All iPads State of iPad is DUMPSTER FIRE

[uacd]

ass

Ugh, well, at least it is liquid now🤷‍♂️

But tbh, it always has been subpar, ever since the first iPad Air (2013). Too thin, cheap aluminum alloys, wrong sized frame (vs older, book-like one). It feels like if I buy one, I will crack it in first month of active use, it is purely a bedtime e-book reader and not an active tool you would take with you on the beach, in the mountains or anywhere else. Also it has no IP68 protection, no wireless charging, landscape camera now, useless pencil charging ports that make chassis weak, no 3.5 Jack port like on Macs, no SD card slot (and never had) or no second USB-C. Very weak and basic device, though I can see some use cases for it (storing photos, editing them, video work, music production etc).

It is not a computer
Right. It's a Tablet

Apple kinda wants it to be a computer, but... they don't want it to.
Here is an old ad where they don't want to call it "computer", but still not calling it "tablet"

Why are you using Apple stuff? Most of your posts are completely against them, so I question your motives.

It is simply cheaper and more eco-friendly to just keep using your existing devices even while these no longer feel good. So I understand OP's frustration. I was choosing between iPad vs MacBook 2 years ago, went with MacBook, now want an iPad because MacBook doesn't have some features I want. At the same time I understand that when I get an iPad, it would be collecting dust like my old iPad, because I am not a fan of using it just solely for said features.

So hating on Apple and their products isn't inherently bad. Bad is that they don't listen to their customers. In ideal world they should have been making products with all features user might need or not need, instead they just release whatever they thing is right.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

OP made one whiny anti-Apple post and has not been back, so was apparently just trolling. That is just rude. User ignored.

 

[mandopicker101]

Why are you using Apple stuff? Most of your posts are completely against them, so I question your motives.

Some people ache to be offended and disgusted? I’d sell up and decamp to the Microsoft arena or pitch up with Team Android and give a Samsung slate a whirl.

 

[mandopicker101]

Ugh, well, at least it is liquid now🤷‍♂️

But tbh, it always has been subpar, ever since the first iPad Air (2013). Too thin, cheap aluminum alloys, wrong sized frame (vs older, book-like one). It feels like if I buy one, I will crack it in first month of active use, it is purely a bedtime e-book reader and not an active tool you would take with you on the beach, in the mountains or anywhere else. Also it has no IP68 protection, no wireless charging, landscape camera now, useless pencil charging ports that make chassis weak, no 3.5 Jack port like on Macs, no SD card slot (and never had) or no second USB-C. Very weak and basic device, though I can see some use cases for it (storing photos, editing them, video work, music production etc).


Apple kinda wants it to be a computer, but... they don't want it to.
Here is an old ad where they don't want to call it "computer", but still not calling it "tablet"

It is simply cheaper and more eco-friendly to just keep using your existing devices even while these no longer feel good. So I understand OP's frustration. I was choosing between iPad vs MacBook 2 years ago, went with MacBook, now want an iPad because MacBook doesn't have some features I want. At the same time I understand that when I get an iPad, it would be collecting dust like my old iPad, because I am not a fan of using it just solely for said features.

So hating on Apple and their products isn't inherently bad. Bad is that they don't listen to their customers. In ideal world they should have been making products with all features user might need or not need, instead they just release whatever they thing is right.

I suspect that adding the features you describe likely build in cost. Indeed, a closer to perfection iPad would maybe just push it further away from Joe/Joanna Public and depress sales.

In all my time owning Android phones and tablets, I never thought SD card slots were a great feature since to have any benefit it needed a high capacity and high speed card. Likewise, 3.5 mm jack ports were a frequent point of fail in the devices I owned due to their amazing ability to attract all kinds of crap. Same ability my iPhone charging port possesses… I’m leery of wireless charging. For sure it removes physical stress on a port (point of fail after all) but personal experience of perceived battery degradation in wireless charging devices has not impressed me.

Weak and basic? Hmmm, YMMV and I appreciate other folks have more intensive needs and use cases.

For me though, this iPad replaced a dying MacBook I owned and I don’t see any real loss of experience or utility. Indeed it’s proven highly capable with modest expansions such as a USB C hub and external monitor, keyboard and mouse (admittedly I had these knocking around already as cast offs from other devices). Yeah it’s a touch UI first but I find the 26.1 point/click experience pretty good. I’m perhaps in the regular Joe category of users as I mostly do regular computing type stuff - browsing, email, some writing - but do use iPad (Air 5/M1) for GarageBand recording and editing.

 

[uacd]

needed a high capacity and high speed card

Hopefully they are “dirt” cheap these days and rarely stop working. Cards I’ve purchased 10 years ago still magically work, one card for my old camera broke recently but not in terms of NAND flash failure - the plastic frame became brittle around broke when I was removing it from the slot. So technically it might be possible to save it with new chassis, but lock switch was broken too.

So I am a huge fan of these cards! If a device fails I am not afraid that info fails too, take a card out and you are safe. Modern Samsung tablets still have SD slot, ironically they phones do not. But Sony phones on the other hand do still have these slots, I hope maybe these will return since it has lots of potential, such as making slot a high-capacity PCI lane like on Nintendo Switch 2, so new microSD Express cards (super expensive, like SSD!) will work like a charm at 880mb/s, which is superb for native apps.

Likewise, 3.5 mm jack ports were a frequent point of fail in the devices I owned due to their amazing ability to attract all kinds of crap

Same ability my iPhone charging port possesses

Oh, it was quite an old problem and I dunno how people with new USB-C devices “fix” it since port is now not a hole but includes a protruding connectors (that can be a point of failure if detached not carefully).

I’ve often made it a habit to use a toothpick and cleaned all the ports - 3.5 and lightning, 3.5 smh never broke, still works in all my old devices. Only bunch of broken cables, they do break, especially lightning and headphone cables

personal experience of perceived battery degradation in wireless charging

There is a way out of it - slower charging speeds (with slower bricks) and fan near magnet. Not everyone likes that though. Induction chargers have big potential, though companies rarely want to unleash it.

but do use iPad (Air 5/M1) for GarageBand recording and editing

Good to hear! that was my use case back in the days too. But now can’y justify another iPad for these rare music production moment, though yeah it is a superb device for making tracks and finishing them on Mac

 

[Fraserpatty]

wait until ye discover they eliminated the split screen feature!
I needed if PAGES titles matched SKETCHCLUB titles
alas, I used that feature since 2017.

so
yesterday iPad was such an easy game to play
Now the other app done hide away
which was not on half of the display
Now I long for yesterday
There's a shadow hanging over what dismay
Oh, that feature left suddenly!
Now I long for yesterday
Why Tim... let that go away?
I don't know, he wouldn't say
I musta swiped something wrong?
Now I long for yesterday

on the iPad!

Haha..but true.
The 11 inch iPad is just right for a split screen and nothing else but they took that away. Four open windows on an 11 inch iPad is nothing but confusing. Split screen was perfect.

 

[macfacts]

... to have any benefit it needed a high capacity and high speed card

so what? Who is buying the cheapest SD cards? reasonably priced SD cards vs over priced built-in storage.