Regarding this 'who is the iPad Pro for' question...

[Robnsn2015]

How would cellular tech work in a watch? I remember hearing about the Samsung watches that do this and they are basically their own cell phone with their own line of service. Nobody wants to add a line just for their watch.

When the cellular technology meets Apple's approval, it will work just like it does in the iPad. You could have the option of an Apple Watch with a data plan (just like the cellular iPads) and then pay for the data plan. Also, the optional cellular Apple Watch could have GPS like the cellular iPads.

That way, you could be able to use your Apple Watch to connect directly to Spotify, Apple Music, etc. without an iPhone.

 

[JD2015]

Steve Jobs was an artist. When people try to imitate his style when making a presentation, it comes across as -- a Steve imitation. It just falls flat.

Cook isn't Steve, but he's made Apple the most valuable company on the planet. Ever. He must be doing something right.

Tim Cook has worked tirelessly on modern slavery, equal opportunities, diversity, protecting user privacy, better working conditions and longevity. For that he is a true market leader for the type and size of organisation and is to be commended on this. Apple is still doing it right even though everyone predicted Apple to nosedive without Jobs. People's issues are around quality of products/software and its range, which I think is bit muddled and confusing.

 

[jamface]

I would really like to believe that, but I don't think I can agree with that. Critics would be outspoken no matter what it was called, they just may have been forced to focus on criticizing the actual device instead of the moniker. I think people are all about the hate on the iPad Pro no matter what.

Please, can we not call them 'critics' or 'bloggers' A more accurate term, if we were being honest and not trying to mislead consumers would be 'Troll Pro' and 'Troll HotAir'.

 

[Robnsn2015]

Back to the original topic, I've actually been using an iPad Pro for my profession, to make money at my actual job. I started a new job a couple of days ago and haven't been issued a computer yet. However, there are several PDF files that I need to read and study for work. PDF Expert and Apple Pencil have been very helpful for annotating and highlighting these documents. I also appreciate how the IPP's screen is roughly the size and shape as a sheet of paper. Combined, I have been saved from needing to print 100+ sheets of paper.

 

[maflynn]

Tim Cook has worked tirelessly on modern slavery, equal opportunities, diversity, protecting user privacy, better working conditions and longevity.

I'd rather have someone who was more focused on innovating personally. Apple was THE place to work, everyone wanted to be part of the innovation when Jobs was running the place. He pushed them hard to be sure, but they were doing things no one else did. Now we have a touchy feely person who wants to make sure work is fun, yet where is the innovation.

 

[Night Spring]

Now we have a touchy feely person who wants to make sure work is fun, yet where is the innovation.

Not that I don't miss Jobs, but I think Apple is still innovative. Maybe not quite as much as when Jobs was there, and maybe not in quite the same way as when he was there, but I think talking like all innovation just stopped with Jobs death is giving him too much credit.

 

[maflynn]

To some degree, I agree with you. My point was to draw a comparison of Job's priority vs. Cooks. I think Cook needs more focus on where Apple is.

 

[Robnsn2015]

1. What is "innovation?" There is no quantitative definition. In my opinion (since there is no quantitative definition), "innovation" is a term used by VCs, analysts, and Wall Street to justify billion-dollar valuations for companies that aren't really worth those valuations. See Twitter, Pandora, or any pre-IPO "unicorn" as examples.

2. Apple under Steve Jobs never did anything first, and that's okay.

3. I was in the audience when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. It was magical. Steve Jobs was a master showman. If he wasn't in technology, Steve Jobs would have been a very effective leader of a cult.

4. Tim Cook is not the presenter or communicator Stefe Jobs was. But guess what? The primary job of a Fortune 500 CEO is to run the company, not to make keynotes or run around the media shilling products. How often do you see the CEO of Nordstroms or Proctor and Gamble doing speeches?

5. Sadly, Steve is dead. Let's move on.

 

[Night Spring]

To some degree, I agree with you. My point was to draw a comparison of Job's priority vs. Cooks. I think Cook needs more focus on where Apple is.

I think Cook is trying, but he's not the visionary that Steve Jobs was. On the one hand, we all miss Jobs, and it's natural to wonder how things might be if he were still around. On the other hand, we need to accept that Apple is a different company without him. It's still a company with a distinctive philosophy that prioritizes different things than companies like Google and Microsoft. Just imagine if everyone, including Apple was just making hybrid devices -- we wouldn't be having this debate at all.

 

[bensisko]

2. Apple under Steve Jobs never did anything first, and that's okay.

This, this, this... SO MUCH THIS! The point of 'innovation' at Apple under Steve Jobs wasn't creating Technology nobody has ever seen before (occasionally they did), the innovation was making it easy to use and bring it to the masses, which, more often than not, was a matter of design. Apple was not the first to make a portable mp3 player, but they were the first to make one that the 'average user' can use. Apple didn't invent the tablet (of course, neither did Microsoft), but they did create the consumer tablet market (by creating a tablet that the masses would want to buy).

4. Tim Cook is not the presenter or communicator Stefe Jobs was. But guess what? The primary job of a Fortune 500 CEO is to run the company, not to make keynotes or run around the media shilling products. How often do you see the CEO of Nordstroms or Proctor and Gamble doing speeches?

I'll never forget the Starbucks prank at the iPhone launch. You might be right, but it may be better if CEOs were better presenters and could be more Steve. I think Tim is actually pretty good, it's just hard to live up to Steve. He was unique.

 

[rowspaxe]

I think Cook is trying, but he's not the visionary that Steve Jobs was. .

Anyone who suggests the apple watch will change anyone's life needs to try a lot harder.

 

[Night Spring]

Anyone who suggests the apple watch will change anyone's life needs to try a lot harder.

Actually, the Apple Watch HAS changed my life, in that I'm much more conscious of my daily activities, and have been doing extra activity each day to meet my activity goals. Sure, maybe another fitness tracker could do the same thing. But Apple Watch is the first fitness tracker I actually felt like using, just as the iPod was the first MP3 player I loved. I'd tried other MP3 players before, but the iPod was the first one to earn my brand loyalty, as in I kept buying more Apple iPods as they came out. My Mom was looking for a fitness tracker too, but never found one she quite liked until the Apple Watch came out. Then she tried one on and never took it off, except to recharge at night.

So Tim Cook and co aren't as adept and articulate as Jobs in doing product presentations. Apple is still turning out pretty solid products, imo.

 

[Robnsn2015]

Anyone who suggests the apple watch will change anyone's life needs to try a lot harder.

It's changing mine. I'm a lot more aware of the calories I burn. Plus, it has become my secretary with reminders and calendar alerts.

 

[Osty]

If he wasn't in technology, Steve Jobs would have been a very effective leader of a cult.

Plenty of Mac addicts on here and out in the wild exhibit cult-like behaviour. I'm getting tired of the space cadet glow and the growing mythologising of Jobs.

As for the iPad Pro. I had a chance to play with one over the weekend in my local Apple store along with the smart keyboard. It's a nice device, sure and each of us will either find a use for it or we won't. Having played with it, I felt it was a mixed bag myself. It's the only size where split screen makes sense; I liked the weight and balance and the speakers were nice.

I *could* I suppose use it as a professional writer but I personally didn't like the keyboard (smart or onscreen) and I prefer a mouse; when I want to exercise my deltoids, I prefer to do that with pushups rather than constantly lifting my hands from the keyboard to the screen. Moreover, while I like iOS, it still feels like a compromise to me. Yes, some of my work is possible on an iPad just as some of it is possible on a Raspberry Pi.

I don't see an iPad Pro being my primary device because of the current limitations of the platform. For me, I'd need a fully convergent device, more akin to Canonical and Microsoft's vision; i.e. a device that can operate in both domains: mobile and desktop with the ability to connect/dock peripherals.

FWIW, my four-year-old son thought it was fabulous and was very annoyed when I didn't buy it.

 

[Robnsn2015]

I dunno, a lot of Mac addicts on here and out in the wild exhibit cult-like behaviour!

Yup, that's by design. Mr. Jobs actually spent time around an actual religious cult leader during his youthful days. Check out the Isaacson book

 

[Osty]

Yup, that's by design. Mr. Jobs actually spent time around an actual religious cult leader during his youthful days. Check out the Isaacson book

It's scary really, but then I guess there's always an element of the population that are susceptible to that kind of herd mentality and fanaticism. Apple's greatest strength isn't its products or services, it is their ability to make people believe in them enough to buy (and keep buying) overpriced status items that they want rather than need.

If we're all brutally honest for a minute, there is enough computing power in a Core2Duo-era computer running Linux, Snow Leopard or Windows 7 to do 90% of what most of us need a computer to do. Maybe the declining growth/sales of new and shiny is a symptom of people waking up to the fact they don't need to upgrade every year or even every five years.

 

[Robnsn2015]

It's scary really, but then I guess there's always an element of the population that are susceptible to that kind of herd mentality and fanaticism. Apple's greatest strength isn't its products or services, it is their ability to make people believe in them enough to buy (and keep buying) overpriced status items that they want rather than need.

If we're all brutally honest for a minute, there is enough computing power in a Core2Duo-era computer running Linux, Snow Leopard or Windows 7 to do 90% of what most of us need a computer to do. Maybe the declining growth/sales of new and shiny is a symptom of people waking up to the fact they don't need to upgrade every year or even every five years.

You have a point. However, most people are not techies. They just want their stuff to work decently. Linux scares many non-techies (assuming they've even heard of it). Plus, desktop Linux doesn't have the apps that "regular" folks have heard of. There are probably more Windows 7 machines out there than Macs, so that probably supports your point. However, Windows 7 requires people to be diligent about software updates, including updates to their anti-virus software. I get at least one friend a year whose Windows machine suddenly "stops working," mainly because of malware.

The simple fact is, every brand benefits from loyal customers. That's part of what keeps a brand from becoming a commodity product. BMW has fans despite the fact that Lexus, Infiniti, and others have emulated the 3 Series formula. Burberry has fans, despite the fact that you can get a decent trench coat on Amazon.com for a fraction the cost. That's just part of life. Otherwise, there would be less incentive to make new products, I guess.

Now, regarding people buying fewer computers, that's probably because the TRUE personal computer for many people is a smartphone. We have the cult of Apple to thank for that.

Oh, and one more thing: industrial design. I'm in the IT field in the Bay Area and I was in the DC area before that. One thing I've noticed on both sides of the USA is that techies seem to under-appreciate aesthetics. However, Apple understands the value of aesthetics implicitly. One of Steve Jobs' greatest contributions to Apple was keeping Jonathan Ive and prioritizing design. People might complain about Jonny, but he has won every industrial design award there is. When people decades from now study industrial design, Jonny Ive will be in the history books along with Dieter Rams (who basically crowned Apple the successor to Braun when it comes to design), Charles & Ray Eames, and others. That's another reason why some people are so crazy about Apple, just as some people are crazy about Audi, Porsche, Bang & Olufsen and other brands.