An iPad Pro is more expensive than an equivalent MacBook Pro in the UK
apple.com
apple.com
Let's presume the better camera + screen cuts that in half.
Then, let's presume Apple prices the iPad Pro to reflect a one time purchase. That is, the majority won't buy the Magic Keyboard (or that some already do).
Finally, (I presume, typically) the margin on accessories is higher. Let's say that cover half of the half.
In the end, the difference is approx 100-ish quid. Given the added convince of the iPP they're kinda sorta the same price.
I’d love to know the numbers on this. I would think that iPad Pro users are more likely to be buying the Magic Keyboard than other iPad users as they’re presumably using the device for actual work rather than just entertainment purposes where an Air would suffice. Just from having the Magic Keyboard a single day the iPad is making a lot more sense as a device to me. Besides being able to type properly, using cmd + tab for app switching and globe + ctrl + left/right arrow to multitask makes it way more productive than the palava involved when trying to do the same via the touch screen.
To your point, they might, but a new MKB every time? Probably not. So for say 66.66% it's a one and done purchase.
If they wouldn’t be such a b** as just release macOS on it, or even just a good vm with Linux without side loading (and external display support), that’d be great.
Because you included the price of Magic Keyboard, which is not part of iPad Pro.
Apple's accessories have extremely high margin.
All this (and much more) is kind of expected from most worthy company ever. Competition does the same to some extent, Apple just has a bit more protected position so it can go further.
UK
> 12.9" 256GB ipad pro = 1360 pounds
> 13" 256GB MBP = 1349 pounds
US
> 12.9" 256GB ipad pro = $1199
> 13" 256GB MBP = $1299
Japan
> 12.9" 256GB ipad pro = $188,800 yen
> 13" 256GB MBP = 178,800 yen
Germany
> 12.9" 256GB ipad pro = 1579 Euro
> 13" 256GB MBP = 1599 Euro
Nowadays even other currencies are getting in on this business of having symbols.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol#List_of_curren...
I don’t really think this is very interesting. The comparison here is:
Minimum spec 13" MBP < iPad Pro + larger size + next rung up in memory. But the difference is pretty small (<1%).
I guess a few things are going on:
- pricing may be adjusted based on demand / whether new stock must be imported.
- Apple tends to price the basic model cheap with the extras (often just more memory) at a large premium. So the MBP is cheap pricing whereas the big iPad with extra memory is not.
- the 13" MBP is a weird model and not one that most people would choose. In particular, it’s still using old case designs and keyboards and Touch Bars and suchlike. I suspect this is part of why it’s cheaper than the other MBP models. Most people would choose the new Air or the M1 MBPs with the bigger processors, newer (pre-2016-style) keyboards, and better screens.
I mean, could you do it? Sure, but you'd be doing it for the sake of feeling like you could rather than it being optimal - then there's all the other cases of people that still want it to behave like iOS when in "Mac mode", but of course it can't, because the security model is different there and iOS devices don't run unsigned code.
Should macOS support full touch screen input? Naw, it’d be terrible.
Is an iPad with Magic Keyboard functionally equivalent to a MacBook? Categorically yes. In every single possible way.
The fact that they won’t let you run macOS on an iPad is obscene.
A huge engineering lift (drivers, etc, as well as Apple's high QA standards), for something almost nobody would use
> for something almost nobody would use
You don't know that. The fact that you can't use an iPad to create software for iPad is absurd. Dual boot would allow kids with iPads to create and ship apps. The feature would quite plausibly pay for itself.
There's a whole lot more to hardware than just the core chipset
What do you think the annual cost of macOS on iPad would be. How big would the team need to be?
The direct cost is more than tractable. The lost sales from people buying one device instead of two could be a net revenue loss.
It may well be good for Apples bottom line. But it’s super shitty for consumers. And the limitations preventing it are entirely self-imposed.
Once upon a time Steve Jobs introduced a device that was an iPod, and phone, and an internet communicator all in one device. That was nice. There’s zero functional reason to force users to buy a tablet and a laptop. A tablet with detachable keyboard is functionally identical. My grandmother couldn’t even tell them apart.
It's an unworkable idea so that's a good reason.
Most people have never dual-booted a system before and would find it confusing for example that their applications, documents etc don't appear in both systems.
Obviously their main motivation is control over the product, but I think an open bootloader is a completely sane request for hardware you own outright.
"Some people may find it confusing" and "unworkable" are two radically different things.
Dual-boot would largely "just work". Is having two independent file systems ideal? Definitely not. It's just a starting point. It could be made better. However the naive version of dual-boot unlocks radical new capabilities. Because iOS is still super gimped.
They are not going to be interested in offering something that is confusing for the majority of the people using the product.
If you want a dual-boot system buy a Mac.
Maybe. Maybe not.
There’s no technical reason preventing it. The cost of implementation isn’t a blocker either.
Product may support or may oppose the idea. Those are just opinions. Opinions can and do change.
As long as we agree that it’s “unworkable” because that’s just, like, their opinion, man.
> If you want a dual-boot system buy a Mac.
No.
I enjoy my iPad. I refuse to buy a $2000 piece of virtually identical hardware just to run slightly different software.
In addition the comparison is between an entry level apple laptop vs the highest end ipad. High end always has much larger margins.
Many people e.g. musicians, photographers, editors, architects etc use the iPad Pro and by the popularity of their respective apps it clearly works well for them.
iPad Pros are exceptional tools for engineering/architecture plan reviews, on-site walkthroughs, fashion sketching, etc. All of these are pro tasks and as primarily pen-driven tasks that can use the CPU and RAM, are better suited to the iPad Pro than a laptop.
I would love to be able to use a real browser on iPad, but nope! You get Safari and you’ll like it.
Is Apple QA aware of the issue? Probably not, since they presumably only test on the high-end models.
An example: My wife always sorts the pictures of our outings. On the Surface (Windows) she did that by downloading them from OneDrive (can also be done here), then sorting the photos into folders (Files app works a bit clumsy here), converting the photos from HEIC to JPEG (for this you have to doing really weird things like copy-paste between the Photos and Files app), and then upload to the NAS and also upload to the Kruidvat site for printing. With Windows it works so much more efficiently, on the iPad it is really clumsy and cumbersome.
And then I'm not even talking about the fact that iPad, for example, is not really intended (software is limited...) for multi-user use. Apple really wants you to buy an iPad per person. With the Surface, we each simply had a personal account. The software was less, as well as the app offering, but it worked a lot more effectively if you just want to get things done.
iPadOS does excel in battery life, and whatever you can do on your phone you can do on it.
Don't get me wrong, iOS itself is an incredible OS and great in terms of user experience - but iPadOS is very disappointing.
Even the original iPad could do things that the latest MacBook Pro cannot, that made it more useful for "professionals".
The Pro monicker means nothing any more, but if it did it would be Apple gear that is targetting creative professionals. Think about it as focused products for digital artists.
[0] Which I am literally typing this comment on
https://www.imore.com/best-ad-blockers-iphone-and-ipad
I don't know how the functionality compare to what you are using on other platforms but ad blockers are definitely available on iOS/iPadOS.
If I sum all I have paid for computers, laptops, phones, smartwatchs and accessories the last five years, it would barely cover the cost of the metal stand for Studio (whatever it was called, I'm sure it had a catchy name).
On the other hand, last year I paid more for powertools than most apple customers do in a life time :(
For some of us these are our tools. I own the monitor you're awkwardly trying to lampoon: the Pro Display XDR.
It cost $5,000 and it's been with me through at least a million dollars in income at this point, so I'd say it's a bargain?
Apple makes hardware for people who understand that the cheapest item is not necessarily the best value.
Sure there might be extravagant extras at times like that stand, but Apple's budget iPhone is faster than $1000 Android flagships and will get updates for longer than half of them.
People who try to imply Apple is a bad value are usually just missing the forest for the trees.
I write software at work and on my free time. I also game a little bit. Yet, I somehow manage to do these for 1/10 cost compared to some people.
Maybe i am too cheap? But my gear works just fine. And I have noted that I'm much more productive than most guys who refuse to work unless they are given at least three 4K monitors and a genuine gaming chair...
What's utterly bizzare is trying to paint Apple's target market as people who overspend when again, they make a $429 phone that will get upgrades for much longer than any phone more expensive or cheaper and it's still faster than competitors that cost double.
The M1 Macbook Air is now going for $800 and it outperforms laptops that cost double that.
-
What's extra weird is that I have to tell someone who's into tools all of this.
Do you only buy from Harbor Freight? After all, for all the memes Harbor Freight 100% has non-crap versions of their cheapest stuff that will take some pretty serious beating if you're willing to pay marginally more...
But people still spring for Snap-On because they like how many teeth they get to work with, or even the knurling on something they'll hold all day. People spring for a Milwaukee to get a well balanced tool that's nice to handle in tight spaces. I shouldn't have to tell anyone into tools that there's more to an item than it's most pared down utilitarian essence...
Also, I don't know which circles you run in that have underperformers being rewarded with fancy toys. Not really a thing around anywhere I've been.
Carmack wrote Quake on a $9000 28" 1080p screen in 1995, so I don't think there's much going for linking "prefers a nice setup" to not being productive for the rest of us.
I'm sure the $5,000 monitor makes you happy, especially if money is no object to you anymore. You're lying to yourself and others if you're trying to justify the cost-benefit of a $5,000 display with a $1,000 stand.
Where did I even imply that I need a $5000 monitor to write code? I honestly don't buy that my comment gave you the impression that, if I'm not sitting in front of an XDR, I just what? Cross my arms and refuse to code?
My point is that the XDR was a good value for me. I wanted a screen with extremely high text clarity, there weren't many options in it's league, so I bought it once and enjoyed it almost every single day afterwards. People spend $5,000 in ways a hell of a lot worse than "tool that I use my entire workday"...
-
Honestly this feels like a strawman argument being used to buttress a not-very-strong argument against a company which, again, has produced multiple items that were easily the best value in mobile computing at launch.
The iPhone SE 3rd Gen is faster than unreleased phones and costs $425. Sure you can hop on Amazon and get a $100 phone that's going to stop getting security updates before you can sneeze, but if your goal is phone that will keep being updated, with great battery life, and one of the largest markets for replacement parts, it's an incredible value.
Apple has just killed it with vertical integration. Their margins on that iPhone SE are probably insane, yet as a user you're still getting something faster than $1000 competitors that will be longer-lived to boot.
Trying to wave their margins as proof they're just screwing everyone over just shows a complete lack of understanding for how their competitors operate.