Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other When will iPhone replace desktop / laptop?
- Thread starter Hoff
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Lol replace the tittle from iPhone to iPad.
[doublepost=1544594732][/doublepost]
True I feel weird having my iphone away from me. I know sad.
It would indeed be very cool if we could hook up our iPhone to a monitor and mouse/keyboard (like the DexPad). But ultimately Apple makes money from selling devices. And if they can sell you 2 or 3 instead of 1, then they have succeeded in making a lot more money.You've got a very solid point there. I remember that being the assumption why Apple didn't offer bigger phones for so long (around the time of iPhone 4s and 5) - not to encroach on iPad sales.
But how about because it serves the customer? Or maybe because another company does it and Apple has to compete? Don't know. I just think it would be cool.
Without the mouse bit, this is still possible today and if you know the keyboard shortcuts then mouse is not really required that often.
Valid points. People love surfing their phones from the couch when the movie's on.
I was thinking more for work though.
Phone plugged into the monitor(s) on the desk. Bluetooth head set in case you get an alert on your desktop that somebody is calling.
LOTS of people doing this already with their laptop - getting iMessages, WhatsApp messages, replying from their laptop while working. It would be the same as that.
And if you have to go to the Men's Room, you just grab the phone off the dock.
Valid points. People love surfing their phones from the couch when the movie's on.
I was thinking more for work though.
Phone plugged into the monitor(s) on the desk. Bluetooth head set in case you get an alert on your desktop that somebody is calling.
LOTS of people doing this already with their laptop - getting iMessages, WhatsApp messages, replying from their laptop while working. It would be the same as that.
And if you have to go to the Men's Room, you just grab the phone off the dock.
And again, all of that is possible today!
Always wondered about this. While I’m unsure of the technical limitations, I could see it happening at least in theory with some sort of “dual boot” setup once MacOS is configured to work with ARM processors.
There’s plenty of room on flash storage for two iOS and MacOS to run side by side.
Plug your phone into the monitor, get power from the monitor, connect a BT keyboard and mouse to the phone, and you’re off to the races.
I’m sure it’s probably doable but Apple won’t want to cannibalize its entire product line.
There’s plenty of room on flash storage for two iOS and MacOS to run side by side.
Plug your phone into the monitor, get power from the monitor, connect a BT keyboard and mouse to the phone, and you’re off to the races.
I’m sure it’s probably doable but Apple won’t want to cannibalize its entire product line.
This mindset is actually not how apple works in general. They have happily cannibalised successful product lines in the past when they thought the alternative provides a better and practical solution for the masses.
In this case, they feel mobile and desktop setup at present should be separate and devices should be designed keeping that in mind. If they can come up with a better idea in future to make both setup work together, I’m sure they won’t worry about cannibalising their currently successful product.
Don’t forget, apple is a consumer tech company, not a phone or computer manufacturer.
Watch this video, I think the practice of apple is well explained there.
Last edited:
Good point. That’s a very niece requirement. Just the ventilation system will make it unrealistic for a smartphone. Processing power can still be put in with the stacked CPU approach but it will generate so much heat that a closed device will not survive, as you’ve rightly pointed out.
Agree. One of your graphics cards alone is probably the size of 8 to 12 iPhones. And you may even have multiple graphics cards. I was thinking more of the majority of business users who do not need that.
Size matters not. That tiny phone is a great deal more powerful than computers that used to fill an entire room! No one 50 years ago would have believed that we could have computers as small as we do now that do things that they couldn't even imagine at the time. Never say never when it comes to technology.
For many people in developing countries their phone is their only computer. That's one reason the big phones do well in such markets. Many people in these places will never even own a desktop or laptop in their entire life.
The answered have strayed from the original question IMO.
The question is, at least to the best of my understand....
"When will iOS transformed into MacOS when docked?"
The answer IMO is "still a ways off" however Apple is working on it. Apple needs to get out from under x86 first. Since they have their ARM based SoC which are powerful and dev support for them that is massive this isn't an unrealistic task.
Google search Marzipan project and UXKit iOS.
MacOS and iOS need to be near seamless to transition between. This way ARM support will inevitably come because its already there on even a desktop UI. From there Apple can build ARM based Macs and x86 to support all their users until there is no negatives to ARM only.
Power requirements of the user isn't a question here. There are task I do today that current low end Macs can not and high end Macs can. That will always be the case, with the phones being more like dual core MacBooks and the high end Macs still being like high end Macs.
Just my theory for a painless transition. But once we are there then its up to them whether docking the iPhone (or whatever means of seeing the display on a larger screen will be then) will transition to desktop version of the OS.
Yes! And when can we get a cool dock like that?
Yes, exactly! I thought of this after the sales guy told me my iPhone had a more powerful processor than the current MacBook.
Probably one of the most logical and perfect posts in this thread. And you are correct. In other countries, a laptop is so exorbitant in price, a year salary would still not be able to pay for a MacBook Pro fully spec’d for some, and smart phone is the only thing they can resort to as you mentioned. The iPhone is such a larger entity more than people contemplate just here in United States, and even countries in like Asia and India, they can’t afford laptops, smart phones are even expensive in some parts.
Although if someone can afford to buy an iPhone in those countries then I’d argue that they earn enough to be able to afford a laptop which is probably better fit for their purpose anyway.
Depends on the users and their needs. I can do about 95% of my computing needs on my iPhone. I have an iPad and a Mac because I find them more convenient but for my meagre needs an iPhone would suffice.
[doublepost=1544798874][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1544798874][/doublepost]
They would probably have a cheap android smartphone and a laptop.
Disagree. I mentioned India as one of those ‘countries’, do you realize the cost of the iPhone over their? Try a cheap Android handset is the most common device, iPhones are luxury devices in India, which is one of the reasons why Apple even manufactured the SE to be more global, which is still _too_ expensive in countries like India for the most part. The poster I quoted above (Ryanwarsaw) is 100% correct, a smart phone is as much as they can afford based economy and wages Versus the example I provided compared to an expensive laptop may always be unachievable.
Last edited:
I’m saying if someone is able to buy a luxury device then they can afford to have a laptop, don’t you think?
I live in Blaenau Gwent and there are ‘apparently’ poor people driving round in brand new BMW’s/Mercs/Audi’s Range Rovers yet don’t own their own houses or have the latest smartphone. It’s all about whether these people find it a trendy accessory I suppose. This is why I find it hilarious when people think phones and tech are selective to richer areas as in this day and age it’s pretty easy to buy tech on HP if you really must have it.