Probably runs faster than a Mac Pro too LOL. I built one last year and it's the best 'Mac' I've ever owned.
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Apple's Renewed Focus on iPad Left the Mac Behind This Year
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Probably runs faster than a Mac Pro too LOL. I built one last year and it's the best 'Mac' I've ever owned.
This isn't the "post-PC" era.
It may be the post-buying-a-new-PC-every-18-months era, the post every-kid-in-a-family-needing-their-own-PC era or the post-this-years-model-twice-as-fast-and-10%-cheaper era, but the PC is still an essential tool for many.
I see lots of people using mobile phones and tablets... but outside of purely domestic users, they're using them in addition to a laptop or desktop. While mobile is great for communication, taking notes in meetings, entertainment or a handful of niche applications where touch/stylus works well, as soon as people need to write a 10000-word report, edit a video, write some code or do their accounts, they reach for a proper computer.
Other industries have managed to cope with the maturation of the market without abandoning product lines. Fridges, washing machines, cookers last for ever, but they still get made. A new car from a decent maker will last 10 years, but they still release new models every couple of years.
Unfortunately, the PC industry has, in the past, only known an expanding market, exponential growth in power and capacity and ever-reducing component costs - so the "Post PC era" meme was invented as an excuse to neglect the PC and go looking for the next boom product that might generate windfall profits.
Some of it is self-fulfilling: Intel has been focussing on low-power, cool-running mobile chips rather than raw power (OK, part of that is because, if they don't, ARM will clean their clock) and a major cause of the Windows 8 debacle was Microsoft trying to force a mobile-style user interface on desktop users. Unfortunately, the next big push in CPU power probably involves improving compiler technology to automatically optimise software for lots of CPU cores and GPU-accelerated systems... which is hard and doesn't pay off this quarter.
In a future where PC sales - particularly "power user" PCs as opposed to the tablet/laptop crossover market - are declining maybe Apple needs to stop trying to pass off (very nice) "ultrabooks" as "pro" machines and re-visit some past assumptions.
What if - alongside their 'prestige' ultrabooks and all-in-ones, they built a Mini-ITX-sized, expandable, versatile, desktop that was nicely built but largely used (good quality) generic parts, for an affordable price? Or a slightly chunky "desktop replacement" laptop In the past, the answer was simple: it would decimate iMac and Mac Pro sales. I've used that argument before. In the alleged "post-PC" era, though, would it really - or would it help keep "pros" and "power users" on the MacOS platform, and counter the lure of being able to go out and order a Windows or Linux PC with exactly the components you wanted? Is the option of a $1000 xMac really going to dissuade someone prepared to spend $3-4k on an ultrabook with an emoji bar and thermally-throttled-to-death CPU/GPU? If that's too risky, at least build a new Mac Mini around the Skull Canyon chipset.
I'll tell you one thing that will decimate the sales of MacPro/iMac*/Mac Mini - not updating them for years because of the huge design and re-tooling costs of changing all those bespoke parts to work with this years chips. Another sales-killer: the office/family nerd that everybody asks about what computer they should buy gets fed up and switches to Windows.
A lot of the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the new MacBook Pros might have been avoided if Apple had, at least, offered an alternative by updating the Mini, Pro and iMac.
*To be fair, the 27" iMac is relatively up-to-date and has a Skylake CPU - I don't know that there is a suitable Kaby Lake CPU for it yet - however, it needs USB C/TB3 (in place of the TB2 ports - for pity's sake keep the USBA and ethernet!) and maybe a graphics bump. I seriously hope that's what we're waiting for, and not a 20% thinner case.
I'm starting to think this is systemic culture change at Apple. Yesterday I started to see reports like this on some of the other tech sites:
Yes, I know, BI, but it's reporting on a conference:
http://www.businessinsider.com/appl...rom-a-hit-driven-to-services-business-2016-12
Yes, I know, BI, but it's reporting on a conference:
http://www.businessinsider.com/appl...rom-a-hit-driven-to-services-business-2016-12
Dediu argues that constantly trying for home runs has been demoralizing for employees, so Apple CEO Tim Cook move away from that attitude.
“One of the big audiences that Tim has is actually internal employee morale,” said Dediu. “I think the hit-driven mindset is demoralizing internally, and there is a concerted effort to tone down this ‘Let’s hit home runs’ mind-set.”
“One of the big audiences that Tim has is actually internal employee morale,” said Dediu. “I think the hit-driven mindset is demoralizing internally, and there is a concerted effort to tone down this ‘Let’s hit home runs’ mind-set.”
See on the Windows side we can actually consider ourselves in a post-pc era in a manner of speaking. We aren't stuck with a traditional laptop or desktop anymore because Microsoft made tablets that are reasonably powerful and run a full desktop OS instead of a mobile OS. So if your a Windows user you can easily have a tablet and not suffer any of the reduced functionality like you get from an iPad.
I hate to do the Cook to Jobs comparison. Jobs is dead and gone.
But there's clearly a different mindset at top. When Jobs was around, I still had gripes about the product pricing. But you often got more from an Apple product than the competition. There was a premium because the devices were premium. Jobs was an arse to many people. And he was definitely seen at times as "money grubbing". But I firmly believe that Steve saw the huge profits as a reward for good quality products.
Tim Cook doesn't seem to have that same feeling. He comes accross as money first person. Apple is "entitled" to big profits because their Apple. The products themselves come 2ndary to him as long as profits come.
from a consumer standpoint this bothers me.
I think you missed the 'Don't buy' on the new MBP too! It sounds like a total disaster!
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People think they need the very latest chipsets to browse the web....
Quoting for 100% truth. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Tim, sorry to disagree but an iPad Pro is NOT a replacement for a computer.
1. The Smart Keyboard is absolutely awful. Worst typing experience I have ever had. Mac keyboards are phenomenal. I use a full size Apple keyboard at work with my Windows Dell. And so does my wife for her Surface Pro 4. Apple makes the best keyboards, which makes how awful the Smart Keyboard is for the iPad Pro so confounding.
2. The Surface Pro 4 while still having some issues, exemplifies what a tablet computer replacement should be. The angled keyboard which is superior to the Smart Keyboard is nice to type on and has a trackpad. And the SP4 runs a full OS.
3. Springboard is a tired and ineffective GUI for iOS and overdue for a major overhaul. Using an iPad and operating apps for any sort of work or just personal productivity through it is ineffecient. I would not subject myself to that as my "computer". I won't leave iPhone but the iPhone needs a better UI.
4. Added to which there are times I still want to use a mouse and apps that require a desktop OS or aren't confined to the limits of iOS.
If I could run macOS Sierra on a Surface Pro 4 I would. For now I'll still with my 27" iMac and my 2012 MacBook Air. Microsoft Surface line is significantly ahead of the iPad Pro. As painful as that is to say.
Notice how you have ZERO likes even though youre on page 1 of this thread? That should tell you how totally not spot on your comment is.
Firing Scott Forstall was the beginning of the end for me
Typical arrogant macrumor member response. That's just a disgusting attitude to have and throw everyone under the bus like that. I see this kind of brutal attempt to undermine others here all the time.
What makes you think that professionals should remain on old tech?
I don't even remember the last time i used my iPad Air 2. Clueless Timmy thinks they are the future??? Sorry Timmy but my 13" late 2011 MBP (upgraded to a 1 TB SSD and 16GB Ram) is the real future here.. Use it every day for work and real pro tasks.. in fact im about to put my iPad Air 2 up for sale in Ebay?? Any offers? I would even trade it for a NES CLASSIC edition... PM me
Given that Apple has a longer generational gap than any other major similar company... it's certainly an... odd decision to time a release 2 months before critical components refresh.
If Dell, Lenovo etc can sit out this Christmas season for January - companies with a fraction of the monetary reserves as Apple - it seems odd Apple can't wait 8 weeks.
It's about Christmas sales, not customer needs... and a crippled machine for 18 months.
From Timmy:
That's a terrible analogy since they do opposite things. A better one is covering an oven and a toaster. They both conceptually do the same thing (heat), but one is bigger with more controls. Just like an iPad and computer, they both do conceptually the same thing but one is bigger and has more controls (mouse and keyboard).
I vote to have Elon Must become the CEO of Apple to bring it back to an innovative company instead of a fashion company.
That's a terrible analogy since they do opposite things. A better one is covering an oven and a toaster. They both conceptually do the same thing (heat), but one is bigger with more controls. Just like an iPad and computer, they both do conceptually the same thing but one is bigger and has more controls (mouse and keyboard).
I vote to have Elon Must become the CEO of Apple to bring it back to an innovative company instead of a fashion company.
Right now, I am negotiating the purchase of a second hand iPad Air 2. A friend said he no longer is using it and is willing to send me for $120 dollars. I saw the iPad Pro 9.7 and the 12.9 inch screen is impressive, but I don't thing its worth the price. The great thing about one I am getting, it has cellular support which is something I really want in a larger mobile device. I hardly use the stylus with my Surface Pro 3.
In a vacuum, they're fine. They all still work. The problem is that the scope of their usability is only going to decrease over time, not increase.
Apple's competition is outpacing them on usability, price, and/or performance. Microsoft is pushing to refine/improve interactivity, and PC manufacturers are meeting or exceeding Apple's performance while selling at a lower cost and still providing decent build quality.
Apple can't charge premium prices and not provide a premium product. If they lowered their prices, people might be more lenient. But selling a barely-upgradeable Mac Pro with parts from 2012/2013 for the same price in 2016 is ludicrous. Making iMacs thinner-but-not-really and reducing their performance(thermal throttling, mobile chipsets instead of desktop ones) is mind-boggling. Dropping performance(from quad-core options to dual-core only) and upgradability on the Mac mini is frustrating.
If all you do is use iTunes, Photos, and Safari, a modern Mac will work fine for a few years. If you want to do anything else, the future is uncertain.
iPads can do a lot, but many common remaining tasks can be difficult. E.g. go to Wikipedia and try to get access to the talk page for any article -- you can't, using the mobile site. Likewise Smugmug's mobile app does not support copy and pasting URL links to photos. In both cases you can force the iPad to use the desktop site by pressing and holding the browser refresh icon, but then you are using an unwieldy desktop site on a mobile device, not a mobile page or mobile app. This is especially cumbersome on smaller mobile devices like an iPad Mini or an iPhone.
I have been in field situations where it is so difficult to get something done on my iPad it's easier to just drive home and use my iMac or even find a public library and use a PC. I have three MacBooks but I often find myself thinking the iPad will be sufficient, so I don't take it. Then I get stuck in one of these mobile device limitations, which always reminds me why laptops remain so useful.
Convergence is hard, and takes years... and Microsoft (through the Windows 8 disaster) is doing all the hard work. The Surface Book is perhaps a generation or two from being a superb "converged" device at the more powerful end, and the HP360 is similar at the lower end.
It should still be upgraded to USB-C (just don't take away everything else - there's plenty of space for a couple of USB-A and ethernet) and surely there's a new GPU option?
The Surface Studio is indeed "amazinnnggggg" - until you look at the specs. Couldn't care less about Kaby Lake, but no fast i/o (not even USB3.1 gen 2), a hybrid drive with a 5200rpm HD component, no all-SSD option, less-than spectacular GPU... real let-down. If I was inclined to spend $4k on a whim I'd get one to have fun with, but it fails the "could this be my daily driver for the next 4-5 years" test.
NONSENSE. There was no focus on iPad this year either. Please remember the iPad Pro 12" was already released in 2015 including all the accessories. There was zero innovation this year for iPads unless you call releasing the Air 9.7" with the A9 and calling it a Pro "innovation"
Yep.... totally agree!
I tend to ignore a lot of the complaining that's gone on. I mean, ever since OS X was brand new, I had to endure the ranting from all the folks who hated the change and loved their "tried and true" classic MacOS. And somebody was always convinced Apple was going to fail, with each major change. (Remember the people who thought it was the end of Apple when they went to Intel processors, for example?)
But what we're seeing here is a continuous string of let-downs and utter failures to keep the Mac product line competitive.
The "new Macbook" for example? That product was little more than an experimental platform to see how much money they could get people to pay for an underpowered "netbook" that ran OS X and eliminated all the ports except for a new USB-C one.
The new Macbook Pro is launching with multiple QA issues like faulty batteries and video chipset problems, on TOP of costing more than any portable Apple has ever sold before, if you want it nicely configured. And for that? You again get the removal of basic ports you expect would still exist on any laptop, and the makeshift solution of buying more dongles to carry around. And even if THAT isn't enough for you? You get pretty abysmal graphics performance vs. what competitors are getting with the latest nVidia GPU offerings.
And over the OS X side of things? The updates seem to be primarily concerned with making sure you have plenty of emojis to choose from! And not only that, but there's the increasing sense that Apple doesn't even want you to use software on one anymore that doesn't come from their "App Store". In the name of "security", you have to go through multiple steps just to get a program you downloaded to install now, if it's not from a recognized developer. This isn't going to *really* improve security for anyone I know. People who go to the effort to obtain a program they want to use aren't just going to delete it as soon as OS X tells them the developer isn't one of their "recognized" ones on some internal list. They're going to go through the hoops required to allow it to install anyway! So why waste people's time with this?
Nothing but failure with accessories and peripherals, too. No more Apple branded displays to match your new machine. No more selling wireless routers (despite them just getting a top rating in one product comparison). And millions spent just so Apple can sell you Beats audio for your headphones or earbuds, despite everyone "in the know" realizing Beats had sub-standard sound quality and was way overpriced.
It's getting tough to justify sticking with a Mac these days, and I've been loyal to them since 1999 or so.
I tend to ignore a lot of the complaining that's gone on. I mean, ever since OS X was brand new, I had to endure the ranting from all the folks who hated the change and loved their "tried and true" classic MacOS. And somebody was always convinced Apple was going to fail, with each major change. (Remember the people who thought it was the end of Apple when they went to Intel processors, for example?)
But what we're seeing here is a continuous string of let-downs and utter failures to keep the Mac product line competitive.
The "new Macbook" for example? That product was little more than an experimental platform to see how much money they could get people to pay for an underpowered "netbook" that ran OS X and eliminated all the ports except for a new USB-C one.
The new Macbook Pro is launching with multiple QA issues like faulty batteries and video chipset problems, on TOP of costing more than any portable Apple has ever sold before, if you want it nicely configured. And for that? You again get the removal of basic ports you expect would still exist on any laptop, and the makeshift solution of buying more dongles to carry around. And even if THAT isn't enough for you? You get pretty abysmal graphics performance vs. what competitors are getting with the latest nVidia GPU offerings.
And over the OS X side of things? The updates seem to be primarily concerned with making sure you have plenty of emojis to choose from! And not only that, but there's the increasing sense that Apple doesn't even want you to use software on one anymore that doesn't come from their "App Store". In the name of "security", you have to go through multiple steps just to get a program you downloaded to install now, if it's not from a recognized developer. This isn't going to *really* improve security for anyone I know. People who go to the effort to obtain a program they want to use aren't just going to delete it as soon as OS X tells them the developer isn't one of their "recognized" ones on some internal list. They're going to go through the hoops required to allow it to install anyway! So why waste people's time with this?
Nothing but failure with accessories and peripherals, too. No more Apple branded displays to match your new machine. No more selling wireless routers (despite them just getting a top rating in one product comparison). And millions spent just so Apple can sell you Beats audio for your headphones or earbuds, despite everyone "in the know" realizing Beats had sub-standard sound quality and was way overpriced.
It's getting tough to justify sticking with a Mac these days, and I've been loyal to them since 1999 or so.
This here sums up Apple's behavior perfectly. Abandoning displays, AirPort Base Stations, and Macs that people have relied on for years all seemingly to coincide with the success of iPhone/iPad.