MacPad: 8 signs that Apple is prepping a 13-inch iPad-laptop hybrid

94 Comments

“For at least the third time since July, reports are circulating that Apple is developing a larger iPad, possibly with an attachable keyboard that would turn it into a notebook, a la Microsoft’s Surface tablets,” Michael Endler reports for InformationWeek.

“CEO Tim Cook has spoken critically of laptop-tablet hybrids. He dismissed the devices in April, comparing them to a product that tries to be both a toaster and refrigerator,” Endler reports. “Last fall he characterized Microsoft’s original Surface as compromised and confusing.”

Endler reports, “Is it likely a 13-inch iPad-laptop hybrid is the offing, despite Cook’s earlier misgivings? Forrester analyst David Johnson told InformationWeek in September that such a product has ‘interesting potential,’ noting that many people already use third-party keyboards with their iPads. Here are eight signs Apple is prepping a large-screen iOS product.”

1. Apple’s been thinking about laptop-tablet convergence for a long time.
2. Multiple sources have claimed a 13-inch iPad is in the works.
3. Apple is reportedly working on a power adapter for a new mobile device that will sit between current iPads and the MacBook Air.
4. The A7 processor will bring desktop-class power to the iPad.
5. Apple’s A7 chip could allow an iPad to run PC-style apps.
6. An iPad hybrid could offset falling Mac sales.
7. The revamped iWork suite could indicate a more productivity-minded iPad.
8. There’s a demonstrated market for an iPad hybrid.

Much more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: MacPad!

94 Comments

    1. It will never happen. These “8 signs” are stupid.

      1. Apple “thinks” about a lot things and says NO to most of them.
      2. Multiple “sources”? Please…
      3. A power adapter? Yes, for a 12 or 13-inch (non-hybrid) iPad maybe.
      4 and 5. The A7 (or A8) will likely be introduced into the (non-hybrid) MacBook Air line at some point.
      6. iPad sales already offset Mac sales, and that will continue without a hybrid.
      7. A “revamped” iWorks suite means hybrid device? How?
      8. There is “demonstrated market” for a hybrid? Where? Yes, Apple will copy Surface because it has been SO successful at “demonstrating” the huge demand.

      Reply

      1. ken1w said:
        “4 and 5. The A7 (or A8) will likely be introduced into the (non-hybrid) MacBook Air line at some point.”

        Have to beg to differ with you there… The machine code (nor register configuration) is the same as Intel, so ALL the applications would have to be recompiled (and offered in some kind of double resource format like PPC code was)
        That was a monumental task (for apple and the developers) but as they were moving their entire line to Intel it couldl be justified. I just can’t see them doing that (and requiring double executables in all applications) for the sake of a couple models.

        There is more chance of them creating some kind of a keyboarded frankentablet (a la surface) then using an A series chip in an OS X device.

        Reply

        1. oops…
          The machine code (nor register configuration) is the same as Intel,
          Should be..
          Neither the machine code (nor register configuration) is the same as Intel,

        2. It was not a “monumental” task to support PPC and Intel at the same time, as long as developers were using Xcode. The development tools did most of the work. Apple and developers did it starting with Tiger and continued with Leopard. Even after Intel-only Snow Leopard was released, Apple and developers continued to support PPC on most apps for a while longer.

          Also, the Mac App Store exists now, and it did not exist before. It can ensure that the correct build of the app is installed (based on the Mac model), so the app does not need to be a fat “double executable” like it was for the PPC/Intel “Universal” app.

          This is not going to happen with Mavericks, and probably not even the 2014 release. But the OS for Macs is due for a major overhaul during the next few years (on the scale of moving from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X). When it is no longer “Ten dot something,” I think Macs will transition to iOS (with a desktop interface). iPad and iPhone (and iPod touch) run iOS with a touch-based interface. Apple TV runs iOS with a simple TV remote control interface.

          And Macs of the future will run iOS with a mostly familiar (non-touch) desktop interface. So, the project is NOT to recompile the existing Mac OS X to work with the A-chips. That would be wasted effort. It is to recompile iOS to work with Intel chips. It is likely that this already works in Apple secret underground lab.

        3. Developers can already run iOS apps in emulation on OS X via XCode.

          Because iOS is designed to run on RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) CPUs, it doesn’t have any dependency on ye olde, ancient, legacy Intel API calls. The apps themselves, as well as iOS, contain a lot more of the required code. Therefore, its easier to toss an emulator for iOS onto OS X than vice versa.

        4. You most of Google this. Oh right you probably have such a abate on for Google that you come up with this stuff by using some sort of search engine that suits your narcissistic personality. You are so misinformed it’s not even funny. Intel and Samsung avoid RISC as it promotes the development of lack lustre software. Now go back and reset tour PRAM and SMC and restart that Mac to try to get some memory back. I would love to sit across from you with your Mac and my equally priced PC and show you what real computing is all about.

        5. There’s really very little point releasing a 20″ iPad until they fix the f*cking abortion that is iOS 7. I have to put up with it every day on my iPad and I hate the f*cking piece of shit with a venom reserved only for Al Qaeda terrorists. It’s worse than shit. It’s a turd.

        8. @chano

          He described iOS 7 perfectly. It’s the biggest piece of shit released by Apple by a long shot. Useless downgrade from iOS 6. If you can put up with shit just because it’s from Apple, so be it. I cannot tolerate shit, no matter who it’s from. It’s all the more inexcusable that Apple can produce this low quality shit. 100,000 employees sleeping on the job.

        9. Oh look. Nonsense:

          Intel and Samsung avoid RISC as it promotes the development of lack lustre software.

          Which of course is why Apple used PowerPC RISC CPUs for years. 😯

          Now go back and reset tour PRAM and SMC and restart that Mac to try to get some memory back.

          Oh, that’s intelligent. Not. Total non sequitur. Go up PRAM and SMC, genius.

          Ah, now we get to the guts of the problem: No Mac experience. Therefore I request that you please STFU and head back home again with your tail between your troll legs before the sun comes out and turns you into poo.

        12. Emulation dosen’t work very well on portable devices because it isn’t very efficient.

          Also I’m guessing you have ever used the iOS emulator, it’s fine for debugging apps, but not something you would actually use to run apps.

        13. The Xcode is an iOS emulator. It does run apps. It is not designed for anything except testing an iOS app. It is not designed as a user emulator. Why did you think it was?

          I never brought up the subject of emulating anything on any portable device. So huh? You’re probably correct, but I’ve never seen it tried or considered.

        14. “It was not a “monumental” task to support PPC and Intel at the same time, as long as developers were using Xcode.”

          Again disagree strongly, it was a massive task and many are still reeling from the reverberations
          Two things:
          “as long as developers were using X-code” is a pretty big disclaimer
          And… we have a Kyocera high volume printer/scanner that still doesn’t have intel print/scan drivers, we run a print server on snow leopard so we can run it with rosetta.
          And this is how many years later?
          Don’t get me wrong this isn’t Apple’s fault it’s just that kyocera is lazy and slow (glacier like?) to respond to what it thinks are “niche” markets.
          But regardless of fault the transition to intel code was monumental.

        15. Almost everyone IS using Xcode NOW, who develops for Mac OS X.

          And yes, the TRANSITION to Intel from PPC could be considered “monumental,” if the developer was using Code Warrior or other “legacy” development tools. But that’s not what I (we) were discussing. Once that transition was made (and Xcode was being used), supporting both PPC and Intel at the same time was NOT “monumental.” THAT is what we were discussing, because THAT is relevant to the speculated future situation.

          But that is somewhat irrelevant too, because when Apple starts using its own A-chips in Macs, I believe it will coincide with the transition of the OS for Macs from an aging Mac OS X (“Ten”), to the NEXT thing (“Eleven” or a new name). And it will be based on iOS (with a non-touch desktop interface).

          However, Apple is not going to abandon Intel in Macs, so it’s iOS that will be made to work on Intel-based hardware, not Mac OS X that will be made to work with the A-8 (or whatever iteration) MacBook Air. And I’ll bet Apple already (secretly) has iOS running on Intel, just as Apple had Mac OS X running on Intel (secretly) well before the official Tiger transition from PPC to Intel.

        16. I think you are minimizing how big a task it is to recompile all the applications drivers utilities,etc. for an entire platform like OS X.
          What enabled the Intel transition was rosetta, without it that transition (PPC->Intel) might have been a very different story.
          If you are talking about using an A7 in a macbook Air you just can’t use an emulator (like rosetta) to interpret intel code and execute it on the A7 (like Rosettea interpreted PPC code on intel CPU’s) because you loose huge (huge) efficiency interpreting machine code. (as an example native intel code executes between 3 and 10 times as fast as PPC code in rosetta does) I just don’t see how you can afford to loose that much efficiency (battery and performance wise) in a portable device like the Macbook Air.

    2. It’s not true. In order to have a “hybrid” machine like Microsoft’s Surface disaster, Apple would either need to seriously add OS X functions to iOS (which didn’t happen with iOS 7) or add touch controls to OS X (which isn’t happening with Mavericks).

      Apple doesn’t need a hybrid device. All it needs is a beefed up iWork suite for iOS, one that doesn’t require functions to be stripped out from iWork OS X documents.

      Reply

      1. The Surface Pro is a quality device and our firm of 100 lawyers find them to be incredibly well suited for professional use. They are after all a pretty impressive PC which ports nicely to any external display and Bluetooth peripherals which is pretty darn cool. I plug mine into a sweet 27″ Dell monitor and love it as a tablet as we’ll. Does MSFT track as well as Apple in the pad space… Of course not. Apple is enjoying its moments in the sun and not unlike MSFT they too realize that there is no room for complacency in the space in which they currently reign hence I do see a hybrid coming.

        Reply

        1. Not gonna happen. Have fun with your Surface.

          Oh and let’s recall that MSFT had a full 10 years to get their touch OS act together and FAILed to do so. Oh and let’s recall that MSFT forked Windows 8 Touch into both Surface and Surface RT whereby not much of anyone can figure out what the point of Surface RT, especially developers, who are almost entirely ignoring it, destroying its future prospects.

          Oh and let’s face up to the ongoing conundrum of why MSFT hasn’t already killed off loss leader Surface RT. That’s right, I remember now: MSFT has no common sense. Meanwhile, those of us who do, are taking bets as to when Surface RT bites the dust. I predict July of 2014. But MSFT can be mighty stubborn, in which case, I concede July 2015. In fact I soft of hope it’s July 2015 as then Microsoft will have wasted even more $Millions on this FAIL boat. And what could be better for the future of computing than Microsoft going bankrupt sooner than later? I dream…

        2. L A NY1, You work with 100 lawyers. Wow, no wonder you have a very skewed view of reality. And they are pretty impressed with the Surface……….. Ouch, what a non-recommendation to accept their advice.

          Lawyers….. seriously…… ?????

      2. What disaster? The Surface Pro is what Apple is targeting and certainly not the RT. Come on now. Apple is feeling similar pain with their Macs and iPhone 5c. There are products that simply do not have teeth and the Surface RT version 1 certainly did not have them. The second generation looks to have improved a lot and the Pro has been excellent right out of the gate.

        Reply

        1. LA NY1, “What disaster?” Well….. you know…. the one which caused Microsoft to trash 900 MILLION dollars on lack of sales…. and then come out with the same machine with slightly better specs….

          Cause.. if people hate the Ford Pinto, then painting it orange and using bigger tires will just make sales ring off the chart.

          LOL…… just LOL….

        2. Anyone who doesn’t think that the Surface (both RT AND the Pro) has been a disaster for MS just can’t be taken seriously.

          Even if YOU like the device, the entire thing has been a total disaster for MS up to this point.

          Also, please tell me in what ways you think that the Surface RT 2 has “improved a lot”. Is it the fact that the kickstand can now be adjusted to an additional clickable position?

          Seriously, what on Earth gives you any indication that RT has any sort of a future (other than if MS continues to stick to their bad decision and loses more money on it)?

          And the Surface Pro sales certainly show that the market at large doesn’t think it was “excellent right out of the gate”.

          I’ll admit, as a person who has had the opportunity to play with (test) all of these devices, that the Surface Pro isn’t bad for someone who just has to (or wants to for some reason) have a Windows device, but there are better options out there if you REALLY want to run Windows 8 on a hybrid. If I was forced to use one (thankfully I’m not!), I’d likely opt for a Lenovo Helix.

          So, unless you just love MS, can you explain with some details why you keep posting that the Surface RT and Surface Pro are so great?

      1. If it exists, I’m betting 11.8″ coz that’s 30cm (to go with the 25cm iPad, 20cm iPadMini and the 10cm iPhone). You lot and ye olde and quaint units of measure! (Tried a slug per cubic foot poundal lately?)

        Reply

  5. Yeah I have to agree with CMFJ, the hybrids simply don’t work and no amount of manufacturers (and IT dufuses) attempting to jam them down peoples throats has worked (and MS has been trying for well over a decade.

    And all 8 “reasons” are basically crap
    1 they have, how do you know?
    2 “because we said so” is not a real thing
    3 “because of an obscure rumor about an adaptor” isn’t either
    4 they already had “desktop” level power in the A6 iPad
    5 what?, you are delusional
    6 or cause more
    7 I work has always (along with countless other apps) been “productivity” minded

    What OS would it use? If it were OSX apps would need to be recompiled for the new platform, not to mention the interface problems from using a pointer centric OS with a touchscreen device.

    13″ iPad running iOS, possibly but you are really getting to the top of what you can comfortably hold and carry as a portable device.

    Reply

        1. IIRC, SJ once said “Nobody reads anymore” as a reason for not doing tablets, then along came the iPad, which is a reader + a whole bunch of other things. I’d say “Stay tuned” on this one.

        2. I guess you two don’t have a lot of business experience…
          WHat makes a great leader (and something Steve did in spades, and Tim has said he admired) is when someone shows you that their way is better than your way, you don’t stand on your heels and fight you capitulate ti the better idea and do it the right way.

          This can be shown again and again (No video’s on iPod’s, No outside development for iPhone, etc.) where Steve was shown that his view was not correct and he turned around 180º and backed the other way with equal fervency.

  8. MacBook Pro with touch screen yes.
    iPad with detachable keyboard… No.

    I recently had to suffer with fixing a winbloat 8 laptop… Yes, windows 8 really does absolutely suck.
    But I have to admit, the touchscreen worked pretty good. I liked that part.

    Reply

    1. Windows 8 runs circles around Mountain Lion, both in performance and memory management. Programs that take 10 seconds or more(such as photoshop, MS Word or Excel, iTunes, etc.) to open in Mountain Lion, open up in the click of a mouse in Windows 8. 16gb of ram in my 2012 MBP and I have to do the purge command every couple of days or most of the memory is gone. Transferring files from or to an external HD sucks the memory out of O SX like there is no tomorrow, and I have to turn off the O SX firewall about once a week to reclaim up tp 2gb of ram. The beachball shows up for things as simple as opening a new tab in Safari, or clicking on a link to go to a new website. Windows 8 has none of these performance or memory issues. And before you deny any of this, go peruse the Apple support forums for some enlightening reading. In my experience, Windows 8 kicks Mountain Lions ars.

      Reply

      1. It does and always will. Look how a well designed and engineered OS like Windows 8 phones operates in terms of efficiencies. The Windows phones run flawlessly and require nothing close to what iPhones and Androids need to be speedy. Mark my words, Windows is here to stay and there is really no need for anyone to move to OSX as most apps for OSX are water downed versions. Acrobat is a perfect example. I use a MBP 15 RD and trashed Parallels and rely on my top shelf Acer 18.1 powerhouse to run Windows 8.1 and all is good. Keep track on how many PRAM and SMC resets and restarts that you need to do to keep OSX running and it by far exceeds anything a Windows 8 users needs to do. Vista was crap, but 7 and 8 are solid operating systems that manage resources very effectively.

        Reply

        1. All I have to do keep OSX running is to not power the machine off.

          If you want to compare versions of an application for different operating systems, Acrobat is a bad example because:
          1. Adobe is anti-Apple.
          2. Everything Adobe makes is crap.

        2. @look aid NY1 and bondr006:

          I manage an office with dozens of OSX Macs and other Apple devices in it, as well as a couple with Windows7 on emulators. I am an owner of a cross platform consulting business with clients with both Windows and Macs in numerous offices (including legal offices).

          I have NEVER seen such a load of TRIPE and BULLSHIT as what you two have unloaded on this forum. Frankly, I cannot recall how many years (!) it has been since I have had to reset a PRAM or a SMC on any of my company’s or my client’s OSX Macs to solve ANY issue. It is rare to even require a restart or a warm reboot.

          Your claim of the “purge” command to reclaim RAM is completely bogus! Where do you find that recommendation? Leave your Mac on over night and regular housecleaning routines do it for you. The only time it might be useful is if you’ve been running a LOT of small applications that aren’t well written that don’t exit well on a Mac with minimal RAM installed.

          Of course, one has to have either xCode or Developer Tools installed to run the Purge Command in the first place. I assume you went to that trouble? Oh, you didn’t? Pity. It just proves you are a lying troll, as I thought. Incidentally, in case you didn’t know, the memory the Purge command frees are the memory caches and the disk caches, used dynamically to SPEED UP OSX. OSX actually has an excellent memory management system.

          A firewall using 2Gb of RAM such that you have to turn it off to clear the RAM? More bogus claims! In the past, I’ve run my Mac for four years completely safely with the firewall turned off! But multiple computers, running with firewalls show no such RAM issues.

          You know nothing about OSX. In fact, looking at the style of your writing, and your claims, I have concluded that there is just ONE of you, posting under two handles. TROLL.

        3. Who’s the TROLL dude? Me, who complained about some troubles I am having with my MBP and Mac mini, or you who is making personal attacks against people? You are the one who obviously doesn’t know jack about O SX, and just made yourself look like a total fool with all that nonsense you typed above. Have you ever heard of socketfilterfw? Let me fill you in. It’s the O SX firewall, and you can see it in the list on the Activity Monitor of processes using your RAM. If you Google it or go to the Apple support forums you will see tons of people wanting to know what it is and why it’s eating up their RAM.

          And, you have to have xCode or Dev Tools to run the purge command? You claim of managing the computers in your office is laughable, and if you do….I feel sorry for the people in your office, because you are obviously a total amateur. Running the purge command is as simple as opening the terminal and typing purge and then hitting enter. If you have the Activity Monitor open, you will actually see the RAM being freed up. Another simple search in Google or the Apple support forums to see tons of people using this to get their RAM back.

          Do a little easy research before you open your mouth and make yourself look stupid. I’ve been using computers(both Windows and Apple) for over 20 years. If I don’t know the answer to something, I damn sure know where to find it. And, before I open my mouth and make myself look like an ass hat such as you are, I’ll damn sure do my homework before posting foolish nonsense like you are so obviously adept at doing.

          Don’t know who the look aid NY1 person is, but I have much more respect for him or her than I do for you because he or she also kept the topic on the OS and attacked no one personally. You are a very immature individual that has very little if any experience, not only with computers….but with polite social etiquette. Just because you are on an internet forum, doesn’t mean it’s OK to an ass.

        4. The only personal attack is my calling you a troll by the evidence I see… And you provide loads more with this post. NY is a troll, taking every opportunity to extolling other products other than Apple and yours echo his with your “memory issues” that few others out of millions complain about. . . mostly because they look at the memory report and think there is a problem and don’t let the system handle it.

          I have a lot of difficulty with your story. What in hell are you running that eats up your 16GB of RAM???? We run some pretty heavy applications including 3D radiography rendering software and our heaviest loaded Mac has only 8GB of RAM. . . and that rendering software runs in a multitasking environment with usually about twenty other tasks running at the same time. No RAM issues at all and we’ve NEVER had to run the Purge command. Not once in over ten years. Not once. So, bondr006, just WHAT are you running?

          You come in here and tell us, who work with Macs professionally that YOU have to: “. . .do the purge command every couple of days or most of the memory is gone. Transferring files from or to an external HD sucks the memory out of O SX like there is no tomorrow, and I have to turn off the O SX firewall about once a week to reclaim up tp 2gb of ram. The beachball shows up for things as simple as opening a new tab in Safari, or clicking on a link to go to a new website. . . “—statements which are contrary to ALL of our years of experience with Apple OSX Macs in multiple computers (we transfer HUGE 3D files multiple times a day to external HDs without the problem you are claiming), the evidence of our own eyes—and then tell us how wonderful Windows 8 is in comparison to O SX(sic) and you have the gall to claim I am the troll? Look bondr006, I’ve been in this industry for forty years. I, for example KNOW that the Apple Mac operating system is NOT “O space XS” as you consistently render it in your posts, but “OSX”, no space. It’s been “OSX”—pronounced “oh ess ten”—for fifteen years, since it’s introduction as OSX Server in late 1998. Someone familiar with Apple Macs would KNOW that. You don’t. You scream ignorance of the platform while you denigrate it. That is a big troll flag. You continue the error in this post.

          I know how to use the Terminal to use the UNIX commands such as the Purge command, but I also know that using a Mac properly, for example leaving it on, will allow the SYSTEM to run housekeeping routines that properly clean-up idle fragmented RAM when the system is idle, without purging the caches. Tell me, do you also defrag and optimize the drives on your Macs? 99% of Mac users NEVER have seen the Terminal app, nor need to.

          Yes, you can see memory being freed up in Activity Monitor. . . Those are Caches being freed up, which are what the system is designed to USE. The purge command does NOT free up idle fragmented RAM. In a properly managed OSX Mac, the System moves apps and data from the hard drive to the RAM based on past usage and current app usage in anticipation of current usage needs. Purge is an old manual command from UNIX left over from when an app quit to clean up after itself. It will free up the disk and data caches when the app exits. It was intended for use on SMALL UNIX systems running ONE app at a time, not multitasking systems! It is an A-bomb on multitasking systems, removing everything, when that may not be the best thing to do! Will you use it? Do you need it? If you have a small RAM system it might help, but Mac’s dynamic memory handling WILL free up that RAM if it’s needed. Do you realize what damage a Purge Command can do on a multitasking, multiuser UNIX system like the one in MY office where. A large data base is moved into RAM for processing??? Just because it is shown as there in Activity Monitor doesn’t mean the system isn’t aware of it’s status. How do you think the purge command knows it can purge it??? In fact, using the purge command can, in many cases, actually SLOW DOWN the Mac because it will now have to load purged data and apps from the hard drive because YOU, in your oh, so wise ignorance, purged them from where they were being held in RAM waiting for the next time they were needed. That’s why they were there! The purge command also empties data caches. . . also loaded there by specified applications and UNLOADED by you in your damn memory purge. . . Because YOU think you are doing something useful. In some instances, you can do major damage to unsaved data. On a Windows, single user machine, a purge command isn’t quite so worrisome, but on a networked peer-to-peer, multiple server UNIX system it ain’t so easy to just purge willy nilly.

          Obviously you come out of the Windows world where you have to do such housekeeping tasks to keep the cruft out of the machines and keep the working at full speed. You just don’t see such Windows slow downs on Macs. About the only thing that slows down a Mac is too many things on the desktop.

          I know that the PURGE command was installed when a user installed either xTools or developers tools. . . or at least that was the way it used to be. It was not part of a standard install. That may have changed. . . but Apple really does not want the user to purge the caches. They are a feature of OSX. That’s why it was loaded as part of the Developers Tools and xTools. Since I don’t use it, I really haven’t paid attention as to whether Apple added it to the standard download install. It is possible they may have.

          As for maturity, I am 64 years old, manage a business, founded several, been a CEO, been the recipient of multiple civic awards for founding and running a local charity for over thirty years. I merely point out that YOU are the one who came into a forum called MacDailyNews to extol the superiority of Microsoft Windows8 while denigrating the Mac O SX (sic) in a Trollish manner and you proceed to denigrate me personally, my skills, my experience, my work, and my social etiquette, and called me an amateur and an ass. YOU, sir, are the skunk at this picnic. Your claims just don’t match with our reality. That makes them lies. . . Or show me what you are doing that is completely different from all other Mac users (1000s in my personal experience, mostly professionals, in medical and publishing) that makes YOUR reality trump mine! I’ve seen this too many times in the past. It gets tiresome. It certainly does not make my years of experience worthless, or amateurish. I’m waiting. We all are.

      2. My 2010 MBP ran faster than the 2 month old winbloat 8 laptop i worked on..

        I have never had to purge anything to keep my MBP or my iMac running fine.

        Something is wrong on your end, if clicking on a link gives you a beach ball…
        I just CMD clicked MDN 10 times and opened 10 MDN tabs on my iMac.. not one Beachball.

        Look aid.. PRAM reset? i’ve only ever used that once on my macs. And it was due to a bug that after a software update, it didn’t fix the issue for everyone like Apple said it would.. a PRAM reset did.

        My firewall has been up and running for about 2 weeks, I did have to restart the mac recently due to software uninstall, 1.5mb usage right now…
        Screengrab to show you.
        http://tinypic.com/r/34xi07r/5

        Reply

        1. I am happy that your experience is not the same as mine. I wish I could say the same. But, that being said….my experience is not imaginary, nor is it unique. If anyone cares to hop over to the Apple support communities at apple.com, a simple search will bring up hundreds of hits about people who are experiencing the same things as I wrote about above. Believe me when I say that I wish I weren’t having the problems I talked about, but so far(several months of searching)…..the temporary fixes I mentioned are the only solutions I have found. They are very common, and very easy to find….and I am sure there are some people here that are familiar with them.

          Both my MBP and Mac mini have quad core i7 processors with 16gb of ram and both have discrete graphics cards. I have a mid 2011 Mac mini and a late 2012 MBP. With the hardware they have neither of them should be having performance or memory problems. I don’t blame it on the hardware, because the hardware is perfect. I blame it solely on the OS. That’s why when Phil Schiller announced O SX 10.9 aka “Mavericks”, he made a point out of mentioning work they had done under the hood to improve performance and how it handled RAM.

          Before Lion, I had none of these problems. When they started adding all the pretty iOS stuff to Lion and then more of it to Mountain Lion, performance and memory handling took a dump. I hope they uphold their promise to fix it in the upcoming Mavericks.

          I guess we’ll find out soon.

    2. Who says it’s detachable?

      Two iPad-like slabs with a hinge. Whichever one’s at the bottom becomes the keyboard. 20 hour battery life. Instant custom keyboard layouts. Rotate 90 degrees and it becomes a book format.

      Apple, take my money, please!!!

      Reply

      2. Nobody said it *was*
        Read all the above postings, many think that Apple is going to make a windows RT type device.. dock able keyboard with a 12″ touchscreen.

        Thats why I said what I did.
        MBP with touchscreen, basically the same MBP we have now.. but with a touchscreen. I’d be for that. (keep the touchpad, give the *option* to use the touchscreen as well)
        A “dockable” keyboard for an iPad.. no thanks.

        and OSX.. not iOS.

        Reply

  9. I’ve felt this day has been slowly making its way here for awhile yet the author doesn’t seem to make the real connection. Why do you think Mac OS has become more and more like iOS? It’s to set the foundation for the Mac OS to become touch friendly. Heck, Time Machine’s system preference has always had a touch style on/off toggle. That’s when it first hit me. I believe we will see it once Mac OS XI is released.

    Think about it. What better way to go from OS 10 to OS 11. Apple keeps it cards held very closely to its chest and I think it’s only a matter of time before it’s a reality. Apples good at iterative changes, so as not too make big changes such a shock.

    Reply

    2. Not really. The Air refers to the thinness. This is a beefed up iPad.

      iPad Pro.

      Having said that… ergonomically it makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. The only way it makes sense is as MAYBE a Macbook Air with a super thin keyboard .. you know… you’re starting to get into Surface 2 territory… *cringe*

      The real problem is the traditional desktops/laptops are going away… So Apple is trying to figure out how to do something like… iWork.

      Reply

  11. Honestly I could see this not only happening but also being very successful. A while back a patent filed by apple surfaced showing what appeared to be an iMac on a hinge of sorts. If I remember correctly when the screen was in standard mode it stayed in OS X but when laid down it switched modes. This being said if Apple were able to find a way (if they haven’t already unbeknownst to us just like the pre-existing intel compatibility built into OS X 10.4 at the time of their last large platform switch which took everyone by surprise) to run OS X on the A7 or A8, whenever this would happen, why couldn’t they make the hybrid run OS X when open like a laptop and then convert to iOS when folded down? It wouldn’t be the same as Windows RT and all these other hybrids since the OS isn’t being shoehorned into both platforms. I love my iPad, which is no replacement at all for my MacBook Pro. Sorry, it’s just not. And I don’t think there has to necessarily be one OS to rule them all. As of right now I need my own iPad since my wife uses ours but also really need a new laptop. And the 11″ or 13″ Air would hands down be my first choice. If I could get both devices in one item I would snatch that up quicker than one could imagine. And this being Apple you know the hardware would be of the highest quality with the transition process from one mode to the other being seamless. And the touch mode would either remain in OS X mode or be deactivated since Apple’s trackpad is the best thing since sliced bread and doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced. An option to use OS X via on screen touch or trackpad would be best. The data would be segregated as the kind of data that would normally be shared between the two platforms, bookmarks, contacts, calendars, notes, reminders and iWork data are synced via iCloud anyway. Plus this would finally give the Air the LTE ability it is so badly lacking. These are just my thoughts. Comments?

    Reply

    1. There is one important factor that makes iOS mobile devices usable. It is light and small enough to be easily moved (repositioned) by the user during use, to best accommodate the user and the task being performed. I think a 12-inch iPad happens when Apple is able to make it weigh the same as the current 10-inch Retina iPad. At that point, the iPad line-up becomes 12-inch, 8-inch (iPad mini), and 4-inch (iPod touch).

      Adding a folding keyboard and trackpad to the device makes it heavier and more bulky. Put the iPad on some kind of stand, and it is no longer easily movable. It becomes a stationary (during use) device, like a laptop or desktop computer. Yes, you can do it now, as an option, and use it with a Bluetooth keyboard, but I just don’t see Apple creating a device that has two distinct and very different modes of operation.

      Apple (Steve Jobs before and Jony Ive now) is all about keeping design pure and simple.

      Reply

    2. I don’t think its Apple’s way to offer such a device as you wish for which shouts confusion. To offer touch pad AND touch screen would say we aren’t sure what’s best so you decide for us, which is everything I was told at design college you should NOT do. Apple lives and thrives on being decisive, not a ditherer.

      Reply

  13. If you are doing complex work (even Keynotes) you DO NOT want to do them on the iPad or with a touch interface.

    It is currently the pits and takes too much arm work.

    That doesn’t mean a convertible MBA/iPad won’t be useful, but the iPad function will take care of presentations, pdf display and email. Not much else.

    Reply

  14. I could see this working IF:
    Screen docked to keyboard: OSX
    Screen undocked: iOS
    I’m a fan of less convergence until it is done correctly. Otherwise its a mess, like Windows 8.

    Reply

    1. Exactly. I’ll further explain how I would like it done.
      iPad at 12 or 13 inches that is a fully functioning iPad. An iMac or Mac Mini with a dock for the iPad. When the iPad is docked it switches to being a display for the Mac. When removed it switches back to being just an iPad.

      Apple could add some kind of software on the Mac side to make it easier to access documents on the iPad so you could load it up or pull from it.

      Nothing fancy just keep it simple. This could easily be understood by the general public.

      Reply

  15. making it easy to create a common code base that runs in both operating systems…
    Intel makes BETTER, FASTER chips. Does anyone really want to see a SLOW, crappy version of OS X run on a Arm chip?
    I don’t ! Apple has a problem. There’s only one solution to run both. Make an iPad with Both an Arm, AND an Intel chip ?
    Apple may not be able to make cihips BETTER than Intel ….
    What can it do? Run some kinda rosseta thing?
    Apple won’t put both an Arm chip, and an Intel chip in an Ipad, MacPad etc Here’s the solution:
    Apple creates it’s own Arm/Amd cihip ! An ALL IN ONE chip.
    Runs EVERYTHING !!! So ? What do you think of that ?

    Reply

    1. The A7 already matches or exceeds Intel’s new big white hope ARM thrashing mobile chip which isn’t even launched yet despite the big boasting fanfare. So I wouldn’t at this stage write off Apples chip designs against Intel even on lightweight laptops. However other factors seem to me to make OSX on ARM unlikely in the short term if ever.

      Reply

  16. Apple might do something like the, but probably not identical to this. When they rethink these things they really do a good job. They don’t just do a better display or other feature.

    Reply

  20. I think what would be a good idea is to have a fully functional base computer, simular to the bottom half of laptop. Make the 13″ iPad become the monitor to the base station. The iPad would just switch automatically to monitor mode when inserted into the base station and automatically switch back to iPad mode when detached. It would be easy enough to have the iPad’ s storage show up on the Mac to make it easy to retrieve or copy files between the two. Also have programs like iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, etc. autosync between the devices when working in laptop mode.

    Just because Microsoft failed with Surface, doesn’t mean Apple can’t make it work going from a different angle. If anybody can do this and do it right, Apple can. I think Microsoft’s approach just isn’t done right. It’s ugly, you have to boot into the two environments, people basically don’t like the IS, it’s biggest innovation is a kick stand. It’s a clusterf¿¢&!

    Design it to look and feel like a laptop when in MacBook Pro mode and look and feel like a nice tablet when in iPad mode. Make it brain dead easy and seamless. Make it so it’s easy to communicate between the devices.

    I think many people would love to have a MacBook Pro and an iPad. Nobody like having to carry two devices. If done right, Apple could do very good with this. I know, I’d want one.

    Reply

    2. Dude you read my mind. I was about to post the same idea of how I see it working. iPad is the monitor when connected to the base which is a full Mac & storage! Not sure I want a 16×9 iPad though and laptops are 16×9 these days.

      Reply

  23. And there wasn’t going to be an iPad Mini either. And they won’t have a larger iPhone within nine months to one year. And the Newton was such a bad idea that it won’t ever come back in any form. Wow! Hey you can always try to improve your products or you can sit still and brag about what you have. Or worse yet, some of your customers can sit around and brag with their heads stuck in the sand. Apple doesn’t sit still. The Microsoft Surface tablets aren’t a bad idea.They’re just tablets. Just not as good as an iPad. And let’s face it, the iPad is so popular it is a monumental task for any manufacture to compete with. But the idea of using a keyboard or even having external devices that can hook up with an iPad somehow is not a bad idea. How could it be? Intelligent people don’t limit themselves when thinking about the future. With Apple going for the enterprise market these things are only going to help. And honestly they are necessary in many situations. Open your mind and expand your horizons. If Apple always thought inside the box they would have gone out of business years ago or at least wouldn’t be the innovative company that we see today. The enterprise world is where Microsoft has made all of its billions over the decades. And still does today. It’s a cash cow that Apple wants. The popularity of Apple products with the consumer makes it that much easier to get into the business setting. Business types are now comfortable with Apple products. It’s a natural transition. But obviously the enterprise customer has different requirements than the everyday consumer needs. And believe me, there are plenty of everyday consumers that would love to have an even larger iPad. Just as there were many consumers that embraced the iPad mini. Different strokes for different folks. I have had iPads for over three years and have always thought that Apple will make a larger iPad at some point. I love my iPad and use it constantly. But not for my business needs. For that I need MacBook Pros, Mac Pros,iMacs and Mac Minis. My situation is unique in that I deal with the entertainment industry. Mac Pros and MacBook Pros are my lifeline. But a larger iPad with more functionality might be a great help. And for every day office type businesses which constitute 99% of the enterprise, a larger more versatile iPad would be fantastic. Just because you don’t need a larger iPad to surf the net and post on websites doesn’t mean that the business world wouldn’t love a bigger iPad that can perform more business tasks effortlessly. And don’t give up on the iMac either. There will always, or at least for the foreseeable future, be a need for a workstation computer in businesses. That will go hand in hand with Apple’s invasion of the enterprise world. A larger iPad with more business ability is a natural. If Apple doesn’t do it Microsoft may actually get the tablet right eventually! Miracles can happen. Apple is happy to make an iPad or two for the everyday consumer surfing the net and watching movies in the living room. But the real money to be made is in business. And while most here apparently don’t understand that, Apple does. And you can bet that they have been heading in that direction behind closed doors for a long, long time. What? You have no confidence in Apple? You think they can’t pull it off? You think they’re happy just selling you an iPad mini? You think they’re happy with just selling to the everyday consumer? Do you think that they aren’t trying to take away Microsoft’s hold of the enterprise market? C’mon, it’s Apple. They’re in business to make money. And they do. Tons of it. They’re not going to miss this opportunity. To work at or with Apple you have to be able to see past the end of your own nose. Trust me. Those who can’t work for Microsoft.

    Reply

      1. Glad to see you had time to do all the calculations. You must lead an exciting life. I tried to be kind by not throwing you under the bus with the iPad mini observation. Besides, that would’ve added another 10 to 15 words.

        Reply

        1. Select, copy, paste in TextWrangler, stats appear in the status bar (20 seconds tops). Get TW, it’s free and it’s intelligently designed and useful; it’s BBedit for freetards.

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tags: , , , ,