Might apple bring out two different tablets, One as now, the other OSX ?

[Piggie]

Was wondering what people here views would be if rather than just always having (as of now) one single line of tablets (with different memory/3G option)

They actually brought out two separate lines of them.

One, as of now, a simplified OS, more a consumption device, linked totally to the app store and another machine (PC or Mac) to create content on, and syncing to move content over.

And also to have another distinct/separate tablet line (more expensive of course) iPAd Pro ? That had a full touch enabled OSX on it.

That way offering both content creators, and consumers the choice of having the table that most suited their needs.

The reason I pose this question is this.

As years go by, let's say 10 years have gone by which is a very long time, CPU speeds get faster, multiple cores, mose advanced built in GPU's, battery live continues to advance, screens get higher res and lower power.

(Just imagine the above for a moment)

Are apple going to always "Hold back" the iPad into being a device that does what it does not, only a bit faster and a nicer screen with more memory.

Or are they going to think, hey this is silly, this 5Ghz tablet with 512GB of memory with a battery that lasts 5 days on one charge, could run OSX without even breaking a sweat. Why are we stopping it from doing so?

I have difficulty thinking Apple will never allow a Tablet to evolve more.

Perhaps a OSX MAc Laptop could end up being a Tablet/Laptop, where it looks like a laptop, and you can pull the screen away and then have the same machine but with on-screen keyboard, till you dock it again.

What do you think, or what would you like to happen over the next 1, 5, 10 years?

1: Apple to only make a Tablet like they do today, mainly for content consumption. But a bit faster with a nicer screen and more storage.

2: Apple to bring out two lines of Tablets, one as we have now, and a second "Pro" line that runs a touch enabled version of OSX.

3: Apple to add more and more features to the current tablet to make it into a content creation device, but still not have a full OS unlinked from iTunes?

4: Something else you'd like the Tablet evolve into?

 

[Gav2k]

No. iOs will evolve.

 

[yetanotherdave]

My laptop today could run windows 95 at blistering speed (until it BSOD'd of course) but why would I want 15 year old software on my new laptop.

So why would I want 2010 osx on a 2020 iPad? While I have a feeling the software requirements of the iOS are going to be massively outpaced by hardware advancement, the iOS will still require the new hardware as more features are added and the apps we run on the iPad will require more hardware capability.

Plus, full OS X on a touchscreen. How fiddly! without a pointing device like a mouse or trackpad it'll be a horrible experience.

 

[sammich]

So if iOS and the AppStore explode into mainstream computing, Apple moves OS X to signed and authenticated installer packages like the AppStore to fight Piracy. How will they handle special purchasers like students/teachers and special groups?

Just a thought, I Jobs said clearly that they weren't going in that direction.

 

[Piggie]

My laptop today could run windows 95 at blistering speed (until it BSOD'd of course) but why would I want 15 year old software on my new laptop.

So why would I want 2010 osx on a 2020 iPad? While I have a feeling the software requirements of the iOS are going to be massively outpaced by hardware advancement, the iOS will still require the new hardware as more features are added and the apps we run on the iPad will require more hardware capability.

Plus, full OS X on a touchscreen. How fiddly! without a pointing device like a mouse or trackpad it'll be a horrible experience.

I would feel that the power of a tablet device will grow far faster than any bloated-ness that will be added to OSX over the next 5 or 10 years.

I would guess that in 5 or 10 years time, a tablet could run the THEN current version of OSX easily.

The question I guess is, will Apple allow a tablet to do so, or never allow OSX onto any device that does not have a physical keyboard?

 

[newdeal]

...

Never. As steve said in his d8 interview other tablets failed because they were stylus based. You needed a stylus because the os was designed for a mouse and cursor which is much more precise that w finger tip. Osx is designed for the precision of a pointer and cursor also so you cant get it to work well with a finger. Try teleport and see how it works, its ok but not good or useable

 

[Night Spring]

No. iOs will evolve.

Agreed. I think it's more likely that OSX will get phased out and we'll see a souped up version of iOS on future desktops/notebooks.

BTW, there already are two different versions of ipads - one is called the iPad, and the other is iPhone/ iPod touch.

 

[0101001]

I think they might, a pro iPad.

 

[Dogpilot]

I made a touchscreen for a Mac Mini for my camper van. I wanted to use a bigger display than what was current in my iPhone to use for navigation with a program called Route Buddy on OSX, that and use iTunes and Front Row for entertainment. I used an 8,4" Lilliput display for the touchscreen, so it is comparable to the size of the iPad. Well OSX is not well suited, at all, for touch manipulation. It was perhaps safer to drink one or two bottles of bourbon and drive, rather than try to use the silly thing while driving. Even stopped or on my desk, it was difficult to use. While you could move the mouse cursor, and activate by tapping along with several other gestures, it sucked, sucked real bad.

So if you want an OSX pad, give it a whirl, the USB touchscreen software is free, a Lilliput touchscreen VGA monitor runs under $300 on eBay, use it, sell it. Find out for yourself, don't speculate. If you want something to do OSX then get a Macbook 13", if small is a must. Making a computing device do everything makes them a Camel, a horse designed by a committee, they do nothing well.

 

[jb1280]

By the time technology reaches the levels you are discussing, iOS will be as robust as OS X.

If there remains a delineation between the two platforms as it is currently conceived, there is a greater chance that iOS ends up sanctioned on an HTC handset than OS X ends up sanctioned on an iPad - i.e. slim slim chance.

 

[Full of Win]

Doubtful. The metaphor currently used is not right to make a tablet. They could change it to make it more touch friendly, which might have happened w/o the iOS, but after the iPad/iPhone its doubtful it will happen.

 

[Maaz]

Lol no.

 

[costabunny]

aww got all hot and flustered then - don't say things like that!

I can't see it anytime soon - but one day laptops will evolve to being mostly touchscreen driven and probably lose their physical keyboards.

I'd love to see it, but there are hurdles; OSX is too big for now and not resolution independent - these need work to make it a tablet/sff friendly OS.

for now Apples markets are clear so they wouldn't 'hurt' their new iPad market with any plans for a full OS driven device in the same area.

patience young padewan....

 

[Mike Reed]

I doubt we'll see os x on a tablet, at least as it exists now on the Mac. One of the things that makes Apple's approach more successful than Microsoft's is that they developed the entire OS around the input method. OS X and Windows are built on the assumption that there is a mouse and a keyboard involved. Although I do love OneNote on tablet PCs, almost everything else feels clunky.

 

[Piggie]

To be honest, seeing as the pointer on a Mac Laptop is controlled by moving your finger over a small trackpad area, it's not the greatest leap of imagination to think how they could implement something that could work in the same way in a tablet.

 

[Mike Reed]

To be honest, seeing as the pointer on a Mac Laptop is controlled by moving your finger over a small trackpad area, it's not the greatest leap of imagination to think how they could implement something that could work in the same way in a tablet.

True, they could go with something like a trackpad (either software or hardware) but then you're just a keyboard away from it being a laptop. What would the user be gaining from buying this instead of something like a MacBook air?

The interface for the LogMeIn app is a good example I think of how a desktop OS would feel on an iPad like device. It gets the job done as well as it can, but it still very much leaves the impression that the user experience is second class compared to using the input tools whatever OS to which you're dialed in was designed around.

 

[blackNBUK]

To be honest, seeing as the pointer on a Mac Laptop is controlled by moving your finger over a small trackpad area, it's not the greatest leap of imagination to think how they could implement something that could work in the same way in a tablet.

I'm not sure quite what you are asking for? A trackpad is a significantly different input device to a touchscreen because you've still got a pixel perfect pointer to aim at stuff on the screen. If you're suggesting that a pointer be added to iOS then I think you're missing the point. One of the main benefits of a touchscreen is that you are directly interacting with the interface by touching it, instead of being a step removed.

My prediction/hope for the iPad is that over time more "full-OS" features are added to it. Obvious examples of this are printing and improved ways of sharing documents between Apps. At some point we may see a Pro model; but my guess is that this will be the model that severs the umbilical cord to iTunes and removes the App Store restrictions.

 

[ditzy]

I think that history has pretty much proved that in general the public do not want a desktop OS running on a tablet form. I'm not sure why apple would wish to emulate a failing product.