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Tim Cook on merging macOS and iOS: “I don’t think that’s what users want”

46 points| mr_toad | 8 years ago |arstechnica.com | reply

23 comments

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[+] meesterdude|8 years ago|reply
This is great - if it hold out.

> But that's not what it's about. You know it's about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity.

Tim says this... and this is also what users have come to expect of apple; but their products as of late very much reflect a different set of priorities. The notion of iOS and MacOS merging didn't come out of nowhere - thats the direction apple was/is heading.

As a lifelong Mac user, it's obvious we're second class citizens to apple, whos focus is primariy on iOS. IIRC, They don't even have a dedicated MacOS team anymore - everyone is doing IOS dev. And, it shows in the quality of the system.

I honestly think apple has already peaked and has started to decline - and i think they need to, to get hungry again. But with all the money they have, I don't think they'll be hungry for quite a while.

[+] Blackstone4|8 years ago|reply
Does MacOS need to be #1 priority at Apple?

We've gone from OS-as-a-Platform to Browser-as-a-Platform (albeit on an OS). Operating systems have matured and have become relatively stable.

I feel MacOS has an edge in the market given the excellent trackpad (i.e. the #1 way to interact with a mac or any computer), iCloud, and honestly it just works.

Outside of Chrome, I use VS Code, VLC, FaceTime, iCloud, Dropbox, Zoom, and the Terminal.

[+] ggm|8 years ago|reply
It's definitely not what this user wants. This user wants a real ESC key back too
[+] nadioca|8 years ago|reply
BTW they need to bring back the previous generation keyboard with a descent key travel.
[+] ejdanderson|8 years ago|reply
Personally, I dont mind the touchbar - I have Caps Lock perma bound to Escape and rarely require the use F keys.

On that note though, I don't think I'd ever pay for the touch bar though if I was given a choice.

[+] deltron3030|8 years ago|reply
Devs and other creators want workstation grade productivity within a mobile form factor, solving the problem when switching between both worlds for mobility. Some devs who value mobility and change their location often, don't even want to get used to working on a big screen.

Current phones, while providing enough horsepower for development, are handicapped by they screen real estate, something AR could fundamentally change. Who'd buy a laptop if you're more productive with simple AR glasses connected to phone?

That's the future Apple is facing. While not a merger of both OS, macOS could just be an AR app on your phone that you'd use with your AR glasses.

[+] yoz-y|8 years ago|reply
I'd like to see some AR screens, but for me they would have to have an insane resolution (way beyond 8k, so that the virtual screen is "retina") and be able to create completely opaque surfaces.

There are lot of transparent screens in science fiction but those seem useless. Companies have not invested a ton of time and money into anti-glare screen for nothing.

[+] petecox|8 years ago|reply
I was surprised when this story was published in my local newspaper and picked up internationally as Apple have been firm in their product segregation that they have no public plans to

(a) release an iPhone desktop dock (c.f. Samsung DeX) (b) merge iOS and macOS into one toolkit (UWP/KDE Plasma) (c) merge Macbook and iPad (Chrome OS tablet)

(Disclaimer: not being a current Apple customer, I'm sure Cook doesn't particularly care what I want. However I am comforted that others do think different.)

[+] yoz-y|8 years ago|reply
I think that the a) and c) are kind of at odds. If one has everything in the cloud then they do not really need docking. Docking also seems to be quite niche as people prefer laptops when they need to move a lot. As a heavy mac, iPhone and iPad user I really hope they will not merge the UI toolkits though. It would be nice if they merged parts of their APIs and modernized the mac API but for me mouse+keyboard and touch are too different to use similar kinds of controls.
[+] xHopen|8 years ago|reply
I dont want it at all, It doesn't have any sense. You don't need to do it to have a Superior software in iPad than in a Mac os, each device is for what it is.
[+] golemotron|8 years ago|reply
What we want is a laptop with a working keyboard - not this buttterfly keyboard that sticks for every mac user I talk to.
[+] Xuper|8 years ago|reply
Not sure Apple has the software engineering talent-time for that. Even Microsoft still struggles with unification.
[+] dingo_bat|8 years ago|reply
Since when has apple done stuff that "users want"? Which user wanted the headphone jack to be removed? Which user wanted NFC to be disabled?