
The 2017 iPad Pros - euphoria83
https://daringfireball.net/2017/06/the_2017_ipad_pros
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archagon
To me, the fundamental question remains this: what platform is the next web
browser, BitTorrent, or BitCoin going to be invented on?

I posit that while the iPad remains a closed platform, it will _never_ become
the computer of the future, no matter how many pro features Apple adds. In a
few years, I expect Apple pundits to be making the same "how were we so wrong
on the iPad" articles that they were in 2016.

No doubt, the hardware here is certainly exciting. Many people can make full
use of it for their careers. But it won't send ripples through the fabric of
society like the humble PC does every 5-10 years.

~~~
huxley
Does it matter if a platform does the inventing? The web browser was invented
on a NeXT Cube but that didn't limit its eventual use.

~~~
archagon
No, I don't think that matters. However, I see the walled garden as a much
bigger issue. Apple wouldn't let a new, disruptive technology along the lines
of browsers/bittorrent/bitcoin into its App Store unless it already had
widespread adoption. If most people replace their open PCs with closed phones
or tablets, that's never going to happen. It's a giant bollard in the path of
technological progress.

Fortunately, it looks like the open-ish Android model is winning out. Maybe
Apple will change their mind at some point.

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bennettfeely
So how much does Gruber get paid to write these adver... err... I mean
reviews?

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QML
I would love to see one day iPad Pros with the capability of being plugged
into an external GPU and running desktop-grade applications instead of the
meek productivity tools that the Apple App Store is constrained to. As a
college student, I recently bought an iPad to take notes, and the one thing
that's stopping me from selling my laptop is the lack of connectivity and full
MacOS. But then where's the future of MacBooks if tablets overtake them in
utility?

~~~
pawadu
This product already exists, its called Microsoft SurfaceBook. The screen
works as a detachable tablet, the keyboard contains more battery and a
relatively powerful GPU.

It is also expensive as hell.

~~~
wapz
The SurfaceBook should be thought of as a _laptop_ and not a tablet imo. I
have the surface pro and it a _terrible_ tablet. Well, it's good if you are an
artist and doing sketches/artwork but not for the casual programmer. I've used
tablet mode under 10 times (I have a nexus 7 which is much better as a tablet)
and was unimpressed every time.

~~~
pawadu
This just shows that a laptop is much better suited for programming than a
tablet. Not a huge surprise really. Rudy Huyn uses a Surface Pro for
development. I highly doubt he has even once started Visual Studio in tablet
mode.

But back to OP, he clearly stated that he wanted to run desktop grade
software. I think SurfaceBook fits his requirements.

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skc
Mildly amusing is how everyone else is wrong until Apple does it.

If you're going to use these things with a keyboard and like it then why was
Microsoft so roundly mocked for championing touch screen laptops in the first
place?

~~~
tartuffe78
Because outside of the home screen and poorly maintained touch-optimized apps
most software for Windows is still designed for using with a mouse. iOS is
inherently less capable than Windows, but is much better for touch, and all
apps are geared towards that.

I was skeptical a few years ago, but I think iOS's productivity potential is
growing faster than Windows "Cool Factor", efficiency, and portability are
improving.

~~~
skc
I get that Apple has much more touch optimized software.

But aren't they effectively building the same toaster/fridge they mocked just
a few years ago?

I was listening to a recent ATP podcast and they were going on about how
nobody really wants to touch their laptop screen, but in order for an iPad to
be a "pro" device you will realistically have to use it with a keyboard
and...touch your screen.

The two companies are converging on the exact same thing yet one is considered
ingenious and the other clueless.

~~~
qubex
Tablet with keyboard ≠︎ laptop with touchscreen

I used a succession of iPads as my main productivity computing devices between
20013 and 2016 and despite my general satisfaction I found I really needed a
’proper’ computer (a much-derided but perfectly adequate ”single port
MacBook") last year for the sake of writing a business plan. Right after that
Apple released the iPad Pro and I've been using that intensively (but no
longer exclusively) since April last year. I'll be upgrading to the 10.5 inch
because iOS11 seems to deserve top-level hardware. I'm really convinced that
for non-development use an iPad is an extraordinarily capable device.

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antaviana
Does it work with a mouse? One of the most important client applications for
me is an RDP connection to a VDI machine on Windows.

~~~
csjo
While I'm not so interested in mouse support, I am intrigued on the UX with
RDP apps. My next device will either be a new Surface Pro or an iPad Pro.

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amerine
Damn, now that's a glowing review. I might have to check one of these out.

~~~
supernintendo
99% of John Gruber posts are glowing reviews of Apple products. His blog is
essentially promotional material for Apple. I'm not sure why people post his
articles here.

~~~
wmeredith
Eh, he'd referred to Apple serving a shit sandwich before. So he can be
critical.

