I do pretty much only use my iPad as a consumption device, but I love it and basically don't need a laptop anymore.
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Should I sell my iPad because of a big possibility of the tablet market ignored in the future???
- Thread starter ShaunAFC3
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I just shake my head and wonder how people can think this stuff up! Seems to be a lack of the ability to reason.
Honestly, I think it's from spending too much time on sites like this reading about market decline, and not enough RAM, and planned obsolescence, etc. and not enough time just using and enjoying their devices and not worrying about what it's going to be like next year or five years from now. People need to just enjoy these amazing pieces of technology that we have access to and stop worrying so much.
I see this "iPad is a good tablet but a bad laptop" type statements, and I think well, I don't even want it to try to be a laptop. The more I think about it, the more I find that my sense of what a laptop is supposed to be is a lot fuzzier than I thought. A laptop is basically a shrunk down desktop. It has all the components of a desktop -- monitor, keyboard, pointing device -- shrunk down and welded together into one unit so it's portable. But a laptop isn't trying to do anything that a desktop doesn't. It's not really its own thing, it's a smaller desktop. The iPad, on the other hand, is a different paradigm. Apple made that clear by giving it a mobile operating system built from the grounds up. And I've watched iOS grow from its very first iteration as iPhone OS 1, when it didn't even have copy and paste, to the point it is now where it has replaced my laptop, and is several features and apps away from replacing my desktop. And through this process, I haven't wanted it to become like a laptop. I've wanted iOS to mature and become more powerful, but I also want it to stay its own thing. I want my iPad to be a tablet, I don't need it to be a laptop.
I agree with you there, I'm definitely in favour of iOS as a mobile operating system and like you I've watched it grow and evolve over its lifespan.
But the comparison is more to do with, as even Apple says, they want the iPad to replace your laptop. I'm, and I suppose most people drawing the comparison, don't want it to be like a laptop, or to function like one, in the way something like the Surface does (although I grant you there are those who want exactly that.) But if the iPad is to replace a laptop then the comparison between a workload on a laptop and the same workload on an iPad has to be drawn.
We can't simply say that the iPad is a tablet and should only be considered to do simpler, tablet focused things. I think we'll see more of that come iOS 10, there will be refinements to the core iOS experience to further facilitate its role as a device which can serve as your sole mobile computing platform. And as time rolls merrily on and the market share of the Pro increases, we will see developers taking advantage of the platform and offering a new level of application that is so far somewhat lacking in certain areas.
The, somewhat distant, future of mobile computing will most definitely lie in some variation of an iPad style device. I've had no doubt in this from the moment the iPad first launched and the market is already heading that way. That suits me just fine. Ever since my first real computer I imagined what it would be like to have a compact computing platform which you could directly interact with. That was a long time ago and what was science fiction at the time is already very much a reality. I can't wait to see where the journey takes us, but I digress.
But I've already achieved significant mobile productivity growth thanks to the 12.9" iPad Pro. It can fulfill my mobile needs. Then when I need to do things only a Mac can do, I plonk my butt down in my office and carry on where the iPad left off.
Just the same for me, and I don't use a MacBook for that but a 27" maxed out iMac. That gives a really different tool compared to my 12.9 iPP and justifies using it for the tasks you need it for. Laptops are useless for me these days....
But my point is that I never considered tablets to be focused on "simpler" things. My first iOS device was the original iPod touch, and for the first half year I had it, it was really just a media player. It had no apps other than iPod, which played music and video. Then it got the 1.2 update, or whatever the number was, and it got some apps -- I forget exactly which ones, but one of them was Notes. And I managed to write a letter on it on the bus on my way to work, and I felt I had a computer in the palm of my hand. Since then, I always felt that iOS devices will be as powerful as my desktop computer some day. Even when I use my iPad for entertainment purposes, my interaction with it is hardly simple. I stream videos to it from my computer or cloud storage, or I stream videos from the iPad to my TV through Apple TV. I keep my ebooks in a folder on Dropbox and download the ones I want to read from there. I use RSS readers to find news articles and blog posts I'm interested in, and save them to Instapaper to read later. These interactions are more complex than things I used to do when I just had a laptop or a desktop.
So iPads were never simple, or "just" a tablet. From the very beginning, it's been taking me places where computers have never been before.
OP seems a little obsessed with future scenarios. Just use the iPad. Today.
Should I sell my car because it doesn't drive itself? I heard cars will be driving themselves soon and I don't wanna feel like a savage with old tech!
I think that the market is levelling out because a lot of people hold on to their iPads for a number of years. However, I also have a number of friends and work colleagues who are now buying a second device for the family since one isn't enough to share anymore. So I believe that the demand is still there and as iPads become more advanced, iOS becomes more and more advanced, there will be a time that those people will again choose to upgrade. Maybe their battery dies, the screen breaks, the iPad can't run the latest version of iOS or because the new apps that they want can't run on the older device....so eventually they will upgrade. As for myself, I just can't seem to hold myself back and I want the latest model.
I believe that iPads (and other tablets or hybrids) are the future of computing, so there is no reason to sell. But.......IF Apple announced that they weren't going to make more iPad models, I'd do the exact opposite and rush out and buy myself and my family a few. I'd want a backup device in case my current one broke and wasn't repairable. The others for my family would be because they have my handed down models and if Apple wasn't going to make them anymore then I'd want my family to have the latest to keep them going for some time.
I believe that iPads (and other tablets or hybrids) are the future of computing, so there is no reason to sell. But.......IF Apple announced that they weren't going to make more iPad models, I'd do the exact opposite and rush out and buy myself and my family a few. I'd want a backup device in case my current one broke and wasn't repairable. The others for my family would be because they have my handed down models and if Apple wasn't going to make them anymore then I'd want my family to have the latest to keep them going for some time.
Yeah I get your point and I'm not disagreeing with you, hell your preaching to the choir. But while your journey towards this mobile computing dream might have started with the iPod touch. Mine started 25 years ago with my Psion series 3, that was the first time I had a truly portable device that felt like a proper pocketable computing platform which allowed me to write letters, work on spreadsheets and more when I was on the bus.
I was watching videos and connecting to the Internet for news articles with mobile devices decades ago so this little tech journey is hardly new to me and that's mainly why I consider many things to be simple tasks, if you could do it 20 years or more ago, I'd sure as heck hope you could do it a lot better now. I always knew that one day there would be very little distinction between a pocketable/portable device and my computer at home. We're not quite there yet, but we're not far off.
The iPad has brought decades of mobile computing together in a brilliantly elegant, simple to use and powerful package. But if it's to replace a full blown laptop there simply has to be a direct comparison of features and operability.
If a person is unable to achieve on an iPad that which they can on a laptop, then it cannot truly be considered a direct replacement for them. A lot of that has to do with software availability, something that's always improving and will finally, eventually be a non issue. But for the time being, it still is an issue for some people. People with less demanding needs will have no problem at all, I know people who now have no other computing device than their iPads.
Thankfully these days there's not an awful lot you can't achieve on an iPad if you have the right software and tools to work around its few limitations. And those limitations will be fewer and fewer as the years roll merrily on.
I actually prefer my iPad Pro to a laptop, in no small part thanks to the Pencil. I can't do everything I need to on my iPad Pro, things that I could do with a MacBook. So while I couldn't call the iPad a direct laptop replacement for me, I'd still rather have the iPad. I can achieve enough on the iPad Pro to make it workable, the rest I do on my Mac.
Tablets are here to stay, but yes one day in the future yours going to be absolute, because of new technology faster processor better screen and who know what?
I really, truly, honestly believe that the tablet market is going to be fine. There are hints in the market that "hybrid" machines like the Surface and the iPad Pro are renewing interest. I'm mostly getting my information from the latest IDC and JD Power reports, and also reading between the lines of Tim Cook's comment that in the next quarterly report we are going to see the best iPad YoY compare since 2014.
The Surface seemed to be making a name for itself already, and the iPad Pro jumping into the fray just adds fuel to the fire. If anything, I think the tablet market will see a move away from "consumption only" tablets and developers will start focusing more on the tablet-as-laptop and laptop-as-tablet devices.
The Surface seemed to be making a name for itself already, and the iPad Pro jumping into the fray just adds fuel to the fire. If anything, I think the tablet market will see a move away from "consumption only" tablets and developers will start focusing more on the tablet-as-laptop and laptop-as-tablet devices.
I don't think the iPad Pro counts as a hybrid device. It's all tablet, just a particularly big one.
if the iPad is what you plan on using instead of a laptop? then sell it
Apple is moving at a snails pace when it comes to make iOS productive on the iPad, embarrassing even. With sale rapidly dropping, I don't see Apple giving a damn anytime soon
now if you're like me and use it in conjunction with a macbook then keep it, it's just a consumption device
Apple is moving at a snails pace when it comes to make iOS productive on the iPad, embarrassing even. With sale rapidly dropping, I don't see Apple giving a damn anytime soon
now if you're like me and use it in conjunction with a macbook then keep it, it's just a consumption device
You may not think it counts, but the people keeping track do, and they're saying all iPad growth is coming from the Pro and that it's beating the sales of the Surface.
Who are these people, when did they classify an iPad as a hybrid, and why do they get to decide? My understanding is that a hybrid device is something with the functionality of a full laptop, but can also be used in a tablet form factor. Apple has never even claimed to make a "hybrid" device. They make the (debatable) claim that the iPad Pro is a tablet that can replace a laptop, not that it is both devices in one.
No one is using hybrid devices. Those things do not sell.
The tablet isn't dying, it's just a mature market. They still sell many more iPads than any notebook model. If you think Microsoft sells nearly as many tablets then you're wrong. iPad is still huge.
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I agree. I've been rethinking laptops too.
I think they're a contrived form factor basically. They're a desktop shoved into a portable. They're great, but they will eventually die out. They're just not very versatile. Reading web pages in landscape mode is crappy, and you don't have another choice with a laptop. Using them bundled up on a couch is crappy. The only place they really excel is seated at a table. And what is the point of having it fold? There's just so much wasted space. All the computer parts should be in the screen and the keyboard should have no logic and should be removable for when you don't need it. It just makes way more sense that way.
I believe the software of tablets will reach the point where desktop OSes become unneeded for the vast majority of people. The hardware is already good enough.
The tablet isn't dying, it's just a mature market. They still sell many more iPads than any notebook model. If you think Microsoft sells nearly as many tablets then you're wrong. iPad is still huge.
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I agree. I've been rethinking laptops too.
I think they're a contrived form factor basically. They're a desktop shoved into a portable. They're great, but they will eventually die out. They're just not very versatile. Reading web pages in landscape mode is crappy, and you don't have another choice with a laptop. Using them bundled up on a couch is crappy. The only place they really excel is seated at a table. And what is the point of having it fold? There's just so much wasted space. All the computer parts should be in the screen and the keyboard should have no logic and should be removable for when you don't need it. It just makes way more sense that way.
I believe the software of tablets will reach the point where desktop OSes become unneeded for the vast majority of people. The hardware is already good enough.
I'm thinking of selling my 2013 Honda Accord. There is a big possibility gas vehicles are going to be ignored in the future and that everyone will be driving Tesla's and maybe at some point, flying cars. I don't want to keep driving this car knowing gas vehicles will be obsolete. At some point, there won't even be a gas station I could go to to fill up.
I may even look into selling my house because it does not feature renewable energy. At some point Electric companies will go out of business because everyone will be powering their homes using solar. I have too many trees producing too much shade, so I am unable to utilize solar panels on my roof. Such a dilemma, should I cut down the trees or sell my house?
I kid of course.....Live for right now.....
I may even look into selling my house because it does not feature renewable energy. At some point Electric companies will go out of business because everyone will be powering their homes using solar. I have too many trees producing too much shade, so I am unable to utilize solar panels on my roof. Such a dilemma, should I cut down the trees or sell my house?
I kid of course.....Live for right now.....
Did you sell your laptop when tablets were said to replace them?