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Incremental Upgrade? Are you insane?
- Thread starter sportsfrk214
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why do they have to have a giant media event every time they announce one thing?? What happened to them just updating their website with the new item?
So Tim and Steve just get up on stage and say here u go? lol come on man. and oh yeah it's not available today btw....
I think it is a fantastic upgrade, especially the screen resolution. For me the 4G LTE is also huge, but that has existed on a number of devices. That said, while I disagree with those who call it an incremental upgrade, the real obnoxious ones are derogatory, calling it words like "underwhelming". I think they fall into one of the categories:
1) Pro-android or anti-Apple. Will always be derogatory.
2) Can't afford to upgrade, so bad-mouthing it is the way they convince themselves they're not missing anything.
3) If a writer, needing to come across as super sophisticated by being derogatory. Just like an insecure movie critic. Better for the ego to say a movie is bad, then relent admitting being overly harsh, rather than saying the movie is good only to see others say its crap.
1) Pro-android or anti-Apple. Will always be derogatory.
2) Can't afford to upgrade, so bad-mouthing it is the way they convince themselves they're not missing anything.
3) If a writer, needing to come across as super sophisticated by being derogatory. Just like an insecure movie critic. Better for the ego to say a movie is bad, then relent admitting being overly harsh, rather than saying the movie is good only to see others say its crap.
Umm "underwhelming" isn't exactly derogatory. Maybe it was actually underwhelming to them. Think about it, no upgrade to the front camera, no siri, and no design change. Maybe they want one or all of those to be full filled.
I'd argue that the Retina Display is more than just "enhancing" a feature set, but we can agree to disagree on that point. Fact is you're the first person I've seen who thinks this is incremental, and who actually makes a rather good counter argument. Better than the crowd of people who only seem to equate "major" with "new form factor."
Exactly, and that's what so unfortunate. I suppose one of the major points I'm trying to make is that a new design does not necessarily make it a major upgrade, just like the lack of a new design does not necessarily make it a minor upgrade.
I look at the iPad and I see very few changes they can make to the form factor. I mean let's think about it. Not much you can do with the front of the device, as it's mostly screen. I suppose they can make the bezel smaller, and perhaps do away with a physical home button, but these are minor and wouldn't qualify as a major upgrade. On the back, again not much you can do except perhaps use a new material such as Liquid Metal (this would be the single biggest design change they can make IMO). On the whole, I don't see how anything other than a flat back with tapered edges works, and therefore while the buttons can be placed rather awkwardly its a small design compromise in order to make the product easier to hold and feel better in your hands. They could also move the speaker but again, that hardly qualifies as major.
I just don't see how they can radically change it. I understand people love change, but I see the iPad more closely mimicking a Macbook when it comes to the frequency of design change, rather than the iPhone. And lest we forget, I think that since the screen is a physical entity that covers about 45% of the device, I think upgrading it to Retina qualifies as a design change.
Agreed, i can't think of a possible bigger upgrade to the iPad, than the incredible new display this thing has. It seems like just because its been well known for a while now that the 'retina' display would be making its way to this latest gen iPad, people just brush it aside like its nothing, spoilt or what. The new display is a huge upgrade, and everything you do on your iPad instantly becomes more pleasurable because of it.
I agree. Depends on the context. If someone were pointing out specific features important to them that were not included or upgraded, then it's not necessarily derogatory.
I, too, was very close to buying an Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab 10"). Unfortunately, when I picked it up and started playing around with it, it just took too much brain power to figure out where things are.
When I bought the first gen iPod touch, I remember not having to think to figure out the UI. I just touched stuff on the screen that made sense.
Maybe I am just getting old and dumber as each year passes by. I used to feel that people who couldn't figure tech stuff out were just plain stupid.
But isn't it so much more enjoyable to pick something up then immediately know how to use it? This is something that Apple excels with. If you have to think for more than 30 seconds when you look at a UI, then the UI is poorly designed.
On another note, most of the Android tablets will have better specs on paper. But perhaps it's just me, but I've yet to see an Android device get the rubber band scrolling down pat compared to an iOS device.
It's a very minor minor thing, but it just gets on my nerves to see a dual core device lag when scrolling icons around.
If the iPad 3 had a new physical design, but with the same guts as iPad 2 inside, people would call it a significant upgrade. The general public doesn't understand a bit of hardware. Resolution and pixel count means nothing to them until you put the two screens together.
But on the other hand, Apple's products are a lot more than gadgets for geeks. Your new jacket maybe only just as warm as your old one, but it looks nicer. Significant upgrade, no? yes?
A huge advantage of reusing the same industrial design is that a lot of parts can be reused, and relaxes the output constraint significantly. If the iPad 3 used a completely new design, I bet half of the people here who are getting the iPad 3 on the first day wouldn't be able to do so. And hey, you can continue to use your iPad 2 accessories too. (it's slightly thicker, not sure if those very slim and tight fit cases would still fit or not).
But on the other hand, Apple's products are a lot more than gadgets for geeks. Your new jacket maybe only just as warm as your old one, but it looks nicer. Significant upgrade, no? yes?
A huge advantage of reusing the same industrial design is that a lot of parts can be reused, and relaxes the output constraint significantly. If the iPad 3 used a completely new design, I bet half of the people here who are getting the iPad 3 on the first day wouldn't be able to do so. And hey, you can continue to use your iPad 2 accessories too. (it's slightly thicker, not sure if those very slim and tight fit cases would still fit or not).
+1
Their definition of "new" is flawed as the iPad 3 is not geared for the iPad 2 customer; it's for the iPad 1 customer.
Like tens of millions of other owners, I did not see the benefit in upgrading from iPad 1 to iPad 2. So, for me (us) yesterday's announcement is very big news. For the first time, we get:
Retina Display
Cameras
4G Network Speeds
Quad Processor Speeds
iMovie
Facetime
Skype
Smart Cover
Tapered Design
Like the iPhone, the iPad is on the every-other-year cycle. Those of us who bought iPad 1's in 2010 weren't ditching them a year later for iPad 2. Our wait has been rewarded in the same way that I'm not jealous of my wife's iPhone 4GS because my iPhone 4 will soon become an iPhone 5. I'm on the front-end of the every-other-year Apple cycle, she's on the back-end. This is a carryover from the mobile phone market and their new-every-two cellphone contracts.
Apple didn't create the iPad 3 as an upgrade to the iPad 2. They created iPad 3 to get iPad 1 owners to upgrade. Great job on that front.
BJ
eh
The major thing that classifies it as an incremental upgrade in peoples mind is that the look and feel stays the same. Which I kind of wish they would change.
The major thing that classifies it as an incremental upgrade in peoples mind is that the look and feel stays the same. Which I kind of wish they would change.
Actually, I don't really think something like the retina display is "incremental" at all and I'm pretty excited based solely on pictures so I honestly can't wait to get ours on the 16th. But despite how "revolutionary" (groan) the screen is, there's nothing we'll be able to do with the new iPad that the iPad 2 owners can't.
That why I feel that, regardless of how people feel about tablet cameras, the original iPad to iPad 2 may be considered more of a "major upgrade" because iPad 2 owners can shoot video, take photos, scan barcodes and FaceTime while original iPad owners will never be able to on that device.
Again, just my opinion.
Actually, I don't really think something like the retina display is "incremental" at all and I'm pretty excited based solely on pictures so I honestly can't wait to get ours on the 16th. But despite how "revolutionary" (groan) the screen is, there's nothing we'll be able to do with the new iPad that the iPad 2 owners can't.
That why I feel that, regardless of how people feel about tablet cameras, the original iPad to iPad 2 may be considered more of a "major upgrade" because iPad 2 owners can shoot video, take photos, scan barcodes and FaceTime while original iPad owners will never be able to on that device.
Again, just my opinion.
Fair enough
I'd venture a guess that you neither believe its minor or major, I think you'd be somewhere in the middle The question is, would you buy a new $100,000.00 car simply because it has a new engine, while you bought a $100,000.00 car last year which still drives just as great as a year again?
I can easily see why people think this is an incremental upgrade: for some people there's only one big feature (the retina display), and one big feature isn't enough to call it a major upgrade.
- Voice Dictation
For a lot of people not available in their native language, so one functionality falls away.
- A5X chip
Solely exists to keep up with the retina display. It doesn't offer any additional CPU performance.
- LTE
Only works in America in those areas where there is coverage - doesn't even work in Europe because Apple hasn't added the support.
- No new iOS functionality
They have not added any new functionality like they did with iOS 3.2 and iOS 4.2.
- Rear facing camera
There are also a lot of people who don't want to use their tablet as a camera.
So if you consider all this, than are also a lot of persons who: can't use LTE, can't use Voice Dictation, don't see additional performance with the A5X chip and won't use a tablet as their main camera.
If that's the case, than the iPad 3 indeed appears to be a small upgrade.
I see the upgrade from the iPad 2 to the iPad 3 as a solid, decent upgrade but nothing spectacular (except for the retina display).
Well is it that the iPad name was really "great", or that the product is so great that it overshadowed a bad name?
Just because I don't use the term "Major Upgrade" doesn't mean I don't think its a big deal.Fair enough
I place The new iPad in the same category as The new MacBook Air. While previous generations were impressive and amazing products, they all suffered from specific bottlenecks that prevented them from being "perfect". But with the current generation then both the Air and the iPad have completely eliminated all bottlenecks and these are probably the machines that Apple dreamed of releasing from their introduction several years ago.
The Air has all the necessary ports, storage capacity options and power to make it comparable with mid/high end computers. And The new iPad has the screen, camera, GPU and connectivity options necessary to truly make the notion of "Post PC" computing a reality. BUT.. in both cases then they don't necessarily do something new. They only do it "better". And "better" is a subjective term whose value is judged by individual users.
What's wrong with an incremental upgrade anyways - there's only much "new" you can throw at a device in a year's time given what technology is ready for prime time and what isn't.
The screen is obviously going to make Android tablet makers rush to match the res or die trying.
The rest of the changes are "about time" or "finally" type crap but that's going to be normal every year.
The screen is obviously going to make Android tablet makers rush to match the res or die trying.
The rest of the changes are "about time" or "finally" type crap but that's going to be normal every year.
This. While the screen is an amazing technical feat and will look absolutely stunning, it essentially was an expected evolution of the device. I think it is dumb to call it iPad 2S, but I don't think it is a revolutionary upgrade. The sharper screen won't fundamentally change the way a person uses the device.
Something that changes the way you use the device, like a touchscreen with tactile feedback would be a "major" upgrade. I think another issue is that iOS updates usually come around the same time as iPhone upgrades. So iPad comes out with new hardware but no new software, whereas iPhone comes out with the new OS most of the time. So I feel people downplay iPad updates because of that as well.
I feel this update is equivalent to the 3GS -> 4 upgrade. Awesome screen improvement, better camera, improved performance, and the LTE upgrade is equivalent to the form factor change.
And just to note, I have owned every iPad from day one so far and am upgrading to iPad 3 on day one as well. While I am totally looking forward to the beautiful retina display, I am more looking forward to software enhancements coming in iOS 6.
Totally agree with the OP. Although I have to say that the car/engine analogy isn't the most suitable here. Sadly we have become a society obsessed with outside appearances and aesthetics. These days a car company can change everything under the hood and interior, but because the outside shell is the same, it's therefore pigeon-holed as a minor upgrade. The minute the outside shell changes, it's a completely new design. Go figure.