May 7, 2024 PRESS RELEASE Apple unveils stunning new iPad Pro with the world’s most advanced display, M4 chip, and Apple Pencil Pro Featuring a new thin and light design, breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR…
May 7, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Apple unveils stunning new iPad Pro with the world’s most advanced display, M4 chip, and Apple Pencil Pro
Featuring a new thin and light design, breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, and outrageously fast M4 performance with powerful AI capabilities, the new iPad Pro takes a huge leap forward
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled the groundbreaking new iPad Pro in a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability and performance to the next level. Available in silver and space black finishes, the new iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an expansive 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model. Both sizes feature the world’s most advanced display — a new breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology — providing a remarkable visual experience. The new iPad Pro is made possible with the new M4 chip, the next generation of Apple silicon, which delivers a huge leap in performance and capabilities. M4 features an entirely new display engine to enable the precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. With a new CPU, a next-generation GPU that builds upon the GPU architecture debuted on M3, and the most powerful Neural Engine yet, the new iPad Pro is an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. The versatility and advanced capabilities of iPad Pro are also enhanced with all-new accessories. Apple Pencil Pro brings powerful new interactions that take the pencil experience even further, and a new thinner, lighter Magic Keyboard is packed with incredible features. The new iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard are available to order starting today, with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.
“iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience — with its combination of the world’s best displays, extraordinary performance of our latest M-series chips, and advanced accessories — all in a portable design. Today, we’re taking it even further with the new, stunningly thin and light iPad Pro, our biggest update ever to iPad Pro,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there’s no device like the new iPad Pro.”
Thinnest Apple Product Ever
The new iPad Pro — the thinnest Apple product ever — features a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability to a whole new level. The 11-inch model is just 5.3 mm thin, and the 13-inch model is even thinner at a striking 5.1 mm, while both models are just as strong as the previous design. The 11-inch model weighs less than a pound, and the 13-inch model is nearly a quarter pound lighter than its predecessor — allowing pro users to extend their workflows in new ways and in more places. The new iPad Pro is available in two gorgeous finishes — silver and space black — both with 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosures.
World’s Most Advanced Display
The new iPad Pro debuts the Ultra Retina XDR, the world’s most advanced display, to provide an even more remarkable visual experience. The Ultra Retina XDR display features state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology that uses two OLED panels and combines the light from both to provide phenomenal full-screen brightness. The new iPad Pro supports an incredible 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1600 nits peak for HDR. No other device of its kind delivers this level of extreme dynamic range. Tandem OLED technology enables sub-millisecond control over the color and luminance of each pixel, taking XDR precision further than ever. Specular highlights in photos and video appear even brighter, and there’s more detail in shadows and low light than ever before on iPad — all while delivering even more responsiveness to content in motion. For pro users working in high-end, color-managed workflows or challenging lighting conditions, a new nano-texture glass option comes to iPad Pro for the first time.1 Nano-texture glass is precisely etched at a nanometer scale, maintaining image quality and contrast while scattering ambient light for reduced glare. With its breakthrough tandem OLED technology, extreme brightness, incredibly precise contrast, brilliant colors, and nano-texture glass option, the new Ultra Retina XDR display is the world’s most advanced display, giving iPad Pro customers an unparalleled viewing experience.
Only Possible with M4
The incredibly thin and light design and game-changing display of the new iPad Pro is only possible with M4, the next generation of Apple silicon that delivers a huge leap in performance. M4 is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology that’s even more power efficient, which is perfect for the design of the new iPad Pro. With an entirely new display engine, M4 introduces pioneering technology for the stunning precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. The new CPU offers up to four performance cores and now six efficiency cores,2 with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators, to deliver up to 1.5x faster CPU performance over M2 in the previous-generation iPad Pro.3 M4 builds on the GPU architecture of M3 — the 10-core GPU includes powerful features like Dynamic Caching, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which come to iPad for the first time. Coupled with higher unified memory bandwidth, pro rendering apps like Octane will see up to 4x faster performance than M2.3 M4 also delivers tremendous gains and industry-leading performance per watt. Compared to M2, M4 can deliver the same performance using just half the power, and compared to the latest PC chip in a thin and light laptop, M4 can deliver the same performance using just a quarter of the power.4 A new advanced Media Engine includes support for AV1 decode, providing more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video experiences from streaming services.
Outrageously Powerful Device for AI
The new iPad Pro with M4 features Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine ever, capable of 38 trillion operations per second, which is 60x faster than Apple’s first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip. Combined with next-generation ML accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS, the Neural Engine makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for AI. With iPad Pro with M4, users can perform AI-enabled tasks even faster, like easily isolate a subject from its background in 4K video with just a tap with Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro. With this advanced level of performance, the Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.
iPadOS also has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver phenomenal AI features locally, including running powerful diffusion and generative AI models, with great performance on device. iPad Pro also supports cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run powerful productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.
Pro Cameras
The updated camera system on the new iPad Pro delivers even more versatility, and with its rich audio from four studio-quality mics, users can shoot, edit, and share all on one device. The 12MP back camera captures vibrant Smart HDR images and video with even better color, improved textures, and detail in low light. It also now features a new adaptive True Tone flash that makes document scanning on the new iPad Pro better than ever. Using AI, the new iPad Pro automatically identifies documents right in the Camera app, and if a shadow is in the way, it instantly takes multiple photos with the new adaptive flash, stitching the scan together for a dramatically better scan.
On the front, the TrueDepth camera system moves to the landscape location on the new iPad Pro. The Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage makes the experience of video conferencing in landscape orientation even better, especially when iPad is attached to a Magic Keyboard or Smart Folio.
Pro Connectivity
iPad Pro includes a high-performance USB-C connector with support for Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4, delivering fast wired connectivity — up to 40Gb/s. Thunderbolt supports an extensive ecosystem of high-performance accessories, including external displays like the Pro Display XDR at its full 6K resolution, and external storage, all connected using high-performance cables and docks. iPad Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E for super-fast Wi-Fi connections for pro workflows on the go. Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 5G allow users to access their files, communicate with colleagues, and back up their data in a snap while on the go. Cellular models of the new iPad Pro are activated with eSIM, a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device. Customers can easily get connected to wireless data plans on the new iPad Pro in over 190 countries and regions around the world without needing to get a physical SIM card from a local carrier.
Apple Pencil Pro
Apple Pencil Pro features even more magical capabilities and powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors, all without interrupting the creative process. A custom haptic engine delivers a light tap that provides confirmation when users squeeze, use double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape for a remarkably intuitive experience. A gyroscope allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. And with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualize the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.
With these advanced features, Apple Pencil Pro allows users to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways, and developers can also create their own custom interactions. Apple Pencil Pro brings support for Find My for the first time to Apple Pencil, helping users locate Apple Pencil Pro if misplaced. It pairs, charges, and is stored on the side of iPad Pro through a new magnetic interface. iPad Pro also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), ideal for note taking, sketching, annotating, journaling, and more, at an incredible value.
All-New Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio
Designed for the new iPad Pro, an all-new thinner and lighter Magic Keyboard makes it more portable and versatile than ever. The new Magic Keyboard opens to the magical floating design that customers love, and now includes a function row for access to features like screen brightness and volume controls. It also has a gorgeous aluminum palm rest and larger trackpad that’s even more responsive with haptic feedback, so the entire experience feels just like using a MacBook. The new Magic Keyboard attaches magnetically, and the Smart Connector immediately connects power and data without the need for Bluetooth. The machined aluminum hinge also includes a USB-C connector for charging. The new Magic Keyboard comes in two colors that perfectly complement the new iPad Pro: black with a space black aluminum palm rest, and white with a silver aluminum palm rest.
The new Smart Folio for iPad Pro attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in black, white, and denim, it complements the colors of the new iPad Pro.
Powerful iPadOS Features
iPadOS is packed with features that push the boundaries of what’s possible on iPad. With Reference Mode, iPadOS can precisely match color requirements of the Ultra Retina XDR display for tasks in which accurate colors and consistent image quality are critical — including review and approve, color grading, and compositing. Stage Manager enables users to work with multiple overlapping windows in a single view, resize windows, tap to switch between apps, and more. With full external display support of up to 6K, iPad Pro users can also extend their workflow, as well as use the built-in camera on an external display for enhanced video conferencing. Users can take advantage of the powerful AI capabilities in iPad Pro and intelligent features in iPadOS, including Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, Live Text, or Live Captions and Personal Voice for accessibility.
With iPadOS 17, users can customize the Lock Screen to make it more personal — taking advantage of the larger display on iPad — and interactive widgets take glanceable information further with the ability to get tasks done right in the moment with just a tap. The Notes app gives users new ways to organize, read, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs, and working with PDFs is also easier with AutoFill, which intelligently identifies and fills fields in forms.
Logic Pro for iPad 2
Logic Pro for iPad 2, available starting Monday, May 13, introduces incredible studio assistant features that augment the music-making process and provide artists help right when they need it — all while ensuring they maintain full creative control. These features include Session Players, which expand on popular Drummer capabilities in Logic to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks; and Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, available later this spring, introduces Live Multicam, a new feature that transforms iPad into a mobile production studio, allowing users to view and control up to four connected iPhone and iPad devices wirelessly.5 To support Live Multicam, an all-new capture app also comes to iPad and iPhone, Final Cut Camera,6 giving users control over options like white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, along with monitoring tools like overexposure indicators and focus peaking. Final Cut Camera works as a standalone capture app or with Live Multicam. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 also allows users to create or open projects from external storage, giving editors even more flexibility, and offers new content options.7
iPad Pro and the Environment
The new iPad Pro is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. The new iPad Pro meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.
Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers can order the new iPad Pro with M4 starting today, May 7, at apple.com/store, and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S., with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.
- The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
- The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $1,199 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $1,499 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Additional technical specifications, including nano-texture glass options, are available at apple.com/store.
- For education, the new 11-inch iPad Pro is available for $899 (U.S.) and the 13-inch iPad Pro is $1,199 (U.S.). Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit apple.com/us-hed/shop.
- The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $129 (U.S.). For education, Apple Pencil Pro is available for $119 (U.S.).
- Apple Pencil (USB-C) is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $79 (U.S.) and $69 (U.S.) for education.
- The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available in black and white finishes. The new 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $299 (U.S.) and the new 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $349 (U.S.), with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $279 (U.S.) and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $329 (U.S.).
- The new Smart Folio is available for $79 (U.S.) in black, white, and denim finishes for the new 11-inch iPad Pro and $99 (U.S.) for the new 13-inch iPad Pro.
- Logic Pro for iPad 2 is available on May 13 as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it is available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad.
- Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will be available later this spring on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial.
- Apple offers great ways to save on the latest iPad. Customers can trade in their current iPad and get credit toward a new one by visiting the Apple Store online, the Apple Store app, or an Apple Store location. To see what their device is worth, and for terms and conditions, customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in.
- Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all upfront.
- Nano-texture glass is an option on the 1TB and 2TB configurations of the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models.
- iPad Pro models with 256GB or 512GB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 9‑core CPU. iPad Pro models with 1TB or 2TB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 10‑core CPU.
- Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024. See apple.com/ipad-pro for more information.
- Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024 using preproduction 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) units with a 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. Performance was measured using select industry‑standard benchmarks. PC laptop chip performance data is from testing ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405MA) with Core Ultra 7 155H and 32GB of RAM. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iPad Pro.
- Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is compatible with iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available on iPad models with the A12 Bionic chip or later.
- Final Cut Camera is compatible with iPhone XS and later with iOS 17.4 or later, and iPad models compatible with iPadOS 17.4 or later.
- External project support requires iPadOS 17.5 or later.
Press Contacts
Tara Courtney
Apple
Lance Lin
Apple
Apple Media Helpline
Read the original article
Comments
Apple's sections about the environment in their announcements always makes me feel like I'm being gaslit as they mention anything but repair and supporting the consumer's right to reduce and re-use
By musictubes 2024-05-0716:205 reply Unpopular opinion here but Apple’s approach to environmental stuff is more right than wrong. The biggest environmental impact of devices are in the manufacturing and disposel of them. At Apple’s scale all of the things they do add up. Their use of recycled materials, elimination of certain more toxic materials, and even just making lighter products and packaging all help. At a minimum, those efforts are better than not having them and seem to be more than any other manufacturer is willing to do. Apple has set a goal to have a closed production loop, using only materials that they have recycled from older ones. That’s really ambitious and I doubt they’ll get there 100% but once again, what other company is even trying that?
Usually the only thing people can point to for Apple not being as green as they’d like is the repairability of the products. I’m willing to bet that whatever additional waste that is created by that is more than offset by having devices that last longer. Devices that require fewer repairs and have good software support allows either you, or whoever gets your old devices, to keep using the same device for longer. Every device has a lifecycle, making it as long as possible is the best way to avoid environmental impacts.
By goosedragons 2024-05-0716:503 reply They're doing a horrible job. You're right that the biggest environmental impact is manufacturing and disposal. But keeping a device running longer is better than manufacturing a new one from recycled parts . The way Apple handles storage and memory means ENTIRE devices need to be replaced when a new larger SSD or a few more gigs of memory are all that's really needed to keep a device in service for a few years longer. Not to mention stuff like just being able to actually replace the keyboard in any reasonable fashion, etc.
There's really very very little reason for all the Macs at least to not have M.2 slots besides letting Apple save pennies on SSD controller costs and convincing users to spring for overpriced upgrades. Even the iPad could probably use an M.2 SSD! The Surface Pros do!
> The way Apple handles storage and memory means ENTIRE devices need to be replaced when a new larger SSD or a few more gigs of memory are all that's really needed to keep a device in service for a few years longer.
Most iPads are vastly overpowered and last for a long time. If someone needs more power/storage, then one usually passes them to the next person which might use it for many more years.
My old iPad Air 2 from 2024 is still used.
> Even the iPad could probably use an M.2 SSD!
Most users don't need that. I'm using fixed storage in my Macs (and iPads) for years. I've attached additional storage to USB-C for many years without problems.
My original iPad Pro from 2015 is still used and is still perfect for not just everything I want to do with it but always has no issue with new stuff... except, Apple finally decided that it won't get OS upgrades, and so the few bits of software on it that I use are going to rot -- even the web browser these days doesn't work long as people no longer believe in progressive enhancement... the few-year old version of iOS on my iPhone would just render blank white pages for major websites, which is what finally forced me to upgrade: the device has devolved to not much more than a dumb phone -- and so this iPad, with its glorious large screen, will soon be trash.
If I could install an alternative third-party web browser -- though it would have to be one by someone who also understood the importance of supporting the old OS -- or if I could pitch in and help maintain the operating system myself, even using binary patches if required (look into who I am if you laugh here, and then stop laughing: we can do quite a lot without source code) I would be able to keep using it, but only Apple can save it now, and they have absolutely zero in incentive to do so.
Yes, but android devices still have objectively inferior software support lifecycles. They have objectively inferior parts-supply lifecycles too, Android tablets and android phones do not offer an m.2 port either, or swappable memory, or whatever the silly ask is this week.
iPhones are literally compared against objective perfection while all their competitors are worse on every single repair-lifecycle outcome. More iOS devices are used for longer than most android devices in the real world, and your n=1 cherry-picked example of your android tablet from 2008 isn’t really a useful or meaningful rebuttal.
I don't understand where this 2008 Android tablet storyline came from? I didn't mention Android, nor did I mention 2008, nor do I believe that there existed an Android tablet of any form in 2008?... I certainly owned some early Android Honeycomb tablets, but neither they--nor my iPads from that era, by the way--are still usefully in service. I honestly do not at all understand what you are replying to :(.
I am just saying that Apple has gone out of their way to lock me out of being able to maintain this perfectly good, old iPad Pro. This is interesting as, frankly, the iPad hasn't really aged as a platform now in almost a decade, seemingly as almost no one is making software for it which needs new hardware (...likely in no small part due to Apple's restrictions on the otherwise very-general device, but the reasons don't matter much).
And yeah, sure: I happily agree that Android devices tend to be worse on many of these fronts... but, they also kind of don't matter, as effectively no one buys Android tablets and frankly no one wants to buy an Android tablet ;P which is a fact I don't see changing in the near future. Insisting that I should redirect my frustrations with Apple onto some no-name Android tablet maker is a big distraction from trying to make a difference in the world.
I’m confused by your confusion - not only is it the topic of this thread, it’s also literally the comment you were replying to.
> Most iPads are vastly overpowered and last for a long time. If someone needs more power/storage, then one usually passes them to the next person which might use it for many more years.
like again, this is in the context of tablets. Can you show a current-production model of an expandable, upgradable alternative from a vendor like google or Samsung or similar?
If not, I think it’s pretty clearly just wishful thinking and double-standards. Apple doesn’t need to solve the whole right-to-repair problem by themselves to go above and beyond the very low bar set by the market alternative vendors. Android’s lifecycle is abysmal for repairability and waste in practice - they are even more disposable devices than the iPad, with shorter software lifecycles and shorter parts lifecycles and much lower volume/worse parts commonality.
The wishful ability to install a custom rom and some Amazon knockoff parts doesn’t actually make that a significant factor within the actual realized lifecycle of these devices.
By ffsm8 2024-05-0810:59 Does Samsung and apple market their products as eco friendly though? If they do, it went entirely over my head, but I'm usually not really paying attention to their marketing material either.
But let's address your argument itself by applying it to two other companies to see if it holds up: would you consider a "sustainable/green" marketing campaign done by BP, the oil company to be disingenuous, even if they're better then Shell?
I would consider such marketing by them downright offensive and thats why the comparison to android devices seem pretty useless to me, honestly.
In comparison to pretty much all android devices, Apples are better from an environmental perspective. I mean most android devices had an EOL cycle of roughly 2 years until 2023 iirc... But that doesnt change the fact that apple is hardly doing anything either, which makes their marketing claims disingenuous (at least to me).
By llmblockchain 2024-05-082:151 reply They don't "last for a long time". I have an ipad that is barely five years old and no longer receives OS updates. You can't even install apps on it (like Netflix, or Youtube) because the OS is "unsupported."
Apple is running a HaaS (Hardware as-a Service) and your subscription is somewhere between two to three years.
By gandalfgreybeer 2024-05-089:07 > I have an ipad that is barely five years old and no longer receives OS updates. You can't even install apps on it (like Netflix, or Youtube) because the OS is "unsupported."
I’m currentLy using a 2016 iPad Pro (so 8 years running) and I use it for both Netflix and YouTube. It’s also still getting updates. Next year will be the first where it seems to have security updates only as well.
Edit: I also just booted up an even older iPhone 5 and both apps work
By sangnoir 2024-05-0719:31 > Most iPads are vastly overpowered and last for a long time.
Which is why it's a shame they have poor repairability
> My old iPad Air 2 from 2024 is still used.
That doesn't really make a case for the device's longevity :-)
By seryoiupfurds 2024-05-0717:111 reply If it takes 2% more materials to make the components upgradeable, but only 1% of users will do it over the device's lifetime, then that's a net loss for the environment.
I don't like it either and I'm not sure I agree, but that's probably their logic.
By goosedragons 2024-05-0717:152 reply I think their logic is it makes 2% more profit not to do it.
By seryoiupfurds 2024-05-0717:27 Oh certainly, their two greatest motivations to build things that way are:
1. Make devices thinner and sleeker
2. Capture value from power users who would otherwise buy the base model and upgrade it themselves
But that's probably how they justify it as not environmentally harmful.
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0722:03 They need not be mutually exclusive conclusions.
Apples devices are in the field longer than most OEMs, especially mobile devices you realize?
They don’t just trash it when you trade it, they resell as used.
By lancesells 2024-05-0719:20 Apple is known to shred devices.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-18/apple-iph...
https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphon...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/07/apple-g...
I agree their devices last "long" but if they were upgradable they would last much longer.
By goosedragons 2024-05-0717:521 reply And if you look at resellers on places like eBay they tend to sell upgraded models with increased amounts of storage and RAM if they can.
What does that have to do with it? They’ll sell whatever stock they have - most people end up ordering upgraded models so the field split is skewed.
You’re reaching acting like Apple is purposefully creating environmental damage when they do by far more than any other OEM on this planet to minimize their impact. They should be praised for doing anything at all in the face of no competition motivation, not judged for “you can do more!!! >:(“.
By goosedragons 2024-05-0719:18 They absolutely haven't. It's laughable to suggest they've done the most when they've started trends like gluing down batteries, riveting keyboards, etc. Using slightly more recycled parts in the chassis and removing power adapters from the box does not make up for making devices less repairable.
By prometheon1 2024-05-089:46 > seem to be more than any other manufacturer is willing to do
I would agree if you change "any" to "most". Here are some examples of "any" manufacturers that are willing to do more:
- For tablets and phones: https://www.shift.eco/en/impact/
- For laptops: https://frame.work/sustainability
- For phones: https://www.fairphone.com/en/story/
By lr1970 2024-05-0811:04 Until Apple makes their devices with user replaceable batteries all their environmental efforts are falling short. Making consumable part -- a battery -- an integrated component that requires special tools and training to replace is environmental crime in name of planned obsolesce. Everything else Apple does are second-order effects.
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0717:081 reply Personally I think it’s better to do some good for the environment than no good for the environment. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. They should absolutely let us repair every device, but I’m glad they make the environmental efforts they currently do as well.
By kobe_bryant 2024-05-0718:321 reply [flagged]
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0720:371 reply Being alive is inherently bad for the environment, and yet – by and large – all humans strive to do it every day. For the most part, I'm convinced that this is a net positive.
By kobe_bryant 2024-05-0722:36 I wouldnt compare that to only getting a new iphone model every 5 years
By ninininino 2024-05-0715:48 I think the source of your sort of unconscious discomfort is because corporate speak is not about truth or justice or any moral/ethical system, it's about reputation-management of the firm and profit. They usually won't make direct provable lies, but will leave out any information that does not boost their reputation even if it's relevant or contradicts their messaging. But importantly, they are appealing to a sense of moral virtue when they brag about environmental responsibility or privacy, even if they aren't taking a lens of truth and justice to their analysis and messaging, but a biased one that ultimately favors profit.
This dissonance in tone vs real motive is really painful to people who care about nuance and truth and moral good, because it means they muddy the waters of what is right and wrong and confuse us.
The iPad is the notable omission from the Self Service Repair thing they are doing. I suspect it's just classified as disposable/recyclable.
(yes this annoys me)
By sp332 2024-05-0716:00 The larger one is 5.1mm thick. There aren't separate components any more, it's a smear of glue with some silicon and batteries suspended in it.
By ncr100 2024-05-0722:52 AH could that be why their "thinnest iPad" advertisement was to crush usable piano, metronome, etc? the iPad division // department does NOT respect reuse?
They're bold enough to say they're carbon neutral.
"Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product."
Carbon neutral never really meant anything anyway.
And Apple's "Green" talk is just theater (well, just like everybody elses in tech, fashion, cars, etc).
Their whole business lies in making and selling more stuff, and getting people to replace them often with shiny new ones.
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0717:114 reply What’s the opposite of carbon neutral? That is to say, how much more damage could Apple be doing to the environment if they ended all of their current “Green talk” practices? They’re a business and they’re going to sell things no matter what, would you rather have them do nothing to mitigate the environmental damage, or have them do something?
By yencabulator 2024-05-0722:27 The point is that becoming "carbon neutral" by buying carbon offsets while encouraging rampant consumerism is not good for environment.
Carbon offsets are about as credible as the oil industry giants saying they don't really pollute very much at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_offsets_and_credits
By lancesells 2024-05-0719:312 reply They don't care. You don't think Apple with their trillions of dollars maybe could make a version of the iPhone version that's upgradable? The worst thing is the industry follows their lead so everything they don't do, the industry does as well.
Apple comes out with 4 versions of the iPhone every year right? How about a fifth version that is 2mm thicker with the ability to upgrade. This is the wealthiest company on the planet in history and they are doing almost nothing.
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0720:391 reply I'll quote myself from elsewhere in this thread:
> Personally I think it’s better to do some good for the environment than no good for the environment. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. They should absolutely let us repair every device, but I’m glad they make the environmental efforts they currently do as well.
>> Personally I think it’s better to do some good for the environment than no good for the environment.
"Some good for the environment" is 0.1% better in some marginal areas (packaging , recycled X material, bundled cables, the stickers in the box it announced it will stop this year, and so on) combined with 20% worse in other areas (tens of millions of devices) for a net 19.9% worse.
And, yes, 19.9% worse is technically better than 20% worse.
Like "technically" removing a bucket of water from a flooding river is less flood than leaving it all.
Practically it's worse. It does nothing to stop the catastrophe, and even worse, this greenwashing is giving false assurances, which help maintain and compound the 19.9% worse year over year (as opposed to people demanding they do something real).
And of the course the hypocrisy, encouraged this way, doesn't stop with Apple.
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0814:191 reply I won’t argue with these because I assume these percentages are 19.9% made up.
By coldtea 2024-05-0913:34 They're clearly meant to be illustrative, not specific... except if you thought the argument was that Apple's damage to the environment is precisely 19.9% of some yet unspecified unit
wooooosh
By servus45678981 2024-05-084:58 The wealthiest is Microsoft and can you provide sources for your “knowledge“?
By nozzlegear 2024-05-0717:512 reply You and I both know that would never happen. You can moralize and blame consumerism all you want, but the reality is people want these devices and that’s why they buy them. Apple would be hurting the environment further by eliminating their green practices, because nobody who is concerned about the environment buys an iPhone and thinks “yes, this is enough what I have done, I will do no further.”
By ncr100 2024-05-0722:51 Repulsive, how the FIRST introductory scene today was them CRUSHING perfectly usable products.
* https://twitter.com/nobi/status/1787888454849966295
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntjkwIXWtrc
They crushed paint, a piano, toys, and much much more.
All in the name of a convenient marketing ploy around "thinness." Seems anti-reuse to me.
Yeah their Watch bands are made of recycled plastic and they don’t use leather anymore. But the quality of the bands is often so bad that you have to replace them after a year or even only some months.
By lancesells 2024-05-0719:242 reply I bought a braided solo loop of theirs and it became stretched out within 5 months. I didn't do anything but take it off my hand each night to charge it. If that's the norm, and the Apple store employee made it seem that way, they shouldn't even sell them.
By jq-r 2024-05-0717:55 And the phone cases became overpriced junk.
I genuinely don't grok who is buying iPad Pros; outside of maybe artists & graphic designers? Maybe? But even there, wacomb-like tablets on Mac is still super popular, and the iPad Air in a bigger size is going to be crazy popular.
A 13" iPad Pro with keyboard is $1650. And you can't even get the nanotexture glass below 1TB; so that + keyboard is approaching $2300.
Who is buying this?
I don't have a personal laptop and use iPad Pro instead. I have a work laptop that I only use for work and I never take on vacations with me.
iPad Pro gives me:
- amazing SSH terminal
- ability to download content from streaming services to long-haul flights
- a decent size screen for watching TV in bed (my bedroom has a layout that prevents me from placing TV anywhere)
- a good steam/xcloud client
- when latency is too high for SSH, I have RPi I connect with USB-C to iPad and shows up as Ethernet adapter powered from iPad.
- a few games to play on the iPad itself when away
- I have a thunderbolt dock that my main PC is connected to, I can switch to my iPad. That with Stage Manager gives essentially focus-mode mac.
- nice screen (quality and size) to read things (not books, eInk is king there)
- nice screen to look at recipes while I cook
You might notice that none of these tasks require a powerful CPU, and you will be right. I got iPad Pro because of screen size and thunderbolt. Might switch to the new one because the camera is finally in the right place.
If I could run IntelliJ on iPad, even in remote mode - I wouldn't even think about buying a laptop.
By diffeomorphism 2024-05-0719:232 reply The screen quality is surely good, but why wouldn't an iPad air or Samsung whatever work just as well for all these use cases? Also, it seems that you connect a keyboard, a mouse, a game pad and a display... Cool that it works, but that is very far from out of box experience.
By ShakataGaNai 2024-05-0721:12 The airs screen was good but not great. Not compared to the 13” pro.
As for peripheral, not at all. My iPad lives mostly in its keyboard folio. I also regularly use a USB-C dock with it for either Ethernet access, HDMI output to hotel TVs, or memory card reading (camera). I know a few people who carry around 8bitdo Bluetooth game controllers for use with all sorts of devices (steam deck, laptop, phone, iPad). If you’re a diehard gamer, it’s well worth it.
> But why wouldn't an iPad air work just as well for all these use cases?
I don't remember whether it had USB-C at the time or not, but it definitely didn't have Thunderbolt, which is a requirement for me.
> Samsung
Same with thunderbolt, but also I can't stand Samsung's version of Android. I wish Pixel Slate kept evolving. The Android tablet experience in general isn't great. Blink terminal is 12/10 experience, there is no app like that for Android. However, on Samsung, I would be able to just install NixOS in VM on the tablet, so there is that.
> Cool that it works, but that is very far from out of box experience.
Well, yes, but first it's just one cable and a game pad that I already had. I didn't buy any of those things specifically for the iPad. For me, it was an out-of-the-box experience.
I'd like to mention that when I got my iPad Pro, I had zero apple products at my house.
By cyberpunk 2024-05-0917:36 Blink really turned me off when they started running some automatic shell script that curl | bash's some static version of mosh from their servers without me noticing in order to 'improve' the experience.
No, don't run anything on my servers thanks. I don't even care if there's an option to turn it off.
Switched to termius, I'll miss being able to use custom fonts but meh.
Good call on SSH terminal. I use Prompt all the time to get on my workstation.
By transpute 2024-05-084:07 iPad Pro 4:3 264ppi screen = unmatched vertical real estate for SSH CLI and text editing, especially with vertical split screen window management.
Years ago there were 4:3 Thinkpads. Then OEMs moved to 16:9 aspect ratios for video content, some claiming that the economics were no longer viable for 4:3 displays. Yet Apple continues to ship millions of 4:3 screens for iPads.
By fshbbdssbbgdd 2024-05-0716:313 reply Currently an iPad Air with the Magic Keyboard is my main personal computer. I’ve found that it’s the most enjoyable device to use for internet browsing. It replaced my Chromebook, which had that role before. Like the Chromebook, it’s got a physical keyboard, so it’s good for typing. The cantilever also places the screen closer to my hands, helping me to fluidly switch between keyboard and touch navigation, which both work well. The browser is noticeably snappier than my Chromebook was, although that might come down to a better processor generation.
A secondary use-case is watching movies while traveling. I did my taxes on there too - Google sheets, scanning receipts from the camera into the Files app, all work well. I plugged in a monitor for that.
The one thing I’m not doing on there is coding. I only do that on my work laptop. If I had personal programming projects, I’d surely be using a laptop that lets me run my own code as my personal computer.
The price for the new Pro sure is high, but I’m tempted. The phone’s 120Hz OLED has spoiled me. Surely they sell more of the cheaper models, but they might as well make a halo device to rake in as much margin as they can from people who are willing to pay for the best.
Every time I think about buying an iPad, I just find myself wishing there was a legit / better approach to, you know, computing on it.... I don’t do much for fun besides work on things that need compilers, debuggers, dynamic analysis, linking, JIT execution, tracing, and suchlike. All such endeavors are firmly impossible on iOS and iPadOS.
I think touch computers had enormous potential that has mostly been permanently squandered by making them into entertainment devices for users — not owners, and certainly not operators. The product barely even really belongs to you from that perspective.
This is something that Stallman and the Free Software movement got absolutely bang-on: proprietary software seeks to control its users and prevent them from truly owning and operating their computers. It’s almost impossible to overstate how important free computing is, and how much more important it will become in the future if we don’t secure our access to it.
I think this is essentially a portable terminal, just like the phone. Most of my work on laptop for development is to get on high-powered workstation or servers anyway. For occasionally SSH-ing with tmux session, it’s pretty great (although I can’t swap ctrl with caps, which sucks).
I do wish iPad had something to push me over to replace my laptop for that use case, but I’m too used to windowed environment.
By cyberpunk 2024-05-0720:10 Settings -> general -> keyboard -> hardware keyboard -> modifier keys -> caps lock
I have mine bound to esc since I use vim as my main editor, but ctrl is also an option.
As for the soft keyboard, at least in termius this is remappable in the settings (I think blink also)
By binary132 2024-05-0810:39 Somehow “$1500 portable terminal, with some effort” just doesn’t make me feel burning desire.
By natrys 2024-05-081:37 There is iSH but it needs to do some insane emulation to offer a linux userspace, and so is quite slow. I have still solved plenty of problems with it, disproving that native iOS is capable on its own, or that ssh/tmux is enough over local environment.
I am basically fed up with my iPad, looking to sell it and buy an Android with termux.
>I don’t do much for fun besides work on things that need compilers, debuggers, dynamic analysis, linking, JIT execution, tracing, and suchlike
Why would you need a table for those things? Isn't a dektop/laptop optimized for those kind of things anyway?
Or you just want to hook some 11" iPad to a monitor and a keyboard, and just use it as a desktop unit?
What difference should it make whether it’s a computer with a built-in touch screen or a computer with a mouse, keyboard, and whatnot? How is one “optimized” for this or that? They’re both just computers. The one running Apple’s software is utterly locked down, is the thing. I would like to be able to compute however I like on my computers, yes.
Heck, maybe it would be interesting to work on touchscreen software on a touchscreen computer in a touch oriented IDE or editor, no?
By coldtea 2024-05-1121:19 How is one “optimized” for this or that? They’re both just computers.
Well, a sports car and a truck, and a Mini Cooper and an 18-wheeler are all road vehicles too.
The difference is tradeoffs, optimization, cost, user experience, and so on.
The iPad could indeed get the ability to be used as a Mac (hook cable to hub, perhaps monitor, full macOS etc). It would still not exactly be optimized for that, it would need all the extra stuff, but it would work.
A Macbook with a touch screen not so much. It would either have to be detachable (like some PC models), which comes with certain tradeoffs, limits on construction, materials, battery life, thinness (as the screen would need to be able to work autonomously, thus have the CPU and everything), etc.
Or it could be a laptop with a touch screen (again, like some other PC laptop models), which would give an unatural, unergonomic experience.
>Heck, maybe it would be interesting to work on touchscreen software on a touchscreen computer in a touch oriented IDE or editor, no?
Based on our experience with laptops that have that, not that interesting in the end. There's a reason we don't see people using those PC laptops that have that using them for the touch screen in the wild, and that they haven't really caught on.
By fshbbdssbbgdd 2024-05-0717:361 reply Yeah, you could have a device with the same form factor and UI that also has a normal terminal and can compile its own code. It’s ok for my personal use case but it’s a big limitation and rules out the device for many people.
By cyberpunk 2024-05-0718:00 With the allowing of emulators, there is now an app called 'a-shell' which you can write/compile (at least) c on.. (the built in clang compiles to wasm, vim/emacs only etc).
I expect this to improve, and I've not tried to build any complex software on it (yet).
By fshbbdssbbgdd 2024-05-0716:461 reply I have a MacBook from work so I do compare them. It’s a worse user experience. No touchscreen, screen is lower and further from my eyes. It’s physically less pleasant to use. There are also some use-cases I can’t even do with the MacBook form factor - eg. on planes, I mount the iPad on the seat in front of me so I watch movies at eye level. Sometimes I hold the iPad in my hands when in pure reading consumption mode.
>I have a MacBook from work so I do compare them. It’s a worse user experience. No touchscreen
And that matters for coding work because?
>screen is lower and further from my eyes.
The iPad screen doesn't have any fixed position, so what are you comparing it to? iPad propped on an Apple iPad keyboard (which would be even lower)? iPad handheld which would be unusable? iPad set flat on a table? iPad on a stand (if so, what prevents you putting the MacBook on a stand?)
By fshbbdssbbgdd 2024-05-119:58 MacBook works great at work! Based on my experience with my work device, it’s as pleasant for casual media consumption.
The Magic Keyboard actually lifts the iPad above the keyboard, which puts it in a better viewing position in laptop-mode than an actual laptop. Every little bit helps when you have creaky tendons and joints.
I'm curious what makes you think the MBA is a more "full experience?"
The MBA is permanently affixed to its keyboard: so it can't easily be used for consumption (in bed, on the couch, etc.) The MBA also has no touch screen, and no stylus. The iPad can also ship with a built-in cellular radio. Now I'm carrying an extra tablet, plus an extra hotspot.
That sure sounds like a lot of compromises to me. If I needed more performance I'd be stepping up to a MBP for the active cooling, which pushes us into a different price bracket anyways. If I needed more disk/memory bandwidth I wouldn't even be considering a portable in the first place. (More realistically: I would be using my portable to shell into a more powerful box, and an iPad Pro or even an iPad Air would do that just as well as any MacBook.)
If you need more external I/O, well, I'm not sure I buy that the iPad Pro is a serious compromise over the MBA. It has 40Gb/s of bandwidth and that's _a lot_ for the vast majority of use-cases. My main MBP already sits docked all day via a single thunderbolt cable.
The only reason I would actually choose an MBA over an iPad is that I'm a developer. I place strangely disproportionate value on things like an untrusted boot-chain, kernel extensions, and freedom.[1] I like having the flexibility to be able to bless and enroll my own bootable volumes. I want to be able to tinker with the system partition. I want to introspect the system when things go wrong. The iPad challenges these things by design.
I cannot emphasize this enough: _all of my friends would be lost trying to follow along with the preceding paragraph._ They would look at me like I had two heads. _The above desiderata are not at all representative of the average computer user today._ For most of what I do (media consumption and some content creation) the iPad Pro would do an excellent job, I'd argue better than the MBA. For everything else I do: "iPad Pro vs. MBA" is a false dichotomy, I would not be choosing either of those machines. I would buy a workstation-class device at a minimum.
By coldtea 2024-05-0913:42 >I'm curious what makes you think the MBA is a more "full experience?" The MBA is permanently affixed to its keyboard: so it can't easily be used for consumption (in bed, on the couch, etc.)
News to me, as it never prevented me from doing exactly that. Like hundreds of millions who don't own a tablet (and I do own some).
By talldayo 2024-05-0718:07 > I'm curious what makes you think the MBA is a more "full experience?"
The ability to install apps and third-party browsers without your democratically-elected representatives holding the OEM at gunpoint?
By jms703 2024-05-0717:04 For me personally, I feel that iPadOS > MacOS, especially for a personal device. Also, the touch screen.
By ldargin 2024-05-0716:50 I've never ever wanted a Macbook, but I'm ok with an iPad Pro.
By nolist_policy 2024-05-0719:05 Meh a Chromebook let's you run Linux apps thought. I can run full blown IDEs locally without problems. And yes, that is with 8Gb ram, ChromeOS has superb memory management.
By drcongo 2024-05-0716:48 I'm going to. Every digital thing I do outside of my job happens on an iPad Pro and I absolutely love it. I make music in Logic Pro on an M1 iPad Pro - it's hard to overstate how amazing it is to be able to carry around an entire recording studio in such a tactile form factor. I can't get on with desktop DAWs at all.
By SkyPuncher 2024-05-0717:08 I had a 13” iPad Pro for work and I loved it. It’s basically the size of a standard piece of paper, so reading and writing is very natural.
That being said, I’m getting an iPad Air now that they offer 13”.
By nijuashi 2024-05-0719:18 One segment - old people. It’s a great device - reliable, fast, convenient, and portable. Large screen is a godsend for old guy like me. If you own one, I think you may find it really pleasant to use as side device on your desk.
I had one from 2020, use it all the time over my phone, and I’m upgrading to this one. 512GB though - shame I can’t get the glass :(
By nunez 2024-05-081:15 I bought one last year to code with and give demos/workshops of our products. This worked mostly well given that I could remote into my work computer through a Tailscale subnet router.
I ultimately ended up selling it in lieu of a MacBook Pro and an iPad mini, as I really missed having a local dev environment.
However, laptops at my current employer are more locked down, so I can't SSH and VNC into them like I could before, even through Tailscale.
Given that I will still travel a lot with them and like to work on non-work things during flights without carrying two laptops, I decided to get the OLED 11" iPad Pro with the Keyboard that I can use to remote into my laptop at home.
I also draw heavily during deep dives and workshops; so much so, that I always have a Pencil with me in my fanny pack, which I carry with me everywhere. Given this, I also got me a Pencil Pro to replace it.
By cko 2024-05-0716:34 Not an artist but the Wacom-like graphic tablets are tethered to the laptop or workstation, with at least two cables (one for power, another for the HDMI) so some artists do prefer the more portable solution of iPad plus that nice Procreate app.
Musicians, for the purpose of reading sheet music. Wrote about this here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40286085#40288121
I did not ask "who is buying iPads"; I asked who is buying the iPad Pro, especially now that the Air is available at the 13" size.
By nijuashi 2024-05-0719:22 One notable difference: Face ID. I know it sounds silly, but it makes it really convenient especially using keyboard.
If you click the date/timestamp on a comment you can get a direct link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40288121
By joshlemer 2024-05-0717:06 Thank you
Any, amazon have several 6GB ram/64GB storage for $50-60 many of them even have a microSD slot for more storage, they'll all do fine for reading PDFs, my first iPad had 32GB storage and it did that task just fine.
Heck they have 4GB/32GB tablets for $30 that would no doubt just about manage running ReadEra or some other PDF viewer with no trouble.
By joshlemer 2024-05-0916:54 But the most important aspect is the screen size. You're finding $50 android tablets with screen size 13"?
By DamnInteresting 2024-05-0716:47 I use my M1 iPad Pro for graphics work (from simple sketches to full illustrations), and for making music with multi-track recording apps. I don't bother with the keyboard since little of my input is text-oriented.
By millzlane 2024-05-0716:35 People with government grant or unrestricted access to company money. Already spoke to people wanting to know when they can use their Cost center for one.
By baby 2024-05-081:54 Me. Use it to read pdfs, draw, watch youtube and netflix, or as my laptop when I’m traveling. Best purchase I made.
mathematicians and physicists who use them for "pen and paper" calculations
By diffeomorphism 2024-05-0719:281 reply Because the pro used to be the largest iPad with a pencil. Now you can get the air instead and "pen and paper" certainly does not need "pro" performance.
By gandalfgreybeer 2024-05-089:10 As a physicist, the main reason why I chose the Pro version is the refresh rate. It doesn’t distract me when I’m using the pencil.
Also the keyboard when I need to quickly ssh into something and I didn’t bring my laptop. (Not sure if there are non-pro iPads that support them now)
By jihadjihad 2024-05-0715:595 reply > With these advanced features, Apple Pencil Pro allows users to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways, and developers can also create their own custom interactions.
Can someone please make it so that if you turn the "Pencil" upside down it acts as an eraser, like a real pencil would?
This has been around for so long I wonder if there's a patent that is in the way of apple implementing it.
Even though I tend to like Apple gear: if there is such a patent in the way I'm sure they'll add this once the patent expires, and call it a revolutionary development.
if it’s parent-encumbered, it’s literally been recognized as a novel and advanced innovation, that’s why it’s granted a patent in the first place. Choosing to license vs wait is a business decision but you’re spinning something that’s objectively true into somehow being a “trick”, which is a really common pattern when discussing apple for some reason (“selling or renting first-party tools is a trick”, for example).
By gumby 2024-05-0819:05 > if it’s pa[t]ent-encumbered, it’s literally been recognized as a novel and advanced innovation
I think it's pretty clear by now that the patent system rarely works that way in practice, though that is the intent.
And I was merely joking that whatever apple announces has to be "revolutionary" or "groundbreaking" or "jaw-dropping". Whatever the quality of the product (and for their hardware, it's typically high), the company culture is to staple a bunch of superlatives onto the headlines.
(BTW I don't know what “selling or renting first-party tools is a trick" means)
By goosedragons 2024-05-0716:09 I think it would depend on there being bits for the iPad to track where the tip is for it to work well. Kinda funny that Apple calls their stylus a Pencil and lack this functionality while the Surface and Wacom "Pens" do.
There's a double tap gesture on the second gen (and newer I think) version of the Apple Pencil that switches between the eraser and whatever tool you're using. I find this to be much more efficient and ergonomic than having to turn the whole pencil over to erase.
By hackernewds 2024-05-080:53 Disagree with this
By davidf18 2024-05-0813:48 [dead]
I understand the desire to mimic an existing tool, but I would find this feature (more specifically if it were limited to that) to be really annoying.
To me this is an example of skeuomorphism that forces an older experience into the digital one.
By nickthegreek 2024-05-0716:19 But you wouldn't be required to use it, just erase how you do now. I would love for this and for it to be customizable. It could be used to become a highlighter/selector tool or some other concept that we don't know yet. Adding in more features to a pencil and ones that mimic and improve on old analog equivalents sounds exactly like that kind of improvements I would like to see.
By hollandheese 2024-05-0721:55 Why?
This is muscle memory that's built into every person who's taught to write. You should reuse that muscle memory if you can to make writing flow easier.
Sure if you were teaching people to write exclusively on these devices then coming up with something new would make sense but since we all go back and forth using the real world method makes the most sense.
By ericcholis 2024-05-0716:39 The pencil for the Remarkable tablet has this feature. I found that it was a great way to ease into digital note taking. Matching a real-world feature felt very natural.
By nijuashi 2024-05-0719:27 Yes, it’s a bit of skeumorphism, but pencil end eraser is a great design!
It makes intuitive sense regardless of existing tool - write on one end, reverse to erase.
By rebuilder 2024-05-0717:01 It works great on Wacom pens. Erasing is a pretty fundamental part of drawing and painting workflows.
By baq 2024-05-0720:04 now that's a variant of 'you're holding it wrong' I haven't seen yet.
By wlesieutre 2024-05-0716:591 reply Surface Pro did this ages ago, and while I like the iPad better in most ways for a tablet I would rather have the Surface’s eraser
By hollandheese 2024-05-0721:59 Yeah. It's actually one of the main reason I've switched to doing my lectures off a Surface Pro rather than my iPad Pro. Having to constantly change tools in the apps just to erase is a giant pain (Yes, I know about double tap, but it doesn't work half the time).
By killerdhmo 2024-05-0717:021 reply its been 9 years of Apple Pencil and they haven't done this yet, why would they start now?
By mcphage 2024-05-0720:50 They just added new features to this one—those are things they hadn't done for 9 years, either.
