All iPads So, was the "What's a computer?" ad a success or failure?

[RSB96]

Well, for me the iPad is my "computer". 95% of the things I do on a daily basis I do with the iPad.

At work I have my own computer, the iPad is my backup for certain documents, to underline demands, requirements, etc.

But I use it mainly at home (like the iMac), and in my free time, for surfing the web, writing in forums, social networks, facetime, and in my free time, retouching photos and drawing, the iPad offers me more freedom than a MacBook.

However, it is true that for certain tasks (in my case, very specific ones), I do need macOS. If you want to play games or any program that is not available on iPad, if I am at home, I use the iMac, and if I am at work, I have the PC.

Therefore, I believe that for my "laptop" use, the iPad offers me more than what a MacBook Air would offer me. Now, I am aware of its limitations.

 

[chrono1081]

The ad itself is annoying but it had a point. For many people they literally don't need a laptop or desktop and can scoot by with just an iPad perfectly fine.

That being said I've noticed with my friends and relatives kids they literally don't know how to use computers, they only know tablets because their parents have used tablets as baby sitters since they were little and many now do schoolwork on them.

 

[danmart]

For a ‘circle of life’ full-symmetry, iPads are also really good for older people who never had a computer during earlier life, but now need some kind of device to mostly just surf the web and handle email. We got my 85-year old father-in-law an iPad to replace his Windows PC as he was less likely to break it, get malware etc.

 

[spiderman0616]

For a ‘circle of life’ full-symmetry, iPads are also really good for older people who never had a computer during earlier life, but now need some kind of device to mostly just surf the web and handle email. We got my 85-year old father-in-law an iPad to replace his Windows PC as he was less likely to break it, get malware etc.

Exact same reason I convinced my parents to ditch their cheap-o Windows PC that kept malfunctioning and get an iPad back in 2011. They've upgraded a couple of times since then--now an iPad Pro 11" with Magic Keyboard and Pencil is their main computer. I can count on one hand how many calls I've gotten from them for help with the iPad over the last several years.

 

[imdog]

I wish the magic keyboard was able to go into a tablet mode like the Smart Keyboard/folio. That made me use my iPad just like a watered down MacBook, I rarely used it as a tablet at all. I’m selling it now and going with my iPad mini 6

 

[ericwn]

I wish the magic keyboard was able to go into a tablet mode like the Smart Keyboard/folio. That made me use my iPad just like a watered down MacBook, I rarely used it as a tablet at all. I’m selling it now and going with my iPad mini 6

That’s quite the journey and transformation from wanting to start a class action to only using said iPad!

 

[Dented]

It was very successful.

Apple never calls iPad a tablet anywhere on their marketing materials - not on their website and not during presentations. The goal of the campaign was to get the viewer to understand the iPad isn't a computer. It's more than that. Some people misunderstand and believe it was about whether iPad can replace your notebook computer. It was never about that. The idea is iPad an entirely different category.

More and more people call for an iPad by name vs. a tablet. This is similar to the older campaign where Apple was promoting, "If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone."

Exactly this. For me the ad was about moving the conversation on, long past “replacing” a traditional computer to never needing one in the first place. Rather than replicating some existing workflow, the child in the ad was creating their own unique workflows which would never have worked on a PC anyway.

I’m honestly surprised that anyone deems it controversial, it was an obviously effective ad (hence the fact it’s still remembered and debated) and I didn’t see anything surprising in its message personally. I have two children who at 11 and 9 have grown up with iPads, and just like the kid in the ad they’re doing homework on their iPads every week, as well as gaming and everything else. Of course they know what a PC is (because this isn’t a commercial) but they have absolutely no need or interest in one, at least right now.

 

[Andysapple]

I just want proper external monitor support. Third party apps proves this can be done, and should be done better by Apple with native support.

 

[spiderman0616]

Exactly this. For me the ad was about moving the conversation on, long past “replacing” a traditional computer to never needing one in the first place. Rather than replicating some existing workflow, the child in the ad was creating their own unique workflows which would never have worked on a PC in the first place.

I’m honestly surprised that anyone deems it controversial, it was an obviously effective ad (hence the fact it’s still remembered and debated) and I didn’t see anything surprising in its message personally. I have two children who at 11 and 9 have grown up with iPads, and just like the kid in the ad they’re doing homework on their iPads every week, as well as gaming and everything else. Of course they know what a PC is (because this isn’t a commercial) but they have absolutely no need or interest in one, at least right now.

My kids are 11 and 14, and all the way up until last year, neither of them had a full blown desktop or laptop Mac/PC. My wife and I are both long time Apple users, but we do try to remember that our kids have minds of their own and don't need to like the same things we like.

Recently, my older one got a gaming PC because a friend convinced him it was the way to go. He seems to have fun with it. He treats it more or less like a game console though, and doesn't seem to have any strong feelings either way toward Windows. My younger one, under the influence of his older brother but always wanting to go his own way, decided to get an M1 Mac mini. He loves it very, very much, but it is far too much computer for him. I have fun helping him figure things out, but he does not understand what he's dealing with quite yet. He may or may not ever care, depending on his choice of careers a few years from now.

My point being.....if my 14 year old is not gaming with friends on his PC, his device of choice is his iPhone, even for homework, even if it's a lot of typing. Similarly, my 11 year old's device of choice is an iPad, but he begs us about once a month to have an iPhone of his own. (The rule in our house is that you don't get your own phone until 8th grade, and we stand firm on that.) They both love their Apple Watches, and I'm honestly shocked my 14 year old is still wearing his daily. It was a splurge gift for each of them last year, and I was pretty nervous we had wasted our money.

I'll be interested to see how things progress going forward now that Apple Silicon has made the Mac into the fierce beast it deserves to be. For now though, I don't think "the kids" really care. iPhones seem to do everything they need quite nicely.

 

[sonstar]

I sold my 2015 27" iMac while there was some value left in it, and just used my M1 12.9" iPad for a few months till I got the 24" iMac. It worked and there wasn't anything I couldn't do for my uses, although the screen size made some things slower/harder/frustrating.
Plus looked a bit dumb on my home/office desk lol and probably not good for eye strain.
Just sold the MGK as I didn't use it.
Guess I am a iPad as a iPad kinda guy.

 

[PandaPunch]

I love the iPad, and even when the day I get a Mac comes, I don't think that's going to change. I feel that I will always have a desktop form factor computer no matter what for longer writing/research/Discord sessions, but the iPad is a great primary device.

While a lot of people mocked the commercial, much like how people also made tasteless jokes about the first iPad, I think the ad did it's job pretty well. Apple, in my opinion, did a good job showing off people who don't fit the mold of "nerdy male between 19-35 with a red and black gaming laptop" using the iPad while not placing the iPad as "the inferior computer". And I might be biased, since I have a more relaxed, fluid definition of a "computer" but I do think it's nice that a tablet maker shows the many ways a tablet can be used in your life beyond "insert SD card with movies and handoff to kids on a flight".

While I feel that the iPad is 100% a computer, I could see how someone who has a different attitude about computers from myself might see the iPad as "not a computer" as in "more approachable" or "integrates into my life better" than a "traditional" computer.

 

[Dented]

My kids are 11 and 14, and all the way up until last year, neither of them had a full blown desktop or laptop Mac/PC. My wife and I are both long time Apple users, but we do try to remember that our kids have minds of their own and don't need to like the same things we like.

Recently, my older one got a gaming PC because a friend convinced him it was the way to go. He seems to have fun with it. He treats it more or less like a game console though, and doesn't seem to have any strong feelings either way toward Windows. My younger one, under the influence of his older brother but always wanting to go his own way, decided to get an M1 Mac mini. He loves it very, very much, but it is far too much computer for him. I have fun helping him figure things out, but he does not understand what he's dealing with quite yet. He may or may not ever care, depending on his choice of careers a few years from now.

My point being.....if my 14 year old is not gaming with friends on his PC, his device of choice is his iPhone, even for homework, even if it's a lot of typing. Similarly, my 11 year old's device of choice is an iPad, but he begs us about once a month to have an iPhone of his own. (The rule in our house is that you don't get your own phone until 8th grade, and we stand firm on that.) They both love their Apple Watches, and I'm honestly shocked my 14 year old is still wearing his daily. It was a splurge gift for each of them last year, and I was pretty nervous we had wasted our money.

I'll be interested to see how things progress going forward now that Apple Silicon has made the Mac into the fierce beast it deserves to be. For now though, I don't think "the kids" really care. iPhones seem to do everything they need quite nicely.

It will definitely be interesting seeing this touchscreen generation mature, and the extent to which they do migrate onto other platforms. For my two the ipad is absolutely their go to device for everything, to the extent that they don’t even touch their Nintendo most of the time, the ipad is very much both work and play for them. They have keyboard cases and can use all the office apps on there when they need to. My daughter got an iPhone for her 11th birthday, but of course having already had the ipad it’s really just an extension of that through which she accesses all the same apps and services.

Personally, I use a work-issued windows laptop for work and I have a (now very old) MacBook Pro for home, but for some time now my primary computer has been my iPad Pro. It doesn’t do everything, but it does about 95% of everything I need more comfortably and conveniently than anything else.

 

[Xand&Roby]

If you are a boomer like most here, grow up with mouse and keyboard, it could be a failure.
If you are a older one or a younger one, grow up without the crap computer’s universe, it could be a success.

I can see, as a 40 yrs old technician grow up with crap pcs and older Macs (Quadra and so on), the joy of older ones who didn’t understand pcs in decades and the younger ones freedom from crap mouse and keyboard father’s needs.

Keyboard and mouse are past as the millennial like me.

 

[spiderman0616]

It will definitely be interesting seeing this touchscreen generation mature, and the extent to which they do migrate onto other platforms. For my two the ipad is absolutely their go to device for everything, to the extent that they don’t even touch their Nintendo most of the time, the ipad is very much both work and play for them. They have keyboard cases and can use all the office apps on there when they need to. My daughter got an iPhone for her 11th birthday, but of course having already had the ipad it’s really just an extension of that through which she accesses all the same apps and services.

Personally, I use a work-issued windows laptop for work and I have a (now very old) MacBook Pro for home, but for some time now my primary computer has been my iPad Pro. It doesn’t do everything, but it does about 95% of everything I need more comfortably and conveniently than anything else.

I have a work issued MacBook Pro, and used to consider that enough for me on the Mac side of things. It's not a great computer. It runs really hot, has the awful butterfly keyboard, and I never even make it to lunch on a battery. For years I had an iPad Pro for all my own computing and that's been a wonderful experience compared to the Intel Macs.

Two things upended my entire way of thinking after being more or less iPad-only for several years: Apple Silicon and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The M1 MacBook Air singlehandedly eliminated every complaint I've had about every laptop I've ever owned, including Macs. It's light, runs cool, seldom needs to be plugged in, and is the fastest computer I've ever used. Similarly, the new MacBook Pros seem to have eliminated most of the complaints of "pro" users. They have all of the above benefits of M1, added the most important ports back in to the I/O, and an insane amount of power with lots of SKUs to choose from. For me, not being an artist, that really squeezes the iPad on the big-screen side of my workflows.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max, on the other hand, squeezes the iPad on the small-screen side. Aside from Pencil support, it's now more like a mini iPad Pro than an iPhone. I'm sure I don't need to get into all the reasons I think that. It's an undeniably good phone, and my favorite device in the world.

That just doesn't leave a lot of room for my iPad. I am still hanging on to an old mini for if I ever feel like reading on it, but I just never pick it up. iPads just feel superfluous to me at the moment. I still can't believe I'm saying that, having been so dedicated to using them for everything since the Pros came out.

 

[Dented]

If you are a boomer like most here, grow up with mouse and keyboard, it could be a failure.
If you are a older one or a younger one, grow up without the crap computer’s universe, it could be a success.

I can see, as a 40 yrs old technician grow up with crap pcs and older Macs (Quadra and so on), the joy of older ones who didn’t understand pcs in decades and the younger ones freedom from crap mouse and keyboard father’s needs.

Keyboard and mouse are past as the millennial like me.

Good point, at the other end of the spectrum from my kids, you’ve got people like my mum, who gave up work to become a homemaker back when computers were something that took up the whole room, and who spent the 80s and 90s avoiding PCs and being generally hostile/afraid of the idea of having a computer in the home.

Then one day she saw an advert for the original ipod touch and decided she had to have one. She immediately got the fact that here was a “computer” that was easy to use, didn’t take up any space, and would allow her to play games, look at this thing called the internet everyone was going on about, maybe even reply to the odd email. Why the ipod and not an iphone - because she was still technophobic enough at that point to insist that she didn’t need a mobile phone at all - she wasn’t prepared to give up on that idea, but she completely embraced the nascent iOS.

Fast forward a few years and of course she does have an iPhone now, but that little ipod touch that she loved so much was ultimately replaced by an ipad, and that’s her computer of choice to this day - it does everything she wants and more, and has allowed a complete technophobe who was literally horrified at the idea of learning to use a desktop or laptop machine to master her email, the web, FaceTime the grandkids, stream her favourite shows and so on. To her it’s not replaced any computer, its simply the only computer she acknowledges the point of at all.

 

[spiderman0616]

Good point, at the other end of the spectrum from my kids, you’ve got people like my mum, who gave up work to become a homemaker back when computers were something that took up the whole room, and who spent the 80s and 90s avoiding PCs and being generally hostile/afraid of the idea of having a computer in the home.

Then one day she saw an advert for the original ipod touch and decided she had to have one. She immediately got the fact that here was a “computer” that was easy to use, didn’t take up any space, and would allow her to play games, look at this thing called the internet everyone was going on about, maybe even reply to the odd email. Why the ipod and not an iphone - because she was still technophobic enough at that point to insist that she didn’t need a mobile phone at all - she wasn’t prepared to give up on that idea, but she completely embraced the nascent iOS.

Fast forward a few years and of course she does have an iPhone now, but that little ipod touch that she loved so much was ultimately replaced by an ipad, and that’s her computer of choice to this day - it does everything she wants and more, and has allowed a complete technophobe who was literally horrified at the idea of learning to use a desktop or laptop machine to master her email, the web, FaceTime the grandkids, stream her favourite shows and so on. To her it’s not replaced any computer, its simply the only computer she acknowledges the point of at all.

As much as I love Macs AND iPads, I'm just about right there with her, and I'm only 44. The iPhone has become so versatile and powerful that I can literally "work" from it and be fully mobile. Is it ideal for typing long emails? No. But nobody reads long emails anyway.

 

[Xand&Roby]

Good point, at the other end of the spectrum from my kids, you’ve got people like my mum, who gave up work to become a homemaker back when computers were something that took up the whole room, and who spent the 80s and 90s avoiding PCs and being generally hostile/afraid of the idea of having a computer in the home.

Then one day she saw an advert for the original ipod touch and decided she had to have one. She immediately got the fact that here was a “computer” that was easy to use, didn’t take up any space, and would allow her to play games, look at this thing called the internet everyone was going on about, maybe even reply to the odd email. Why the ipod and not an iphone - because she was still technophobic enough at that point to insist that she didn’t need a mobile phone at all - she wasn’t prepared to give up on that idea, but she completely embraced the nascent iOS.

Fast forward a few years and of course she does have an iPhone now, but that little ipod touch that she loved so much was ultimately replaced by an ipad, and that’s her computer of choice to this day - it does everything she wants and more, and has allowed a complete technophobe who was literally horrified at the idea of learning to use a desktop or laptop machine to master her email, the web, FaceTime the grandkids, stream her favourite shows and so on. To her it’s not replaced any computer, its simply the only computer she acknowledges the point of at all.

As millennials we are tech enthusiasts, mouse, keyboard and screen are part of our culture, we are the new digital in an analogic world, we are children, we are crowd (first of our there was the “hacker manifesto” culture, the real digital masters, but they aren’t a multitude).
We can’t understand the digital world without these crap tools but our moms and fathers, and them nieces, need a digital world for them, not for us, and I believe they are right on this, ‘cause if complicated tech could make a bigger opportunity in every (but this is not true) head, a simplest one could make a little opportunity in most hands.
I not believe iPads, now, could replace a Mac Pro (when I was young nobody believed a portable Mac or an AIO like iMac could but last decades demonstrate them are good enough), but future is for that, Mac Pro are even more task dedicated, are not generalist, in future iPads are the only computer who we needs for.
Not iPhone (I hope wearables kills smartphone as soon as possible), not MacBooks, iPads and Macs Pro, until iPad are good enough to say goodbye Mac.
Our sons using iPad, not crap mouse and keyboard, almost not analogic ones.
We are getting older, I hope our sons could make digital world better than we are doing.

 

[Hunter5117]

I'll be interested to see how things progress going forward now that Apple Silicon has made the Mac into the fierce beast it deserves to be. For now though, I don't think "the kids" really care. iPhones seem to do everything they need quite nicely.

As mentioned by Dented and others, we have a new generation of young people who are growing up with their phone (iPhone) as their first computing device. Or maybe because of school needs, they may use the "home computer" for some homework but still prefer their phone for all other activities from gaming to social interaction. I think Apple is banking on this, that an increasing number of these people will decide that an iPad, aka a bigger phone, is the only computer they need for the things that they used the home computer for. An iPad is very comfortable transition and runs the same apps that they run on their phone.

I think even M1 fits into this plan. Even if an iPad does not fit all our needs, we can run some of the same iOS apps on an M1 device. And I have no doubt that with a few tweeks, macOS will run on an M1 iPad even if Apple never makes that happens.

I guess what I am saying is that Apple is making it very easy to choose the iPhone > iPad path and many people may find that is all they need, and if they do need something more, iPhone > M1 still feels very comfortable. I believe it is a long term game they play.

 

[Digitalguy]

As millennials we are tech enthusiasts, mouse, keyboard and screen are part of our culture, we are the new digital in an analogic world, we are children, we are crowd (first of our there was the “hacker manifesto” culture, the real digital masters, but they aren’t a multitude).
We can’t understand the digital world without these crap tools but our moms and fathers, and them nieces, need a digital world for them, not for us, and I believe they are right on this, ‘cause if complicated tech could make a bigger opportunity in every (but this is not true) head, a simplest one could make a little opportunity in most hands.
I not believe iPads, now, could replace a Mac Pro (when I was young nobody believed a portable Mac or an AIO like iMac could but last decades demonstrate them are good enough), but future is for that, Mac Pro are even more task dedicated, are not generalist, in future iPads are the only computer who we needs for.
Not iPhone (I hope wearables kills smartphone as soon as possible), not MacBooks, iPads and Macs Pro, until iPad are good enough to say goodbye Mac.
Our sons using iPad, not crap mouse and keyboard, almost not analogic ones.
We are getting older, I hope our sons could make digital world better than we are doing.

Couldn't disagree more with basically everything... Wearables will not replace smartphones anytime soon and probably never. Smartphones are here to stay for many many years, contrary to what some people predict and have been predicting for years. iPads will not replace Macbooks because Apple has no interest in this happening.

 

[spiderman0616]

Couldn't disagree more with basically everything... Wearables will not replace smartphones anytime soon and probably never. Smartphones are here to stay for many many years, contrary to what some people predict and have been predicting for years. iPads will not replace Macbooks because Apple has no interest in this happening.

I mean......yeah, pretty much.

To clarify my comments above--I don't think the point is what replaces what. There will always be a need for various options, and there is no one right tool for anything. But these days the old camera saying now applies to computers--the best computer is the one you have with you. For most people nowadays, that's a smartphone, and to a lesser degree, maybe a smartwatch. I would much rather travel with my iPhone than a Mac or an iPad unless I'm actually traveling FOR work and am required to have my work computer with me.

 

[Farrellcollie]

For me it must be a failure because I don't know which ad is being talked about.

 

[ericwn]

For me it must be a failure because I don't know which ad is being talked about.

Do you often comment on things you’re not familiar with at all?

 

[Farrellcollie]

Do you often comment on things you’re not familiar with at all?

when on forums such as this - sometimes I do. I was reading more to find out what the ad was - and to answer the question asked. Is there some reason you care about my answer?

 

[xxray]

For me it must be a failure because I don't know which ad is being talked about.

It was very controversial at the time and is still referenced around Apple/iPad discussions today.

 

[ericwn]

when on forums such as this - sometimes I do. I was reading more to find out what the ad was - and to answer the question asked. Is there some reason you care about my answer?

Yup, reason being it’s a forum and posters interact with one another, even those who have no subject matter expertise.