"The future of computing is the iPad"

[KohPhiPhi]

I love my Ipad, but I find iOS so limiting that it remains, realistically, a content consumption device. The hardware is amazing, but the software is limiting.

I dig the idea of a laptop/tablet hybrid. If the Surface Pro had MacOS, my credit card would be all over it.

 

[mi7chy]

I love my Ipad, but I find iOS so limiting that it remains, realistically, a content consumption device.

It's not even good as a consumption device since even the 2016 iPP 9.7 lacks modern HEVC hardware accelerated playback that other devices have had since 2014.

 

[alecgold]

It's not even good as a consumption device since even the 2016 iPP 9.7 lacks modern HEVC hardware accelerated playback that other devices have had since 2014.

The only reason to go 265 is when you want to watch 4K movies.
Otherwise 264 is good enough.
And since the iPad has 2048x1536 pixels tell me why you want 265 on your iPad with hardware excelerstion?

 

[profets]

It's not even good as a consumption device since even the 2016 iPP 9.7 lacks modern HEVC hardware accelerated playback that other devices have had since 2014.

That seems like a terrible reason to claim that the iPad is not good as a consumption device.

Of all the things you can do to consume content on an iPad - read books, browse the web, watch 1080p video & movies, social media, play games, etc... the lack of H265 accelerated playback (which is mostly helpful for 4K video) somehow makes it "not even good as a consumption device"?

 

[Traverse]

Apple's plans for the iPad are probably big. As popular as Macs may be, they are still a failure, as they were never able to catch up as much as PCs.

No Macs are not a failure. Apple never targeted market share, but profit. I believe the Mac division alone is a Fortune 100 (at least 500) business. Sure, they'd love for mass market appeal like the iPad, but their market share has been edging up over the years.

Let's face it, a massive group of the general populace can only be reaching with loss-leading products. They'll buy the cheap $300-$400 computers or they buy iPads.

I doubt most people aside from established Kac users or college kids will go out and pay $1000-$2500 for a computer.


The iPad is Apple's chance to capture that cheaper computer market by capitalizing in people who don't want to deal with or want thr baggage if a traditional computer. I thought Apple was missing thr mark with thr iPad Pro pricing, but Joe they have the cheaper iPad 9.7" for general and budget users and the iPad Pro for more serious users.
[doublepost=1495981890][/doublepost]

I'm looking at this one, walnut or oak:

But the price...

I'd be afraid to exert mush pressure with no back support.
[doublepost=1495982162][/doublepost]I don't really understand the obsession for the ipad to overtake traditional PCs. Some things the iPad just isn't as effective at.

For instance, storing and managing my iTunes library and other media across two drive would just be nicer on a 27" retina iMac..




Working in excel files, possible on iPad but nicer on a larger screen with a mouse and keyboard.

Sometimes sitting upright at a desk with multiple windows and mini tours to really get some stuff done is nice. Sometimes taking my mobile iPad office with me everywhere to take notes, annotate documents, write, etc works.

Why can't they coexist?

 

[Jodiuh]

The only reason to go 265 is when you want to watch 4K movies.
Otherwise 264 is good enough.
And since the iPad has 2048x1536 pixels tell me why you want 265 on your iPad with hardware excelerstion?

That seems like a terrible reason to claim that the iPad is not good as a consumption device.

Of all the things you can do to consume content on an iPad - read books, browse the web, watch 1080p video & movies, social media, play games, etc... the lack of H265 accelerated playback (which is mostly helpful for 4K video) somehow makes it "not even good as a consumption device"?

This is actually funny. I absolutely don't have many complaints about the iPad and I'm a new user.

But I recently bought my first 4K bluray and it comes with a 1080P download only. So if I want a nice 4K rip, I would need to use handbrake and H265 would come in handy with smaller file sizes and better quality.

To be honest tho, I don't even watch movies on this thing. And Logan deserves a true home theater experience anyway.

So far I would say this thing is an 80/20 or better at replacing my computing needs. I've only had the Smart Keyboard and pro for a few weeks, but I'm up to about 65 WPM and 90% accuracy at:

https://10fastfingers.com/typing-test/english

For me, the iPad Pro has become the most usd device by far. I realize it can't do everything, but it's a great option IMO for a do "most" things computing device that can be so easily transported.

 

[mi7chy]

The only reason to go 265 is when you want to watch 4K movies.
Otherwise 264 is good enough.
And since the iPad has 2048x1536 pixels tell me why you want 265 on your iPad with hardware excelerstion?

Non-sense.

HEVC H.265 requires half the bitrate of AVC H.264 for the same level of video quality. The benefits are...

- store twice the amount of videos for the same storage size (for example, 32GB device is now equivalent to 64GB for videos)
- data cap lasts two times longer for streaming video
- save money from not having to upgrade to a higher tier internet broadband plan
- stream higher quality video at same bitrate
- extend the life of existing WIFI equipment without having to spend money to upgrade
- services like YouTube, Netflix, etc. are making modern codecs a requirement for 1440p and higher streaming
- avoiding obsolescence and having to buying a newer device
etc.

 

[alecgold]

Non-sense.

HEVC H.265 requires half the bitrate of AVC H.264 for the same level of video quality. The benefits are...

- store twice the amount of videos for the same storage size (for example, 32GB device is now equivalent to 64GB for videos)
- data cap lasts two times longer for streaming video
- save money from not having to upgrade to a higher tier internet broadband plan
- stream higher quality video at same bitrate
- extend the life of existing WIFI equipment without having to spend money to upgrade
- services like YouTube, Netflix, etc. are making modern codecs a requirement for 1440p and higher streaming
- avoiding obsolescence and having to buying a newer device
etc.

- storage is cheap these days, especially so at Apple's;
- streaming is never fast, certainly enough when you need it;
- why stream higher quality video then your display has pixels?
- h-265 on YouTube was really a big pain in the proverbial place last year, it might have improved, but not by that much;
- apple doesn't want you to let your devices last.... (there are some that defy Apple by still using the iPad 2, don't take notice of these).

One question i have for you: how well developed are h-265 chipsets? are they ready for mobile use in an arm-architecture? If the hardware chips are using more power then using software, it might not be really smart to build in into your next iPad.

 

[George Dawes]

i do wonder what actual work timmy does if he says 'why would you need a computer' ? all the time...

 

[0388631]

Was told, heard and read this line over seven years ago. I'm still waiting for the day where tablets take over desk or laptops. It isn't going to happen.

 

[profets]

I still think this is the best explanation by Steve on where iPads will go.

Though I kind of feel like this has happened with smartphones to a degree.

 

[spac3duck]

As popular as Macs may be, they are still a failure, as they were never able to catch up as much as PCs.

Based on what kind of metric? Sales alone are not necessarily an indicator of quality.

Apple is currently failing to catch the attention of people.

According to who? I currently can't get away from all the hype in the media surrounding the next iPhone.

But if you really need to get work done, then you need a real computer. The iPad will not become a real computer replacement unless it can do anything a computer can, and in a more efficient way.

Are you aware that the very first "real" computer was a human? Literally, someone computing maths. Regardless of your preferred OS, they all have a bloody long way to go before they become a real computer replacement.

 

[mi7chy]

how well developed are h-265 chipsets? are they ready for mobile use in an arm-architecture? If the hardware chips are using more power then using software, it might not be really smart to build in into your next iPad.

Meh. iPad Pro struggles with 1080p HEVC software decoding since Apple was too cheap to license HEVC codec and build accelerated hardware decoding into A9X SoC. Even a $46 SBC handles 4K HEVC perfectly.

http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G145457216438

 

[macduke]

If the iPad were Apple's market-leading product and not the iPhone, the iPad would be much more advanced software-wise than it is right now. Apple has not paid enough attention to it and that shows in the plummeting sales numbers. I really hope Apple branches iPad OS (not the best name) off from the main iOS line. Maybe they just need to go back to using iPhone OS and iPad OS, lol. I like the simplicity of the iOS name but the iPad needs to be more of it's own thing now. tvOS has a different name and it's basically iOS underneath it all. If I remember right the apps are even universal binaries so a lot of my iOS games that I had already purchased were already available on my Apple TV when I first set it up a couple years ago. They can all be powered by iOS but be more distinctive like the watchOS and tvOS. Each of those serve their hardware well. The iPad feels like the oddball out of the four of them because of how similar it is to the iPhone. The iPhone is crazy fast and powerful nowadays, so they need to focus on making the iPad do things that aren't suitable for the iPhone and do them really well. It's going to be interesting to see how things shake out, but I have a feeling we'll see the beginning of this at WWDC in a few days. Can't wait!

 

[44267547]

I still think this is the best explanation by Steve on where iPads will go.

Though I kind of feel like this has happened with smartphones to a degree.

This is one of my favorite clips of Jobs explaining the PC era. It never gets old watching it.

 

[0989383]

I'm glad that the iPad WILL be the future of computing. As of today, it's not for everybody.

iOS is the single thing iPad depends upon. If it gets its act together, then the iPad could seriously replace 80% of peoples computers. The other 20% are PC gamers and editors who need stupid amounts of power and don't really represent the mainstream of users.

Please Apple, Make iOS 11 a big starting point for the serious iPad laptop replacement .. give the people what they want and do it the Apple way.

 

[Olganech]

You still need a real computer to rip the Bluray's so you can watch them on your iPad.

 

[DNichter]

You still need a real computer to rip the Bluray's so you can watch them on your iPad.

I can't tell if serious or not. Blu-rays? The last physical media I purchased was probably 2003? Maybe? It's been a while.

 

[Olganech]

I can't tell if serious or not. Blu-rays? The last physical media I purchased was probably 2003? Maybe? It's been a while.

I like having physical media. I can then convert it to whatever format I want and have it on any device I want.

I am not dependant on an internet connection or how limited the storage is on an iPad for my media.

 

[profets]

I like having physical media. I can then convert it to whatever format I want and have it on any device I want.

I am not dependant on an internet connection or how limited the storage is on an iPad for my media.

While I think that's a good idea for some, the future for media for most consumers is digital and available anywhere. The amount of people that understand and actually rip media from a disc is probably an even smaller percentage than those that actually need a traditional PC at home for computing tasks.

 

[Olganech]

While I think that's a good idea for some, the future for media for most consumers is digital and available anywhere. The amount of people that understand and actually rip media from a disc is probably an even smaller percentage than those that actually need a traditional PC at home for computing tasks.

You assume that you are able to get a reliable Wi-Fi connection everywhere and that is not always the case and 200GB local storage does not cut it.

 

[DNichter]

You assume that you are able to get a reliable Wi-Fi connection everywhere and that is not always the case and 200GB local storage does not cut it.

How many movies do you need to have on you at a given time? It seems a bit silly to me. I use Plex to stream all my movies from my home server, download right to my phone if I am going to be without an internet connection (which is rare).

 

[sparksd]

How many movies do you need to have on you at a given time? It seems a bit silly to me. I use Plex to stream all my movies from my home server, download right to my phone if I am going to be without an internet connection (which is rare).

Really depends upon your own needs. I travel a lot to areas where Internet access is spotty – no access or low bandwidth – and I may be there many days or even weeks. So I prefer to take my media along on an HDD that I can access either from my laptop or my iPad via wireless FileHub.

 

[DNichter]

Really depends upon your own needs. I travel a lot to areas where Internet access is spotty – no access or low bandwidth – and I may be there many days or even weeks. So I prefer to take my media along on an HDD that I can access either from my laptop or my iPad via wireless FileHub.

Fair enough, definitely depends on need. I guess I still see this being able to be done via digital download (similar to what I do) vs blu-ray rips. Just seems outdated to me.

 

[sparksd]

Fair enough, definitely depends on need. I guess I still see this being able to be done via digital download (similar to what I do) vs blu-ray rips. Just seems outdated to me.

Don't really disagree but it's easy and a lot of more obscure stuff isn't available by digital download.