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

[jarman92]

What is the issue here? The Pro already doesn’t lie even close to flat because of the enormous camera bump. And the iPad in that photo can hardly be classified as “bent;” it deviates from perfectly level by what appears to be the thickness of 4 sheets of paper, which is exactly the tolerance Riccio states.

The “bend” doesn’t affect any of the functionality of the iPad, and is entirely unnoticeable unless you’re looking for it. And if it really bothers you, return it! Or exchange it for another one!

 

[ThunderSkunk]

It's a feature, not a bug. I can't wait til the Samsung/MS Surface ads start proposing their alternative to this lovely feature. Should do further wonders for their xmas/school sales.

With a trillion dollars, and a dated product line either neglected, outdated, not even present (pro tablet), or blown out in the market, and for years now, at what point do the shareholders & board start demanding some results?

Is this entire country enjoying its game of "how bad can we let everything get?".

 

[VIMAGE G3]

 

[69Mustang]

You must work for Tesla...

Ha! So true. To be fair, they've gotten better. But they were like:

/see how wide panel gaps on Teslas
/backs away from motorcycle
/runs the other way

- Evel Knievel

 

[mashinhead]

All this does is redefine what Apple's standards of quality are. Poor. And in contradiction to their standards of pricing.

 

[JPSaltzman]

Heaven forbid Apple ever gets into building cars, bridges, or pacemakers.

 

[strategicthinke]

Tell the truth, you werent ever going to be buying an iPad Pro at all

I have bought every iPad Pro generation. I’m skipping this one. Speak for yourself.

 

[Heineken]

I can’t disagree; mine’s flopping around perfectly as expected.

View attachment 812047

Your iPad seems to be in a quantum superposition

 

[DynaFXD]

Apple should be ashamed. But it’s fine long term. Once they have enough of a hit in profit and finally realize that they charge too much for their products, their service has become lackluster, and now they make just outright asnine indefensible comments they will wake up. They are certainly not too big to fail.

Their general comment was that their flatness specification is 400 micrometers. They don't speak to the iPad in the article's photo. Why do you think that comment or specification is "asnine"?

 

[DNichter]

I am still not seeing this as the earth shattering issue some are making it out to be. I get why someone wouldn’t want a bent iPad and should absolutely return it, but to expect absolute perfection across millions of devices is kinda nuts to me. Obviously a small amount are outside of their expected millimeter differences and should be exchanged. Now that they are seeing the issue, they tighten up the manufacturing process even further and the issue is fixed. Life moves on.

 

[skinned66]

I can't say for certain how that depicted iPad came to be the way it is just that that bend is > 400μm. That edge looks like it's about 2500μm off of that table.

 

[Wags]

Apple should be ashamed. But it’s fine long term. Once they have enough of a hit in profit and finally realize that they charge too much for their products, their service has become lackluster, and now they make just outright asnine indefensible comments they will wake up. They are certainly not too big to fail.

That’s the problem. Seem to be doubling down on every new release. All about profit, stock price and being biggest company. This becoming run away train.

 

[69Mustang]

lets just say that it wouldn't be the first time some overzealous haters had fabricated an issue. It sounds more like Apple is dealing with different facts than the assumed defect. Maybe we can all just wait to find out what the real facts are.

From my perspective, If the bend is real, I would keep taking them back under the return policy until I got an unbent one, or take it back and say screw it. However, because there are so many trolls faking issues, I am not sure I believe that the bend is real. 400 microns is not much. The bend shown in the lead photo greatly exceeds 400 microns.

Its terrible in a world of "alternate facts", and made up sensationalists you really don't know what to believe.

So if you buy it and its bent, take it back!

What exactly are you talking about? There are no "ifs" here. The issue is real. Apple says it's real. Who do you need to say it's real before you actually believe it's real? You can't create a conspiracy when the supposed victim says there's no conspiracy.

 

[Heineken]

Apple representatives start to sound like politicians. Lying without blushing.

 

[dguisinger]

Wait, 400 microns? Google says that is 0.015 inches.... no way that would be visible like the photo. They clearly aren’t talking about the same thing

 

[trifid]

I laughed when I saw the title of this news and then the photo of the bent iPad. Macrumors, thank you for the comedy

 

[justperry]

FYI

The gap in between the desk and the iPad (Tolerance) is just slightly less than half the thickness, so probably
around 2.5-3 mm (2500-3000 microns)

 

[69Mustang]

What is the issue here? The Pro already doesn’t lie even close to flat because of the enormous camera bump. And the iPad in that photo can hardly be classified as “bent;” it deviates from perfectly level by what appears to be the thickness of 4 sheets of paper, which is exactly the tolerance Riccio states.

The “bend” doesn’t affect any of the functionality of the iPad, and is entirely unnoticeable unless you’re looking for it. And if it really bothers you, return it! Or exchange it for another one!

Respectfully, you need glasses if you think that gap is the thickness of 4 sheets of paper. It's obviously a wider gap than the tolerances quoted by Apple.

 

[coolkid93]

BIGGEST JOKE OF THE YEAR! Hahaha

 

[falainber]

This Riccio dude is a liar. 400 microns deviation per what? Entire length of the tablet or per inch? Their new standards may be higher but their actual results are definitely worse. Maybe their previous standards were lower (say 800nm) but the actual products deviated by just, say, 10nm. And now the actual products deviate by 400nm which meets Apple's new higher standards! PR sleazebags.

 

[Ploki]

So apple now has a 7.9", 9.7", 10.5", 11", 12.9" iPad?
And Pencil works with some of them, and Pencil 2 works with some of them?
did i get this right?

 

[Delgibbons]

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

Live footage from Apple HQ:

 

[redscull]

Tell the truth, you werent ever going to be buying an iPad Pro at all

I'm not the guy you responded to, but your jumped-to conclusion isn't necessarily correct. I was very intent to replace my 10.5 pro prior to the 11 pro annoucement because the white spot bothers me and because my 10.5 pro is bent. My main concern was making sure the next gen was structurally sounder, then the 11 pro specs were revealed, and it was super thin. Shortly after we got bend-gate comfirmation.

So the 11's bendiness is literally the sole reason I didn't buy one.

 

[newellj]

What is the issue here? The Pro already doesn’t lie even close to flat because of the enormous camera bump. And the iPad in that photo can hardly be classified as “bent;” it deviates from perfectly level by what appears to be the thickness of 4 sheets of paper, which is exactly the tolerance Riccio states.

The “bend” doesn’t affect any of the functionality of the iPad, and is entirely unnoticeable unless you’re looking for it. And if it really bothers you, return it! Or exchange it for another one!

The issue is that we don't know that it doesn't affect functionality. For example, stresses on the display panel can cause various issues, many easily visually observable. Apple says it won't get worse - do we know that, only a month or so after launch? You may be right, but we do not know this.

 

[69Mustang]

Apple representatives start to sound like politicians. Lying without blushing.

I'm not saying they're lying. The tolerances may very well be 400 microns. The issue arises when the bend is obviously beyond the tolerances. He doesn't address that at all. My guess is he's not addressing it because he doesn't want to say anything that can't be plausibly denied. 9to5 has a copy (alleged) of his emailed response. By the looks of things, his words were edited by someone to be more legally nonbinding. You can clearly see the font change as if the wording was copied and pasted from another document.