Pretty sure both Apple and others said they would never release a stylus either. Saying Apple will never do something is silly. The fact is they have been testing it so if anything it's actually a decent possibility.
I was waiting for someone to mention the Pencil. Ok, so, here goes.
First of all, of course, no one knows what Apple will or will not do with a 100% certainty. Hell, even Tim Cook doesn't know what the future will bring, let alone forum posters. However, we can make educated guesses.
Apple is an interesting company, to say the least. They have changed and evolved over time, but their tenets remained unchanged for the most part. Simplicity instead of complexity (even at a cost of short-term gains), focus, planning long-term, iteration and planning ahead.
This is what makes some predictions easier than others. In fact, while it's hard to predict what Apple will do, it's a bit easier to say what they won't do, not under the direction they are taking now. If you follow Apple, read their interviews, read their bloggers like Jason Snell and John Gruber, if you follow Anandtech and read about technology, you can almost dismiss certain rumours with certainty. For example: are they building an ARM-based Mac? Possibly. Are they going to release it soon? Almost certainly not (I won't go into this, it's a topic for itself, but it is a good example).
I could write pages and pages of my thoughts of Apple, but let's focus on the trackpad. They are not going to release a trackpad for the iPad because that would defeat it's purpose and create conflicting issues down the line. Say you add a trackpad or a mouse to the iPad and have a pointer. Suddenly, you have a paradigm shift when it comes to iOS UI.
Current iOS UI is not designed with the pros and cons of pointer input in mind and changing it in this way would fundamentally change iOS. I won't go into detail, but if anyone wants to discuss this with me, we can. The thing is, you really can't do both touch and pointer efficiently (The fact that Windows 8/10 has a "tablet mode" almost proves this) and you certainly can't have it and maintain simplicity and clarity (I'm aware
it can be done, but can it be done in a good, clear and easy to use way? If you think the answer is yes, then
you just don't get Apple).
So, they can't just add the trackpad without changing iOS so substantially that they, in fact, make it into macOS. It goes the other way, they can't change macOS without changing it into iOS. One day, they may unify these two. I have no idea how they are going to do it, but this hypothetical "AppleOS" will
neither be iOS nor macOS and the products that run it will most likely be a whole new category of products.
Adding a trackpad to current iOS devices would create confusion among users and if you think Apple would have two fundamentally different input methods side by side, you're just wrong. It doesn't matter if you or I or anyone else think this would be a good idea - they are not going to add 2 ways to do the same thing (at least not something so fundamental). They just won't. What they are going to do is create things that will
complement them. And that's where the Pencil comes in.
1. The Pencil complements the touch system, the trackpad replaces it.
They did not design the Pencil to do the same thing our fingers do. The trackpad is designed to do the same thing our fingers do - that is the difference. They did not design it to manipulate the UI (in fact, they almost removed this option entirely) - they designed it to draw and sketch and doodle. The trackpad is designed to do the same things our fingers do on iPads and iPhones - manipulate the UI.
2. The Pencil fits the iOS UI metaphor.
The iOS UI is based on a metaphor - we touch buttons, we drag surfaces and switches, we pinch photographs. Adding a Pencil to that - is as natural as adding a real pencil to a real paper. You can move the paper around with your hands, you can rotate it with your hands, you can swipe it away from your desk, but you can't paint well with fingers or just dip your finger into ink and write well.
3. The Pencils solves a problem that is otherwise almost unsolvable.
You just can't draw or handwrite without a pen-shaped tool. Until we are able to draw directly with our minds, nothing else will replace it. We can control computers with our voice, with mice, with gamepads, with trackpads and even our bodies, but we can only draw and scribble with pencils.
This is the same reason Apple allows game controllers for iOS.
4. The Pencil does not create user confusion.
You know what to do with it and WHEN to use it. No iPad owner takes the pencil and thinks - wait, should I use this to open mail? Sure, you can, if you already have it in hand - but no one grabs a pencil to start an app or swipe down the Notification centre. You take it when you want to write with your hand, draw, select elements on a photo, etc. You always know when to use it and how to use it.
The trackpad, on the other hand:
1. Replaces the touch system.
It is not meant to use alongside touch - you would either grab the trackpad or touch the screen.
2. It does not fit the iOS UI metaphor.
3. It does not solve a problem that is unsolvable by touch.
If touch is not good enough for what it's meant to do - like opening apps, moving UI elements - then it means Apple didn't do a good enough job designing it. If this is true, they need to improve or fix touch, not add new input methods as a quick workaround (this is, basically, what some Android device manufacturers do)
4. It would create user confusion.
Oh sure, you might think otherwise, but in reality, I would have a hard time explaining when to use a finger and when a trackpad to a lot of people. Even when I use both myself, like using a mouse on my Cintiq, I find myself unsure if I should press the start button with a mouse or my finger or both? It sounds silly, of course it's not a dilemma that requires deep thinking, but it does not have that sharp clarity that my iPad has. It's not Apple.
So, I hope this long posts explains my thoughts. Yes, they added a Pencil and that is ok, it's the Apple thing to do. No, they will not add the trackpad.
Sorry for the long post!
[doublepost=1471137696][/doublepost]
This is the type of posting where the poster confuses his opinion with immutable fact. "apple will never build a stylus!" . "apple will never builld a big phone" "apple will never make a large ipad", "Apple will never add additional seats to the Apple sports car"
Get over it, indeed!
If you think making a stylus or a big phone or a large iPad is the same kind of thing as creating a trackpad for the iPad, then we cannot have a good discussion, sir. Sure, they may make and even bigger phone one day. They may make a car. Heck, they may make a 15" iPad or add multiple pencils to it. They will not add a trackpad. I tried to explain my reasoning in the post above.
