their mistakes! You charge way too much for your product and yet the quality is substandard!
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I’m as hardcore of an Apple fanboy as it comes (also a shareholder) and 2018 is giving me major doubts of their integrity. Every visit I’ve had to an Apple Store this year has been absolutely rubbish. None of the sales reps know what they’re talking about, they just repeat shiet slogans from the website. My in stock MacBook Pro took four weeks to ship to a major city. I’ve almost had it with their arrogance and BS.
If I was this customer I’d go HAM on support
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If I was this customer I’d go HAM on support
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LOL. I love how he tossed it out their like the average customer would know what that means. I’d be like, yeah, but why is it bent though
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They said that their standard of 400 microns is tighter than previous generations. We hadn’t heard complaints about “bent” iPads before. Maybe the slight variations are just more noticeable with the blocky design.
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Read the article. 400 microns is tighter than their old standard.
Glad at least some people are reading the article.
It would appear that a bend of less than 400 microns is ok, more than 400 microns take it back.
If you’ve had it for months and it’s >400 microns then perhaps you’ve missed your window.
There’s nothing to defend here. I’ve told you that Apple is wrong and completely botched the situation. I just don’t take it as personally as you do and understand that manufacturing defects will happen. Don’t get all worked up over stuff you can’t control and stop acting like Apple owes ya something, you’ll be better off.
Timmy Cook has to go.
Even Gil Amelio didn't send out bent machines.
Even Gil Amelio didn't send out bent machines.
I am actually getting excited to watch this ****-show transpire. We all know dis gun be bad. Apple is already showing they play a terrible game of chess.
Can't help but hear it like this:
"Hur dee dur, I AM the HEAD ENGINEER. erhurm, I DO declare, mmmhum,,, our quality & precision is better than EVER, quitely so indeeed, yes. You seeeee,,, we are Apple mhum. You know we dont make mistakes! aha rightly right, now run along children we got this. durrry durpity doo".
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