> Remember that Apple thought this was a dumb, backwards feature (paraphrasing) when people were asking for it years ago
They also (rightly) saw that iOS, and the devices it runs on, weren't even close to replacing a desktop-class device. Now, we're about to cross that line.
> They also (rightly) saw that iOS, and the devices it runs on, weren't even close to replacing a desktop-class device. Now, we're about to cross that line.
Are we? I'm not seeing that. It may happen, but this iteration isn't it.
I'm really happy with every OSX product I've purchased. On the iOS side, there's a long way to go before I can bring only my iPad instead of my Macbook. I don't really want to carry both. If the iPad Pro can replace my laptop for the bulk of my work day, I'll be right there with you buying one. I'm just not sold on that as Apple's vision.
I said we're close. I think we're less than 5 years away from macOS being phased out. I'd put money on it.
edit: People really dislike this comment. I'm not claiming desktop class devices are going away, I'm claiming that iOS is growing into a desktop class OS, and we are absolutely at that threshold. I hope anyone downvoting can explicitly address that.
It's hard to believe that there won't be some sort of reconvergence between laptops and tablets. The trick is to do so without compromising either the laptop or the tablet. One could argue that the Surface Pro comes closest, but not really.
It really doesn't make sense for me to travel with both a tablet and a laptop/Chromebook given that they're mostly similar hardware. Their sweet spots are different enough today that I carry both--and consider that, if I only carried one, I'd probably be carrying more batteries as well.
On the other hand, for the same reasons, it's not really in Apple's interests to discourage you from buying two separate devices. I do think we'll get to that point though.
I genuinely don't think Apple ever plans on converging their laptops and tablets. In features and capabilities yes, but in hardware form factor no. I don't expect to see a convertible, touch screen MacBook in my lifetime.
This really just reveals a narrowness of experience, if you don't mind me saying. Desktop PCs are where real engineering work gets done. CAD, FEA, CFD, simulations etc, they arent going to be running on middling mobile CPUs anytime soon.
Big screens. I have my circuit board designs up on a 28" 4K screen.
Latency. Not all engineering tasks are based on static data.
Tools. Few easily allow you to farm out your simulations. Many tools have decades of development in them. You could in theory develop them for tablets, but there's not been a good business case for that.
Mechanical, civil, aeronautical engineering, these fields are notoriously slow at adopting the latest and greatest technology. A lot of our code is still written in Fortran, and C++ libraries might as well be considered state-of-the-art. Further, when you're doing a lot of work on code, you are also multitasking like nobody's business. I have three screens, one for code, another for documentation or something, and a third for my browser (for example). iOS specifically will need massively more multitasking capabilities, a proper filesystem, the actual ports of software like CATIA/ANSYS, USB ports etc. to even become part of the conversation. Not to mention the fact that I just don't see why an ipad would be useful in this context. I'm not constantly moving between offices, or from my home to office, as I do advanced simulations. My workstation stays plugged in, and so the ipad doesn't solve any existing problems for me.
As a final note, these fields are involved in most things that you and I use on a day to day basis, so it would also not be right to call them an outdated niche that can be neglected (not that you are calling them that).
They also (rightly) saw that iOS, and the devices it runs on, weren't even close to replacing a desktop-class device. Now, we're about to cross that line.