iPad There's no reason to buy an iPad anymore

[usagora]

You know there’s folks who have to decide whether to feed themselves or their kids, yeah?

Then all the more reason to teach your child the value of a dollar and that they will have to go without if they lose something you can't afford to replace. If they are at that extreme level of poverty, I'm sure their school or someone else could help them out in an "emergency" revolving around such an inexpensive item.

 

[GMShadow]

It’s to sell AirPods, pretty obvious to me. Personally I don’t use the headphone jack at all but I still wish it was there and it should be on iPad. It’s a bad decision to remove it imo. Not the biggest of deals as there are alternatives but the alternatives shouldn’t be needed imo.

If only there was an open wireless standard that would allow people to use any wireless headphones.

You know there’s folks who have to decide whether to feed themselves or their kids, yeah?

Are those people routinely buying iPads?

 

[Devyn89]

Then why does Apple offer both Lightning to 3.5mm and USB-C to 3.5mm adapters if this were about selling AirPods? I don't think people who want to use wired headphones are going to say, "Oh, crap, my new iPad doesn't have a headphone jack. Lemme spend $130-250 on some AirPods rather than $10 on an adapter" 😂

My guess is so it doesn’t look like they’re just trying to sell AirPods. I bet they know some people that would be a deal breaker for so they throw them a bone to stay in the Apple ecosystem. I could be wrong but I’ve still yet to see an argument that makes sense as to why they removed it on iPad in the first place.

 

[Devyn89]

If only there was an open wireless standard that would allow people to use any wireless headphones.



Are those people routinely buying iPads?

Probably not, but my point was that $10 for some folks is a lot of money and people live in real poverty. My point was to remind people on this forum that seem to forget not everyone has the same access to money as they do.

 

[usagora]

My guess is so it doesn’t look like they’re just trying to sell AirPods. I bet they know some people that would be a deal breaker for so they throw them a bone to stay in the Apple ecosystem. I could be wrong but I’ve still yet to see an argument that makes sense as to why they removed it on iPad in the first place.

Well the reason certainly isn't to sell AirPods, as I just explained (and the other person also pointed out that there are plenty of other wireless headphone options other than AirPods). Or, if that was their reason, they clearly didn't think it through for even a second (very doubtful) and then went out of their way to be counter-productive in that goal by providing adapters.

 

[usagora]

Probably not, but my point was that $10 for some folks is a lot of money and people live in real poverty. My point was to remind people on this forum that seem to forget not everyone has the same access to money as they do.

Yes, of course, but I doubt the level of poverty you're describing applies to even a fraction of one percent of people on this forum, if any at all. I just think people are really stretching to try to justify complaining about the lack of a 3.5mm port. Even if they kept the port, someone's wired headphones could go bad or be lost or damaged, and then they're in the same situation of having to replace some headphones. So it's not really a very meaningful argument.

 

[Abazigal]

My guess is so it doesn’t look like they’re just trying to sell AirPods. I bet they know some people that would be a deal breaker for so they throw them a bone to stay in the Apple ecosystem. I could be wrong but I’ve still yet to see an argument that makes sense as to why they removed it on iPad in the first place.

Wouldn’t the most obvious explanation be to enable the thinner bezels? The iPad Air and pro models both lack it, which suggest that it’s removal is crucial to its design somehow.

 

[Digitalguy]

Well the reason certainly isn't to sell AirPods, as I just explained (and the other person also pointed out that there are plenty of other wireless headphone options other than AirPods). Or, if that was their reason, they clearly didn't think it through for even a second (very doubtful) and then went out of their way to be counter-productive in that goal by providing adapters.

of course the reason for removing the jack is to sell Airpods, and of course they had to provide adapters (which are much more inconvenient)
One of the things I use iPads for is to teach dance. A the studio the sound systems only works with a jack (no bluetooth) and I am not the only person who uses it. The headphone jack on my old iPads allows me to not to worry I'll ever forget to bring the adapter.
A couple of years ago I happened to forget the iPad itself.... fortunately my Samsung S10e still has a jack (but this won't last forever of course) and it saved my dance class (a dance class without music is not great...). Once I change my phone I'll never have to forget the USB C to audio adapter, in case I ever forget the iPad again (hopefully will never happen)

 

[Digitalguy]

I tried the simple route of being nice and the only response I ever got was "You just don't understand! I need Stage Manager because I wanted an iPad but I also just plug it into a monitor. I know I could have bought a Mac mini, Mac Studio, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, but I am difficult and complicated and that makes me unique. I apparently can't handle a basic Bitmap iPad Home Screen and need something extremely over engineered and complicated that resembles the laptop I should have bought but isn't as good, has a bad filing app that should probably be worked on, and can't do any Pro apps like the laptop I probably should have just bought in the first place and costs the same amount of money at this point but I like to be complicated, difficult, and obnoxious and go against what is effectively the more logical choice."

But no, please focus on the annoyance and frustration of having to wait for years for Apple to bring Pro apps to the iPad and fixing iCloud Drive but having to wait for them to first bring THE WEATHER APP we sorely needed and a CALCULATOR that apparently some people are too lazy to find in the App Store.

I have had to wait since the iPad Pro 10.5 that Brought Files app to the world for a better iCloud Drive experience where my 2 GB video file I watched on my iPad last night has now decided to auto-download to my MacBook Pro without my consent. But no, that can't be fixed right now. A small slice of very loud, annoying and vocal iPad users who obviously bought a tablet by mistake and not a laptop demanded a 1980s Desktop UX on a tablet. So, we get Stage Manager, which sucks and doesn't solve the multitasking issue on the iPad but shuts up and distracts the very vocal people who mistakenly bought a tablet.

So, now, Apple will just take their middling criticisms and SLIGHTLY update Stage Manager every year to keep them distracted and focused away from their poor product choice decisions so that Apple can focus on more important things like iCloud Drive users fleeing to OneDrive, Pro Users becoming fed up with NOT A SINGLE Pro app on a product labeled Pro, and a Silicon strategy that will essentially bankrupt Intel and strangle Android chipmakers struggling to push out more performance per watt despite Android having a never ending problem with memory management.

Pro Users are twiddling our thumbs wondering when I won't have to lug around a MacBook Pro anymore for on the go editing in Final Cut/Premiere/etc. We wait patiently for years as people who OBVIOUSLY want a laptop buy a tablet and demand laptop features on a tablet WHEN THEY COULD HAVE BOUGHT A LAPTOP.

It's like some people wanted tea, but bought coffee and demanded the coffee makers engineer coffee to taste more like tea, when they could have just BOUGHT TEA.

you are assuming that those who want more than the current iPadOS are all people who want to replace a laptop or who do not want to buy a laptop. I do most things on a desktop/laptop (I have dozens of them, even more than my many iPads) and have no interest in ever replacing them with an iPad, unless it can run the Windows-only apps I need, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like more, like external monitor support.
And the fact that Stage Manager is kind of crap as it is now does not mean that a desktop-like interface is not necessary precisely to use an external monitor or even that having MacOS in dual boot would be a terrible idea (it would take nothing away from iPadOS and give a option that some people could definitely use in some situations instead of carrying 2 devices).

 

[usagora]

of course the reason for removing the jack is to sell Airpods, and of course they had to provide adapters (which are much more inconvenient)
One of the things I use iPads for is to teach dance. A the studio the sound systems only works with a jack (no bluetooth) and I am not the only person who uses it. The headphone jack on my old iPads allows me to not to worry I'll ever forget to bring the adapter.
A couple of years ago I happened to forget the iPad itself.... fortunately my Samsung S10e still has a jack (but this won't last forever of course) and it saved my dance class (a dance class without music is not great...). Once I change my phone I'll never have to forget the USB C to audio adapter, in case I ever forget the iPad again (hopefully will never happen)

Ok, are you guys seriously not thinking this line of reasoning through? This argument makes absolutely no sense. Who in their right mind is going to buy AirPods instead of using an adapter or buying a pair of cheap USB-C headphones? NO ONE . . . except people who were going to buy AirPods anyway, whether there was a 3.5mm jack or not. And, as mentioned, AirPods are merely one of hundreds (thousands?) of bluetooth headphones that one can buy. So if you truly think this was Apple's reasoning, then you must think they're some of the absolute stupidest business people on the planet, because this isn't going to sell more AirPods.

The solution to your worry about forgetting the adapter is pretty obvious to me: simply buy another adapter (they're $9) and keep it at your studio. It's really not that hard.

 

[Digitalguy]

Ok, are you guys seriously not thinking this line of reasoning through? This argument makes absolutely no sense. Who in their right mind is going to buy AirPods instead of using an adapter or buying a pair of cheap USB-C headphones? NO ONE . . . except people who were going to buy AirPods anyway, whether there was a 3.5mm jack or not. And, as mentioned, AirPods are merely one of hundreds (thousands?) of bluetooth headphones that one can buy. So if you truly think this was Apple's reasoning, then you must think they're some of the absolute stupidest business people on the planet, because this isn't going to sell more AirPods.

The solution to your worry about forgetting the adapter is pretty obvious to me: simply buy another adapter (they're $9) and keep it at your studio. It's really not that hard.

it's call convenience, having adapters everywhere and all the time will never be as convenient as having the jack on the device... (by the way it's not my studio, so we are not supposed to leave our stuff there..)
I have 3 airpods pro and 3 regular airpods plus as many samsung ones, so I use bluetooth 95% of the time, but the jack has saved me a couple of times (not just at the studio)
And I am sure airpods would have taken off anyway just not as quickly without the removal of the jack, copied by anyone else seeing the huge revenues airpods make.

 

[Mainsail]

FOR ME, as a tablet, the iPad is a delight. Pure and simple. No expensive keyboards and pencils. Just pure touch tablet simplicity. Compare this iPad 10 ($449) to the original iPad ($499). It isn't even close.

I gave my iPad Air 4 to my son for grad school, and I am getting by just fine with my MBA only. Nevertheless, I miss the iPad.

 

[usagora]

it's call convenience, having adapters everywhere and all the time will never be as convenient as having the jack on the device... (by the way it's not my studio, so we are not supposed to leave our stuff there..)
I have 3 airpods pro and 3 regular airpods plus as many samsung ones, so I use bluetooth 95% of the time, but the jack has saved me a couple of times (not just at the studio)
And I am sure airpods would have taken off anyway just not as quickly without the removal of the jack, copied by anyone else seeing the huge revenues airpods make.

You're a teacher at a studio and they don't have any storage areas for teachers for even small things? That's a bit odd. But then just keep it in your car 🤷🏼‍♂️ And we're not talking about "everywhere" but maybe just a few places where you always use them (e.g. home / car). It's really no big deal and hardly inconvenient . . . doesn't even quality as a first world problem in my mind.

Again, I sincerely doubt the lack of a headphone jack hasn't sold a single pair of AirPods unless the person wanted to spend the money anyway (or maybe they're stupid and decided to throw away money instead of buying a $9 adapter or a $12 pair of USB headphones . . . who knows).

 

[Abazigal]

I still remember when I accompanied some of my students on overseas excursions many years back, and was also tasked with updating the school blog daily. I was comfortable leaving my laptop at home and bringing just my iPad along.

It was pretty versatile. Inbuilt cellular meant being connected everywhere I went (even if it meant having to pay for my own data plan). Blogging was as simple as taking photos with my iPad's camera, inserting them into the Wordpress app, typing a few paragraphs and hitting update (something I could also do in the bus or on the move thanks to the tablet form factor). Battery life again was great (at a time when iPhone battery life wasn't fantastic). And back at the hotel, I can still check my email or stream YouTube with ease.

I like the iPad precisely because it's so different from a computer. It's pretty much the anti-PC. It does what a computer can't do (or can't do as easily), and if I need to format a drive or some other PC-specific task, well, that's what my Mac is for.

So I am always a bit leery when people claim that the solution to "fixing" the iPad is basically make it into less of an iPad, and more of a laptop.

 

[1madman1]

Get rid off the "walled garden" locked down OS bs and I'll consider buying an iPad again. In other words, make it a Mac.

I *loath* iOS / iPad OS.

 

[sparksd]

Get rid off the "walled garden" locked down OS bs and I'll consider buying an iPad again. In other words, make it a Mac.

I *loath* iOS / iPad OS.

Not gonna happen, stick with your Mac.

 

[Boil]

Not gonna happen, stick with your Mac.

There are rumors of a variant of macOS on the iPad Pro...

 

[sparksd]

There are rumors of a variant of macOS on the iPad Pro...

Don't hold your breath on it. As even the article states, this talk has gone on for years.

 

[orl2222]

I find this tread kinda funny. You youngsters complain abut the price etc. Well I remember McDonalds hamburgers used to be .25or two bits. Everything always goes up in price. Taxes always will go up. Manufactures will always make things that you don't like, or disagree with. Software companies will find new ways to make revenue. Tech companies are like any other companies, they are business to make a profit. This working from home has compounded the problem. Always remember, any big company, especially tech companies are not to be admired as saviors of the world. Get what you need, like and can afford. If not, vote with your wallet and find something else. Eventually the gear you think is so important today, will be replaced by something else.

 

[okkibs]

I've never used an Android tablet, though I must say the Samsung Tab8 Ultra looks nice. However, like you I've sworn off Samsung Devices. If I ever go back to Android (I used to switch back and forth often) it will be to a Pixel due to timely software updates.

I had a Samsung Note and it was great, but I am now daily driving a Pixel and I much prefer it, in parts due to having an actual two-infrared-cameras 3d face unlock that counts as secure biometrics instead of the non-biometric simple camera face unlock that other phones have (and unfortunately the latest Pixels as well...). Android tablets recently got a bit better with the Android 12L release improving the UI on tablets, and next year the Pixel tablet will come out, so I'll be interested to see how it compares to the iPads. I like Android for having the better apps (as in, for example, Chrome and Firefox are the actual browsers with their own engines instead of a Safari UI skin), but overall I still prefer my iPad due to the better multitasking and the really insane speed with the A13 that just can't be slowed down.

 

[Warped9]

Most everyone expected some sort of price increase. No one expected a fifty percent price increase.

 

[Steve63]

I also do not understand the iPad policy of Apple in 2022. Maybe the "basic" iPad did not generate enough revenue ? Too many people satisfied with the 9. Gen iPad ?

Most people i know use their iPads not for "serious/professional" work but for browsing the web:
1. News Browsing
2. They visit Amazon and other online shops
3. They do online banking
4. They read E-mails
5. They use Skye or other messenger apps
...
For this they :
1. ..do not need a fancy camera that can take HD videos or gorgeous pictures (most people use their phones for this which is much more convenient)
2. They do not care about speakers that much
3. They do care about battery life
4. They like the speed and responsiveness of iPad (and that it is always "there", without the need to switch on a computer)

For this, the Gen. 9 iPad was more than perfect. And affordable too.
Apple is missing a big target group here.

 

[Steve63]

Can someone name a device that doesn't have a laminated display in 2022?

The brand new Apple iPad ?

 

[okkibs]

Well the reason certainly isn't to sell AirPods, as I just explained (and the other person also pointed out that there are plenty of other wireless headphone options other than AirPods). [...] counter-productive in that goal by providing adapters.

What good reason is there to remove a headphone jack on a device that isn't even water resistant? There is no good reason whatsoever, unless you wanted to sell more Airpods. Don't you think it's highly likely someone who buys an iPad would also buy Airpods? Airpods are very popular and for a good reason, they work reasonably well and aren't that expensive either (except for the Max but then even these are very decent if you ignore the price tag). Please look around you and tell me how many people use their iPhones with a lightning to headphone jack adapter - zero, that's how many. Nobody does that. People will avoid these for the iPad just like they do on the iPhone - especially when they can get a cheap pair of Airpods 2 for under 100 bucks.

Again, there is no reason to remove headphone jacks. It's not more sustainable, it's not better for the environment. It just makes people buy bluetooth headphones they'll eventually throw out when the battery is flat.

 

[Warped9]

Ideas are often implemented simply because they can be rather than because they absolutely should be. The loss of the headphone jack forces people to buy either wireless headphones or an audio jack adapter. It’s silly because an iPad isn’t hard up for space—lots of room there to make the device more user friendly to more people.

A good rule of business: don’t needlessly piss off your customers.

Which is exactly what the 10th Gen iPad does with its loss of previously appreciated features and its exorbitant price hike.