Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Future of the iPad

T

theapplefreak

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 15, 2008
190
0
I'm definitely going to wait for the second generation iPad.

As I was thinking about it, I wondered what kind of new features will be implemented in the next generation.

Do you guys think it'll come out after about a year? Or less than a year?
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

"an year"??

If it's like the iPhone it will likely be 1 new revision A year.
 
I can only think of a faster processor,a bigger screen,and a bigger capacity.128GB?
 
If they do annual releases like they do every year for the iPhone, maybe it'll be a year.

I didn't understand the gripes about there not being a camera, but as I was loading apps, I realized that many cool apps use the camera feature like NY Subway (for locating the subway), Red Laser (for reading prices), etc. It's not just about taking photos. I feel that for the price point, esp. The higher priced models, Apple should have included a camera. I expect one in the next model as well as 4G. I also expect a drop in price.

That said, I am pleased with it because the existing apps make it a useful and enjoyable gadget as-is.
 
I'm not sure I would buy one if it had a camera in it anyway. I'm primarily using mine for work, and we're not allowed to have cameras. If they do come out with a camera in the 2nd generation, I would hope they give you the option to buy one with or without.
 
I'm excited to see what future revisions will be like. I expect we'll all know in a year or so-ish. In the meantime, I am loving my April 3 Launch Day iPad. I will likely pick up the latest wifi-only model when it comes out, whenever that is.
 
a rumor...

I heard from someone in the industry (who works with Apple) that the next gen will actually come out this holiday and will have many of the rumored capabilities (4.0, camera, etc). This was the original plan but with all of the pent-up demand, they decided to capitalize and released early without all of the originally planned functions ready yet.

That's what I heard...maybe it's true, maybe it's not? I heard it before I got my 3G on Friday but decided to go ahead and still get - I'm willing to take the loss between what I paid and what I can eBay for since I'll get the use out of it with all of the travel I have this summer/fall!
 
Lwyd said:
I'm not sure I would buy one if it had a camera in it anyway. I'm primarily using mine for work, and we're not allowed to have cameras. If they do come out with a camera in the 2nd generation, I would hope they give you the option to buy one with or without.
Click to expand...

They would never make that an option.
 
dyfine said:
I heard from someone in the industry (who works with Apple) that the next gen will actually come out this holiday and will have many of the rumored capabilities (4.0, camera, etc). This was the original plan but with all of the pent-up demand, they decided to capitalize and released early without all of the originally planned functions ready yet.

That's what I heard...maybe it's true, maybe it's not? I heard it before I got my 3G on Friday but decided to go ahead and still get - I'm willing to take the loss between what I paid and what I can eBay for since I'll get the use out of it with all of the travel I have this summer/fall!
Click to expand...

Wow. If it really comes out this holiday season, I'm gonna buy it launch day. haha
 
Be rest assured that it will have something missing that you really want and will make you wait for 3rd generation:p
 
ChocolateApple said:
If they do annual releases like they do every year for the iPhone, maybe it'll be a year.

I didn't understand the gripes about there not being a camera, but as I was loading apps, I realized that many cool apps use the camera feature like NY Subway (for locating the subway), Red Laser (for reading prices), etc.
Click to expand...

Um. I think that's very cool and very appropriate for the iPhone. I think that sort of app is a lot more cumbersome for an iPad.

I think there's conceivably very appropriate and very slick camera uses for an iPad, but I don't think those are the ones....
 
The next version will have 2 week battery life (streaming 3g video the entire time), a 20 megapixel camera that records 1080p video with 20x zoom, a front facing camera, wireless syncing, very nice augmented reality apps built in, full Microsoft Office support, a holographic keyboard on demand that has tactile feedback, and a replicator app so if you feel like a cup of coffee, the iPad gathers the surrounding molecules and rearranges them into a nice physical cup of coffee that you can drink. Also, it'll only weigh half as much.
 
theapplefreak said:
I'm definitely going to wait for the second generation iPad.

As I was thinking about it, I wondered what kind of new features will be implemented in the next generation.

Do you guys think it'll come out after about an year? Or less than an year?
Click to expand...

You may as well wait for "an" third year. After all, why rush it.
 
gillybean said:
The next version will have 2 week battery life (streaming 3g video the entire time), a 20 megapixel camera that records 1080p video with 20x zoom, a front facing camera, wireless syncing, very nice augmented reality apps built in, full Microsoft Office support, a holographic keyboard on demand that has tactile feedback, and a replicator app so if you feel like a cup of coffee, the iPad gathers the surrounding molecules and rearranges them into a nice physical cup of coffee that you can drink. Also, it'll only weigh half as much.
Click to expand...

What, no auto charge when the unit senses it's close to a power source? :D
 
Why Wait?

Why wait for a year just because the next version MIGHT" have an extra feature or two that is important to you? Buy the version you want today, take good care of it, keep all the packaging and the box, and in a year when the next version comes out, you will probably be able to sell it for 80% or so of what you paid for your iPad. Assuming you buy the $500 version, it will probably only cost you a $100 to use it for a full year assuming you sell it for $400 or so down the road. If you keep checking these forums, you can probably sell it just before the next version comes out and get even more for your iPad. Think of it as "leasing" a current generation iPad for $2.00 per week. That's what I do with my iPhones and Macs and will do with my iPad too... I always have the latest and greatest for a very low amount on an annual basis...
 
One year. Battery life won't have improved much if any in that time. 50% chance it'll have a front facing camera for video web chatting. Processor will be 20% to 50% faster. System memory will be doubled, and you'll be able to get a 128gb version for the price today's 64gb version goes for.

5% chance we'll see user accounts.
Less that it'll come with ubiquitous printer support.
Forget any other hardware enhancements, as those will require changes to apps and Apple likes to keep devs happy for at least a two-year cycle of development.
 
Maybe it will be running Snow Leopard 12 with twin 7.8Ghz Xeons:eek:

There is no doubt they will come out with a new iPad, I hope so but in the mean time, I could not wait and am really enjoying mine!
 
There are some obvious iterative improvements Apple could make - bumping storage, bumping RAM, bumping processor, bumping graphics.

But as far as a true second generation, here's the philosophy I hope they take:

Make it more of an iPad, not less. In other words, don't feature-stuff. Don't say, "43% of online users say they'd be more likely to buy it if it had a USB port, let's give it a USB port." etc

Stay true to the vision and make it more like what the original design concept wanted but technology couldn't quite do - lighter, more battery, even better UI responsiveness, more apps optimized for it.

I don't care about a camera one way or the other, I don't even know what anybody would do with an iPad camera. (Somebody will say "video conferencing" within three posts. I don't take that need seriously for an iPad.)
 
Chiggs said:
Why wait for a year just because the next version MIGHT" have an extra feature or two that is important to you? Buy the version you want today, take good care of it, keep all the packaging and the box, and in a year when the next version comes out, you will probably be able to sell it for 80% or so of what you paid for your iPad. Assuming you buy the $500 version, it will probably only cost you a $100 to use it for a full year assuming you sell it for $400 or so down the road. If you keep checking these forums, you can probably sell it just before the next version comes out and get even more for your iPad. Think of it as "leasing" a current generation iPad for $2.00 per week. That's what I do with my iPhones and Macs and will do with my iPad too... I always have the latest and greatest for a very low amount on an annual basis...
Click to expand...

I understand your logic, in fact that is one reason, why I had so many Macs over the years.

HOWEVER... I think the 80% figure is extremely optimistic. You also have to add the cost of selling, Ebay's listing fee and final costs, PayPal's commission too; so in the end, if you want $400 in your pocket, you'll have to sell a year old used first-gen Apple product for almost as much as its introductory price was. That is not going to happen.

Expect much less and you'll be safe. First generation iPhone users will agree with me on this (when you calculate the cost of ownership, take into account the decreasing subscription fee for newer owners, too).


But as you said, who knows, what happens in a year. I'm not going to buy one to keep, but if anybody wants one, why not? But again, don't expect 80% and don't get surprised by lower prices and more features later on. Hopefully for current iPad owners, it will not happen as soon as with the original iPhone.
 
A wider version and a smaller version?

There was an article in Newsweek (I actually read the paper version) about a month and a half back that hinted at the possibility of two versions soon; a version that could be between the size of the iPhone and the current iPad, as well as one that is the size of two magazine pages (this would be closer to the 16:9 ratio?).

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235565

Of course these are just rumors, and we wouldn't want to talk about those here. ;)

NB: In the same issue there is a great opinion piece by Anna Quindlen on the future of print media and e-readers.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235551
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back