What is your opinion on Apple's obsession with thinness?

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Apple loves thin products. The iPad 2 is now 33% thinner than the original!! YAY!! But realize, somethings gotta give. Sure Apple claims they were able to keep the same 10 hr battery life.. but what if they had kept it the same size. Maybe they use a bigger battery to increase bat life to 12 hours. and also by saving money on slightly bigger parts they would have added a 5mp camera and hd facetime cam on the front. Maybe they also would have been able to make a 128gb model or add an SD slot... but instead they made it a few mm thinner.. Was it thin enough already? is it thin enough now? Would you like apple to continue to decrease the size on each revision as long as they are able to keep decent specs?

 

[al256]

Apple loves thin products. The iPad 2 is now 33% thinner than the original!! YAY!! But realize, somethings gotta give. Sure Apple claims they were able to keep the same 10 hr battery life.. but what if they had kept it the same size. Maybe they use a bigger battery to increase bat life to 12 hours. and also by saving money on slightly bigger parts they would have added a 5mp camera and hd facetime cam on the front. Maybe they also would have been able to make a 128gb model or add an SD slot... but instead they made it a few mm thinner.. Was it thin enough already? is it thin enough now? Would you like apple to continue to decrease the size on each revision as long as they are able to keep decent specs?

Replace the word "Apple" with "Steve" in your post. If you watch the original iPod release Steve will mention that the 1 inch thick iPod is incredibly thin with a great battery life.

 

[sam2428]

I dont think it is just Apple's obsession...i think its more of a consumer obsession.

We want portable products without the bulk but still the functionality. (at least thats what I am looking for with most my mobile gadgets).

 

[jav6454]

It's great. Makes everything light weight.

 

[Star-fire]

I think it's plenty thin now, of course I haven't held one but it's thinner then my iphone 4 so I don't see how it can get much thinner, from this point on I'd rather see weight reduction, under 1lb would be awesome!

 

[Piggie]

Apple loves thin products. The iPad 2 is now 33% thinner than the original!! YAY!! But realize, somethings gotta give. Sure Apple claims they were able to keep the same 10 hr battery life.. but what if they had kept it the same size. Maybe they use a bigger battery to increase bat life to 12 hours. and also by saving money on slightly bigger parts they would have added a 5mp camera and hd facetime cam on the front. Maybe they also would have been able to make a 128gb model or add an SD slot... but instead they made it a few mm thinner.. Was it thin enough already? is it thin enough now? Would you like apple to continue to decrease the size on each revision as long as they are able to keep decent specs?

I, like most others, love things to be as thin and light as possible.

But, unlike perhaps some I don't make this my No.1 priority.

I think iMac's are too thin as the design compromises what Apple can fit in them, so they are at a stage or form over function.

Funnily enough I did think this with the iPad. Are Apple going to shoot themselves in the foot here once again?

Perhaps it won't happen, but I would hate Apple not to be able to offer the same high speed hardware as others in years to come as they put thinness above all else, and can they now make a future iPad thicker than iPad2 will be, or have they set themselves a goal that may not be possible as years go on?

 

[Sodner]

No I don't want a thicker iPad so they can add a 10MP camera to the back so someone can use the thing on vacation at Disneyland as their primary camera.

 

[Good.Shepherd]

Part of it is Apple responding to consumers and reports.

Thinness does not always equal lighter, but there is a strong relationship there.

How many times over the last year have we heard, "Geez, this iPad is so wonderful and great, but man oh man isn't it just too heavy? It's almost so heavy I cannot read with it!"

So they addressed it.

As for me, 33% means little when you realize that it's only 4mm. That's it. 4mm. I cannot think of a case in the world where 4mm would matter that much, and I'll always have mine in some sort of case because just putting something on the screen doesn't protect it from shock.

Personally, I want to see them increase it's usefulness through the iOS updates, screen resolution, and the device's overall computing power. If it gets 5mm thicker, I don't care.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Perhaps it won't happen, but I would hate Apple not to be able to offer the same high speed hardware as others in years to come as they put thinness above all else, and can they now make a future iPad thicker than iPad2 will be, or have they set themselves a goal that may not be possible as years go on?

Interesting point. If there is some absolute must have feature in the future that would require a thicker frame, would Apple be able to give in and go thicker or just not use that till the feature is thin enough to fit in the 3mm iPad 7?

 

[Piggie]

Interesting point. If there is some absolute must have feature in the future that would require a thicker frame, would Apple be able to give in and go thicker or just not use that till the feature is thin enough to fit in the 3mm iPad 7?

That's is my exact concern.

Will they say, when planning, making a later model thicker than the previous model, it just out of the question, totally?

Hopefully it won't be an issue, but you could paint yourself into a corner, say in time, things get a bit hotter due to Mhz/Ghz, and your thinness started getting in the way of advancing the technical side of it.

I hope this will never happen as of course, faster, thinner and lighter it always great if you can have all three.

 

[Icaras]

The thinness is awesome.

I'm still waiting for Apple to make the Mac Pro 1" thick.

 

[Goaliegeek]

I like it, but thin sometimes gets too thin. The current iPod Touches are to thin for my liking, especially for a handheld for games. iPhone 4 is pretty perfect for me. iPad seemed to heavy and think, so iPad 2 should be great. Cant wait to get one friday.

 

[bossxii]

When I call fold/roll up my tablet device, which unfolds/rolls into a nice 12 to 15" screen that is a full functioning computer with no restrictions, has a battery that lasts for a week/month etc...

Bottom line technology will continue to get smaller/faster etc.. it has been on this path for what 50 or 60 years since the first room filling IBM vacuum tube computer.

If the iPad were 1/4 lb vs 1.5lbs think how much easier it would be to hold and use, lighter while maintaining function and battery life will always be the goal. Why would I want a laptop that weights 12lb when they can now pack that same amount or more power and tech into a laptop that weights 2 or 3lbs.

 

[stev3n]

I think the thinness is good. Who wants to carry around bulky devices?

 

[JRoDDz]

Thin is "in".

 

[miamialley]

Apple loves thin products. The iPad 2 is now 33% thinner than the original!! YAY!! But realize, somethings gotta give. Sure Apple claims they were able to keep the same 10 hr battery life.. but what if they had kept it the same size. Maybe they use a bigger battery to increase bat life to 12 hours. and also by saving money on slightly bigger parts they would have added a 5mp camera and hd facetime cam on the front. Maybe they also would have been able to make a 128gb model or add an SD slot... but instead they made it a few mm thinner.. Was it thin enough already? is it thin enough now? Would you like apple to continue to decrease the size on each revision as long as they are able to keep decent specs?

Valid points, but I don't think we're at the "okay this is thin enough" stage yet. There is a limit though right? I mean, if they made it as thin as a piece of paper, I'd say that's too thin. So, there is a point at which it's too thin...just not yet. IMO.

 

[PCClone]

Apple products and women are better thin.

 

[v66jack]

If apple released a product which wasn't thiner, faster, lighter people would buy other products. It's their innovation (well that's debatable) but there consist changing and updating that keeps people buying. No one buys other tablets not because they have better specs but because they are bulky, heavy and ugly. Apple work on the most important aspect of tablet computers - the aesthetics.

 

[iGary]

It showcases their engineering prowess and their "what shouldn't be there shouldn't be there" mantra. It has obviously served them well.

 

[Piggie]

Apple products and women are better thin.

Yeah, but they both have to be useful irrespective of size

 

[Sodner]

It is a very valid point on "what if" in order to make the iPad 3 with retina display last 10 hours and have 30 hours of standby that they need a bit more battery and it won't fit the iPad 2 thickness. Then what? They do love to make things thinner and thinner and thinner....

 

[zenio]

It depends on the product. A distinction that's beyond Apple's limited common sense.

The MBP's thin body plus sloppy thermal paste application equals the quality of a barebones junk laptop, and runs hot to prove it.

Apple is better than this. Sadly, they don't care.

 

[kmanmx]

It depends on the product. A distinction that's beyond Apple's limited common sense.

The MBP's thin body plus sloppy thermal paste application equals the quality of a barebones junk laptop, and runs hot to prove it.

Apple is better than this. Sadly, they don't care.

Limited common sense ? See that is where you are wrong.Common sense says there products are selling extremely well, so don't go do anything to change that. And they don't. And it works. People forget Apple are a business.

As to the question, the iPad 2 looks like a great size. I wouldn't want it as 'fat' as the old ipad, or much thinner than the new one. Too thin compromises structural integrity and a sense of quality, it also makes it harder to hold.

 

[al1cre]

In the case of phones, a phone can be too thin or too small to hold confortably for any length of time.

Also, many people put cases around their devices, so if a device is a fraction of an inch smaller but you need or use a case to protect the device (which may or may not be more fragile by being thinner), then I couldn't care less.

 

[Sedrick]

If these things get any thinner, they'll snap in half when you bend over to pick up a dime. I think the iPad2 and iPhone 4 are thin enough. If the iPhone get's any thinner, it's going to be hard to hold onto.