All iPads Why do people care so much about how thin a tablet (or even phone) is?

[Abazigal]

Old thread, but as a teacher who walks around the classroom with an iPad in hand, you can never have a tablet that is too thin or too light.

 

[Parkin Pig]

I guess I can see why a tablet would want to be thinner, you make a good point with that because of the weight, i have the iPad for two years ago, and i thought that was perfectly fine thickness wise. I used an iPad air that my parents have, and for me i think its too thin but i guess thats just me.

I think my bigger issue is with the phones, I like to be able to grip my phone when using it, i have the 4S and that is perfect IMO, I want to get the iPhone 6 soon, but worry it will be too think for me. I will get a case for it, that will add a little bulk, but I still think it can get too thin at some point.

But if the goal for tablets is a piece of paper thin, (as close as you can get) then I guess ill never be happy when it gets that close

I've just moved from a 4S to an 8 plus. I totally agree that the 4S was a perfect thickness for ease of handling. I've put an Apple silicone case on the 8 plus and I have to say my reservations about the thinness have mainly disappeared. I do feel like I need to treat the 8 plus with more care. It's thinner and considerably longer, so leverage factors come into play.
On the plus side, the bezels still allow a more secure grip without fingers covering the screen, and this was one of my deciding factors when choosing it over the X.
Weight-wise, I personally don't have a problem with any phone. Sure, there are differences in weight, but when people complain about modern smartphones being heavy, it does make me wonder if they need assistance cutting their steaks.
Tablet weight reduction is still welcome, but for me personally, there is no desire for any further reduction in thickness.

 

[varunsanthanam]

Sure you don't want it to be super thick, but why do tablets and even phones have to keep getting thinner, they were already thin enough, they are at the point where they are just more difficult to gripe or hold because its too thin, plus when it gets too thin its just much easier to break.

I never understood the craze for these kind of things to be super thin.

With phones, I think we’re seeing diminishing returns. With tablets, I couldn’t disagree more. The move from the iPad Air 2 from the original iPad Air was one of the best upgrades in all my experiences as an Apple product user.

 

[rui no onna]

With phones, I think we’re seeing diminishing returns. With tablets, I couldn’t disagree more. The move from the iPad Air 2 from the original iPad Air was one of the best upgrades in all my experiences as an Apple product user.

Performance and display, yes, absolutely.

Wish they'd just kept the same thickness and put in bigger batteries, though. As crappy as the iPad 3 was, at 5 years of age, it still had better battery life than a brand new Air 2 or Pro 9.7.

 

[sracer]

Sure you don't want it to be super thick, but why do tablets and even phones have to keep getting thinner, they were already thin enough, they are at the point where they are just more difficult to gripe or hold because its too thin, plus when it gets too thin its just much easier to break.

I never understood the craze for these kind of things to be super thin.

I wonder if there is a correlation between using an iPad with a full case and the desire for decreasing thickness.

I used to go "full case" with the earlier iPads. But with my iPad Air 2, Mini 4, and 12.9 Pro, I only use a smart cover and thin clear skin for the back. As the iPad gets thinner, the cases become a greater proportion of the thickness (because due to the purpose of a case, they can't decrease in thickness). So much so that the keyboard "bulge" of the ASK seems to make the combo feel much thicker.

So I'm curious if those who use their iPads naked or with only a smartcover are still looking for iPads to become thinner.

 

[DNichter]

Lighter is always better

 

[bensisko]

So I'm curious if those who use their iPads naked or with only a smartcover are still looking for iPads to become thinner.

Speaking only for this naked iPad user... yes, it would be nice to get it thinner. The battery like on the iPads are pretty awesome, as is performance. I suppose the sacrifice isn’t as much going down in functionality but not advancing (specifically with battery life - while they’re not making battery worse, they’re not advancing it as much as they could).

Personally, thinner, lighter, and certainly less bezels would be great, but I would say getting rid of bezels would take priority over making it any thinner (which, of course, by default means making it smaller).

 

[pika2000]

For an iPad, thinner means lighter (depends on material, of course), which means easier to hold longer. Just like a laptop. Thinner means more portable.
So I'm all for thinner iPads.

However, if we talk about the iPhone, the weight difference of being thinner and lighter might not be as significant, thus going thinner/lighter would not be as desirable as it means sacrificing battery. We see that iPhones are actually getting heavier.

 

[jeremiah256]

I think it also depends on the use-case. My use-case is that my iPad is usually laying flat on a table or desk, and I'm taking notes, or it's in laptop configuration with the ASK. So, since I'm only carrying/holding it from point A to point B, I think the thinness and weight is fine and not an issue. If I used it as my main entertainment/camera I might have a different point of view.