Tim Cook Insists Merging Mac and iPad Would Result in Compromises

[VictorTango777]

A camera, iPod and phone in a single device???

If what Tim says is true, then Apple should not be trying to turn iPads into laptops with keyboards. If Apple really believes in making the best of each platform, then they should not keep dumbing down Mac software to make them resemble the iOS versions.

 

[jlseattle]

Thats hilarious, because the Macs are already loaded with more and more compromises... No more battery level indicator on the outside or even a charging indicator light, no more magsafe... battery life is awful because #thinness. RAM is limited because of battery life because of #thinness. Have to carry around a bag full of dongles because they only have one connector. no touch screen because they dont want to cut into ipad sales... No audio in jack. No IR. No upgradability... no repairability... keyboards that are destroyed by a speck of dust... compromise after compromise after compromise.

I'm happy not messing with my mac innards. As far as operability. I like my macbook pro just fine with it's USBC ports everywhere. But I'm just using the laptop functionality and never plug anything into the ports.
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If what Tim says is true, then Apple should not be trying to turn iPads into laptops with keyboards. If Apple really believes in making the best of each platform, then they should not keep dumbing down Mac software to make them resemble the iOS versions.

? Um ok
[doublepost=1524170808][/doublepost]Well... here is another option. It's time for Apple to go back to the drawing board on OS and start working on an new OS that merges the best of both worlds in functionality and is light years in front of windows. Apps are going to web browsers and such so as long as you support major apps and web browsers have fun!

 

[jpn]

Make the screen detachable like an iPad. When you detach it, it runs iOS. When you have it attached, it runs OSX. It would be the perfect computer.

this.

its so obvious. apple will not lose market share. it keeps all of is in its closed loop. no one else will do it as well as apple could.

 

[bunnicula]

TRANSLATION: "Yes it's something we've been thinking about and quite honestly I want to do it save some R&D dollars but everyone else says it's a bad idea."

(Which is a good thing that he listened to them!)

I think they'll still do it, they're just not ready to do it well yet.
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One of the selling points of the first iPhone was "it runs OS X" (later in the keynote it was revealed that it was running a "modified" version of OS X, but the link between the phone's OS and OS X was considered a crucial sticking point). Instead of merging MacBooks and iPads, Apple should instead make iOS more powerful, more functional, and more in line with macOS.

I think this is likely what is about to happen.

 

[maceric]

I've tried to use Windows in their tablet format and it's just not optimized to use with a finger. Nothing is. Even their office programs. If Apple could make a Mac that works like a desktop with a mouse, and then the UI and UX would change if we wanted it as a tablet, awesome! I think Apple also has a patent that changes the OS based on the orientation of the screen - If it's upright, it's Mac, if it's flat like on a desk, it's a tablet. So, they are prepared for it…

 

[Sydde]

macOS and iOS are already quite close in term of functionality. iOS lacks a few UI things, like windowing, which could easily be implemented in touch (put one finger on the drag bar and the other on the window itself to resize), and mouse support, which should be almost trivial to add, for those things that actually call for a mouse.

But most iPad/iPhone users are not clamoring for mouse support or windowed views. A few are, and would like extras like Finder, Terminal and/or XCode/Swift. So, the sensible approach would be to draw macOS-like features down to the users that want them and make them available in the Pro models.

I mean, my cousin bought a nice MacBook which his mother destroyed by spilling liquid on it. You cannot do that to an iPad, because the keyboard is just the keyboard, not all the hardware. I find that an appealing feature. Notebooks are just not the best design because of that, and because you have to take the keyboard it comes with (unless you want to use a secondary keyboard, which defeats the portability).

This, I think, is where they will start the transition. Bring real pro functionality to the Pro users who genuinely want it and leave vanilla iOS where it is for most users. The two OSes are already so close that bringing them together in a sensible way, for those who yearn for that, should not be that much of a struggle.

 

[kylew1212]

I personally would love to see macOs and iOS merged. Don't stop with the iPad, get the iPhone too.

Before you panic, No. Not the same interface. Apple likely has the bandwidth to deliver different versions of the same code. I'd love to see the code bases merged so that when an issue is fixed/created it happens everywhere. Why do we need duplication? Likely there are thousands upon thousands of lines of code that are duplicated in iOS & macOS. Lets run the same code then depending upon device type use a different layout. If it's more powerful (such as computer) enable more features. Apple could build compilers that when specific flags determine when code is compiled for a device and when it's not, resulting in one code base optimized for multiple device types.

Apple has the money, and talent to do this. Ship two products with the same code base. I'm not an android proponent, but Google has been doing this for years within their android development. There's no reason why Apple couldn't merge and build a better product that's still feature rich for mac.

As a side note, I think Apple is headed in this direction anyway. Based upon their current products I believe that they are all in on swift and will in the future write one fully featured application that runs on web, iPhone, iPad, tvOS, watchOS, and Mac. It simplifies everything for them when they get to this point.

 

[Tech198]

Wouldn't be the first time Tim says this, and probably won't be the last either.

What I can't tell from him he keeps saying 'Merging will compromise' or 'We won't do Touchscreens". but he has no problem with merging features from iOS back to the Mac...in every since latest OS now

Even the chips could be going to ARM, (so that is still merging since they exist on iOS as well)

Seems more of a "pick and choose at your own will" type statement.

"So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day, but that's not what it's about," he added.

Ya, control

 

[Naraxus]

Uh.. no, they haven't made a good laptop since 2012.

I actually beg to differ on this with you. The 2013 MBA is a great laptop. It has all the ports I need (something missing from topday's Mac laptops) and even after 5 years it runs like a champ.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Such total BS from Cook.

Let the customers decide if they want to accept so-called "compromises". My guess is YES! But by merging the two products, they will sell fewer overall units because customers can have both products wrapped into one. Now you want a laptop/desktop for content creation and an iPad for content consumption. If you wrap both in the same product, away goes the iPad.

This decision has *nothing* to do with the customer or quality, let's get that straight.

 

[DevNull0]

I do think the Mac mini and the Apple TV should merge into one device and that one could have a tvOS app that runs on macOS.

Apple used to have this. There was a macOS app called front row that offered a pre-AppleTV interface. It focused on media playback (in the pre-streaming days) and had a simple interface meant for a TV. Apple even included a bundle IR remote with macs for several years with the IR receiver integrated.

They killed the product with the first OSX release after the 2nd gen apple TV came out. Want to guess why? Same reason you can't receive Airplay on a mac. So with my $1000 set-top Mac min serveri, I can't airplay from my iphone. But with a cheap AppleTV I can.

 

[bladerunner2000]

I actually beg to differ on this with you. The 2013 MBA is a great laptop. It has all the ports I need (something missing from topday's Mac laptops) and even after 5 years it runs like a champ.

Can't upgrade RAM on that thing. Nor can you easily swap the battery should you need one (because eventually, you will).

 

[cmwade77]

Despite what is said here, it is probably time for a touchscreen on the Macbook.

 

[Glmnet1]

Wow. You can tell by looking?

Yes! Everytime I saw a Surface used like a tablet, not on a table but in the hands of someone, it looked uncomfortable and awkward. That device is clearly a better laptop replacement than an iPad is with its OS and specs but a iPad is clearly a better hand held device, IMO.

 

[Jodeo]

Exactly.

The iPad has a single port. Can you imagine having a MacBook Pro at work and not being able to share your screen via HDMI and -- HEYYYYY... WAIT A SECOND HERE...

 

[Naraxus]

Can't upgrade RAM on that thing. Nor can you easily swap the battery should you need one (because eventually, you will).

Very true. That would be my only negative.

 

[Abazigal]

The iPad will become the general purpose computer for the masses while the Mac will be an increasingly niche computer for more powerful and specific use cases.

To me, the obvious path forward is to keep adding functionality to the iPad in a manner which makes sense for the form factor. I don’t think we will be seeing a surface book style device where the iPad becomes a different beast upon being docked. It just doesn’t feel very Apple.

The people hoping that this will bring about some sort of Mac renaissance will be disappointed.

 

[Baymowe335]

THIS is what would result in trade-offs? Because their lineup is so seamless and elegant right now?

Please. It's a disparate collection of iterated-to-death products, each SKU mired with trade-offs of their own.

Tim, stick to social causes and let someone with a passion and background for tech and product design set the course for a unified future vision.

Yeah, Tim. Let someone else increase iPhone sales 3X since Jobs died, design the best mobile silicon, best selling watch, grow services at 20% yearly, and lead Apple to the largest and most profitable company in corporate history.

 

[0947347]

I don’t understand why people do not get the simple fact that STEVE was not against the stylus, but he WAS AGAINST THE STYLUS BEING THE MAIN INTERACTION DEVICE.

Stylus is nice for doodle or some specific apps. Apple Pencil is not a classic stylus, it is not for scrolling and typing on a keyboard. It is a Pencil, you don’t turn pages with pencils, do you?

If you don’t get it, please, tell me, how do you like to stylus with safari browsing, playing games (obviously with 2 or more styluses). This is pretty much a reason why PDA died and people switched to smartphones. Even Galaxy note is notnstylus based, it has got it for a special features, like drawing, notes, doodle

Use the stylus for 1 full day only and tell me, how do you love your iPhone that day.

PS: this is not any personal attack on you, just it would be nice if people did realize this thing already

 

[RyanInBinary]

Have to agree with him on this... the clear fear is cannibalization if the OS’ merge, but... the software has GOT to improve, and it seems like the one-year cycle is getting to be too much for them to handle.

I'm not sure if you're right, and Tim and/or Apple feel(s) this way or not, but if they do... it's wrong. The iPhone cannibalized the product that saved their company (iPod), because they *knew* the end result was a better product. Right now they are not making meaningful upgrades to the iPad or to the MacBook line. Combining them into a single useful product, even an expensive one, would be a great move if done right. As long as you used your "home" directory for most of the storage... detached screen = iPad (iOS), docked screen = MacBook (MacOS)... and all the files would be shared.

 

[Lemonsoon]

I ve been waiting for years for a mac with touchscreen and i can t be the only one

Ipads and macs are two diff products

Macos should have basic gestures double Clicks etc fron the screen. Why they don t want to do it when this is tue future is your guess

 

[Glockworkorange]

Apple CEO Tim Cook remains against the idea of merging the Mac and iPad to create one unified hardware and software experience, according to a brief conversation he had at Apple's education event in Chicago last month.

"We don't believe in sort of watering down one for the other," said Cook, speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Wells. "One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two ... you begin to make trade offs and compromises."

"So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day, but that's not what it's about," he added. "It's about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity. So this merger thing that some folks are fixated on, I don't think that's what users want."

Cook reiterated that he generally uses a Mac at work, and uses an iPad at home and for travel, but added "I use everything and I love everything."

Apple's boss also revealed that an Apple IIc, released in 1984, was his first computer. "I first used it for a project, as a senior in engineering school, making an inventory control program or for a rental business that was close by," said Cook, who majored in industrial engineering at Auburn University.

Cook's comments echo those he shared with the Irish Independent in 2015, when he said Apple is not interested in creating a "converged Mac and iPad."

"What that would wind up doing, or what we're worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You'd begin to compromise in different ways."

While the Mac and iPad will remain distinct products, Apple has and will continue to bridge the gap between its desktop and mobile platforms. In 2014, for example, it introduced Continuity features like Handoff and Universal Clipboard that enable more seamless experiences across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Apple may go one step further in iOS 12 and macOS 10.14, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that developers will be able to design a single third-party app that works with both a touchscreen, and a mouse or trackpad, depending on whether it's running on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, starting later this year.

Article Link: Tim Cook Insists Merging Mac and iPad Would Result in Compromises

"It's about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world"

Easier there, sailor.

 

[Brandhouse]

Apple CEO Tim Cook remains against the idea of merging the Mac and iPad to create one unified hardware and software experience, according to a brief conversation he had at Apple's education event in Chicago last month.

Good, I couldn't agree more. Different hardware platforms for different uses.

 

[fairuz]

No, it's not a gimmick. It's just a limited functionality device. For many people it is a great extension to work. As an example, when I travel for work and it's just a day or two and all my activities are meetings, I have zero need for a full laptop. My iPad can send/receive email, take notes, view docs (with minor editing), etc. All I need is a keyboard.

The laptop can do that anyway without compromises.

 

[VictorTango777]

There are a number of applications such as digital signage, interactive exhibits, and industrial uses which can benefit from direct interaction on a large touchscreen. 7 years ago, people thought an iPad on a stand looked so neat. But now it looks ridiculously ancient compared to well designed applications running on large touchscreen displays. If touchscreen really is the future, how will Apple handle the need for larger displays? Do people honestly expect Apple to make a 40 inch iPad?

Instead of expecting Apple to make a 40 inch iPad, it makes more sense to separate the CPU from the touchscreen. Apple can then concentrate on the OS and people can buy the touchscreen in whatever size they want. The large multitouch displays currently work out of the box with Windows. But good luck getting those manufacturers to provide full Mac support. If people want those displays to fully work with Mac OS, the support needs to come from Apple. Build the multitouch support into Mac OS so it can work with external multitouch displays of any size, and so developers can have an officially supported framework to create their applications.