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I am an artist and loving using my iPad Pro, so I didn't have any doubt about its usefulness. I'm kind of astonished realizing that most people think "Apple ha

I am an artist and loving using my iPad Pro, so I didn't have any doubt about its usefulness. I'm kind of astonished realizing that most people think "Apple has struggled to craft a cohesive, compelling narrative for the iPad".

lyime 6y ago
Yeah that’s understandable. This article is from a software developers perspective. Even though it’s not specifically acknowledged.
- _ph_ 6y ago
  Software developers are essential for a healthy eco system. Without them, there are no applications which utilize the device. Yes, there is a lot of software development for the iPad, but it is always limited because you have to write applications on a completely different system than you are targetting for. And it is limited by what applications you are allowed to write. But even graver are the consequences for first time computer users. When I grew up, I learned computing with machines which would have at least a basic when delivered. I had the ability to do programming and understand what a "computer" is. Children, which today grow up with iPads are actively prevented of having that great learning experience. The Apple ad "What is a computer?" on the one side is brilliant marketing, on the other side is outright scary.
  - user-the-name 6y ago
    https://apps.apple.com/app/id908519492 https://apps.apple.com/app/id908519492
    - _ph_ 6y ago
      Yes, so what? There is a programming tutorial app for the iPad. That is nice. But that isn't to be mistaken for a programming environment, where you can develop to your hearts desire. Can I develop freely full screen applications with the Swift playground? Can I share the results with my friends?
      - user-the-name 6y ago
        Yes, and yes.
tinus_hn 6y ago
This is just one person who wants a touch screen Mac. Edit: a person with no specified gender
- saagarjha 6y ago
  Possibly a gal: https://beckyhansmeyer.com/about/ https://beckyhansmeyer.com/about/
  - rcarmo 6y ago
    The dog is called Daisy for those of you who click through in a hurry and have any doubts :)
zaptheimpaler 6y ago
Yeah I’m no artist but I bought an iPad primarily as a reader + a notebook + a drawing device and it does those things really well. There’s a lot of criticism from devs but we just aren’t the target market for this device. The market seems to be university students, artists & creatives, a whole host of professions like architects/engineers/tradespeople who take it out in the field, and people looking to consume media.
- Closi 6y ago
  For me, my criticism of the iPad and MacBook is now I have roughly the same hardware twice for different purposes. My iPad Pro (12.9in) does iPad stuff great, and my 13 inch MacBook Air does MacBook stuff great. But they both have roughly the same processor, power and form factor (once a keyboard is added). The only meaningful differences are that the iPad can undock from the keyboard, the iPad supports Pencil and the OS is different. OSX running on iPad with the same processor as the Air would actually be great, considering the magic keyboard is so good. If I could instantly change between OS's I wouldn't need to lug around both devices. Better still, if the OS could be designed to support both modes in an integrated way, it would knock everything else out of the water even more.
  - brmgb 6y ago
    Apple will probably never do that. They are probably painfully aware than iPad Pro and Macbook Air feature set and use cases overlap but as long as they keep each of them sufficiently different,they can sell you a laptop and a tablet. Why would they cannibalize their own products while they face no competition in the tablet market?
    - Closi 6y ago
      > Why would they cannibalize their own products while they face no competition in the tablet market? Because if you have a better product that nobody can compete with you can raise your margin and solidify/expand your market position. You are describing a strategy that normally leads to long term market loss - "Why should we stream movies to the TV? That would only be cannibalising our excellent DVD rental business".
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
mch82 6y ago
I don’t know if it’s most people, but it’s probably a lot of people on Hacker News. A friend reminded me only a very small percentage of people in the world are programmers. It’s easy to forget that when almost everyone I work with daily is a programmer. The iPad is amazing in many ways, some of which are not meaningful or visible to people immersed in software development.
- arethuza 6y ago
  Maybe it's because I did a bit of embedded development (a long time ago mind you) - but I've never felt the urge to develop software on every device I own. Developing software for devices - absolutely, but on every device - definitely not.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    And, while converged/all-in-one devices are attractive, they're rarely without compromises. Sure, an iPhone pulls in a lot of function from what used to be standalone devices and those functions are usually good enough for many people, possibly screen size trade-offs notwithstanding. But from my (and only my) perspective, computers are relatively cheap enough that I don't mind having a number of them optimized for different tasks--one of which is an iPad for mostly consumption mostly for when I'm traveling.
- rimliu 6y ago
  It is sad really. That means that a lot of those programmers have no idea who are they programming for. And it shows.
dep_b 6y ago
iPads are killer for audio and drawing. Had a full Android devotee flip over to iOS just because the iPad slapped around the Android tablet initially bought both in terms of performance as well as apps. I like to have one in the studio as well, as an oscilloscope, sequencer, to control my mix while not in front of the computer, as a software synthesizer and on and on and on.
- inatreecrown2 6y ago
  can you recommend a good oscilloscope app?
  - dep_b 6y ago
    I’m testing some out right now, I’ll let you know! If not I should build one!
    - inatreecrown2 6y ago
      great, thanks!
      - dep_b 6y ago
        Found nothing yet

lyime 6y ago

Yeah that’s understandable. This article is from a software developers perspective. Even though it’s not specifically acknowledged.

_ph_ 6y ago
Software developers are essential for a healthy eco system. Without them, there are no applications which utilize the device. Yes, there is a lot of software development for the iPad, but it is always limited because you have to write applications on a completely different system than you are targetting for. And it is limited by what applications you are allowed to write. But even graver are the consequences for first time computer users. When I grew up, I learned computing with machines which would have at least a basic when delivered. I had the ability to do programming and understand what a "computer" is. Children, which today grow up with iPads are actively prevented of having that great learning experience. The Apple ad "What is a computer?" on the one side is brilliant marketing, on the other side is outright scary.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  https://apps.apple.com/app/id908519492 https://apps.apple.com/app/id908519492
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    Yes, so what? There is a programming tutorial app for the iPad. That is nice. But that isn't to be mistaken for a programming environment, where you can develop to your hearts desire. Can I develop freely full screen applications with the Swift playground? Can I share the results with my friends?
    - user-the-name 6y ago
      Yes, and yes.

tinus_hn 6y ago

This is just one person who wants a touch screen Mac. Edit: a person with no specified gender

saagarjha 6y ago
Possibly a gal: https://beckyhansmeyer.com/about/ https://beckyhansmeyer.com/about/
- rcarmo 6y ago
  The dog is called Daisy for those of you who click through in a hurry and have any doubts :)

zaptheimpaler 6y ago

Yeah I’m no artist but I bought an iPad primarily as a reader + a notebook + a drawing device and it does those things really well. There’s a lot of criticism from devs but we just aren’t the target market for this device. The market seems to be university students, artists & creatives, a whole host of professions like architects/engineers/tradespeople who take it out in the field, and people looking to consume media.

Closi 6y ago
For me, my criticism of the iPad and MacBook is now I have roughly the same hardware twice for different purposes. My iPad Pro (12.9in) does iPad stuff great, and my 13 inch MacBook Air does MacBook stuff great. But they both have roughly the same processor, power and form factor (once a keyboard is added). The only meaningful differences are that the iPad can undock from the keyboard, the iPad supports Pencil and the OS is different. OSX running on iPad with the same processor as the Air would actually be great, considering the magic keyboard is so good. If I could instantly change between OS's I wouldn't need to lug around both devices. Better still, if the OS could be designed to support both modes in an integrated way, it would knock everything else out of the water even more.
- brmgb 6y ago
  Apple will probably never do that. They are probably painfully aware than iPad Pro and Macbook Air feature set and use cases overlap but as long as they keep each of them sufficiently different,they can sell you a laptop and a tablet. Why would they cannibalize their own products while they face no competition in the tablet market?
  - Closi 6y ago
    > Why would they cannibalize their own products while they face no competition in the tablet market? Because if you have a better product that nobody can compete with you can raise your margin and solidify/expand your market position. You are describing a strategy that normally leads to long term market loss - "Why should we stream movies to the TV? That would only be cannibalising our excellent DVD rental business".

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

mch82 6y ago

I don’t know if it’s most people, but it’s probably a lot of people on Hacker News. A friend reminded me only a very small percentage of people in the world are programmers. It’s easy to forget that when almost everyone I work with daily is a programmer. The iPad is amazing in many ways, some of which are not meaningful or visible to people immersed in software development.

arethuza 6y ago
Maybe it's because I did a bit of embedded development (a long time ago mind you) - but I've never felt the urge to develop software on every device I own. Developing software for devices - absolutely, but on every device - definitely not.
- ghaff 6y ago
  And, while converged/all-in-one devices are attractive, they're rarely without compromises. Sure, an iPhone pulls in a lot of function from what used to be standalone devices and those functions are usually good enough for many people, possibly screen size trade-offs notwithstanding. But from my (and only my) perspective, computers are relatively cheap enough that I don't mind having a number of them optimized for different tasks--one of which is an iPad for mostly consumption mostly for when I'm traveling.
rimliu 6y ago
It is sad really. That means that a lot of those programmers have no idea who are they programming for. And it shows.

dep_b 6y ago

iPads are killer for audio and drawing. Had a full Android devotee flip over to iOS just because the iPad slapped around the Android tablet initially bought both in terms of performance as well as apps. I like to have one in the studio as well, as an oscilloscope, sequencer, to control my mix while not in front of the computer, as a software synthesizer and on and on and on.

inatreecrown2 6y ago
can you recommend a good oscilloscope app?
- dep_b 6y ago
  I’m testing some out right now, I’ll let you know! If not I should build one!
  - inatreecrown2 6y ago
    great, thanks!
    - dep_b 6y ago
      Found nothing yet