“Netbooks aren’t better at anything,” joked Steve Jobs when he stood on stage nearly 10 years ago to introduce the first iPad. Apple’s original vision for its tablet was for a new category of device that was focused on browsing, email, photos, video, music, games, and ebooks. “If there’s going to be a third category of device it’s going to have to be better at these kinds of tasks than a laptop or a smartphone, otherwise it has no reason for being,” said Jobs.
It wasn’t a giant iPhone, nor was it a full laptop replacement. The iPad has always been something in-between for nearly a decade, but now every iPad wants to be a Surface.
The Surface concept has always been a sound concept for many people – it’s the software that’s always been an issue, and will continue to be an issue for a long time to come. Windows is too much of a desktop, and iPadOS is too much of a smartphone operating system. Our software is lagging behind the hardware.
The problem is that you need a mechanism for precision (pixel) pointing and that means a stylus, or somethign Apple might have solved over the last few years but didn’t.
I’m typing this on a Samsung Galaxy Tablet with Keyboard and stylus. Perhaps there are people who can type 60 WPM on an onscreen keyboard (in portrait on a narrowphone!?). I am not one of them. I wouldn’t have the patience or ability to type this on an onscreen keyboard. I can’t even edit graphics or select text properly without a stylus.
Yet the greatest irony is that Siri/Alexa/GHome/Cortana still can’t navigate and read out any web page article. “Idiota, follow the last link and read the content…”
We would be capable of StarTrek (original series) voice control and response, but instead everyone still has to tap their mobile device (even in places where such is illegal).
@Thom
I don’t understand the criticism of the Surface “software” , is that referencing the OS or the 3rd party desktop applications?
Often when I read comments like that I get the feeling people aren’t being fair to Windows 10, it reads to me as a legacy based opinion from earlier versions of the Windows OS.
I’m in a business where I have to use all the major OS Desktop variants, Windows, MacOS and Linux. I can tell you the difference between them has never been less than it is now, in effect they are convergent, yet I still hear the same complaints over and over again like they are chalk and cheese!
Well, for me, it’s the os. Windows is damn near useless in tablet mode. To get any real productivity out of a surface, you have to have the keyboard and turn it into a laptop anyway. Even Microsoft realize this, as their recent announcement that they’re working on redesigning the tablet experience shows. The third-party apps are a problem as well but, hey, we can’t expect them to take it seriously until Microsoft themselves do. I’m interested as to what this tablet redesign will be in the end. Honestly, the whole Windows tablet experience reminds me of Windows Phone: Microsoft want everyone else to take it seriously when they haven’t done so themselves yet.
+1, The surface is great with a keyboard, okay-ish for a simple media consumption in tablet mode, but horrible for any sort of content creation using only touch. I like the pen, but except for very simple drawing apps, i still feel i need a keyboard and a mouse as a companion to it.
And this is where Windows fails. Certain kinds of productivity and creation you can do on an iPad with just touch, or a stylus if you need one. Not every type obviously–I at least still require a keyboard for writing out documents–but graphics and even audio editing can be done. Not so on Windows. I can’t speak for what Android tablets are good for these days as there doesn’t seem to be much going on in that arena anymore.
Surely that is to do with the Apps and not the OS. I didn’t realize the OS was supposed to be a content creation tool!
I have a Surface Pro, and happen to like it a lot. It is a capable machine with very nice specs, with only two minor flaws:
1. It is not “lappable”. The keyboard does not secure the body with a hinge, nor does the kickstand stay upright on my lap. So using it while sitting / laying down is a hassle.
2. The screen is cracked. I made a mistake of dropping it (I think, I don’t remember the details)
However even then it is a solid device. I would not replace it for an iPad (speaking as an older iPad owner, admittedly I do not know the latest gen).
I have a Surface at work and it is great for what it is used for: a *very* lightweight laptop to take notes in meetings that can be used like a tablet when needed. If I had a docking station then I could use it as my main daily driver desktop in a pinch. I agree about the inability to use it in my lap, it’s really more of an ultra-portable computer than a laptop.
I’ve thought about the newer iPad for home, but for me tablets never really found a place in my daily life. I had an iPad mini 2 and a Kindle but I’ve ended up not using them very much at all over the last couple of years. My iPhone is large enough to watch videos on or to use to read books via the Kindle app.
If I’m doing something that needs a larger screen, then I’d rather have a keyboard with a mouse/trackpad anyway, so I turn to my Surface or desktop.
Surface sound nice and all, especially the x86 compatibility to run your favourite Linux. Huge Pros and while I purchased two instead of the vendor lock’ed in iPad. However, the n-trig digitiser, whose company M$ even purchased, have a quite high defect rate, with dead zones and random touches. And Microsoft has not any free or affordable program to repair those. Due to that and general lack of repairability of this glued devices, I will never buy something like this again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cKIJfZkC90 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4c3Xlfrm3A
Tablets are dying and Apple can’t save them. A quick look at the tablet aisle is enough to prove that. It’s either a cheap $100 tablet or one that costs as much as a full fledged laptop with crippled tablet functionality. The choice of a Surface with x86 apps or a 2 in 1 laptop is a no-brainer. Plus anything you need on your tablet is already on your smartphone, and you’re often getting better specs for the price of compared to tablets. Pretty much everyone that has both says they feel the tablet is redundant and not really needed.
I’ve been thinking for a while that the iPad/Tablet/whatever should just be a dock for your smartphone. Dock it in, you get the tablet experience (larger screen, side-by-side windows, etc) and yet you only have one device to deal with. Of course, the flip side to that is that you put yourself in a single point of failure position. I’ve been glad enough to have my tablet when my phone broke, that’s for sure, and that nice 13-inch screen really helps.
Samsung tried something similar with their Dex Dock, but it’s a total failure and only the software is in the S10.
Superficially I think this is the beginnings of a good idea. I’m surprised the smart phone makers have committed to this already instead of offering docks, keyboards and display adapters! The gadget could house a simple touchscreen with an extended battery, turning your smartphone into a tablet. I suppose this is down to utility though, it still won’t be the productivity tool you talked about above! But for content browsing it would be a huge step forward and cut the need for ever more phones that suffer gigantism!
Perhaps commercially it doesn’t suit their sales model, as offering a bigger screen and battery seems to be their only functional new phone selling point these days. Pretty much ever other innovation is superfluous!
I only see a tablet (iOS or Android powered), as good for three things. One is that it is perfect for reading material (book’s, manual’s, schematics and all sort of text’s). Two is that iPads are wonderfull gaming machines for children. Three is that it is a perfect tool for mentally or physically disabled. Like children with ADHD/ADD or Autism spectrum disorder. There are so many helpfull tools and applications for it. Like a time-timer or reading aid. In that sence, they are much better than learning material on paper. Dyslexia is another field in were iPads are perfect tools. Yes. They are probably best suited for people with some sort of mental disability. Or for storing PDF files with manual’s. Way better to have 100 motherboard manuals stored on an iPad, than to have them printed out, and placed on the book shelf.
True. There are no real hybrid dekstop/tablet-crossover operating system out there. And do we really need that? I see no shame in carrying an ultralight laptop with eighter Windows or Linux installed and then some sort of tablet, like an iPad, Samsung Tab or anything else. Just keep it light and thin enough and you will have room enough in your bag. You only need to set up synching of data and then it is all cool, fine and dandy. Personally I have no real need for a tablet of any kind. Well, perhaps for user manuals and schematics. Yet I still need a real computer for driver storage for different pieces of hardware. Other people might have other needs, and some will not have any use for any tablet and others have no use for anything else than a tablet of some sort. As I say. Pick the correct tool for the job. So….. Do we absolutely need a crossover operating system? Actually not, yet it would be nice though (For some people).
The author has it backwards. Surfaces wanted to be iPads but failed. The iPad can be a “surface” for those few users who need a laptop replacement.
But the market has spoken. iPads dominate the tablet space, it’s not even funny. Surface Pros are nice machines for the few people who care about them, but they really are a “blip” compared tot he volume Apple ships.
Tablets are mainly a media consumption/Gaming platform. Microsoft keeps trying to make the “desktop” happen in a space where 90% of the time it makes no sense. It’s a cultural thing, Microsoft sees everything in terms of windows, which is a desktop platform at the end of the day.
Seriously, Surface Pros are a kludge, it’s not a good tablet nor a good laptop.