Don't expect a hybrid between MacBooks and iPads anytime soon
For anybody who has been thinking, with the release of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, that Apple is aiming to converge the tablet and MacBook product range, those thoughts have been quashed yet again. Apple CEo Tim Cook recently spoke with the Irish news outlet the Independent and put those thoughts to rest. Cook thinks people are reading too much into the way Apple’s tablets and notebook computers have come closer together recently.
It’s true that the difference between the X86 and the A-series is much less than it’s ever been. That said, what we’ve tried to do is to recognise that people use both iOS and Mac devices. So we’ve taken certain features and made them more seamless across the devices. So with things like Handoff we just made it really simple to work on one of our products and pick it up and work on the next product.
A true convergence between the iPad and MacBook would lead to far too much compromise, Cook says, explaining that “what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants.”
Now, what about Cook’s statement that PCs have outlived their usefulness? If you recall, Apple’s CEO told The Daily Telegraph, “I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” Not a small number of people thought that was referring to the MacBook, as well, but Cook has clarified that with the Independent. “We don’t regard Macs and PCs to be the same,” he said.
As nice as the iPad Pro appears to be, it’s not without its quirks and downsides. Our own Bryan Wolfe believes, and I agree, that “Apple needs to rethink iOS on the iPad Pro, and perhaps its entire tablet line.” The grid of icons just doesn’t cut it anymore, and I find myself using the search feature more often to find apps, even on my iPhone, where my home screens have grown considerably in numbers recently. I can’t see a successfully converged iPad and MacBook, either, not with the current state of iOS.
