I decided to return my 11” iPad Pro with LTE. Just don’t feel comfortable spending $1,200 for an item with a slight bow out of box. I checked at the Apple Store and all the LTE had a slight bow there as well. Disappointing design it seems.
Apple is like a train, stuck on one track, blowing past red flags left and right, barreling towards disaster in their design department. Apple has this inane obsession with thinness, to the point of detriment of their finalized product designs. This obsession has led to port removals, keyboard modifications leading to degraded keyboard functionality, and to issues with bendability. I have a 2015 MacBook Pro, and one of the brand new 2018 MacBook Pros, and I despise the keyboard on the new laptop. The 2015’s keyboard is one of the nicest I’ve used. Sadly, Apple had to get rid of it, to make the computer thinner. I have two iPad Pros, 2017 models, 10.5” and 12.9”. Both of those are awesome. They feel solid, well made, and perform incredibly well. After a year of extensive use, and travel, with nothing more than the keyboard cover, both iPads look brand new. They have no bends, no damage, just perfection.
I had an 11” iPad Pro 2018 model for all of two days. The total cost for the pad, keyboard folio, pencil, and AppleCare pushed $2000. First reaction taking it out of the box, besides thinking it looked stylish, was how hollow, and cheap it felt. Even before setting it up, to be affronted with the missing split keyboard, I held it in two hands, and tried delicately twisting it. To my dismay, it flexed a fair amount, and I was able to apply pressure to the large, flat aluminum back, causing it to push in, and out, and in the process, make a sound similar to what the testing button on lids of glass jars that have been opened make.
I, personally, don’t need my devices to be as thin as what Apple is making them. I would rather the new iPad Pros be the thickness of the 2017 models, and provide more structural rigidity. I would, also, rather my MacBook Pro be slightly thicker, so as to be able to provide a keyboard with more key travel, and a better selection of ports, so I don’t need a bag full of dongles. A slightly thicker computer would be less intrusive than a bag of dongles, that if forgotten at home, cripples what I am able to attach to the computer.
I think most people would gladly trade a bit of thinness for a more durable, and functional end product. I sincerely wish Apple would get over its obsession with thinness, and instead, become obsessed with providing extremely durable, multifunctional products, like it did in the past.
