Apple Pen

[tiger_handheld]

See a number of threads on here for Iphone 6S / Ipad Pro etc.

I'm wondering is it time to upgrade my stylus? Apple Pen seems like an innovative product.

I mean my stylus now isn't even silver and it doesn't really grip. Don't use it a lot but when I do, I need it to grip!

Thoughts?

[Lomac]

I'd say no. Seems a little too bulky to fit comfortably in one's hand.

[Manic!]

It's a $100 pencil. Enough said.

[StylinRed]

get a wacom cintiq... if you want a real tablet/stylus

[twitchyzero]

"It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it." -Steve Jobs

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

"It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it." -Steve Jobs

I think Cook&Co really did. There is no innovation in the iPad Pro. They basically said let's make a Surface clone and mix up with some Wacom shit and call it a day.

The "Pencil" is supposedly the biggest difference that makes iPad Pro stands out among all the iPads, and yet it's NOT included?!?

I think SJ must be crying in heaven.

When I first heard of iPad Pro rumours, I thought it would be a great idea for Apple to introduce a bridge that connects both iDevices and Mac. More precisely, it should be an iDevice that focuses to complement Mac on its limitations since Apple's forte is in integration with full hardware control.

I envisioned we could do our stuff on the mac, iPad Pro would be a secondary screen+i/o device for the Mac. So for Photo/Video editing, we could use it as a Wacom, a custom key/buttons, a quick access secondary screen for MBPs (say I'm working on my mainscreen, I can have another screen for iTunes, doc reading, data display... etc). And when on the go, it's a portable powerhouse for different type of communications (presentation, video-con... etc) that got all the data transferred easily from Mac.

So much could have been done, but they blew it.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by Lomac

I'd say no. Seems a little too bulky to fit comfortably in one's hand.

[Lomac]

An iPad acting as a secondary screen or device would have been a good idea.

Also, I had hoped the iPad Pro would have been more like the Surface Pro. Would have been nice to have the portability of a tablet with the capabilities of a laptop. Sure, my Air is pretty light as it is, but having something that doubles for both devices seems like something Apple is missing out. While I've never been a fan of the Surface Pro per se, it definitely has a niche market that Apple could take a stab at.

[GLOW]

No way man, the way it is now they can force you to buy two products instead of one.

[flagella]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

"It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it." -Steve Jobs

Is that a real quote by Steve Jobs? Lol

I think Apple is just finding ways to come up with more and more high margin products.

[sonick]

Does the pencil work with other apple products? From my skimming of the headlines, I assumed it was strictly designed for use with the iPad Pro.

Also the method of charging was a complete oversight, how cumbersome:

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by sonick

Also the method of charging was a complete oversight, how cumbersome:

was it an oversight? when you break/snap it off by accident, they can sell you another one.

[ForbiddenX]

They should've used the Smart Connector and just attach the pencil to the side of the iPad to charge it.

[TOS'd]

It's okay, they will just come out with a Pencil dock for $49.00. That way you can charge your iPad while charging your Pencil.

[svelt]

Originally Posted by Hehe

I think Cook&Co really did. There is no innovation in the iPad Pro. They basically said let's make a Surface clone and mix up with some Wacom shit and call it a day.

The "Pencil" is supposedly the biggest difference that makes iPad Pro stands out among all the iPads, and yet it's NOT included?!?

I think SJ must be crying in heaven.

When I first heard of iPad Pro rumours, I thought it would be a great idea for Apple to introduce a bridge that connects both iDevices and Mac. More precisely, it should be an iDevice that focuses to complement Mac on its limitations since Apple's forte is in integration with full hardware control.

I envisioned we could do our stuff on the mac, iPad Pro would be a secondary screen+i/o device for the Mac. So for Photo/Video editing, we could use it as a Wacom, a custom key/buttons, a quick access secondary screen for MBPs (say I'm working on my mainscreen, I can have another screen for iTunes, doc reading, data display... etc). And when on the go, it's a portable powerhouse for different type of communications (presentation, video-con... etc) that got all the data transferred easily from Mac.

So much could have been done, but they blew it.

They should have scaled OSX down instead of iOS up... but I guess it was too difficult to basically make an entirely new "hybrid" OS, and Windows RT proved to be a failure. But a light OSX that was optimized for touch in a tablet format that could run the App Store would have been a KILLER feature that could really have been the most innovative thing to come out of Apple in many, many years. The Pro could have been so much more, but an even bigger iPhone wasn't what I was holding my breath for.

Anyone else find Apple's events and descriptions of their own products insufferable? I mean it works - I have otherwise intelligent friends that repeat verbatim what Jony Ive or Phil Schiller says about their boring "me too" products that they describe as "this changes everything!" and "the biggest thing to happen to iPad/iPhone since iPad/iPhone!" etc.

[Nabatron]

it was a stupid idea to put a lightnig connector on the pencil itself...just and easier way to fuck up the pencil and ipad pro connector...Or this could have been apples genius way of selling more pencils or ipad pro since they would get damaged and broken easily.

What apple should have done is let a lightning cable charge then pencil instead of having a lightnig dock on the pen

[Presto]

The pen has a cap to cover the connector. The cap will be lost within moments of charging the pencil for the first time. It seems like Apple just phoned in the design because they needed to get something to compete with the Surface Pro.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by svelt

They should have scaled OSX down instead of iOS up... but I guess it was too difficult to basically make an entirely new "hybrid" OS, and Windows RT proved to be a failure. But a light OSX that was optimized for touch in a tablet format that could run the App Store would have been a KILLER feature that could really have been the most innovative thing to come out of Apple in many, many years. The Pro could have been so much more, but an even bigger iPhone wasn't what I was holding my breath for.

Anyone else find Apple's events and descriptions of their own products insufferable? I mean it works - I have otherwise intelligent friends that repeat verbatim what Jony Ive or Phil Schiller says about their boring "me too" products that they describe as "this changes everything!" and "the biggest thing to happen to iPad/iPhone since iPad/iPhone!" etc.

iOS up because mobile is where the future is, so it makes more sense to make a beefed up iOS device that works closely with Mac until it can one day takeover whatever people do on Mac.

iOS and MacOS would ultimately be merged into one IMHO. You can sorta see it from Exposé and mission control in MacOS.

[ForbiddenX]

Yea they should be one OS.

It would be nice to see them take that direction next year, perfect timing since they can call it iOSX

[mos_skeeto]

Apple marks up everything. It's not exactly a new practice. The pencil is similar to other battery powered pens with integrated sensors. Microsoft Surface's pen costs around 50 bucks and Adobe's Ink is around 100 bucks. If you're doing detailed drawings and manipulation on an iPad it will probably be decent. It's useless/not meant for people who use their iPad for Candy Crush.

[nah]

They should have made the Lightning connector retractable, but like someone mentioned...they're banking on people breaking it off and buying new ones.

[threezero]

Here's a really good post from reddit regarding the debate between surface pro and iPad pro

I've been following tablets for a while. For some of us who were aware of what was going on 10 or so years ago, I think the tablet PC really primed us for the potential of the iPad. A lot of recent comments disparaging the iPad Pro and favoring the Surface Pro really lack context, IMO. There are two clear strategies at work here, that largely break down around ARM-designed CPUs vs x86 CPUs.

x86 CPUs were in a way a huge albatross for tablet PCs before the Surface Pro. That's why iPads ended up defining the category, in spite of the fact that MS created the tablet PC years beforehand. MS always touted the advantage of complete software compatibility between tablet and non-tablet PCs. I just want to point out that this was a marketing issue. For the very same reason of complete compatibility, software developers never had a financial incentive to develop tablet-optimized Windows software. That, combined with the low power efficiency of x86 CPUs compared to ARM-designed CPUs, and high costs associated with Wacom active digitizers and the patented convertible tablet design, allowed Apple to swoop in and define the tablet category.

And the ability of app developers to receive additional revenue in another software environment turned out to be a huge asset for iOS. IMO, the importance of creating financial incentives for app developers largely discounts the talk about the fact that the iPad Pro uses iOS instead of OS X. Furthermore, there is no way Apple can catch up to MS by adding a whole layer of tablet functionality to OS X, and they have no reason to even try. The whole argument that the iPad Pro should run OS X is a sign of complete ignorance, IMO. It's a nonsensical objection to the iPad Pro. Windows has had tablet functionality built in since Windows XP. There's no way OS X developers would be on board for a sudden full-scale conversion of that magnitude.

It's also notable that MS Office, back in the day, was never optimized for MS's own tablet PC environment, which was internally promoted by Bill Gates but wasn't received wholeheartedly by the entire corporation. Furthermore, when MS decided to put the full weight of their company solidly behind tablets, they got a lot of flak for "forcing" touchscreen optimization on Windows.

I'm a fan of the Surface Pro. It was necessary and very sensible for MS to create a branded tablet PC, and the performance and yearly advances have been commendable. But there are basic technological and strategic differences between the Surface Pro and the iPad Pro. Technologically, ARM-designed CPUs are going to deliver better power efficiency. That remains true, in spite of Intel's more recent gains in that arena. I think the attempt to put them side by side in some kind of competition that favors the Surface Pro is really a bet on Intel, that has nothing to do with the two different ecosystems. It's also worth recognizing that MS's late attempt to create a viable ARM-based CPU tablet environment with the Surface RT has been scrapped. IMO, it was just too late to get that started. That has kind of forced MS to stick with the x86 pathway, for better or worse. Intel and ARM are competing over this space specifically, and from what I can tell, there's no reason to expect either of them to completely demolish the other.

In the end, I don't see the iPad Pro and Surface Pro as directly competing. It's just a fact that individuals, small businesses, and corporations are already committed to either Apple or MS for all kinds of reasons, and I don't think these devices change that.

Also, I think both devices are equally viable, because the entire software industry is converting to software as a subscription-based service. So if the overall market size is sufficiently large, of course Adobe, MS, etc., will have an incentive to produce tablet-optimized software. And both MS and Apple can command a sufficiently large market size.

If there's a loser in this, it's Wacom. And my personal feeling is that, if there is a company that deserves to fall into obscurity and obsolescence in the history of tablets, it's Wacom.

My overall concern about the first generation iPad Pro is the usage specs — specifically, the weight and battery life. The issue isn't that they aren't competitive, but that they are nigh identical to those of the first generation iPad. These strike me as Apple's "minimal target specs" for a first generation device.

I don't know how to compare the numbers between the iPad Pro and Surface Pro chipsets, because the environments are very different. What matters more is how the software app environments will run, and how much *project* compatibility between tablet and desktop environments the developers can provide with the hardware they have. But I do know that the iPad Pro chipset is pushing a lot of pixels, and that for an iOS device that large to carry only a 10h battery life, we are looking at a chipset that will receive much better optimization over the course of a few years. I'm just pointing out that there's a good chance the iPad Pro is going to end up being similar to the first generation iPad and the iPad 3 (the first retina iPad) — that is, it will probably have the shortest support duration, the least functional longevity, and the least favorable weight to battery life ratio, and in later years, people will remember it for those qualities more than anything it achieves.

pretty neutral view of both the surface and the iPad and their strategy. looks at things from software development, marketing strategy etc. it's not as simple as slapping on OSX on a huge iPad.

The final takeaway is both product is excellent for consumer and the only one that stands to lose from this is wacom.

And it's a pencil not a pen lol

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by GLOW

was it an oversight? when you break/snap it off by accident, they can sell you another one.

Not sure if it was an oversight, but it looks awful. If they build around the same place, on horizontal axis, it should be better (so it looks that the pencil is attached to the iPad, like a pen to a notebook)

[asian_XL]

YouTube

[Vale46Rossi]

Apple Pencil Offers High Precision and Low Latency, Gains 30 Minutes of Use From 15-Second Charge - Mac Rumors


The pencil gains 30 mins of use with 15 seconds of charging.... =/