“It might have been tame when compared to some of its other announcements this fall, but Apple last week still managed to generate a little buzz around a relatively dull product category: input devices,” Michael Simon writes for Macworld. “In one fell swoop it updated its entire line of Mac accessories for the first time in years, sporting built-in rechargeable batteries and the latest technologies.”
“While they were certainly overdue for a refresh, it was still a surprising move. Mac sales are only a fraction of Apple’s quarterly revenue, and the vast majority of Macs sold are notebooks,” Simon writes. “But Apple clearly spent considerable time and resources on its new accessory lineup. They’re impressive devices, but after an initial flurry of sales to diehards, they’re not going to make much noise at all, and since we probably won’t see another upgrade until the Apple Car makes its appearance, you could wonder why Apple bothered at all.”
Simon writes, “But it’s not about what they can do today; I think Apple has something much bigger in store for its Magic devices — and it has very little to do with pointing and clicking.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “A universal OS that seamlessly switches between mobile and desktop apps” would be wonderful, of course, but the Internet is still the bottleneck. With iCloud Photo Library and “Optimize Device Storage” on, we have to wait sometimes to edit a photo we’ve just taken on our iPhone! (Hey, Apple, can’t you keep the most recent 25 or so photos locally on the device at all times, even with “Optimize Device Storage” on, so that just-taken photos can be edited immediately without downloading?)
Imagine a cloud-based device that switches between OS X and iOS – hurry up and wait!
I’d have been more impressed if they had advertised the trackpad as being stylus-compatible (or Apple Pencil, in particular).
And where’s the next Thunderbolt LED Cinema Display? Some Thunderbolt 2 (or 3), and USB 3 (and maybe USB C) and Retina action needs to happen.
I would counter on the Apple Pencil. I have tried various similar forms. I believe you NEED to see what you are drawing, at the tip of the stylus. What Apple did with the iPad Pro, is an experience I would not want to give up. Trying to do this on the Magic Pad 2, would taint the user’s perception, reducing it’s value.
I would agree with you, in one way only. If Apple added the support, but didn’t tell anyone.
I’m waiting for the Magic Pad 3 – with iPad Pro technology as the surface … Apple Pencil support, and an API to provide mirroring an application window on the Magic Pad surface!
The article was basically rehashing the new accessory products and wondering what it means if we keep getting smaller and better, like a MacBook board in a trackpad size case.
I think I just wasted 4 minutes.
hurry up and wait – funny.
ForceTouch trackpads and mice are needed for new improvements to OS X apps. It’s an easy way for us older Mac users to get to the improvements.
I already have the keyboard and touchpad on order. I went to the Apple Store, twice last week, for various reasons. And the Magic Touchpad is still not on display, but the keyboard and mouse are. They are shipping with the new iMacs.
What about some other Apple devices that have languished for years… Just one simple example is the Airport Express. Why should anyone have to buy multiple Airport Extremes (at twice the cost) just to get an expanded WiFi network that’s not segmented and still have 802.11ac everywhere. The current Airport Express came out in June 2012 and only supports up through 802.11n. The 802.11ac spec has been out for almost two years now.
Immediately went to my Apple Store in Palo Alto and bought the trio… Trackpad, mouse,a Nice Release keyboard. A significant improv meant in function… Connectivity and stability… Thanks Apple!
Sheesh, auto correct….and Keyboard. Improvement.
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