All iPads How far can iPads get?

[Night Spring]

If Apple can find some way of wirelessly connecting to a CPU and GPU then more power to them, but OSX on ARM is not going to cut it as a replacement computer for people who need a computer. And that's the point of a hybrid.

Well, the base station could be Intel, and somehow sync all user settings with iOS on the iPad. But ARM could also work for many people, as long as new apps are written to run on it that do the tasks currently done on Intel systems. I know the recent "upgrade" of iWork is very unpopular because so many features went missing, but going forward, iWork on iOS is supposed to have feature parity with iWork on OS X. From there, it's not that big of a step to have a version of OS X compiled for ARM, and have an iWork and iLife suite that runs on that, and is compatible with iWork / iLife for iOS. And for many people, that's all they need a computer to do.

 

[stu.h]

iOS and OSX become one

 

[darngooddesign]

Well, the base station could be Intel, and somehow sync all user settings with iOS on the iPad. But ARM could also work for many people, as long as new apps are written to run on it that do the tasks currently done on Intel systems. I know the recent "upgrade" of iWork is very unpopular because so many features went missing, but going forward, iWork on iOS is supposed to have feature parity with iWork on OS X. From there, it's not that big of a step to have a version of OS X compiled for ARM, and have an iWork and iLife suite that runs on that, and is compatible with iWork / iLife for iOS. And for many people, that's all they need a computer to do.

You are correct that many people just need to run iLife/iWork to be happy, but they already can do that with the iPad and a keyboard case.

But if people want more you'll end up with all the complaints you have about the Surface, compared to the Surface Pro; the inability to switch to desktop mode and run desktop apps because its just an ARM tablet. I'm not buying a hybrid tablet/computer if I can't run computer apps on it and I doubt Adobe, for example, is going to port their suite over to ARM. And without that you'll just end up with a slightly more capable iPad. I think for a hybrid to succeed it has to run OSX in addition to iOS, and for it to succeed as a tablet you need be able to leave all the Intel hardware in a dock and just take the ARM tablet on the go. If Apple can wirelessly connect to an Intel CPU/GPU that would be a perfect solution, but I don't think you can without sacrificing speed when compared to a MacBook Air.

I think the perfect hybrid is an ARM iPad that can dock internally with an iMac and as the screen of a MacBook Air/Pro to make use of the desktop-class guts in each of those devices. As mentioned, when disconnected it would switch to iOS and all your files and settings would by synced across both OSes so you would have all your bookmarks and work files available regardless of what you are doing.

 

[Night Spring]

I'm not buying a hybrid tablet/computer if I can't run computer apps on it and I doubt Adobe, for example, is going to port their suite over to ARM. And without that you'll just end up with a slightly more capable iPad.

Well, put like that, it makes me think that most people don't have an use for a hybrid, they just need iOS (or Android, or other tablet OS) to be a little more capable than they are now. I mean, like Jobs said, there are always going to be people who need trucks, but most people just need cars. I'm sure you need this Adobe suit or whatever it is that you need a "full" computer to run, but I don't, and my mom doesn't, and my aunts and cousins don't, my boss and his wife don't....

 

[Foss]

Had an iPad for 18 months now. To be honest, the only time it gets used is when travelling abroad.

Otherwise, hardly ever. That's because I've got a smartphone and a MBP. And I drive to work too.

The opportunity to use it is limited for me, so personally speaking I can't see too many game-changing innovations that will ACTUALLY make me use it more.

Recognise that's not the same for everyone, though!

For me, my iPad Air is most used in bed, couch, cooking, bath, car (when not driving,) traveling. So pretty often.

 

[RVijay007]

My dream: Picture a macbook air (11" or 13"). Everything works normally, and you are looking at a Mac OS X interface. You want to play some games now, so you take the screen off, because its an iPad Air. The iPad switches OS's in a few seconds and presents you with the iOS home screen. Voila. The best of both worlds.

So basically the Mac version of the Lenovo Helix laptop / tablet hybrid.

 

[chrise2]

iOS 8 will come out and will run like junk on the iPad Air. But then the iPad Helium will come out with the A8 processor. Twice as fast and weigh half as much. People won't know how they ever lived with their iPad Air boat anchors. Also, they'll come out with a new connector to really tick everyone off.

I have Apple everything and am just making fun of myself.