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Seven Years Ago Today: Steve Jobs Introduces the iPad
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The iPad is an amazing product when you take a moment to think about it. Retina display, 10 hours of battery life, noiseless, fanless, heatless, perfect touch feeling and responsiveness.
the problem with it is it is very limited software wise, it basically does the same thing it did 7 years ago... web browsing, playing media, and playing app games.
In their defenses people were expecting an OS X in tablet form. Instead they got something that literally is an ipod touch just bigger. No one believed how the 10hrs battery and the bigger screen can mean so much more.
the problem with it is it is very limited software wise, it basically does the same thing it did 7 years ago... web browsing, playing media, and playing app games.
In their defenses people were expecting an OS X in tablet form. Instead they got something that literally is an ipod touch just bigger. No one believed how the 10hrs battery and the bigger screen can mean so much more.
iPad 1 was definitely worth it. It led the industry and was enjoyable long enough, until everyone jumped on the same train about destroying the WWW.
It's unfortunate that iPad is only one of the few Apple products I still find buying for myself and my family again and again. I hate Apple for not updating the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro and/or not offering enough options/alternatives than the boring iMac and MacBook. And I will hate them even more if they ditch the home button and minijack from all iOS devices.
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The clueless PC-centric media expected Apple to come up with a lame netbook. Back then everybody was brainwashed to buy ugly/unusable Windows/Linux netbooks, they even "forced" students to buy them in several countries. These machines were just terrible. Apple decided to redefine home/couch/bed media/web content consumption instead. And as I had predicted 7 years ago, they made the right decision.
It's unfortunate that iPad is only one of the few Apple products I still find buying for myself and my family again and again. I hate Apple for not updating the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro and/or not offering enough options/alternatives than the boring iMac and MacBook. And I will hate them even more if they ditch the home button and minijack from all iOS devices.
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The clueless PC-centric media expected Apple to come up with a lame netbook. Back then everybody was brainwashed to buy ugly/unusable Windows/Linux netbooks, they even "forced" students to buy them in several countries. These machines were just terrible. Apple decided to redefine home/couch/bed media/web content consumption instead. And as I had predicted 7 years ago, they made the right decision.
Feel bad for Steve. The iPad of today is not what he ambitioned back then... Steve wanted the iPad to be a computer replacement, instead it became a giant iPod toy to play silly mobile games and watch youtube videos
Don't forget that Steve also chose for it to run iOS and not a modified version of OSX. He did that because of the familiarity aspect for consumers. He didn't want a computer replacement, he wanted to bridge the gap of devices between phone and computer. He did that wonderfully. And he has created a computer replacement for many, intended or not. You can find millions of people who use an iPad instead of a PC. I don't fall in the category myself, but I know many that do.
We love our iPads.
I was very skeptical at first (just a big iPod touch) and my first purchase was an original iPad for my mom. She was was a big reader and generally liked her Kindle, but was starting to get interested in doing other things (Facebook was new, emailing, texting) and I knew that using a Mac or PC wouldn't be a good solution for her. So I bought an iPad and kept it for a couple of weeks to get used to it before giving it to her. After a few days I realized I didn't want to give it up. So I ended up buying myself one too! Since then I've bought about a dozen different iPads and have cycled them through the rest of the family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Niece, Nephew) over the years.
I was very skeptical at first (just a big iPod touch) and my first purchase was an original iPad for my mom. She was was a big reader and generally liked her Kindle, but was starting to get interested in doing other things (Facebook was new, emailing, texting) and I knew that using a Mac or PC wouldn't be a good solution for her. So I bought an iPad and kept it for a couple of weeks to get used to it before giving it to her. After a few days I realized I didn't want to give it up. So I ended up buying myself one too! Since then I've bought about a dozen different iPads and have cycled them through the rest of the family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Niece, Nephew) over the years.
I love our 12.9 ipad pro, the whole family uses it. Pictures look stunning taken from a 6s, they just pop.
With both the 2012 iMac and the AirPods, we saw a radical redesign of the internal hardware, the whole idea of what the product could be was rebuilt from the ground up. Just look at the product teardowns of a 2011 vs 2012 iMac, they look like they were made at 5 years apart. And think about what they are packing into the AirPods. What was once "just a speaker" is now a speaker, microphone, accelerometer, proximity sensor, battery, wireless receiver/transmitter, and they also sound better, not to mention the pairing process is now actually enjoyable.
If one can't appreciate that, maybe expectations are too high. People seem to get caught up in false rumours of translucent screens and rollup iPhones, then get disappointed when Apple "only reengineers the entire product". These are exciting times, can't wait to see what's comes next from all companies.
I really believed that the iPad would be the ideal computer for those who aren't very tech-savvy. But as it turns out, it's sometimes more annoying and difficult to use due to the whole constant app updates, interface changes, surprise feature removals that you can't undo, and strange iCloud-related behaviors that have no solution whatsoever.
When my parents had crappy old netbooks, at least I could solve all of their problems one way or the other. Now when the iPad says it can't sign into iCloud because the password is incorrect, even though it is 100% correct, there's nothing I can do. When it says it has no space remaining even though there is nothing left to delete, there is nothing I can do. When they ask if I could get them an app that does this or that, and such an app does not exist, that's the end of the story. When they ask why they can't easily copy the URL of a YouTube video by going to the top URL bar like on every single web page, I have to explain that for some reason, YouTube is special, it's not a webpage like on a computer. Although there is a webpage. But this isn't the webpage. How do you know? Uh... It's just... I can tell. But they can't always tell if this is an app or a webpage. Why is there no back button? Where is the URL bar? How do I go "back" to where I was just a minute ago? Well it depends. Did you get yanked out of your app and into another one? Which app are you even in right now? They don't know. How could they?
When they ask why they can't put app A and app B side by side, then I have no clue why. Why picture in picture works with some apps and not others. I don't know. There is no solution. Wait, just wait, maybe in a year, two years, or in 10 years, the feature you want might become available. Maybe it won't be compatible with your current iPad though, because by then, it will be considered obsolete.
Every app has its own special way of working that tends to change every 2 months after an update. Hidden gestures, secret icons that you're just "intuitively supposed to know" don't work on people who have painstakingly learnt a step-by-step way to do something. "Intuitive" is not as intuitive as Apple wants it to be. There is no system, no rules that you can learn or teach, nothing to go by. If you know how to do it, good for you. If you don't, then there's not much you can do.
Personally I find the iPad great for 5-10 minutes of browsing unimportant stuff online. But when it comes to doing anything remotely serious, I want to get back to my real computer, where I can make folders, organize my stuff, store files, etc. Taking notes while browsing? Copying and pasting a bunch of stuff? Going back and forth between two apps? Do that for more than a few minutes on an iPad and you'll hate it.
I'll take an ever-so-slightly bulkier real computer over the locked-down, "this is how you must do things because we think that's intuitive, period" mentality any day, for even the simplest of tasks. As for non-tech savvy people, I would 100% recommend using a real computer rather than trusting a device that will one day, without warning, change how you've gotten used to things for no reason. Yes, it will have problems, but at least it can always be fixed. With an iPad, if it has problems, too bad. Maybe one day an update will fix it. Maybe not.
When my parents had crappy old netbooks, at least I could solve all of their problems one way or the other. Now when the iPad says it can't sign into iCloud because the password is incorrect, even though it is 100% correct, there's nothing I can do. When it says it has no space remaining even though there is nothing left to delete, there is nothing I can do. When they ask if I could get them an app that does this or that, and such an app does not exist, that's the end of the story. When they ask why they can't easily copy the URL of a YouTube video by going to the top URL bar like on every single web page, I have to explain that for some reason, YouTube is special, it's not a webpage like on a computer. Although there is a webpage. But this isn't the webpage. How do you know? Uh... It's just... I can tell. But they can't always tell if this is an app or a webpage. Why is there no back button? Where is the URL bar? How do I go "back" to where I was just a minute ago? Well it depends. Did you get yanked out of your app and into another one? Which app are you even in right now? They don't know. How could they?
When they ask why they can't put app A and app B side by side, then I have no clue why. Why picture in picture works with some apps and not others. I don't know. There is no solution. Wait, just wait, maybe in a year, two years, or in 10 years, the feature you want might become available. Maybe it won't be compatible with your current iPad though, because by then, it will be considered obsolete.
Every app has its own special way of working that tends to change every 2 months after an update. Hidden gestures, secret icons that you're just "intuitively supposed to know" don't work on people who have painstakingly learnt a step-by-step way to do something. "Intuitive" is not as intuitive as Apple wants it to be. There is no system, no rules that you can learn or teach, nothing to go by. If you know how to do it, good for you. If you don't, then there's not much you can do.
Personally I find the iPad great for 5-10 minutes of browsing unimportant stuff online. But when it comes to doing anything remotely serious, I want to get back to my real computer, where I can make folders, organize my stuff, store files, etc. Taking notes while browsing? Copying and pasting a bunch of stuff? Going back and forth between two apps? Do that for more than a few minutes on an iPad and you'll hate it.
I'll take an ever-so-slightly bulkier real computer over the locked-down, "this is how you must do things because we think that's intuitive, period" mentality any day, for even the simplest of tasks. As for non-tech savvy people, I would 100% recommend using a real computer rather than trusting a device that will one day, without warning, change how you've gotten used to things for no reason. Yes, it will have problems, but at least it can always be fixed. With an iPad, if it has problems, too bad. Maybe one day an update will fix it. Maybe not.
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Yeah, the product everyone made fun of when it was launched (myself included). I bet it received its fair share of "Apple has lost it" reactions then, too.
Not really. Apple's products have evolved a lot since 2011.
Except the iPad hasn't been left behind by the competition and remains the most popular tablet today.
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My iPad2 was put to rest last year. Where do all the millions of devices go after serving a useful life? How can you continue to expect to sell 9.9+ million every quarter?
In the company's annual earnings report last October focusing on the fourth fiscal quarter of 2016, iPad sales were down slightly to 9.3 million from 9.9 million in the same year-ago quarter. Although they were also infamously down in sales in 2016, Apple still sold 45.5 million iPhones in the same quarter, down from 48 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The 1st generation iPad was an amazing machine and the perfect example of Apple innovation. Something of which is lacking these days.
This product never reached its full potential though being incompatible with iOS 6. Yes they still work 'just' but App incompatibilities leave it severely handicapped.
This product never reached its full potential though being incompatible with iOS 6. Yes they still work 'just' but App incompatibilities leave it severely handicapped.
Steve Jobs would be HORRIFIED to see the hodge-podge range that the iPad has become.
And yet look at all the different variations of the iPod that were released under his belt.
I don't think he'd be horrified, but I can't speak for the dead.
I'm still rocking my 6 plus as well. Just about as fast as when I bought it.
i can confirm that it is NOT slow as molasses today. Although my day-1 1st gen ipad 1 serves as a "picture tube" for my retro Tv, i periodically update it with video playlists and kick it about with some apps. The ios 5 era apps still work great on it. It is a testament to the commitment to the level of quality of experience that Apple had back then. I hope they return to that philosophy.
The ipad DID evolve....but it was Microsoft who took it to the proper level and called it a SURFACE 4. It's a touch pad with lots of apps, it's a robust computer running most industry standard apps. You can attach external storage, external monitors, it can work with a mouse if need be, etc, etc etc.
I 'get' why Apple didn't go this route: it would have obsoleted the low end MBPs with their huge margins. And now they are playing catch up in a market space THEY created. If it weren't for iOS (vs android's **** OS) it would be the same on the smartphone market although the iPhone 7 is a huge disappointment....and yes, I own one.
I rarely say 'If Steve were still alive', but, I gotta tell ya, if Steve were still alive Apple would have pivoted 3 years ago to a pad resembling the Surface, a smart TV box of some sort (not the ATV...it's still a 'hobby') and then maybe into the jewelry market aka watch (which is a device STILL waiting for its first 'killer app'...after 2 years).
I 'get' why Apple didn't go this route: it would have obsoleted the low end MBPs with their huge margins. And now they are playing catch up in a market space THEY created. If it weren't for iOS (vs android's **** OS) it would be the same on the smartphone market although the iPhone 7 is a huge disappointment....and yes, I own one.
I rarely say 'If Steve were still alive', but, I gotta tell ya, if Steve were still alive Apple would have pivoted 3 years ago to a pad resembling the Surface, a smart TV box of some sort (not the ATV...it's still a 'hobby') and then maybe into the jewelry market aka watch (which is a device STILL waiting for its first 'killer app'...after 2 years).
This is what happens when you implement features which look great on a spec sheet but don't necessarily translate to a great user experience in actual, real-world usage.
The Surface Pro is a touchscreen computer running a desktop optimised for a mouse and keyboard interface. It has a ton of apps not optimised for a touchscreen interface either. The people who would hook it up to an external monitor and mouse are those who would be working at a desk anyways, aka the people who would be better off just getting a laptop.
Contrast this with an iPad that sports a very responsive touchscreen, running an OS built for touch from the ground up, running native tablet apps optimised for touch and direct input, and designed with mobility in mind (eg: long battery life, inbuilt 4G, iOS is easier to use and less bloated and buggy overall). All this make for a great mobile computing experience for people who desire to work when they are not at their desk.
And if I want to mirror my iPad to a larger display, that's what the Apple TV is for. No need for wires and cables.
Apple didn't go that route for the oldest and most undeniable of reasons - it sucked and made for a lousy user experience.
And if we look at the tablet market today, the iPad is still pretty much the only tablet which matters. Android tablets are dropping like flies. People aren't buying them unless they are being sold at bargain-bin prices, and as the saying goes - you get what you pay for in the form of shoddy hardware and lack of software support. Conversely, the ipad continues to benefit from a thriving app ecosystem and third-party accessory market.
The Surface is a tablet in form but not in essence. If I wanted to do more "PC-esqe" tasks, then yeah, I would use a Surface Pro over an iPad, but for tablet-esqe tasks, my money is still on the iPad each and every time.
Somehow, I doubt it, but considering that Steve is long dead, we will just have to agree to disagree.
Apple must launch the Next Device: an iPad/MacBook convert, if it wants to stay relevant.
Why ?
Apple is completely ignoring the new generation, the 15....25 yr. olds that grew up with the iPad. They now need a file system, multi-windowing, peripherals, and more things impossible with an iOS device. Attributes that obviously surpass the read-only habits at the Apple Board. Every schoolteacher realizes this, but apparently not Apple Board members. They deny the generation they created themselves.
The end of the Post-PC era hasn't come, nor will, and this tragic errant just shows how disconnected Apple has become. That statement alone denies the whole IT-industry and is a self-disqualification of Balmeric proportions.
The new generation will never give up their real touchscreens. It doesn't care about Cook, Apple's legacy or it's inflated Pro label. It urges for a modern convert offering: MacBook functionality without giving up iPad multi-touch. And yes, that device will initially compete with the (stagnant) MacBook and iPad. But it will open a new market that is soo many times bigger.
And yes, it requires a convolute iOS/MacOS or whatever serves the goal.
So that takes courage. And a vision beyond removing a headphone port or MagSafe adapter.
As nice as the TouchBar can be for some tasks, it is a sad compromise. A 4th interface element (next to keyboard, screen, mouse) competing for user attention adding to complexity. It doesn't solve the elementary lack of a multi-touchscreen. It was an escape from tough decisions with the marketing butt-talk that real tech savvy companies don't need. Symptom of a lamentary Apple, unable to see evolution - unable even to react to stagnating sales - leaving the future to Microsoft and the Taiwanese IT industry.
Why ?
Apple is completely ignoring the new generation, the 15....25 yr. olds that grew up with the iPad. They now need a file system, multi-windowing, peripherals, and more things impossible with an iOS device. Attributes that obviously surpass the read-only habits at the Apple Board. Every schoolteacher realizes this, but apparently not Apple Board members. They deny the generation they created themselves.
The end of the Post-PC era hasn't come, nor will, and this tragic errant just shows how disconnected Apple has become. That statement alone denies the whole IT-industry and is a self-disqualification of Balmeric proportions.
The new generation will never give up their real touchscreens. It doesn't care about Cook, Apple's legacy or it's inflated Pro label. It urges for a modern convert offering: MacBook functionality without giving up iPad multi-touch. And yes, that device will initially compete with the (stagnant) MacBook and iPad. But it will open a new market that is soo many times bigger.
And yes, it requires a convolute iOS/MacOS or whatever serves the goal.
So that takes courage. And a vision beyond removing a headphone port or MagSafe adapter.
As nice as the TouchBar can be for some tasks, it is a sad compromise. A 4th interface element (next to keyboard, screen, mouse) competing for user attention adding to complexity. It doesn't solve the elementary lack of a multi-touchscreen. It was an escape from tough decisions with the marketing butt-talk that real tech savvy companies don't need. Symptom of a lamentary Apple, unable to see evolution - unable even to react to stagnating sales - leaving the future to Microsoft and the Taiwanese IT industry.
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Shame Apple products haven't really kept up with the real world memory development and needs.
Base model 7 years ago was 16GB - 7 years later - only 32GB (what happened there?!) - and a good chunk of that is taken up by a 'bloated beyond belief' system.
You are basically held to ransom if you want to download more that one film or a couple of TV shows - and have to part with exorbitant amounts of money for fully loaded memory.
Memory just keeps getting cheaper. Apply products just keeps getting more expensive for less return.
Base model 7 years ago was 16GB - 7 years later - only 32GB (what happened there?!) - and a good chunk of that is taken up by a 'bloated beyond belief' system.
You are basically held to ransom if you want to download more that one film or a couple of TV shows - and have to part with exorbitant amounts of money for fully loaded memory.
Memory just keeps getting cheaper. Apply products just keeps getting more expensive for less return.