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Tim Cook Says 'Exciting Things' Coming to iPad as Tablet Sales Continue to Drop
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You have PCs living as long as 10 years in many offices and households.The most you can expect an iPad is 5 years and its already slowed down at that point.PCs age fantastically
That is a very old PC. I don't own a PC that old, but I do still have my original iPad that still works for music, my internet cameras, and several other things. It is similar to using a ten year old PC because there are much better options out there, but it still works. We don't really know the shelf life of the iPad at this point because the iPad 2 is still regularly used but the iPad hasn't been in existence for ten years. (They did cripple the original in a way that they have not crippled the other models, so it is worth upgrading...but if we are honest, it can browse the web, run plex, Facebook. Spotify, etc...so it still does what most people need. It is just slow as molasses in comparison to the iPad 2 and it stopped getting updates long before the other models.)
[doublepost=1486191684][/doublepost]You want to sell me an iPad? Build one that's 15" with touch/pen capabilities, and runs the full version of Lightroom and Photoshop CS.
While the iPhone 7 Plus helped Apple achieve record-breaking earnings results last quarter, iPad sales remained on a downward trend.
Apple earlier this week reported that it sold 13.1 million iPads in the first quarter, which encompasses the holiday shopping season, down from 16.1 million in the year-ago quarter. As noted by Jason Snell at Six Colors, that's nearly half as many iPads as the 26 million that Apple sold during the same period in 2013.
Apple isn't the only tablet maker suffering from declining sales. The overall category continued to shrink by between 9% and 20% worldwide compared to the same quarter a year ago, placing pressure on Samsung and other vendors, according to the latest estimates from research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics.
Price remains a "key sticking point" for consumers looking to adopt high-end tablets such as the iPad Pro, which has created room for smaller vendors to capitalize on low-priced tablets, according to Strategy Analytics. Lenovo, for example, shipped an estimated 3.7 million tablets and grew 16% year-over-year in the quarter.
"2-in-1 tablets are a hot market segment but price remains a key factor in consumer behaviors around PC and tablet replacement devices, which is evident in lower shipments of iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 devices in the quarter," said Eric Smith, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.
IDC said the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini, rather than the iPad Pro lineup, continued to account for the majority of Apple's tablet shipments. For every ten slate tablets shipped, Apple sold only one iPad Pro, the research firm said. Apple does not officially break out iPad sales on a model-by-model basis.
Apple said it underestimated holiday demand for the iPad quarter, and that compounded a supply issue with one of its suppliers. Apple also drew down channel inventory by 700,000 units, so its results are not as bad as they look. Last year, Apple increased channel inventory by 900,000 units as the iPad Pro launched.
Apple also said the iPad has an 85% share of the U.S. tablet market priced above $200, so the tablet is doing exceptionally well in the premium segment that the company has targeted. iPad also undoubtedly remains the world's best-selling tablet, with a comfortable lead over its rivals, based on industry estimates.
Samsung was Apple's closest competitor with an estimated 8.1 million tablets shipped in the quarter for 12.8% market share, according to Strategy Analytics. Amazon, Lenovo, and Huawei rounded off the top five with an estimated 4.2 million, 3.7 million, and 3.4 million shipments in the quarter respectively.
As always, it is important to acknowledge that these are estimated figures, and that shipments do not necessarily reflect sales. There are also significant discrepancies between the IDC and Strategy Analytics datasets--particularly as it relates to Amazon--so treat the numbers with a proverbial grain of salt.
Apple has effectively marketed the iPad Pro as a computer in the post-PC world, but the company's second annual decline in iPad sales led Apple podcaster Marco Arment to raise an interesting question: what if the iPad isn't the future of computing?One thing is for certain: consumers are not upgrading their tablets nearly as often as smartphones. In order to reignite iPad sales, Apple will have to add compelling new features that entice the large base of existing iPad owners to swap out their current "good enough" tablet for a new one.
"We've got some exciting things coming on iPad and I'm optimistic about where things are headed," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "Customer satisfaction is through the roof. iPad Pro at 99%. So I see a lot of good things and hope for better results."
Update: Strategy Analytics notified us that it made an error in its chart. The original graphic transposed the names of the 3-5 ranked vendors incorrectly. The chart above has the correct rankings. This article has been updated accordingly where necessary based on the adjusted information.
Article Link: Tim Cook Says 'Exciting Things' Coming to iPad as Tablet Sales Continue to Drop
The 15" thing they could do, it already has pen capabilities, but the program issue is more up to Adobe.
The reason they should add Photoshop to the iPad is that it would give people one more reason to pay the subscription fee for Creative Cloud. If Affinity, or others, fill that missing void, it could be something that hurts Adobe in the long run. I would guess that Pixelmator has already stolen some of their less enthusiastic clients, so this will be another drop in that bucket.
I decided to download the $50 Mac Affinity app. It is close enough to Photoshop that I could live with it as a decent substitute for PS on the iPad. I don't love the idea of adding a new program to my workflow, but at first glance, this might just work because it is intuitive for people that currently use PS. The app seems pretty straightforward and very similar to the main tools I use with PS, but I am going to use it in place of Photoshop for a while to see if I can get used to it.
It will also depend on how it is implemented on the iPad, but if it is mostly the same, it looks like the answer to my problem.
( as a side note, I tried Astropad again last night. Not as clunky as I remembered. It just takes a little while to get used to switching in and out for drawing versus moving things around. It is easier when you detach the tool bar and line it up next to the photo. Not too bad, but I would still prefer a program that doesn't need PS running on a computer.)
The problem is that the iPad cannot replace any kind of PC, not even the lowest end netbook. So people's choices are either to buy a computer and an iPad, or to just buy a computer. Obviously, just a computer is cheaper than both, and a computer can do everything and iPad can do. It's a luxury item, no one really "needs" it.
Everyone *needs* a smartphone today, and everyone *needs* a computer. No one really *needs* an iPad or a smartwatch either. It doesn't do anything that you can't already do with what you already own.
Everyone *needs* a smartphone today, and everyone *needs* a computer. No one really *needs* an iPad or a smartwatch either. It doesn't do anything that you can't already do with what you already own.
Difference between an emerging and mature product
The market for smartwatches is much smaller.Affinity and Pixelmator are perfectly good photo adjustment apps, but you know all that extra stuff in Photoshop that people always complain about bloating it? I'm one of the reasons why. I don't use Photoshop primarily for adjusting photos but, along with Sketch, use it for creating UI's and designing. I've got my fingers crossed that there's a team at Adobe putting full Photoshop onto an iPad. I'd take Illustrator too. I'd be happy for them to experiment with the UI to make it more iPad friendly, but it would need all the functionality.
I think that in the age of the i3-i5-i7, that is correct. The first thing that used to slow down Macs in the past, was Apple's insistence on below bare minimum graphics in their Macs. I know that's causing all kind of hurt in my 2008 iMacs, that's the family uses. Back when vRAM was doubling every couple of years, Apple LOVED to lag years behind. My old G3 and G4 towers were great, but lagged far behind on the graphics front.
That's why they are getting replaced this year. I'll see what Apple offers, but if it's another downgraded Mac Mini, it's time to leave.
But my 2012 cMBP isn't slowing down anytime soon, and I hope it hangs on to meet its 10th anniversary.
I don't understand why you say that everyone needs a computer and that an iPad can't be a good substitute. Let's assume an average office worker with an employer provided computer for work. Now, they own a smartphone and want something larger for personal use. What is wrong with buying an iPad for; mail, messages, web, photos, calendar, contacts, FaceTime, notes, simple documents (iWork), books, PDF, Banking, Mint, Netflix, iMovie, Facebook, Games, etc.? I mean, what percentage of the population really needs more that an iPad for personal computing needs? So, rather than buying a PC the consumer substitutes an iPad....I don't see the issue for most people.
I am not talking about people that want to code or build giant spreadsheets or do complex video editing. I am talking about most people that have a work computer at the office and just want something simple at home for their daily personal lives. Why do they need to buy a PC? I don't get it.
I'm reading this on my iPad Pro 9.7" with my 7 plus resting quietly across the room.
For SOME of the items you suggest, it's a fine device. At home, after work, and when I'm not doing anything more advanced, I happily use my iPad. But for some of the items you list, a traditional input device is desirable to use, instead of just your finger. I'm certainly not typing in anything of substance, without a real keyboard. My mom(in her 70s), who is certainly not a power user, detests the iPad because she can't type anywhere near as quickly as she can on the computer and likes to squirrel away things in a seemingly random(but makes sense to her) file structure.
While she fits in your, non-power users can get by with an iPad stance, there is no way she is giving up her computer, for an iPad.
Would you rather perform something as simple as write a 1 page paper on a macbook with a lovely trackpad/keyboard or an ipad? How about take notes, write an email, keep a simple spreadsheet database or shop online?
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Those pushing the "iPad is a computer replacement" don't seem to understand that a single use case, out of ALL the use cases people use a computer for, is enough to prevent the transition to a full time iPad.
For part time use and consumption, the iPad is great, and I would never say otherwise.
I understand your point, and some folks just prefer a regular computer because they are accustomed to it.
Of course, you can pair an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard for those rare occasions when you need to write something lengthy (more than a page or two) at home. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting dragging a keyboard around everywhere with an iPad....kind of defeats the purpose. But, you can buy a decent Logitech bluetooth keyboard for less than $50 and keep it in the top drawer of the your desk for those few times you need to write something lengthy.
Also, iCloud Drive allows considerable flexibility for a file structure. I probably lack imagination, but it's hard for me to conceive of a typical user's file structure that would be too complex for iCloud Drive.
This Christmas, I bought my wife an iPad Air 2 32GB from BB for $275. I got her a nice case for $30, and she already had a bluetooth keyboard. Her personal computing needs are pretty typical, and there really isn't much she can not do with this set up.
It's terribly inconvenient to lug around an extra bluetooth keyboard (have one myself). You also neglect to mention how moving the cursor around on the screen with a finger for line editing is less exact and more tedious than can be achieved with a mouse or trackpad; likewise other editing options are constrained or more rudimentary on the iPad than on a standard computer. There's much she can't do with this setup. I imagine many would feel liberated going to the library and using a PC of any kind for basic productivity use.
How about if we reframe the question somewhat to: "iPad as your primary device for personal computing needs" assuming that you have an employer provided work computer at the office? If you think of this in terms of typical consumer computing needs....does that make more sense?
Well it already multitasks,
usb - lightning adaptors exist,
file system in iCloudDrive is visible, accessible and manageable.
Prices also dropped.
Yep! That's why Apple said that they don't want to have touchscreen iMacs. I'm for all 3. Mouse, Touchpad, and Touchscreen. That way, when I want to do what I want to do, I can do it.
No argument here. There are a lot of reasons Adobe should work on making an iPad app (some I mentioned above). I am sure I will run across something missing in Affinity that I will need PS for (possibly high pass filter or other less popular processes), even for photo editing.
That being said, for my needs, Affinity will fill in the bulk of my editing processes (assuming it isn't vaporware) and will allow me to use layers for some of the other normal things I do. I can always export it into Lightroom (which will make everything work together) and PS for the final processing. For photos that I am using Photoshop for more specialized processes, I will just continue using PS. The point of buying Affinity is to be able to handle 80 or 90 percent of processing on the iPad and then wrapping it up on my computer. I would end up viewing most of my stuff on a computer anyway since I like seeing my photos on a larger screen before posting them anywhere.
That being said, I want PS on the iPad even if it is only for Photo Editing. I don't expect them to fill everyone's needs on the iPad for a long time, since so many specialists use parts of the program that most people never use. I think people in specialized fields will be stuck using the Surface or a Mac for a while to come. I don't see much reason they can't put mobile versions of both Illustrator and PS on the iPad, though.
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At least he would be honest, and btw he is a boring person. Comparing him to Steve, makes me mis the old keynotes, so exciting. Nowadays, I fall asleep after five minutes.
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Yes, but the average Mac is tree times expensive. Perhaps the margin isn't, but give it some time. Tables are no longer hot.
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Don't put idea's in Tim's head.
Do you want to do your taxes on an employers computer? Do you want to save personal/private information on a work computer? I can think of tons of things I wouldn't want on a work computer, and it would not be wanted by my employer either.
So then You would have to out this info onto an iPad(oops I dropped it), with a cloud backup??? Thanks to Apple not allowing true filesystem access, nor allowing you to use your own storage. You now have all your files are at the mercy of a paid monthly subscription.
So many negatives there, I can't possibly even think of moving to an all iPad, primary device.
Again, any single roadblock, prevents this magical computing transformation.
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