Just like I, and most tech writers/bloggers with dignity that seek content quality over clicks, have been saying all along - the iPad Pro that was so highly reported as “certainly” coming out in 2014 has been shelved. Apple works with a plethora of screen sizes, always has. There might be a bigger iPad one day, but that day is not soon.
The discussion on The Prompt last week (episode 31) sparked a series of thoughts for me regarding whether or not Apple is even considering an iPad Pro (12.9") and what exactly the device would be. Despite being an unlikely product for the near term, it is an interesting discussion.
Let’s be clear here, Federico isn’t making the case for any of the three options, this is merely a game of “what if” that we’re playing. I think it is also important to preface this analysis with an immensely relevant comment from the podcast -
If you’re a Twitter user, you need to be using Tweetbot 3.0. It isn’t just the best Twitter client, which it is by a long shot, it is my favorite iPhone app period. The iPad version is still on 2.0 with the pre-iOS 7 design, and even that is a league above most other Twitter clients. When I did a trial switch to Android, the lack of Tweetbot was among my top complaints, I found myself not wanting to use Twitter anywhere near as much without it.
MacRumors: Square Debuts New Card Reader Developed by Former Apple Lightning Connector Designer
To develop the thinner card reader for Square, Dorogusker was forced to move away from stock components and develop proprietary hardware such as a new custom read head that is able to read two bands of data from the magnetic stripes on credit cards, resulting in greater swipe accuracy.
Dorogusker and his team concentrated on improving the “feel” of swiping, incorporating additional tension in a spring that attaches to the read head for a more satisfying credit card swiping experience.
TechCrunch - The War For Your Wrist
I largely agree here. The smartwatch thing just isn’t there yet. I like my Pebble (I was an early Kickstarter backer) but it isn’t something I can’t live without. It is too thick, iOS is admittedly limited with these types of devices, and the 3rd party app support isn’t what I hoped it would be. There is hope for the market, but it is going to be a while before this takes off.
This graphic to show which smartphones are capable of having which OS on them is eye-opening. I don’t think “average people” (in the tech savviness sense) care about this, which is unfortunate to me.
Link to the article by Richard Gaywood .
2013 Nexus 7 Wiki for reference.
Richard draws some great conclusions and keeps a very open mind while explaining his biased starting point as an iOS user. A few key items for me:
“It’s like night and day compared to Apple’s offering. If you’ve never seen it, find someone with an Android phone and try it out – then think about how much more often you’d reach for Siri if it was this good."
