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Yep, I've got one and don't use too much. Too big for scrolling, too limited (software) for work. But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses

Yep, I've got one and don't use too much. Too big for scrolling, too limited (software) for work. But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose

xoac 2y ago
Not sure if this is true. I mean wasn’t the vision that you actually don’t need the mac for most things when the ipad came out?
- ako 2y ago
  For certain groups of people (the majority?) that is reality, as long as you don’t need compilers, IDEs, or virtualization you can do pretty much anything on an iPad.
whywhywhywhy 2y ago
> But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose Felt the goal was to overtake Mac during the 2015-2019 era, all the real engineering focus was on iPad, the Macs were underpowered and not really fit for purpose. Why would Apple choose a platform where they don't get 30% of every Creative Cloud sub when they could have had that. Only reason they backtracked was because Mac sales didn't fall off and the iPad just isn't that good to do real work on.
- sakjur 2y ago
  Wasn’t that the period when Apple were positioning themselves to get the Macs away from Intel? I’m not sure the goal was to let the iPad overtake as much as it was to get its processors ready to take over from Intel.
- rickdeckard 2y ago
  I believe it's simply more lucrative to keep selling both devices to the same target group, than try to solve the users' problem with a single device. Everything in Apple is designed to silo off the two product groups. An "iPad with MacOS" would just shift revenue from the MacOS division to the iPad division, losing a MacOS customer and probably NOT gaining a iPad customer (as he would have purchased an iPad anyway). Just as much as developing an MacBook convertible is not an issue of user experience but an issue of unnecessary cannibalization of iPad sales...
  - latexr 2y ago
    By that logic, the iPhone wouldn’t have been able to play music as soon as it launched. Yet that was part of the whole pitch: “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator”.
    - richrichardsson 2y ago
      Not so sure. From mid-to-late 90s onwards a mobile phone was basically an essential item. I was never tempted to buy an iPod, but combine the phone and iPod and give me internet access to boot... sold.
      - latexr 2y ago
        > I was never tempted to buy an iPod, but combine the phone and iPod and give me internet access to boot... sold. Before the iPhone there were already phones which could play music and access the web. I even remember some Motorolas which interacted directly with iTunes. The iPhone didn’t succeed just by smooshing those together. Either way, that’s neither here nor there, the point is precisely that Apple didn’t shy away from cannibalising their own product.
        frumper 2y ago
        It was cannibalizing a cheaper iPod for a more expensive iPhone. iPad would be taking from the more expensive MacBook market.
        rickdeckard 2y ago
        I don't know how it is relevant what Apple did on other products, especially "pre-iPhone". The point is that TODAY the PC line and the iPad line of Apple are quite notable silo'ed to very specific usage-patterns. There is no technical reason for that, but the distinct commercial reason that there is nothing to gain in terms of revenue or profit by combining the two products into one. They both sell fine and at great margin separately, there is little to gain by building an iPad Pro that is 2000 USD and supports the use-cases of both a 600 USD iPad and a 1600 USD MacBook respectively. Quite bluntly: You want the iPad to be convenient in a workflow as far as possible, and then SUCK really bad in a way only a fully synchronized Macbook can fix.
- interludead 2y ago
  > iPad might cannibalize mac Do not think it's possible. Traditional Mac computers can win in so many ways
latexr 2y ago
> But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose Apple isn’t afraid to cannibalise its own products. They did exactly that with the iPhone in regard to the iPod. If someone is going to displace one of your most successful products, it better be yourself with something even more outstanding. It would have been in Apple’s best (financial) interest to have the iPad cannibalise the Mac because they’d have more control and earn more money from app sales.
- tvshtr 2y ago
  This is nowhere close to being analogous. Apple could sacrifice iPod because they had much bigger fish to fry.

Yep, I've got one and don't use too much. Too big for scrolling, too limited (software) for work. But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose

xoac 2y ago

Not sure if this is true. I mean wasn’t the vision that you actually don’t need the mac for most things when the ipad came out?

ako 2y ago
For certain groups of people (the majority?) that is reality, as long as you don’t need compilers, IDEs, or virtualization you can do pretty much anything on an iPad.

whywhywhywhy 2y ago

> But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose Felt the goal was to overtake Mac during the 2015-2019 era, all the real engineering focus was on iPad, the Macs were underpowered and not really fit for purpose. Why would Apple choose a platform where they don't get 30% of every Creative Cloud sub when they could have had that. Only reason they backtracked was because Mac sales didn't fall off and the iPad just isn't that good to do real work on.

sakjur 2y ago
Wasn’t that the period when Apple were positioning themselves to get the Macs away from Intel? I’m not sure the goal was to let the iPad overtake as much as it was to get its processors ready to take over from Intel.
rickdeckard 2y ago
I believe it's simply more lucrative to keep selling both devices to the same target group, than try to solve the users' problem with a single device. Everything in Apple is designed to silo off the two product groups. An "iPad with MacOS" would just shift revenue from the MacOS division to the iPad division, losing a MacOS customer and probably NOT gaining a iPad customer (as he would have purchased an iPad anyway). Just as much as developing an MacBook convertible is not an issue of user experience but an issue of unnecessary cannibalization of iPad sales...
- latexr 2y ago
  By that logic, the iPhone wouldn’t have been able to play music as soon as it launched. Yet that was part of the whole pitch: “an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator”.
  - richrichardsson 2y ago
    Not so sure. From mid-to-late 90s onwards a mobile phone was basically an essential item. I was never tempted to buy an iPod, but combine the phone and iPod and give me internet access to boot... sold.
    - latexr 2y ago
      > I was never tempted to buy an iPod, but combine the phone and iPod and give me internet access to boot... sold. Before the iPhone there were already phones which could play music and access the web. I even remember some Motorolas which interacted directly with iTunes. The iPhone didn’t succeed just by smooshing those together. Either way, that’s neither here nor there, the point is precisely that Apple didn’t shy away from cannibalising their own product.
      - frumper 2y ago
        It was cannibalizing a cheaper iPod for a more expensive iPhone. iPad would be taking from the more expensive MacBook market.
      - rickdeckard 2y ago
        I don't know how it is relevant what Apple did on other products, especially "pre-iPhone". The point is that TODAY the PC line and the iPad line of Apple are quite notable silo'ed to very specific usage-patterns. There is no technical reason for that, but the distinct commercial reason that there is nothing to gain in terms of revenue or profit by combining the two products into one. They both sell fine and at great margin separately, there is little to gain by building an iPad Pro that is 2000 USD and supports the use-cases of both a 600 USD iPad and a 1600 USD MacBook respectively. Quite bluntly: You want the iPad to be convenient in a workflow as far as possible, and then SUCK really bad in a way only a fully synchronized Macbook can fix.
interludead 2y ago
> iPad might cannibalize mac Do not think it's possible. Traditional Mac computers can win in so many ways

latexr 2y ago

> But Apple knows iPad might cannibalize mac and limit it's uses on purpose Apple isn’t afraid to cannibalise its own products. They did exactly that with the iPhone in regard to the iPod. If someone is going to displace one of your most successful products, it better be yourself with something even more outstanding. It would have been in Apple’s best (financial) interest to have the iPad cannibalise the Mac because they’d have more control and earn more money from app sales.

tvshtr 2y ago
This is nowhere close to being analogous. Apple could sacrifice iPod because they had much bigger fish to fry.