They did. It's called iOS 9Whoopty doo! Not interested in a "larger ipad" until apple can figure out how to get the software optimized for the 10 inch version which has been on the market for 5 long years...
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iOS 9 iPad Keyboard Scales to Larger Size, Hinting Towards 'iPad Pro'
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iOS in general needs better support for physical keyboards. Yes, they work, but the OS is not optimized for full keyboard navigation like OS X is.
I don't remember a QWERTY keyboard with a dedicated Emoji key. Just screams Pro, doesn't it?
I had been on a rant for a while saying that Apple needed to produce an iPad pro that would allow for multiple windows, bigger work space, and a physical keyboard. So far this year, it looks like Apple has taken steps that are not what I had hoped for, but could be telling of where they are going. The new MacBook gave us something that is essentially the iPad Pro minus the touchscreen. Here you have a full blown OS running on a super slim form factor. if the keyboard were detachable and the screen were touchable, then you would have a Surface comparable device. On the other side, Apple released the new iOS 9 which gives us two screens (not multiple) on a touchable display, but the screen size is still small for all day work and it still lacks a physical keyboard (you can argue about the app differences between iOS and OSX, but I will leave that for another time).
To me an iPad Pro would probably have similar dimensions as the MacBook (becasue there is not a lot of other choices really). So, if they release it, they would seem to compete against themselves. Actually, I believe this to be interesting. As a long term investment, this will allow Apple to see what the customer wants. Do they want an iPad or a laptop. If the form factors are essentially the same (and assuming with either Apple or 3rd Party keyboards they will be so), and the apps are fairly comparable (Microsoft Office or iWorks are fairly consistent across platforms for example), then it comes down to does the customer want detachable keyboards and touchable screens.
Since I have the iPad Air2, I will sit this year out to see where Apple goes, but my hope is that the direction becomes clear in the next two years. I have a iMac, iPad, iPhone and Watch. I am hoping that my next purchase will replace both the iMac and iPad. Will it be the MacBook or the iPad Pro -- this is the question.
This makes sense. I can see them coming out with a USB Type-C to Lightning adapter as they did for the 30-pin connector.
It has not even been three years since the introduction of the Lightning connector. A lot of accessory developers will be in a rush to support this new standard.
It has not even been three years since the introduction of the Lightning connector. A lot of accessory developers will be in a rush to support this new standard.
And before they became Spinal Tap, the band called itself the New Originals. Apple desperately needs a guy willing to swing the cricket bat...
You can watch antivirus software and Windows updates and frequent reboots run on your thick, clunky, unwieldy, heavy tablet that's worse at a laptop at literally everything except for drawing on the screen. As a bonus you get a touch interface with very few apps that actually use it so you get to run desktop apps with a type cover with terrible keys and a barely usable trackpad. Try not to sneeze so it won't go flying off your lap as it leans on its kickstand. If you're lucky, the Surface won't overheat. And try not to run the battery down on your phone for tethering because the silly SP3 lacks a built in cellular option- of course you could plug a cell modem into USB but going along with the spirit of your nightmare iOS scenario, I'll assume you'd drop the heavy clunky Surface and snap the dongle off of at the port...
Give us a break
you both have fair points - which is why we're not quite there yet with either option. though within an admittedly (currently) 'niche' category, the surface pro is without a challenger. comparing the ipad now to the surface pro isn't fair. with 4gb ram, more powerful programs and a file system, the original poster's complaints would all but vanish, and if MS started taking the surface pro a bit more seriously (rather than focus so heavily on being a macbook air thunder-stealer), they'll have something more popular on their hands.
the mostly ignored cintiq companion suffers from a lack of something something too. i don't know why MS and wacom haven't hit a real home run yet with the creative pros i know. these two companies have had a great head start. apple has a pretty good track record when entering a category 'late/too late/impossibly late' - so i'm actually not adverse to holding my breath for a few more months/cycles. i think if anything, the iPad pro will convince the other guys to up their game.
and yes, i'm really hoping it's osx, though increasingly it feels like that's not gonna be the case. to start at least.
Interestingly enough, I have less reboots on windows caused by updates than on OSX.You can watch antivirus software and Windows updates and frequent reboots run on your thick, clunky, unwieldy, heavy tablet that's worse at a laptop at literally everything except for drawing on the screen. As a bonus you get a touch interface with very few apps that actually use it so you get to run desktop apps with a type cover with terrible keys and a barely usable trackpad. Try not to sneeze so it won't go flying off your lap as it leans on its kickstand. If you're lucky, the Surface won't overheat. And try not to run the battery down on your phone for tethering because the silly SP3 lacks a built in cellular option- of course you could plug a cell modem into USB but going along with the spirit of your nightmare iOS scenario, I'll assume you'd drop the heavy clunky Surface and snap the dongle off of at the port...
Give us a break
then, a Surface Pro should be compared to a Macbook air, not an iPad.
Well, it doesn't. But that's another story...
An improved keyboard is the no.1 reason I'd be interested in a bigger iPad but this isn't especially exciting. Caps lock? What a waste of space.
I use 1Writer now for much my iPad text entry, and the customisable top row is fantastic, especially for those writers who need to use punctuation over smileys, and I can't bear to use any iOS keyboard which doesn't have left/right cursor keys. Writing text on an iPad is pretty much okay, but editing it is dire so I'm looking forward to the new trackpad feature in iOS9.
- Split view multitasking
- Picture in picture video
- New keyboard with shortcut bar
- Dedicated File system app (iCloud Drive)
I'd say it's a good thing you have a Surface Pro. The thought of you drawing "Blobby Streaks" is unbearable.
You can watch antivirus software and Windows updates and frequent reboots run on your thick, clunky, unwieldy, heavy tablet that's worse at a laptop at literally everything except for drawing on the screen. As a bonus you get a touch interface with very few apps that actually use it so you get to run desktop apps with a type cover with terrible keys and a barely usable trackpad. Try not to sneeze so it won't go flying off your lap as it leans on its kickstand. If you're lucky, the Surface won't overheat. And try not to run the battery down on your phone for tethering because the silly SP3 lacks a built in cellular option- of course you could plug a cell modem into USB but going along with the spirit of your nightmare iOS scenario, I'll assume you'd drop the heavy clunky Surface and snap the dongle off of at the port...
Give us a break
I disagree completely. I've owned the iPad since the iPad 2 in about 2011. And I have the iPad Air right now. The keyboard sucks, compared to a real physical keyboard.
It's hard not to make mistakes, it is hard to notice when you make a mistake because there is no tactile feedback. On a real keyboard I can type 104 WPM. On the iPad, maybe 40-50 without mistakes. It just plain sucks, compared to a real keyboard.
Without a physical keyboard the iPad is a consumption device. I would never want to code or write a novel on it that's for sure.
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If they do release three iPad sizes this year, my major hope is feature parity for each.
They're leaving people who like their electronics small in the dust. The iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization that the regular iPhone 6 doesn't, and the latest iPad Mini update last year was a complete joke.
They're leaving people who like their electronics small in the dust. The iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization that the regular iPhone 6 doesn't, and the latest iPad Mini update last year was a complete joke.
Looks like they're really going to optimise the software for a larger display.
If iOS 9 is anything to go by, Apple knows iPad users want more than a large iPhone experience.
I'm sure iPad Pro will appeal to a lot of people. To be perfectly honest, screen size isn't the limiting factor for my use case now. For an iPad to become a 'Pro' and to really rival a MacBook I'd want it to run a version of Adobe Creative Cloud and FCP X. I know it couldn't completely replace a Mac for these tasks, but to be able to do some work on the go would be handy.
If iOS 9 is anything to go by, Apple knows iPad users want more than a large iPhone experience.
I'm sure iPad Pro will appeal to a lot of people. To be perfectly honest, screen size isn't the limiting factor for my use case now. For an iPad to become a 'Pro' and to really rival a MacBook I'd want it to run a version of Adobe Creative Cloud and FCP X. I know it couldn't completely replace a Mac for these tasks, but to be able to do some work on the go would be handy.
Split screen
Notification Center in landscape uses full screen
Better physical keyboard support including cmd-tab and hotkey indicator
Better soft keyboard with soft "trackpad"
Various apps make better use of big screen
Part of that is physics. Bigger devices have more room for opto-mechanical components and thermal solutions.
You are not typing 190 WPM on a physical keyboard. I think the fastest typist in the world only averages around 150-170 WPM and maybe can reach just over 200 WPM. I have no doubt you can type faster on a physical keyboard but don't exaggerate this much, you just look silly.