View: Apple needs to move the iPad beyond the toddler stage
iPad. I’ll spot some slick individual at a departure gate using one. Look at how neat it is, I’ll think, as I lug my laptop bag over my shoulder. It has great battery life and a built-in cellular connection, too!
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Then, I’ll pull out my phone and look up some options. This is where the trouble begins. There is a boggling array of models and sizes, and the newness and benefits of each are not quite clear. I question the necessity of a $129 stylus, given that Steve Jobs once said he hated the idea. And I wonder, can this really replace my laptop and all I need it to do?
The answer to that question, 14 years after the iPad was first introduced, is still “almost.” Which, in practical terms, means no. And that’s the end of it.
On Tuesday, Apple will try to revive its iPad line during a “virtual event” it has called Let Loose. It is expected to bring the first significant update to the high-end iPad Pro since 2018. Investors hope it will reverse five consecutive quarters of negative iPad sales growth. This is a chance for a revival of a product that shows great promise but has always felt artificially constrained.
The iPad’s limitations are not technical. They are imposed by Apple for protectionist reasons: It still wants consumers to buy its MacBooks. As a result, the software experience is locked into a mobile-first operating system, making it more like a giant smartphone (less useful) than a small laptop (much more useful).
This is why if you ever see
