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> you can spec out an iPad Pro with the exact same specs There's the root of the policy decision. If one device did everything, why would you buy two? Apple ne

> you can spec out an iPad Pro with the exact same specs There's the root of the policy decision. If one device did everything, why would you buy two? Apple needs you to buy the lap AND the tablet AND the phone and maybe also the watch. Oh and they would also prefer you buy more every year, none of this decade stuff.

kmeisthax 5y ago
Apple has specifically said that they don't hold features back from iPads for the sake of making you buy a Mac. And given their pricing model I'd believe it. If you buy an M1 MacBook Air, you spend $1000 and you get pretty much an amazing laptop that does everything except flip over and let you draw on the screen. If you buy an iPad Pro - the new one with the M1 chip - then you have to spend $1100 to get the 13" model, which has less storage than the MacBook. And that's just the tablet - you now have to spend $350 on a keyboard case to actually use it like a laptop. You can also use a pen input with the iPad, which you can't with the MacBook, but that's another $130 please. So you can really jack up the price of the iPad with accessories intended to give you laptop-like capabilities. So I don't buy the idea that either device is held back so you have to buy both. The device they're clearly positioning as a do-everything machine is the most expensive one in their lineup.
- emsy 5y ago
  It’s not a do everything machine: I can’t use it as a tablet. On the other hand what’s holding my iPad back from becoming a do-everything machine is A) sandboxing, which they shouldn’t change or at best streamline to allow better app interoperability (the current share approach is laughably bad) B) what is allowed on the AppStore. This is purely a policy issue. Why isn’t there an isolated XCode that at least lets me develop iPad apps? The MacBook Air is a $1000 work horse, the iPad is a pricey web browsing machine/toy. Save for, say artists and even they are extremely limited. Want to create a 3D model using several apps? Good luck with that
  - threeseed 5y ago
    > It’s not a do everything machine For you. But for the majority of the population it is. Office, Mail, Browser, Photo Editor etc is typically more than enough for most.
    - smoldesu 5y ago
      No, not really. Any direction you run in, you're going to come across sharp edges. The web is still terribly optimized for tablets, and it's even worse when you're forced to use Safari to interact with it all. I can't count the number of times one of my family members was filling out a form/buying something/doing anything on an iPad and had to go put it down to get a real computer to finish the job. This myth that "the average consumer doesn't need x" is pretty pervasive, and it's a pretty diminutive way to look at computing. The user doesn't need a graphical interface, but we still give it to them anyways. They don't need excessive, timewasting animations cluttering their UI, but iPadOS provides in spades. Either way, I'm expanding my blanket ban on recommending Macs to include iPads. After trying out one of the new iPad Pros, I honestly can't even say it's a better choice than a shitty 2014 Macbook Pro. The ecosystem still has a long ways to go before the iPad feels like a natural part.
      - Jcowell 5y ago
        On the flip side , the 2018 IPad Pro has been an amazing reader, note taker, third monitor, media watcher , and web browsing tool that I just would not use on neither a laptop or Desktop.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
meepmorp 5y ago
> There's the root of the policy decision. Or maybe, it's just as Apple says - iOS/iPadOS isn't MacOS and they're not meant to function the same way because they're intended for different use cases and security models. No doubt they'd love for you to buy one of everything, but your chafing at the limitations of Apple's platform strategy isn't an indication of an ulterior motive, so much as an indication that Apple's platform strategy doesn't meet your needs. Alas.
- Ruthalas 5y ago
  That definitely seems to be accurate, but it's undercut by marketing campaigns like "what's a computer" that seem designed to push toward no distinction.
Mc_Big_G 5y ago
Anecdata, but my mid-2012 Macbook is still my primary and only computer which I use for web and mobile development, though I have upgraded the RAM and SSD. Interestingly, the battery still holds a charge for a few hours. I'm sure Apple would like me to buy something in the last 9.5 years, but it wasn't necessary.

kmeisthax 5y ago

Apple has specifically said that they don't hold features back from iPads for the sake of making you buy a Mac. And given their pricing model I'd believe it. If you buy an M1 MacBook Air, you spend $1000 and you get pretty much an amazing laptop that does everything except flip over and let you draw on the screen. If you buy an iPad Pro - the new one with the M1 chip - then you have to spend $1100 to get the 13" model, which has less storage than the MacBook. And that's just the tablet - you now have to spend $350 on a keyboard case to actually use it like a laptop. You can also use a pen input with the iPad, which you can't with the MacBook, but that's another $130 please. So you can really jack up the price of the iPad with accessories intended to give you laptop-like capabilities. So I don't buy the idea that either device is held back so you have to buy both. The device they're clearly positioning as a do-everything machine is the most expensive one in their lineup.

emsy 5y ago
It’s not a do everything machine: I can’t use it as a tablet. On the other hand what’s holding my iPad back from becoming a do-everything machine is A) sandboxing, which they shouldn’t change or at best streamline to allow better app interoperability (the current share approach is laughably bad) B) what is allowed on the AppStore. This is purely a policy issue. Why isn’t there an isolated XCode that at least lets me develop iPad apps? The MacBook Air is a $1000 work horse, the iPad is a pricey web browsing machine/toy. Save for, say artists and even they are extremely limited. Want to create a 3D model using several apps? Good luck with that
- threeseed 5y ago
  > It’s not a do everything machine For you. But for the majority of the population it is. Office, Mail, Browser, Photo Editor etc is typically more than enough for most.
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    No, not really. Any direction you run in, you're going to come across sharp edges. The web is still terribly optimized for tablets, and it's even worse when you're forced to use Safari to interact with it all. I can't count the number of times one of my family members was filling out a form/buying something/doing anything on an iPad and had to go put it down to get a real computer to finish the job. This myth that "the average consumer doesn't need x" is pretty pervasive, and it's a pretty diminutive way to look at computing. The user doesn't need a graphical interface, but we still give it to them anyways. They don't need excessive, timewasting animations cluttering their UI, but iPadOS provides in spades. Either way, I'm expanding my blanket ban on recommending Macs to include iPads. After trying out one of the new iPad Pros, I honestly can't even say it's a better choice than a shitty 2014 Macbook Pro. The ecosystem still has a long ways to go before the iPad feels like a natural part.
    - Jcowell 5y ago
      On the flip side , the 2018 IPad Pro has been an amazing reader, note taker, third monitor, media watcher , and web browsing tool that I just would not use on neither a laptop or Desktop.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

meepmorp 5y ago

> There's the root of the policy decision. Or maybe, it's just as Apple says - iOS/iPadOS isn't MacOS and they're not meant to function the same way because they're intended for different use cases and security models. No doubt they'd love for you to buy one of everything, but your chafing at the limitations of Apple's platform strategy isn't an indication of an ulterior motive, so much as an indication that Apple's platform strategy doesn't meet your needs. Alas.

Ruthalas 5y ago
That definitely seems to be accurate, but it's undercut by marketing campaigns like "what's a computer" that seem designed to push toward no distinction.

Mc_Big_G 5y ago

Anecdata, but my mid-2012 Macbook is still my primary and only computer which I use for web and mobile development, though I have upgraded the RAM and SSD. Interestingly, the battery still holds a charge for a few hours. I'm sure Apple would like me to buy something in the last 9.5 years, but it wasn't necessary.