I am glad Cook said this. Hopefully it means continuing to develop the Mac, which is an essential part of the ecosystem for me since I do fairly intensive data analysis. However, perhaps one day the desktop 'screen' will be an iPad with an ancillary CPU box for OS X sold as an accessory.
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Tim Cook Says Apple Won't Create 'Converged' Mac and iPad
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My knee-jerk reaction was to agree with Tim: the tablet and the laptop (or the tablet and the PC) are two different animals, and trying to merge them into one will result in a less satisfying experience.
I am sitting here, working on my MacBook Air, doing things I cannot do on an iPad (certainly not as easily). My workhorse is the MacBook Air. But I do occasionally use my iPad but not very much any more.
However, if I could have this very same MacBook Air experience, and then when I'm done, and ready to go out for coffee, and just remove the "monitor" -- i.e., the tablet, that would be awesome. Most folks know that Apple users can partition their Apple computers to run on Apple OS as well as on a PC operating system. There should be no reason that when the monitor is attached to the MacBook Air keyboard it runs the standard Apple Mac OS, but when the monitor comes off, it flips to Apple mobile OS.
Imagine how much more capability the complete system would have. One would have battery power in the monitor (the tablet) as well as in the MacBook Air keyboard. There would be memory in each half -- both RAM and flash.
My hunch is that Apple engineers are already working this issue, and some day we will have a tablet that remains a 100% tablet when standing along, but then becomes a simple monitor when plugged into the MacBook Air keyboard.
I am sitting here, working on my MacBook Air, doing things I cannot do on an iPad (certainly not as easily). My workhorse is the MacBook Air. But I do occasionally use my iPad but not very much any more.
However, if I could have this very same MacBook Air experience, and then when I'm done, and ready to go out for coffee, and just remove the "monitor" -- i.e., the tablet, that would be awesome. Most folks know that Apple users can partition their Apple computers to run on Apple OS as well as on a PC operating system. There should be no reason that when the monitor is attached to the MacBook Air keyboard it runs the standard Apple Mac OS, but when the monitor comes off, it flips to Apple mobile OS.
Imagine how much more capability the complete system would have. One would have battery power in the monitor (the tablet) as well as in the MacBook Air keyboard. There would be memory in each half -- both RAM and flash.
My hunch is that Apple engineers are already working this issue, and some day we will have a tablet that remains a 100% tablet when standing along, but then becomes a simple monitor when plugged into the MacBook Air keyboard.
I think it is self limiting. Instead of thinking "what else could / can I do if I added a touch screen" too many are saying "why should they" or "they are right". I far prefer what could be instead of what is.
That's a pen tablet on the right. Why can't Apple release a display or iMac that lowers into that orientation for use with an Apple Pencil? Why keep making the iMac thinner if not to erase the need for such a giant second device on our desks?
You don't have to fully converge to make your OSX devices more capable. I gravitated to the SP4, not for the tablet, but for pen input on desktop software.
Accept they don't care about that. They made the iPhone knowing it would kill the iPod.
Better have people stop buying MacBooks for an different Apple product than for a competitors product.
Am I the only one who is actually beginning to care less than before about Apple and its shenanigans? Frankly, Apple is no longer the same company it was before Steve Jobs died.
Because yours is a niche use case. The same reason they don't ship graphics tablets with every Mac.
It would only be nasty because Apple no longer quality-checks its operating system software. Otherwise, it would be great to have the same OS on all devices.
A niche use case that heavily applies to Macs, considering their heavy usage among graphic artists.
It's not like these statements are written in pure stone with no flexibility.
As the market changes, desires change. There definitely was a period where many iPhone users didn't want a larger phone. Eventually consumer demands change.
In 5 years, consumer demand for a MacPad hybrid may exist, or it may not. Right now they've determined the majority of consumers don't care, most likely based off of computer sales (with the Mac still growing while other manufactures see a steady decline).
That isn't mine... I have a Surface that I now use for pen stuff instead of my desktop with a Wacom Intuos. If flipping a 12 inch MacBook Pro around to take notes on the screen, or draw, or edit photos with the Apple Pencil is a niche case, then why does the Apple Pencil even exist?
You don't have to converge anything to use a pen in a desktop program.
Thank you.. good info!
So... correct me if I am wrong but this would make Windows RT a pretty impressive engineering effort since it runs on ARM pretty much identical to it's x86 counterpart, minus the 3rd party program support, but all the built in applications work exactly the same, including MS Office and a full version of IE11.
It has full desktop support.
I've used it on a Snapdragon 800 with 2gb RAM and it does just fine..
I give it two years. Though it won't be a Macpad hybrid, so much as OSX with an adjustable screen, and pen support. It'll be like a slightly more elegant Surface Book.
Code is code, and whether something runs just as well on ARM as it does x86 all depends upon tweaks of said code, and its compile target.
It's emulating x86 on ARM that'd take a tremendous amount of effort, and ultimately won't be worth the payoff.
I don't see it that immediately, without a restructuring of OS X. I know there's the Modbook, but OS X isn't very touch friendly. Of course that change could easily happen within six months (depending on how long they've worked on it), but I don't see them doing it that early (though I could be surprised).
That's why I like the laptops because the trackpad enables touchscreen like gestures.
I've just never been a fan of touchscreen computers, honestly. I plan on buying a regular Surface but only for the digital notebook. If i'm not using the pen it's not getting touched.
I do agree somewhat, in that the iPad Pro won't be the only product category to get the Pencil.
I'd agree, probably not enough demand. Plus, I doubt the cost (or lack of profit) would also figure into the equation.
Agreed. I predict they'll do it gradually with Mac OS and iOS becoming more and more alike. As cloud file storage becomes more usable and trusted, people will depend less on local file systems.
I guess the iPad Pro is your device. Go for it.
But I personally find iOS and a touch interface super awkward for a lot of actual productivity -- and I don't think I'm alone.
No sunshine, we don't. I won't give up my beloved macbook pro over a simplified tablet. Stop assuming about what masses want.
I don't think Apple will go full touchscreen with OSX. They're far more likely to scale up iOS to OSX standards, since they're already roughly 6/10ths of the way there anyway.
But I do think at some point Apple will address the people who want to use a stylus with their Macbooks, of which there are plenty, and they'll do it in such a way that if you're not one of those people, it won't get in your way at all.
Good.
Someone needs to take their time and figure out how to do this correctly, and I'd put my money on Apple being the ones to get this right. The Surface ain't it. I've played around with Surface tablets and I don't get what people love about them. It's basically a desktop OS shoehorned into a tablet so the user experience basically sucks. Yeah, it's a load of fun having to tap on links and buttons that were never intended to be used in a touch interface (so much fun when the tap doesn't register or registers on the wrong thing.) And the simplicity of the tablet concept is undercut by having to pack around a mouse and setting up user accounts and dealing with all the usual Windows hassles. It's like the worst of both worlds in one product.
If Apple does have any plans behind-the-scenes to do this, I hope they continue to downplay it and take all the time they need to get it right.
Someone needs to take their time and figure out how to do this correctly, and I'd put my money on Apple being the ones to get this right. The Surface ain't it. I've played around with Surface tablets and I don't get what people love about them. It's basically a desktop OS shoehorned into a tablet so the user experience basically sucks. Yeah, it's a load of fun having to tap on links and buttons that were never intended to be used in a touch interface (so much fun when the tap doesn't register or registers on the wrong thing.) And the simplicity of the tablet concept is undercut by having to pack around a mouse and setting up user accounts and dealing with all the usual Windows hassles. It's like the worst of both worlds in one product.
If Apple does have any plans behind-the-scenes to do this, I hope they continue to downplay it and take all the time they need to get it right.
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none....I can truthfully state that you don't speak for all Mac users. I and several people (and posters here) have no desire for a hybrid OS.