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What is Apple doing with the iPad division? The Mac spanked the iPad in 2021 and the recent earnings showed that.

PrancingPony 5y ago
I just don't think too many people buy tablets. It has its niche, but sales aren't as high as I guess they could be?
hnaccount141 5y ago
I think that has more to do with 2020/2021 being unusually good years for the Mac in particular. Computers in general have been selling well due to the pandemic, and the hype surrounding the move to ARM generated a lot of sales. Anecdotally I know a number of people who upgraded laptops earlier than they otherwise would have due to rave reviews of the M1.
perardi 5y ago
There are apologists who will insist you can do real work on an iPad—if you get the iPad Pro, and the keyboard case. Which ends up being about as expensive and about the same size as a MacBook Air. And for any work that requires any sort of interface density, or complete access to the file system, or fast I/O, or…I’d way rather have a Mac.
- jessriedel 5y ago
  To be clear, you can absolutely do real work if your work is natively done with a stylus, e.g., illustrating or pen-and-paper math. These are of course uncommon.
  - mirkules 5y ago
    As a Logic Pro user, I find the Logic Remote on both the iPad and the iPhone to be an absolute dream to use. Low latency, (mostly) intuitive, clutter-free and customizable interface, and lets you focus on creating music instead of fiddling with the mouse with a guitar in hand. Point is, I’m using it as a periphery device and it absolutely kicks ass in that regard. I wish they would do more of that. (and also, my use case is also an edge case)
- leviathant 5y ago
  I was a pretty staunch opponent of the iPad for a very long time. Tablets were clearly a consumption device, and I've always disliked Apple's penchant for proprietary connectors. However, things have shifted enough that on the artistic/creative front, the iPad is actually a really nice thing to have. When the iPad Air 4 (I think? The iPad ecosystem has terrible nomenclature) came out, it not only had a USB-C connector, but worked with the Apple Pencil 2. I did something I thought I'd never do - I bought an iPad. There are music & synthesizer apps that only make sense on a tablet, and they can talk with other music apps on the iPad pretty seamlessly too these days. And with the Apple Pencil 2, it's like a magic art pad. I've been sketching and drawing and 'painting' like I haven't done in 20 years. And I can charge it with the same cable that charges my Pixel 6, my work-issued Macbook pro, or my wife's Thinkpad's power supply. It certainly took long enough, but I no longer think that iPads are pure consumption devices. Now... would I try to use it the way I use a laptop? Oh, hell no.
  - code51 5y ago
    Apple Pencil might be the most fragile product Apple ever produced. It's like a ticking time bomb. Its battery is doomed to die any second.
  - gurkendoktor 5y ago
    > I was a pretty staunch opponent of the iPad for a very long time. Tablets were clearly a consumption device I have no doubt that the iPad is great at the things you list in your post, and I wish I had any skills that would justify buying an Apple Pencil. However, I don't understand why Apple and we on HN are so focused on making the iPad "more" than a consumption device. What's wrong with consumption? If I were to buy another iPad, it'd be for reading PDFs (terrible on e-book readers), for listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or to let my children play an educational game sometimes. But Apple keeps investing in productivity features while their Books app seems moribund at times (widget please?), their Podcasts app is an ongoing disaster, and they still don't have a read-only guest mode for children or friends. iPadOS has gotten so "pro" that buying an iPad for grandparents is not the no-brainer it used to be, either. For all the derision that iPads get for being couch potato devices, I wish they were better at being that.
- salamandersauce 5y ago
  I like iOS better than macOS. Has pen input. The Pro has TB3, granted 1 port but better than the 2015 MacBook. Most of it's problems are completely artificial limitations placed there by Apple. If they just loosened those I'd pick the iPad every time. It's a more flexible form factor held back by software to avoid cutting into Mac and App Store revenue.
- emptyparadise 5y ago
  I really wish I could get an Apple-flavor Surface. I don't want to buy two devices that are basically identical inside when I just want a laptop with the occasional ability to use it as a tablet to read an article or write some notes.
- arvinsim 5y ago
  Agreed. Apple sort of tanked the value proposition of the iPad as a laptop replacement when they introduced the M1 Macbook Air
hnaccount_rng 5y ago
That seems to be a conscious decision on the part of Apple. They also live in the real world, where getting parts is getting harder. So in order to not having to squeeze iPhone and Mac sales they squeezed the iPad ones. We bought our Mum an iPad. Was supposed to be for Christmas but delivery was mid January >4 weeks. Try buying one now: 5-6 weeks. iPhones you'll get tomorrow. Macs in two weeks. That's an intentional decision.

I just don't think too many people buy tablets. It has its niche, but sales aren't as high as I guess they could be?

I think that has more to do with 2020/2021 being unusually good years for the Mac in particular. Computers in general have been selling well due to the pandemic, and the hype surrounding the move to ARM generated a lot of sales. Anecdotally I know a number of people who upgraded laptops earlier than they otherwise would have due to rave reviews of the M1.

perardi 5y ago

There are apologists who will insist you can do real work on an iPad—if you get the iPad Pro, and the keyboard case. Which ends up being about as expensive and about the same size as a MacBook Air. And for any work that requires any sort of interface density, or complete access to the file system, or fast I/O, or…I’d way rather have a Mac.

jessriedel 5y ago
To be clear, you can absolutely do real work if your work is natively done with a stylus, e.g., illustrating or pen-and-paper math. These are of course uncommon.
- mirkules 5y ago
  As a Logic Pro user, I find the Logic Remote on both the iPad and the iPhone to be an absolute dream to use. Low latency, (mostly) intuitive, clutter-free and customizable interface, and lets you focus on creating music instead of fiddling with the mouse with a guitar in hand. Point is, I’m using it as a periphery device and it absolutely kicks ass in that regard. I wish they would do more of that. (and also, my use case is also an edge case)
leviathant 5y ago
I was a pretty staunch opponent of the iPad for a very long time. Tablets were clearly a consumption device, and I've always disliked Apple's penchant for proprietary connectors. However, things have shifted enough that on the artistic/creative front, the iPad is actually a really nice thing to have. When the iPad Air 4 (I think? The iPad ecosystem has terrible nomenclature) came out, it not only had a USB-C connector, but worked with the Apple Pencil 2. I did something I thought I'd never do - I bought an iPad. There are music & synthesizer apps that only make sense on a tablet, and they can talk with other music apps on the iPad pretty seamlessly too these days. And with the Apple Pencil 2, it's like a magic art pad. I've been sketching and drawing and 'painting' like I haven't done in 20 years. And I can charge it with the same cable that charges my Pixel 6, my work-issued Macbook pro, or my wife's Thinkpad's power supply. It certainly took long enough, but I no longer think that iPads are pure consumption devices. Now... would I try to use it the way I use a laptop? Oh, hell no.
- code51 5y ago
  Apple Pencil might be the most fragile product Apple ever produced. It's like a ticking time bomb. Its battery is doomed to die any second.
- gurkendoktor 5y ago
  > I was a pretty staunch opponent of the iPad for a very long time. Tablets were clearly a consumption device I have no doubt that the iPad is great at the things you list in your post, and I wish I had any skills that would justify buying an Apple Pencil. However, I don't understand why Apple and we on HN are so focused on making the iPad "more" than a consumption device. What's wrong with consumption? If I were to buy another iPad, it'd be for reading PDFs (terrible on e-book readers), for listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or to let my children play an educational game sometimes. But Apple keeps investing in productivity features while their Books app seems moribund at times (widget please?), their Podcasts app is an ongoing disaster, and they still don't have a read-only guest mode for children or friends. iPadOS has gotten so "pro" that buying an iPad for grandparents is not the no-brainer it used to be, either. For all the derision that iPads get for being couch potato devices, I wish they were better at being that.
salamandersauce 5y ago
I like iOS better than macOS. Has pen input. The Pro has TB3, granted 1 port but better than the 2015 MacBook. Most of it's problems are completely artificial limitations placed there by Apple. If they just loosened those I'd pick the iPad every time. It's a more flexible form factor held back by software to avoid cutting into Mac and App Store revenue.
emptyparadise 5y ago
I really wish I could get an Apple-flavor Surface. I don't want to buy two devices that are basically identical inside when I just want a laptop with the occasional ability to use it as a tablet to read an article or write some notes.
arvinsim 5y ago
Agreed. Apple sort of tanked the value proposition of the iPad as a laptop replacement when they introduced the M1 Macbook Air

hnaccount_rng 5y ago

That seems to be a conscious decision on the part of Apple. They also live in the real world, where getting parts is getting harder. So in order to not having to squeeze iPhone and Mac sales they squeezed the iPad ones. We bought our Mum an iPad. Was supposed to be for Christmas but delivery was mid January >4 weeks. Try buying one now: 5-6 weeks. iPhones you'll get tomorrow. Macs in two weeks. That's an intentional decision.