iOS15/WWDC June 7th

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Well, if the iPad just caters to the folk who only use it for browsing, then it's been totally overengineered for years now.

One thing I and many, many people who make music would like to see:

Mac OS has this great feature called "Aggregate Devices". It allows you to configure multiple USB audio devices into one "virtual device", so that they can all be used at once in Logic or any DAW.

So on my Mac, I have my USB audio interface and four hardware synths/drum machines plugged in, and configured as an Aggregate Device. All these devices are USB Class Compliant for Audio (and midi), so they don't need any drivers - total plug-and-play. I can plug my headphones into any one of them, and the audio from not only the other devices, but anything else on my Mac will come though (virtual instruments, recorded music, etc). You can have multiple configurations, and just choose what Aggregate Device to use in Logic, depending on what devices you have plugged in and turned on at any given time. It's a feature that Windows doesn't natively have, and makes the Mac an absolute breeze to use for multiple electronic instruments (you have to use 3rd party tools to do the same thing on Windows).

The iPad (and iPhone) support USB Class compliance for Audio and midi, but not Aggregate Devices. So you can only connect one device at a time. That's great, and it's very reliable, but it's a major hindrance in comparison to what the Mac can do if you have more than one device.

There's a huge wish among musicians and producers for the iPad to support Aggregate Devices. We can imagine a world where you can take an iPad out on location and and work with a couple of synths and a sound card with instruments and mics plugged in, then go back to the studio and work on the tracks on the Mac with the big screen and proper monitors in a room with sound treatment and all that. Yeah, you can do that with a MacBook at the moment. But the iPad is already being used as an instrument by many people in ways that work much better on it than on a Macbook. It's a "professional" feature that would allow the iPad to better compliment the Mac, not totally replace it.

That's just one feature, one example. You might think it's obscure or niche because it doesn't apply to you at all. But it's actually one of the reasons why the Mac is so popular among professional musicians, audio engineers and producers. If you're looking at features that go beyond the standard browsing and media-consumption, this is the kind of thing that will come up. I really doubt it even needs an M1 to achieve it, so I'm not even talking about that. But I can't imagine that Apple are short of potential features that could take the iPad to new levels, and new markets, beyond browsing.

Making dance music would be an incredibly niche thing you'd imagine though. And if someone is that far into it then a tablet is probably the real wrong thing to try do it on.

awec wrote: »

You're still looking at this in an incredibly simplistic way.

It's an extremely lazy way of looking at it. Like reading Twitter in 2017 or something.

Salty Crew

Unicorn Milk Latte wrote: »

As of April 2021, 12.44% of Android devices run Android 11 (API 30), the latest Android version.

Meaning, over 87% of Android users are on an outdated OS.

So much for caring about security.

Yes, fragmentation is 'old', vendor specific Android variants that users effectively never upgrade are 'old' - that does not mean that these issue have become irrelevant - or, heaven forbid, resolved.

What you've conveniently left out is that Android as far back as Android 8 is still getting security updates - almost 4 years after its release.

Agree with poster re: podcasts and Maps apps. By far the worst Apple has offered. Dreadful. Love the rest of them though.

Gregor Samsa

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

What do people want from an iPad Pro though that it can’t do now? Are many outside the huge majority doing anything other than browsing?

Well, if the iPad just caters to the folk who only use it for browsing, then it's been totally overengineered for years now.

One thing I and many, many people who make music would like to see:

Mac OS has this great feature called "Aggregate Devices". It allows you to configure multiple USB audio devices into one "virtual device", so that they can all be used at once in Logic or any DAW.

So on my Mac, I have my USB audio interface and four hardware synths/drum machines plugged in, and configured as an Aggregate Device. All these devices are USB Class Compliant for Audio (and midi), so they don't need any drivers - total plug-and-play. I can plug my headphones into any one of them, and the audio from not only the other devices, but anything else on my Mac will come though (virtual instruments, recorded music, etc). You can have multiple configurations, and just choose what Aggregate Device to use in Logic, depending on what devices you have plugged in and turned on at any given time. It's a feature that Windows doesn't natively have, and makes the Mac an absolute breeze to use for multiple electronic instruments (you have to use 3rd party tools to do the same thing on Windows).

The iPad (and iPhone) support USB Class compliance for Audio and midi, but not Aggregate Devices. So you can only connect one device at a time. That's great, and it's very reliable, but it's a major hindrance in comparison to what the Mac can do if you have more than one device.

There's a huge wish among musicians and producers for the iPad to support Aggregate Devices. We can imagine a world where you can take an iPad out on location and and work with a couple of synths and a sound card with instruments and mics plugged in, then go back to the studio and work on the tracks on the Mac with the big screen and proper monitors in a room with sound treatment and all that. Yeah, you can do that with a MacBook at the moment. But the iPad is already being used as an instrument by many people in ways that work much better on it than on a Macbook. It's a "professional" feature that would allow the iPad to better compliment the Mac, not totally replace it.

That's just one feature, one example. You might think it's obscure or niche because it doesn't apply to you at all. But it's actually one of the reasons why the Mac is so popular among professional musicians, audio engineers and producers. If you're looking at features that go beyond the standard browsing and media-consumption, this is the kind of thing that will come up. I really doubt it even needs an M1 to achieve it, so I'm not even talking about that. But I can't imagine that Apple are short of potential features that could take the iPad to new levels, and new markets, beyond browsing.

Creamy Goodness

Normal users don't care about security regardless of platform. It's a hinderance. For example set up 2fa for anyone your parent's age and you'll be met with "shure what's this ****e, why we doing this now? my phone is for sending/receiving memes with"

Unicorn Milk Latte wrote: »

As of April 2021, 12.44% of Android devices run Android 11 (API 30), the latest Android version.

Meaning, over 87% of Android users are on an outdated OS.

So much for caring about security.

Yes, fragmentation is 'old', vendor specific Android variants that users effectively never upgrade are 'old' - that does not mean that these issue have become irrelevant - or, heaven forbid, resolved.

You're still looking at this in an incredibly simplistic way.

Gregor Samsa

FourFourRED wrote: »

Yep but this isn’t anything new as even the 2018 iPad Pro was blazing fast as well but I think a lot of people are expecting a major iPad OS changed based on the re-naming of the chip and the fact that it’s in Mac’s now.

Which is why I've always felt that the Pros are being held back by the lesser iPads at the bottom of the range. As the more powerful technology trickles down, this will change. iPad Airs are now effectively the previous generation iPad Pros, but at a better price. This is great. I think Apple are playing the long game here.

I'm not disappointed that the iPad Pro isn't utilising its power. I'm excited that some day it will.

Unicorn Milk Latte

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

The “Android isn’t secure or private” thing is so old hat that it’s just lazy at this stage anyway.

As of April 2021, 12.44% of Android devices run Android 11 (API 30), the latest Android version.

Meaning, over 87% of Android users are on an outdated OS.

So much for caring about security.

Yes, fragmentation is 'old', vendor specific Android variants that users effectively never upgrade are 'old' - that does not mean that these issue have become irrelevant - or, heaven forbid, resolved.

djdunny

Has anyone installed iOS 15 beta yet. Would like to hear how stable it is.

When you "dock" your iPad Pro you should be able to use it more like a regular Mac. Keyboard and mouse should allow for better multitasking etc.

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

What do people want from an iPad Pro though that it can’t do now? Are many outside the huge majority doing anything other than browsing?

I have a usb-c monitor that I plug my mac into, I plug my mouse and keyboard into the monitor. One cable into the laptop and it comes up on the display, charges off the monitor and can use the mouse and keyboard.

The iPad works exactly the same (which is fantastic) but doesn't have proper external monitor support, you just get a mirror of the iPad screen with black bars at the side. Changing that would make an absolutely huge difference to the usability of the iPad as a "laptop replacement". I suspect Apple don't want to go too far down that route though as suddenly a customer like me just owns an iPad instead of both an iPad and a Mac.

I should say I play guitar and have an external sound module plugged into the monitor too that I use to plug the guitars into and also for playback via some half decent PC speakers. I can quickly plug the iPad in and open up garageband and be playing in a few seconds. The pro really is a great piece of kit, but it's held back by iPadOS in some areas. They've now put the same chip in it that they're putting in their high end laptops but aren't updating the OS to take real advantage of it, they're in a bit of a weird space with the iPad pro at the moment. At least one more usb-c port would be a welcome addition too.

What do people want from an iPad Pro though that it can’t do now? Are many outside the huge majority doing anything other than browsing?

FourFourRED

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

A MacMini with an M1 and only 8GB or ram can run 96 audio channels, 24 virtual instruments and 970 plugins in Logic Pro X without skipping a beat. That is phenomenal performance by any measure.

The iPad with the exact same tech is currently left running Garage Band, which only supports 32 tracks, and doesn't support plugins at all.

I'm not saying the iPad should be running Logic in the same way as as desktop or laptop Mac, but it's indicative of the potential. Regardless of name, regardless of the legacy of the processor's predecessors, is very, very clearly a LOT of performance and feature headroom that the iPad - and the software that runs on it - is not currently utilising.

Yep but this isn’t anything new as even the 2018 iPad Pro was blazing fast as well but I think a lot of people are expecting a major iPad OS changed based on the re-naming of the chip and the fact that it’s in Mac’s now.

awec wrote: »

I've said it a few times, I'm not sure why I'd fork out for an iPad Pro to run what is essentially iOS.

I have the 2018 and it had its advantages 2--3 years ago, but with the Air now being the same form factor I agree paying for all that compute power on an iPad is fairly pointless.

murpho999

drogon. wrote: »

Are you sure it can be initiated from Windows or Android, I thought folks could only join a meeting from those devices via their web browser (so no native app yet) ?

Yes, you can send a non-iOS user a link to call but they cannot initiate a Facetime call.
Still a step in the right direction.

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

A MacMini with an M1 and only 8GB or ram can run 96 audio channels, 24 virtual instruments and 970 plugins in Logic Pro X without skipping a beat. That is phenomenal performance by any measure.

The iPad with the exact same tech is currently left running Garage Band, which only supports 32 tracks, and doesn't support plugins at all.

Regardless of name, regardless of the legacy of the processor's predecessors, is very, very clearly a LOT of performance and feature headroom that the iPad - and the software that runs on it - is not currently utilising.

I've said it a few times, I'm not sure why I'd fork out for an iPad Pro to run what is essentially iOS.

drogon. wrote: »

Are you sure it can be initiated from Windows or Android, I thought folks could only join a meeting from those devices via their web browser (so no native app yet) ?

Oh, that's a lot less great.

Gregor Samsa

FourFourRED wrote: »

I think this tweet explains why people’s expectations were higher despite it just being a typical upgrade like the generation before

A MacMini with an M1 and only 8GB or ram can run 96 audio channels, 24 virtual instruments and 970 plugins in Logic Pro X without skipping a beat. That is phenomenal performance by any measure.

The iPad with the exact same tech is currently left running Garage Band, which only supports 32 tracks, and doesn't support plugins at all.

I'm not saying the iPad should be running Logic in the same way as as desktop or laptop Mac, but it's indicative of the potential. Regardless of name, regardless of the legacy of the processor's predecessors, is very, very clearly a LOT of performance and feature headroom that the iPad - and the software that runs on it - is not currently utilising.

drogon.

awec wrote: »

Just realised you can now FaceTime from Windows and Android? That's a biggy. Far prefer FaceTime to Zoom.

Are you sure it can be initiated from Windows or Android, I thought folks could only join a meeting from those devices via their web browser (so no native app yet) ?

awec wrote: »

Just realised you can now FaceTime from Windows and Android? That's a biggy. Far prefer FaceTime to Zoom.

It’s browser only though, not bad on Windows but you’d be doing it on chrome on android.

Just realised you can now FaceTime from Windows and Android? That's a biggy. Far prefer FaceTime to Zoom.

Creamy Goodness

drogon. wrote: »

I really wanted to see a crypto wallet being added, Apple's secure enclave will have been ideal for it

Apple will sooner release an iPhone with Android running on it than that, don't want to get into a huge crypto rabbit hole but the current stories around it's environmental impact really doesn't fit into Apple's MO.

drogon.

I really wanted to see a crypto wallet being added, Apple's secure enclave will have been ideal for it

Pete123456

awec wrote: »

I don't think you'll ever see Apple Card here, the business model just wouldn't work.

Apple Cash maybe, but unless I'm missing something it'd be a lot of effort to get a license for a relatively inconsequential feature.

Yeah I appreciate that - I realise we will only ever get 60 or 70% of what the US or UK gets for various reasons - I’m just envious of the shiny features that I would probably never use… same way I’d love a Mac Pro but that’s not at all realistic…

I don't think you'll ever see Apple Card here, the business model just wouldn't work.

Apple Cash maybe, but unless I'm missing something it'd be a lot of effort to get a license for a relatively inconsequential feature.

Creamy Goodness

Pete123456 wrote: »

I really wish things like Apple Cash and the ID/Keys would come to wallet here - I’m sure it’ll be years if at all and I assume there’s zero incentive to launch things like Apple Cash here, but I thought there were some really cool/clever announcements made. Must run out and buy a €70k beemer…

For one thing the screen sharing should be brilliant for those that “struggle” but not sure about tithe whole “let’s watch a movie together while on FaceTime.

I really like the find my update for AirPods - that should be useful and the safari updates too.

It’s just such a shame much of the features will be somewhat half baked for a lot of places outside the US!

Hopefully the Matter standard will mean more devices available in HomeKit in the near term because I find it great but quite limited. At the moment I’m teetering between abandoning it for another few years or just sticking it out for another year in the hopes more devices come online. Again, much of what’s out is US focussed - smart locks is something that I think there are only 2 limited offerings for multipoint locks for example.

Apple Cash will require banking licences which are tough to get especially in the EU, there's three main reasons why the US get all the features.

1. They're an American company
2. America's a bit of a Wild West when it comes to laws etc.
3. Things are generally cheaper (which is why that BMW is used as an example) they'll be a $50k car in the States vs €70k here.

It'll be a long time before we see any of the finance products (Apple Pay Cash / Apple Card etc.) here. Would love to be proven wrong though.

Matter is the new name for that Connected Home over IP alliance that was made a few years back, it has Amazon, Apple, Google, SmartThings (Samsung) and Ikea on board as partners, it will mean newer smart home devices now will include thread radios and negate the need for hubs and should get rid of the "Works with Alexa/Google Home" only products, Hopefully Amazon/Google push thread as much as Apple seems to be gearing up to do.

Pete123456

I really wish things like Apple Cash and the ID/Keys would come to wallet here - I’m sure it’ll be years if at all and I assume there’s zero incentive to launch things like Apple Cash here, but I thought there were some really cool/clever announcements made. Must run out and buy a €70k beemer…

For one thing the screen sharing should be brilliant for those that “struggle” but not sure about tithe whole “let’s watch a movie together while on FaceTime.

I really like the find my update for AirPods - that should be useful and the safari updates too.

It’s just such a shame much of the features will be somewhat half baked for a lot of places outside the US!

Hopefully the Matter standard will mean more devices available in HomeKit in the near term because I find it great but quite limited. At the moment I’m teetering between abandoning it for another few years or just sticking it out for another year in the hopes more devices come online. Again, much of what’s out is US focussed - smart locks is something that I think there are only 2 limited offerings for multipoint locks for example.

Oh absolutely, WhatsApp isn't great but nobody wants to run 5 messaging apps so whatever is most popular will be what people use which in turn will just make that app more popular etc. I haven't sent an SMS in years (like most people in Ireland I would guess) so not really applicable. I can see why Apple lock their first party apps down to their own hardware and it certainly works for them, but the very nature of a messaging app means you need it to interact with non Apple users so it doesn't really suit here.

I am very fond of both my Mac and iPad so would be more than happy to use iMessage on Android if it were available (and managed to overhaul WhatsApp).

Sad Professor

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

A messaging app that will only let you message half of your contacts is not particularly useful. I have an iPad and Mac but use an android phone, would have no interest in using iMessage if I switched to iPhone. I had a look at my iPad there and apparently it's been running on it for the past two years, never even realised.

Apple's messaging app is integrated with SMS, so this isn't really accurate. You can message Android users just fine with it, but they may not want to reply as it would mean sending an SMS. SMS is cheaper in the US and most people are postpay which I believe is why iMessage is more popular there and Whatsapp never caught on.

I use Whatsapp too but I agree with others that it's a terrible app. I'd drop it in a heartbeat if I could and would love to see Apple make iMessage cross-platform.