A few thoughts on the new Apple products announced today

by Volker Weber

Sketch

I like these announcements that just fall out of the sky without much fanfare. In no particular order:

iPad is the biggest news and it says: the iPad is done. Apple is just refining the components, but there isn't much they can do these days to make yet another super duper earth shattering innovation here. They are making it better, they are bringing the price down, and that puts tremendous pressure on all other tablet makers. This is a high quality product for a resonable price. As is Apple Watch btw.

My wish list for Apple products is short. I'd like them to make an iOS notebook. Let's call it iBook.

Comments

Excellent summary.

The display of the new iPad is supposed to be worse than the display of iPad Air 2 (display not laminated to the front glass, no anti glare coating). This saves Apple some money.
But still a great device for this price.

And still no new desktop Macs. I'm a bit concerned about this.
Looks like the future of Apple is iDevices and Macbooks only.

Manfred Wiktorin, 2017-03-21

The new iPad is the only one that comes without "Fully laminated display" and "Antireflective coating". I wonder how much that matters and if Apple did not safe in the wrong place.

Felix Binsack, 2017-03-22

Manfred, the iMac is the Apple desktop and it's a very good computer. No, it's not MacBook and iDevices. I know you are looking at the Mac Pro, but you don't know Apple's numbers. I know quite a few people with iMacs but not a single Mac Pro customer. If Apple is going to do AR like everybody assumes they will, I am sure they will have the hardware to go with it.

Felix, it's quite simple. There are now two iPads (and the odd mini): iPad for people who like cheap, and iPad Pro for people who like good. Both run the same software. I don't want to second guess Apple on the laminated display front but there is a clear advantage for having a display not laminated. You can exchange the glass without the screen, which makes repairs much more feasable..

Volker Weber, 2017-03-22

The current iMac lacks Thunderbolt 3.
If you have a computer which you can not expand with internal components, you have to rely on the ports. And Thunderbolt 2 will likely die as fast as Firewire 800. And i know what i am talking about. I still have one of these "furniture" Macs (https://vowe.net/archives/016077.html) with Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 only.

So my credit card is waiting for an updated iMac with Thunderbolt 3.
No need for a Mac Pro.

Manfred Wiktorin, 2017-03-22

A new iMac with Thunderbolt 3 should not be too far away. Start saving up. :-)

Volker Weber, 2017-03-22

not to forget the iPhone SE with 128gb

Tobias Müller, 2017-03-22

They said that they will anounce new hardware without any event and it seems they have done it now but i still think they will anounce new ipdas in april

Reinhard Fellner, 2017-03-22

Volker: I think the Mac Pro customers are mostly university science departments with substantial budgets and big EU grants.

Which means that UK universities will not be in that market sector any more :-(

Nick

Nick Daisley, 2017-03-22

I can shorten that sentence: The UK will not be in the market anymore. And you can start buying American cars instead of German. :-)

Volker Weber, 2017-03-22

Reinhard, what kind of iPads do you expect them to announce?

Volker Weber, 2017-03-22

Although i am not Reinhard, i think i know the answer:
iPad Pro (both sizes) with A10X chip.
And 12.9 inch model with true tone display.

Manfred Wiktorin, 2017-03-22

Incidentally are you serious about wanting a iOS notebook? Wouldn't that run counter to your own arguments about diverged interfaces from a few months ago (/archives/015995.html )?

Nick Daisley, 2017-03-22

Absolutely, yes. There is a certain class of users that cherish simplicity over everything else. Moms and CEOs come to mind. They don't want to manage files, so Windows or MacOS don't fit their needs. Today they can buy an iPad with a somewhat clunky attached keyboard. Why not make it official?

I learned about a student who wrote her thesis on an iPhone, mostly by dictating into Siri. Fascinating.

Volker Weber, 2017-03-22

Da kommt vermutlich das Notebook mit iOS:
https://www.heise.de/mac-and-i/meldung/Apple-Patentantrag-Accessoire-soll-iPhone-zum-Laptop-machen-3663245.html

Die Idee das iPhone als Touchpad zu benutzen finde ich genial.

Manfred Wiktorin, 2017-03-23

Congratulations on being named "Europe's shrewdest hardware scribe" by El Reg: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/23/clearance_sale_shows_the_ipad_is_over_its_done/

Andreas Pfau, 2017-03-24

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