Apple's Dan Riccio Says 2018 iPad Pro 'Meets or Exceeds' Quality Standards of Design and Precision, More Info to Come

[dilbert99]

I don’t think they should be this arrogant considering they’ve lost 400 billion in market cap recently.

Ouch 35% down in 10 weeks.

 

[KJL3000]

This reminds me of something: when Apple produced the iPhone 5 (last iPhone developed under Steve’s control afaik) they used 6000 series aluminum. Due to similar production issues the cutouts for the top and bottom ceramic \ glass inlays were also slightly varying (some microns). So they used a high res camera to scan every single iPhone and assign one out of 725 different inlays to match the cutout perfectly.

So what happened with that passion of perfection when apple today sells pre-bent units and even worse, they could sort them out because not every unit deforms in the production process, recycle them and try again, or use higher grade metals or what not. But they just release something that is not perfect in precision and they know it and even worse they publicly admit it and say: well it’s ok, some of you get slightly bent iPads due to production issues but we don’t care.

This is a Disaster starting at Tim for letting this happen at all, hardware department for not optimizing the production process and PR for letting Dan write such stupid statements. And all this at record high price tags, of course ...

Apple, get bent!

 

[Pez555]

Sorry but this is not the apple of old. It is astonishing that they believe this is acceptable. For the price you are paying for these things it is inexcusable, hell its inexcusable for any tablet to have a bend.

Absolutely crazy Apple, crazy.

 

[H2SO4]

And as I mentioned above, some users have learnt to work around them.

For me, I save my work-related files in dropbox, and sync them to my iPad via the documents app. So effectively, dropbox is my file manager, where I access the files I need. And you know how many times I have needed to connect a thumb drive to my iPad since I got my first one in 2012? Zero.

I find that in my case, the pros of the iPad more than outweighs the drawbacks, and I am wiling to either put up with them, or find ways of working around them.

Have made bold the important parts of your quote. Apple are excellent at giving you the exact minimum, it's a strategy that has worked very well for them. It's not a jack of all trades yet, but it could so easily be.
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I remember in the first half of the year, when cynicism about sales of the iPhone X was at an all time high. Samsung only had to release a statement reporting that sales of their OLED screens were down, and everyone here practically jumped to conclusions that the iPhone X was not sell well. Which in turn led to tons of criticisms over its price, and everyone was convinced that Apple had lost its way.

As it turned out, sales of OLED screens were down due to sales of Samsung's own phones dropping, while the iPhone X would go on to do very well in sales, resulting in another record quarter for Apple.

This is just one of numerous incidents I have seen where the haters have been wrong about Apple, yet when the truth is out, I don't see them pausing to reflect about what it is they got wrong, why they got it wrong, and what they could learn from the incident. Instead, they simply double down and move on to find a negative spin on the next piece of Apple news.

What I am seeing here is how easy it is to weaponise negative emotions towards Apple. The problem isn't that Apple is somehow beyond reproach, but that more often than not, the critics are falling over themselves to be the first to hate on Apple, often irrationally.

Just look at the latest news regarding the iPad Pro. When news from TheVerge first broke out, everyone basically went on to repost this article and treat it as gospel, without bothering to give it a second thought or question the source. You are all so eager to believe the worst in Apple that nobody even stops to think critically or rationally anymore. It's just hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

And as it turns out, what TheVerge ended up reporting on was completely different from the official press statement which Apple will be releasing in due time. TheVerge played on all your emotions for clicks and ad revenue, and you all fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

Seriously. Just look at yourselves. All of you.

Guarantee you there have been just as many incidents citing the opposite.
But, (regardless of the press or the marketing machine), if you held any 'straight' device in the air do you think you' notice a 0.4mm variance along its foot or so length? I'm guessing no. Ask yourself if you've fallen for the spin.
Nothing is perfect, nothing. Not even your children or parents.
This iPad was not designed to have a curve in it no matter how small. It will have of course but if you really believe 400 microns is what all the fuss is about then I don't know what to tell you.

This is not hate. PR have faltered here.

 

[Abazigal]

Have made bold the important parts of your quote. Apple are excellent at giving you the exact minimum, it's a strategy that has worked very well for them. It's not a jack of all trades yet, but it could so easily be.

Um, no, but nice attempt at trying to misrepresent my position.

I see it as a package deal. I want the benefits of iOS, I also have to put up with the limitations and drawbacks, and that’s just the way it is.

Already, certain parts of iOS are already beginning to more intuitive compared to macOS. For example, I like opening pages and having all my word documents available to me, unlike office where I have to navigate a hierarchical file system.

The day won’t be far when it’s macOS / windows which feels like the compromise.

 

[Piggie]

Sorry but this is not the apple of old. It is astonishing that they believe this is acceptable. For the price you are paying for these things it is inexcusable, hell its inexcusable for any tablet to have a bend.

Absolutely crazy Apple, crazy.

They don't.

But they have to say this.

 

[Shiro_Simba]

Called it.

The Verge is garbage. They write some good articles, but I really have to take their Apple-related news with a huge chunk of salt. Nowhere in Apple's official statement does it say the bend is normal, but everyone saw their clickbait headline and don’t want to hear anything beyond that narrative. The click bait tech blogs always get to set the narrative, the anti-Apple crowd runs with it, the news cycle continues, and the blogs make tons of money.

And the best thing is that practically every other forum and news outlet just went on reposting the exact same article from Theverge, effectively perpetuating the same issue. 9to5Mac, Macrumours, Appleinsider, just to name a few.

Dan Riccio’s comments and promises of an official statement coming soon are being met with sarcasm and skepticism all over the place. Apple needs to stop giving these sites access.

If I were running Apple, The Verge would have been banned from all press events and interviews like 5 years ago.

Is that unbiased ?

I’d love to hear what tech website you consider to give neutral reviews of Apple products ? And I mean unbiased reviews ....

My issue is that anything other than sweeping praise , is viewed by individuals on here ..... you can see the ones that liked your post as the usual suspects, as crap tech websites .

 

[AgentAnonymous]

Ive and Timmy have their fingers in their ears saying "LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU !!!"

Apple with Steve Jobs... insanely Great
Apple without Steve Jobs... just insane

Quite clearly you are wrong. Apple without Steve Jobs hit 1 trillion dollar market valuation, and is the most successful it's ever been.

 

[Shiro_Simba]

How much is Samsung or Google paying you to be negative where there is nothing to be negative? You do think there is someone else that is the "leader in software and hardware integreation." Total LOL.

It’s called being a consumer - a consumer should never accept a bent product .

And your second statement is misleading as Apple is unique in being a hardware company that owns its own Software, it’s not a competitive list....... is it ?

Are we going to compare them to Microsoft ? Just cause it’s Microsoft and people on here have not tried a Microsoft product in the last 10 years..... they will all get thier panties in a twist .... Apple is alone on the pedestal of being the leader of their own hardware / software .
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The day won’t be far when it’s macOS / windows which feels like the compromise.

For you maybe . Not all of us want a dumbed down version of an Os .

Though I’m curious - what serious compromises does macOS have from a usability/productivity point of view ? You have made a huge accusation ...... and many of us here are long term Mac OS users...... I’ll defend macOS against sweeping accusations....

And office v pages - that user preference of apps.....

 

[H2SO4]

Um, no, but nice attempt at trying to misrepresent my position.

I see it as a package deal. I want the benefits of iOS, I also have to put up with the limitations and drawbacks, and that’s just the way it is.

Already, certain parts of iOS are already beginning to more intuitive compared to macOS. For example, I like opening pages and having all my word documents available to me, unlike office where I have to navigate a hierarchical file system.

The day won’t be far when it’s macOS / windows which feels like the compromise.

Wow.
By definition a package deal is made up of a number of elements. If those elements do not do what you want/need, (and from your earlier post: <snip> outweighs the drawbacks.....), you ARE putting up with or working around them.
iOS can be as intuitive as it likes, if for example I can't format a flash drive on it then it's useless in that resect. Capability is more important that something being intuitive.
Not sure what you're getting at with regard to the hierarchical file system. If I put all of my documents in the same folder how is it any different? Man are you really reaching now.
Noticed you only answered half of my post.
So, do you think you'd notice a 0.4mm variance too?

 

[0947347]

"To bend or not to bend.....that is the question"

-Cook

Are you commenting on Cook or iPad? Please, do tell

 

[19EB48]

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.

Image via MacRumors reader Bwrin1​

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

Given the cost and the claimed excellence of the product this is totally outrageous and unacceptable. Please all Apple fans speak up. Don’t accept this, don’t be enablers. Otherwise Apple will continue to convince you that everything they make is perfect when it is clearly imperfect and charge a premium for it. I love my iPad but I won’t be buying a new one until I am assured that it is perfectly flat.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

And as I mentioned above, some users have learnt to work around them.

For me, I save my work-related files in dropbox, and sync them to my iPad via the documents app. So effectively, dropbox is my file manager, where I access the files I need. And you know how many times I have needed to connect a thumb drive to my iPad since I got my first one in 2012? Zero.

I find that in my case, the pros of the iPad more than outweighs the drawbacks, and I am wiling to either put up with them, or find ways of working around them.

A work around is by definition a more convulated way of doing something that can be done easier.

I find plugging a mobile device into the USB port of a pc far quicker for file transfer than using Dropbox. But like you said, a work around.

 

[9081094]

Please everyone...........

I'm sure the vast majority of people here are good, bright, intelligent people with a high degree of common sense and understanding.

Think about this if you were in Apple's shoes, doing damage avoidance regards the public and media.

What would you really do as a company. Say "Sorry, we messed up this product, next year well make a better one"

Or would you come up with some story about tolerancing, previous models, 400 micron (which is less than half a mm)
and come up with some story to try lay the dust, and quietly replace bag models.

They are doing and saying exactly what you expect. The PR people are doing their job, and trying to limit damage, the engineer/designers are getting a shouting at to be dam sure this is addressed in the next model.

It's all going as you would expect from a very large company.
Only something physically dangerous would mean they would have to open up fully and handle this differently.

There have been problems after problems regarding to quality issues with Apple lately.

When the new iPad Pro came out, I was excited and was planning to replace my aging air. As soon I saw the tests it was obvious it had the structure of a jellyfish with no backbone to support it.

Knowing myself and how I use a portable device I came to the conclusion this one doesn’t fit my needs. I’m very careful with my iPad Air but I can’t count the times I accidentally sat on it, jumped into bed forgetting my iPad Air was there.

Several tests have shown this new iPad Pro will bends with only minimal force.

Together with only incremental software updates and a big price increase, I’ve come to the conclusion this iPad isn’t for me.

We had dust issues with the new MacBook Pro keyboard, thermal issues with the whole mac line where you don’t get to use the power of the new chips included. My own experience with my 5k iMac losing Bluetooth connections and my bending magic keyboard II, it’s quite obvious that there’s something wrong with the building quality.

A premium brand has to sell premium products in my opinion. Premium for me means better than average to sustain a premium price.

While the A12 Bionic chip might be good, only a phone os with limited functionality withholds its potential.

Form over function and price increases instead of real premium options like better everything, expensive services or not being able to use the extra services because it’s not supported in your country, make those price hikes a bitter pill to swallow.

I’m slowly getting out of Apples expensive eco trap and I’m careful choosing third party hardware which are OS agnostic. With my new LG OLED tv I got rid of Apple TV and never been happier. My philips Hue is platform agnostic and works great. I’ll never buy an HomePod because of the limitations I’ll put myself in.

In 2012 Apple was ahead in every category they were active. Today it’s a pathetic expensive shadow of the past relying in its successes from the past.

If Apple wants to stay a premium brand, it has to make sure it’s products are. If so, it’s justified to pay a premium price and, like I used to in the past, it would get recommended to friends and family.

I don’t recommend it anymore because there aren’t any reasons to recommend it.

 

[mstur]

I don’t think they should be this arrogant considering they’ve lost 400 billion in market cap recently.

"They" (= Apple) have not lost anything...
Only investors who bought at 230 and sold now at 155 have lost a lot of money. OTOH only very few investors would be so stupid. The majority who started selling once the stock dropped were people who had bought when AAPL was at 60 ...

 

[johnmed]

Ive and Timmy have their fingers in their ears saying "LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU !!!"

Apple with Steve Jobs... insanely Great
Apple without Steve Jobs... just insane

We had iPhone 4s that we all held wrong under Jobs. Just saying.

 

[Abazigal]

A work around is by definition a more convulated way of doing something that can be done easier.

I find plugging a mobile device into the USB port of a pc far quicker for file transfer than using Dropbox. But like you said, a work around.

Like I said, it’s a package deal. I use an iPad for the things it lets me do that I can’t get done on a PC (or done as fluidly). And what I can’t get done, like formatting a flash drive or torrenting, I am okay with waiting till I am home and on my iMac.

What I find is that over time, your style of working can and will evolve to minimise the downsides of those workarounds, to the point where they sometimes don’t pose an issue anymore. For most part, I just find it more convenient to sync my files via Dropbox or fling them around via airdrop rather than connecting and unplugging physical drives.

Another side benefit is this is that I am also able to access all related files on my iPhone, simply because it’s all online.

And if not for the iPad not accepting physical drives, i might never have gotten round to shifting my files online, simply because prior to an iPad, there simply wasn’t any impetus to.

I guess there is something to be said about necessity being the mother of all invention.

 

[9081094]

Jeez Dan. Way to make the Surface Pro 6 suddenly seem like an attractive option.

Keep it up Apple. Sign Cook for another 10 years.

And that’s exactly what is happening. Everybody was laughing at Microsoft’s first attempts with the Surface.

Today Microsoft makes a surface where Apple can only dream of with its stagnant IOS. Everybody was laughing at Microsoft being a software company and would never be able to build something better than Apple.

Fast forward today the hardware has surpassed that of Apple and even Microsoft’s software released for IOS is better than apple’s own offerings.

iOS for iPad hasn’t changed much these last 8 years, while Microsoft made great strides.

The A12 might be great but can’t show it’s potential, so what’s the use.

Everything Apple is coming with is proprietary with one thing in mind, get more money from your customers.

That doesn’t fit the vision making the best or justify the price hikes.
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Like I said, it’s a package deal. I use an iPad for the things it lets me do that I can’t get done on a PC (or done as fluidly). And what I can’t get done, like formatting a flash drive or torrenting, I am okay with waiting till I am home and on my iMac.

What I find is that over time, your style of working can and will evolve to minimise the downsides of those workarounds, to the point where they sometimes don’t pose an issue anymore. For most part, I just find it more convenient to sync my files via Dropbox or fling them around via airdrop rather than connecting and unplugging physical drives.

Another side benefit is this is that I am also able to access all related files on my iPhone, simply because it’s all online.

And if not for the iPad not accepting physical drives, i might never have gotten round to shifting my files online, simply because prior to an iPad, there simply wasn’t any impetus to.

I guess there is something to be said about necessity being the mother of all invention.

Seems to me the Surface would do everything you mentioned and would be a solid replacement of your Mac too.

 

[femike]

If it looks bent it is bent, no matter if it meets specifications.

Apple made the iPad with well defined parallel edges in a thinner chassis which makes it easier to see a bend. As engineers, they would of needed to tighten those tolerances and all levels management should of known this basic fact. The bad result and Apple's response is indicative of Tim Cook's Apple now.

 

[Abazigal]

Is that unbiased ?

I’d love to hear what tech website you consider to give neutral reviews of Apple products ? And I mean unbiased reviews ....

My issue is that anything other than sweeping praise , is viewed by individuals on here ..... you can see the ones that liked your post as the usual suspects, as crap tech websites .

Any website that goes beyond simply reporting on facts will always have an element of bias involved. It’s just about which direction you swing in.

However, I do feel that most tech websites are ill-equipped to properly evaluate the full scope of what Apple does, much less why. This is all the more apparent when it comes to analysing financial and sales figures. For example, I remember 9to5Mac writing an article on some analyst claiming that Best Buy was seeing poor sales of the iPhone, indirectly insinuating that it wasn’t doing well. However, the catch was that Best Buy made up for only 5% of iPhone sales in the country (the article claimed they were a major contributor of sales; that would be carriers).

Thing is - when you write an article about what someone else says, it’s not reporting. It’s reblogging. So what is clearly happening is that these ad-driven websites have a strong incentive to phrase their stories in a way that gets their readers riled up to drive clicks and encourage sharing on social media.

To put it another way, they are profiting off fear-mongering.

It’s not so much about settling on one news site and treating its words as gospel, but about educating yourself about Apple and having a better understanding and appreciation of why they do the things they do, what makes them tick and how they got to be as big as they did (and why they continue to stay as such).

For this, I am subscribed to AboveAvalon. Many people will consider Neil Cybart an Apple shill, but I find that he really does offer unique insight into all things Apple. I think it also helps that because he runs a subscription-based news service (costing $200 a year), he doesn’t need to resort to clickbait to keep readers returning for more. Instead, he can focus on building up a relationship with his readers, because he’s effectively already been paid for.

I am also paying $100 a year for a Stratechery subscription, which is quite handy for knowing more about the state of the tech industry in general.

Between these two services, I get 5-6 articles delivered to my inbox daily and I find it helps get me up to speed. So when I come in, I am able to make more informed judgements, rather than being a slave to instinct and outrage.

That’s also why you notice that I am often late to comment (the other reason being that I live in Asia, so these articles usually go up while I am asleep), because as I have mentioned before, it takes time to think through these issues, and to phrase your responses in a manner which actually adds something of value to the discussion at hand.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

"They" (= Apple) have not lost anything...
Only investors who bought at 230 and sold now at 155 have lost a lot of money. OTOH only very few investors would be so stupid. The majority who started selling once the stock dropped were people who had bought when AAPL was at 60 ...

You are so wrong.
Let me tell you at least three ways Apple has lost with APPL underperforming geometrically the overall market:

1. Apple stock buybacks: geometric book-value losses
2. Key personnel stock options: critical hires find their stock options under-water and may leave
3. Dividends: proportional dips on payback amounts and schedules

You also forget that "paper losses", are only accounting losses, until reality hits and the stock has to be sold for pressing needs. This, because it may take two to three years for this stock to regain its losses, and that is not certain given the current leadership.

 

[dennislaska]

It just goes to show you this iPad may be too thin and the QA/QC isn't up to snuff.

Yeah I can buy their story of "This 400 micron variance" but clearly some are bent more out of the box.

And a consumer paying Apples tax for industry leading premium products shouldn't have to accept statement and these products...............................

 

[Heineken]

It just goes to show you this iPad may be too thin and the QA/QC isn't up to snuff.

Yeah I can buy their story of "This 400 micron variance" but clearly some are bent more out of the box.

And a consumer paying Apples tax for industry leading premium products shouldn't have to accept statement and these products...............................

It is too thin for no good reason or real benefit and it is too expensive. 11" 64 GB 909 Eur, 12.9" 64 GB 1129 Eur. If it is Pro and I can't see any reason to call it a Pro objectively, then why the **** does it start at 64 GB?

 

[rboerdijk]

Seems pretty straightforward. If it’s outside of the 400 microns it’s a defect and gets replaced I’d assume?

Yeah... look at that picture of tablet on the table... You can easily see that it's more than 400 microns - it's several mm's outside of this tolerance.

 

[44267547]

If it meets or exceeds their standards, then did they lower their standards while raising their price? No other iPad has had this problem before.

While I agree with you, Apple doesn’t consider this to be a ‘Problem’, but yet every iPad isn’t experiencing a bend, which shows a strong inconsistency in their iPad product line. The iPad is made to be uniform as a mass produced product, and this new iPad isn’t, it’s a very strange situation that is confusing a lot of customers/readers. The more Apple comments on this situation, is potentially creating more confusion and frustration for current and future buyers. I think it’s better if they don’t comment any further in my opinion. I’m not saying future customers shouldn’t Purchase this new iPad, but I can easily see this being a ‘turn off’ for those who are following this situation.