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I’m in the UK. Yesterday I watched an eighty-plus year old woman settle her similarly elderly, physically-impaired husband into his seat on the train then get o

I’m in the UK. Yesterday I watched an eighty-plus year old woman settle her similarly elderly, physically-impaired husband into his seat on the train then get out her iPad to write an email. On my journey home in a more crowded train I saw half a dozen iPads just from where I was sitting. They are extremely useful devices for train journeys.

pbhjpbhj 3y ago
Only Apple iPads or are you using the term generically? I'm guessing you're in London or another major city? Similar to the parent I only ever see iPads in two places, the hands of rich kids in restaurants, and in primary schools.
- GraemeMeyer 3y ago
  In the UK you basically only see iPads (95%+). Android tablets aren’t common
  - callahad 3y ago
    Kindle Fire excepted; loads of those in the hands of kids all over.
  - Fluorescence 3y ago
    I see a lot of Surfaces in commuter hours.
- bemusedthrow75 3y ago
  Only Apple iPads as far as I could see, but by no means only the most expensive or newest. Non-Apple tablet devices really are not often seen in the UK (some convertible PCs, the occasional Samsung tablet). If you spend a lot of time on public transport, an iPad isn't really that much of a luxury item. It's a really pragmatic choice, and at least in the UK an entry-level or recent secondhand iPad is not much more expensive than the cheapest usable alternative. Most seats on British trains are not at tables, and while many (by no means all, depends on the operator) have a seatback tray table, it is generally not the right shape for all but the smallest laptop, and the proportions are not such that they work well with convertible PCs that use screen-cover keyboards. We really get crammed into trains. An iPad is large enough to read a book or emails even if you are stuck without a seat, the on-screen keyboard is practical enough to write reasonable emails or edit small documents on, watch a film on, etc. So is a very cost effective way to make use of what might be 2+ hours of every working day. (Train travel is pretty expensive over any distance, too. An entry level iPad is only about ten times the cost of an ad-hoc journey into London from where I am -- and that's only an hour away.)
  - throwaway2037 3y ago
    So is a very cost effective way to make use of what might be 2+ hours of every working day. Here is the first mistake. Get rid of the ridiculous commute. Then, you will not need an iPad!
    - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
      Two hours of commuting in the south east of the UK is as little as thirty miles each way in the overground part alone. Quite a common commute. Far from a ridiculous one, and if you get a seat, not really very uncomfortable. You can either drive it and do nothing but listen to something relatively simple, or sit in a train and read/work/draw/listen/play games/sleep. (It’s not my commute; I work from home. But I visit clients sometimes; yesterday involved six hours of train/tube travel. I wouldn’t do that every day but I could do it once a week.)
      - googlryas 3y ago
        30 miles is an outrageous commute. To put it another way, there are 2800 square miles of land closer than your job.
        ghaff 3y ago
        2 hours each way is indeed not a very sustainable commute. I had a 90 minute one about every other day for a bit over a year and I wouldn't have wanted to do that long-term. However, 30 miles is significantly under the average US commuting distance. And, unless you live and work near an urban downtown, 30 miles probably doesn't get you to a lot of appropriate professional jobs. I live in an exurb outside a major metro and my (nominal) office is the nearest tech job I could physically commute to and it barely squeezes in under 30 miles.
        googlryas 3y ago
        No, the average US commute is 16 miles one way, whereas OP was saying 30 miles each way: https://hbr.org/2021/05/that-dreaded-commute-is-actually-good-for-your-health https://hbr.org/2021/05/that-dreaded-commute-is-actually-goo...
- ClumsyPilot 3y ago
  Commute Chelmsford to London (27 minutes), annual ticket is $6,000. So cost of an iPad isn't a huge concerns at that point https://www.thetrainline.com/season-tickets/chelmsford-to-london https://www.thetrainline.com/season-tickets/chelmsford-to-lo...
- markb139 3y ago
  We have an 87 year old who is a real fan of her iPad for staying in touch, reading and audio books. I personally use 3 ipads - I hate to throw stuff away: 1) old 9.7 pro as main device 2) old Air 2 for Zwift (this will sadly retire when updates are no longer available 3) Even older Air for connecting to FlightSim for charts
- sib 3y ago
  iPads dominate the "premium" segment worldwide (something like 70-80% market share of tablets from US$300 - US$1000). Below that, it's all versions of Android - Apple doesn't sell non-premium tablets. Above that, Surface has meaningful share, although iPad still plays significantly. (Source - worked at Google in Android)

pbhjpbhj 3y ago

Only Apple iPads or are you using the term generically? I'm guessing you're in London or another major city? Similar to the parent I only ever see iPads in two places, the hands of rich kids in restaurants, and in primary schools.

GraemeMeyer 3y ago
In the UK you basically only see iPads (95%+). Android tablets aren’t common
- callahad 3y ago
  Kindle Fire excepted; loads of those in the hands of kids all over.
- Fluorescence 3y ago
  I see a lot of Surfaces in commuter hours.
bemusedthrow75 3y ago
Only Apple iPads as far as I could see, but by no means only the most expensive or newest. Non-Apple tablet devices really are not often seen in the UK (some convertible PCs, the occasional Samsung tablet). If you spend a lot of time on public transport, an iPad isn't really that much of a luxury item. It's a really pragmatic choice, and at least in the UK an entry-level or recent secondhand iPad is not much more expensive than the cheapest usable alternative. Most seats on British trains are not at tables, and while many (by no means all, depends on the operator) have a seatback tray table, it is generally not the right shape for all but the smallest laptop, and the proportions are not such that they work well with convertible PCs that use screen-cover keyboards. We really get crammed into trains. An iPad is large enough to read a book or emails even if you are stuck without a seat, the on-screen keyboard is practical enough to write reasonable emails or edit small documents on, watch a film on, etc. So is a very cost effective way to make use of what might be 2+ hours of every working day. (Train travel is pretty expensive over any distance, too. An entry level iPad is only about ten times the cost of an ad-hoc journey into London from where I am -- and that's only an hour away.)
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  So is a very cost effective way to make use of what might be 2+ hours of every working day. Here is the first mistake. Get rid of the ridiculous commute. Then, you will not need an iPad!
  - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
    Two hours of commuting in the south east of the UK is as little as thirty miles each way in the overground part alone. Quite a common commute. Far from a ridiculous one, and if you get a seat, not really very uncomfortable. You can either drive it and do nothing but listen to something relatively simple, or sit in a train and read/work/draw/listen/play games/sleep. (It’s not my commute; I work from home. But I visit clients sometimes; yesterday involved six hours of train/tube travel. I wouldn’t do that every day but I could do it once a week.)
    - googlryas 3y ago
      30 miles is an outrageous commute. To put it another way, there are 2800 square miles of land closer than your job.
      - ghaff 3y ago
        2 hours each way is indeed not a very sustainable commute. I had a 90 minute one about every other day for a bit over a year and I wouldn't have wanted to do that long-term. However, 30 miles is significantly under the average US commuting distance. And, unless you live and work near an urban downtown, 30 miles probably doesn't get you to a lot of appropriate professional jobs. I live in an exurb outside a major metro and my (nominal) office is the nearest tech job I could physically commute to and it barely squeezes in under 30 miles.
        googlryas 3y ago
        No, the average US commute is 16 miles one way, whereas OP was saying 30 miles each way: https://hbr.org/2021/05/that-dreaded-commute-is-actually-good-for-your-health https://hbr.org/2021/05/that-dreaded-commute-is-actually-goo...
ClumsyPilot 3y ago
Commute Chelmsford to London (27 minutes), annual ticket is $6,000. So cost of an iPad isn't a huge concerns at that point https://www.thetrainline.com/season-tickets/chelmsford-to-london https://www.thetrainline.com/season-tickets/chelmsford-to-lo...
markb139 3y ago
We have an 87 year old who is a real fan of her iPad for staying in touch, reading and audio books. I personally use 3 ipads - I hate to throw stuff away: 1) old 9.7 pro as main device 2) old Air 2 for Zwift (this will sadly retire when updates are no longer available 3) Even older Air for connecting to FlightSim for charts
sib 3y ago
iPads dominate the "premium" segment worldwide (something like 70-80% market share of tablets from US$300 - US$1000). Below that, it's all versions of Android - Apple doesn't sell non-premium tablets. Above that, Surface has meaningful share, although iPad still plays significantly. (Source - worked at Google in Android)