iPad Insight

I think I may have to frame this.

@DaveHamilton @rjonesy Similar to this AI situation, they tried to cobble together data from multiple sources far too quickly and hope it would all come together. To fix Maps, they had to start over and build an infrastructure of their own to support the app. Seems like AI will demand the same.

@DaveHamilton @rjonesy Apple Maps isn’t the market leader, but it was a rushed disaster when it was released. If nothing else, it’s an example of Apple digging in and doing some hard work to fix something that was terrible at release. And that was all post-Jobs.

My notes on the Apple Intelligence all hands meeting: - not held by JG, Tim, or Craig - AI only works 66-80% of the time (that's VERY low, the last 20% is 80% of the work, even 95% is un-shippable) So it basically didn't exist at WWDC. Ouch. - also blamed MarCom, fairly, for the tv ad - they *aim* to be ready in a year, but have doubts - JG and Craig feel personally responsible - he *actually demo'ed* a few smaller tasks - it'll be ready when it's ready - "As of Friday, Apple doesn’t plan to immediately fire any top executives over the AI crisis". Notice the word immediately. - "It has discussed moving more senior executives under Giannandrea to assist with a turnaround effort." That's setup for "this was the plan, but we mutually decided new leadership would be beneficial" Interesting times! Good luck to that team. Sounds like a long way to go. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

@Greenbaumly @markgurman Anti-trust sentiments do not work in their favor here in terms of acquiring a mid to major player. Partnerships like what they’ve done with ChatGPT are probably their best option at the moment. A failed acquisition would be a bigger PR disaster.

@markgurman I cannot understand why they cannot throw money at the problem when they have more cash than anyone. Go buy a company and move faster!

The failure to get the AI Siri out on time not only impacts current device users and the company’s dwindling reputation in AI, but hurts its ability to launch an entirely new hardware product: its smart home hub. Welcome to Apple’s AI crisis. bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

@rjonesy Meh. It’s certainly not good, but this is over dramatic. Better to pull back and address fundamental issues now than release the next Maps. By the way- Maps was a disaster at release, but Apple kept at that when many predicted failure was assured and turned it into a good product

Not a good day for Apple. In coming years we’ll remember today. Fingers crossed it’s for happy reasons. 

@iupdate Not unless they release a new version with an M1 or higher and more RAM.

The real question is…does HomePod get the new version of Siri?

@markgurman And thinness would be a priority for a foldable device aimed at more mainstream audience.

@markgurman Is this new push toward thinness related to their possible entry into the foldable market? Apple doesnt tend to offer a wide choice of form factors in phones, so I could see them offering the same style and thickness for standard and foldable phones in the futures.

Apple is focused on a much skinnier phone in time for the iPhone 17. It’s also working to make the MacBook Pro & watch thinner. The plan is for the latest iPad to be the start of a new class of devices that are the thinnest/lightest in their categories. bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

@durreadan01 Who. Cares. Apple needed to stop being so precious about personalization of the Home Screens. While recognizable from a branding perspective, they have gone well beyond being stale and boring. This is the part of the phone where you let users do what they want.

Just look at the image above. It doesn't look Apple design AT ALL. Yes, I made it look bad. But they let me do it. Why is it possible in the first place? There need to be restrictions and quality checks. That's what I expect from Apple.

iOS 18 is not just a software update; it's an indication telling me Apple is a changed company. Let me explain. One of Apple's biggest strengths is branding. The way its products look unique, cohesive, and recognizable from afar. That applies to hardware and software both, but this post is only about the software. Apple controls its software customization so much that it's (almost) impossible for a user to make it look bad. Many people hate these restrictions, but it allows for 2 things: 1. People can't make the software look bad 2. The software is insanely recognizable and familiar, even from a quick glance With the home screen customization added in iOS 18, I think Apple has loosened up on that philosophy. After iOS 18: 1. People can make the software look HORRENDOUS very easily 2. People can make it look like certain Android skins, which means it's not recognizable and unique anymore Does it mean that Apple should not have added home screen customization? No, it doesn't mean that. Instead, Apple should've added customizations that were unique to it. Just look at how good the lock screen customizations and contact poster customizations are on iOS. They're uniquely-Apple. They're familiar and cohesive. And you can't make the software look bad with them. Why couldn't Apple do something similar for the home screen, instead of this copy-pasted colorful mess? Don't get me wrong, I like other features in iOS 18, especially AI, which I really wanna try out and integrate into my workflow. However, this specific implementation of home screen customization has made me cringe on Apple so hard for the first time ever.

@justincarroll @KullAxel @iupdate Who was it that closed the original deal with Google for default search, and the Maps and YouTube Apps when the iPhone launched? Who didn’t dump them because of Android and some lawsuits with Samsung?

@KullAxel @iupdate Steve rolling in his grave.

This 100% confirms the Siri 2.0 we’re getting next week

After using the 12.9/13” iPad Pro since its intro, I’ve switched to the 11”. It is a better fit for how I use the device today and with the thinner design, it’s a LOT more portable with the Magic Keyboard included. Really liking it so far.

@sgroiga @andrewjclare I mark up pictures, PDFs and prints ALL the time for work, and often while I am walking around a job site. It would be really nice to not have to use an iPad for that task on the go. I have to today because the iPhone just isn’t capable of doing it well.

Should iPhone support Apple Pencil Pro?

@shameermulji @MadsenCasper @MarcTech1996 @9to5mac @benlovejoy It likely has a lot more to do with them protecting a well-established and consistent revenue stream. They never made money on Mac apps that came from outside development. Their App Store profits are built on these fees and have been since 2009.

Apple's third-party app store announcements guarantee the company will end up in court 9to5mac.com/2024/01/26/app… by @benlovejoy

@WillRBishop In a world full of mediocre to bad Watch apps, yours was one of the intuitive and useful ones. I really enjoyed it.

Looks like Twitter finally shut down Chirp 19 June 2018 - 14 July 2023 It had a great 5 year run. It was my first app to gain traction and the experiences that resulted from it have been incredible. I’ll take it off the App Store later today.

@ApplWatcher I think that was definitely one justification for it. I think it was likely the primary reason for the MLB and MLS deals, as well as any other sports contracts. A lot of sports fans will be interested in this level of immersion in a broadcast in the long-term.

These new Apple immersive videos and the new cameras they have are going to be huge for the Vision Pro. Can imagine them eventually filming MLS and other sports with these which got me thinking - what if Apple TV+ was created in large part to provide content for Vision Pro 🤯

@hblodget @TechmemeChatter Do you really think this is the design Apple expects “normal people’ to buy as early adopters at this price? I don’t think anyone else who knows anything about Apple does.

Love Apple, but sticking with my view that normal people won’t want to wear ski goggles inside all day. businessinsider.com/apple-vision-p…

@hblodget @girdley Short memory, there. The tech press, and the press in general, did nothing but clown Apple over the original design of the AirPods at announcement. They all changed their minds when no one cared because of how well they worked and they sold out for months.

@girdley I don’t know, Michael! Ear pods look cool. These look… like ski goggles.

@erfon It isn’t for me or the vast majority of people today, but Apple seems to be on the right track thinking about issues many people have with AR and especially VR. We’ll see how it looks in terms of execution.

Vision Pro - what'd you think

@ConradChua16 @iPadProsPodcast I carry it with me on the road and have used it consistently for 2 years now and it has held up and still works great, so it’s a well-made product. It’s versatile and will work with pretty much anything as well, so that’s also a big plus.

@iPadInsightBlog @iPadProsPodcast How is the espresso display working for you now with the iPad Pro? Thinking of getting the v2

It seems that for an iPad to power a portable external monitor it must support DP Alt mode which I think is a Windows thing? - any monitors that work well with iPad Pro that don’t need to be plugged into the wall?

@ConradChua16 @iPadProsPodcast I like it. I honestly use it more with my laptop than the iPad Pro, but at least it has some usefulness now with the added remote display capability. Stage Manager is buggy, but hopefully Apple will improve that.

@JoeFedorowicz @hokietrax @markgurman So maybe they get some of these benefits in the end, but that will never be automatic for a Unionized store. It’s all about the CBA. That’s how relationships with Unions work, whether they are amicable or combative.

@iPadInsightBlog @hokietrax @markgurman I don't think that's Apple's situation. Doesn't change the fact that the tweet made it seem like Apple was being sinister when they were just following the rules.

New story: Apple is rolling out new tuition, education and health perks for its US employees. But the bigger news is that its unionized store in Towson, Maryland won’t get them. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…