Monday, February 12, 2024 11:25 am7 Comments

• Review

The Apple Vision Pro spatial computer will eventually replace the iPad, Mark Gurman writes in his newsletter for Bloomberg News, “but the device has hardware and software shortcomings that need to be resolved first.”

Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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When Apple Inc. launched the iPad in 2010, the device’s premise was simple: You can get all the great iPhone features with a larger screen. And that message quickly resonated with customers, who snapped up the device to watch video, browse the web, view photos and get light work done.

But in recent years, Apple has shifted away from that formula. The iPad is now positioned as more of a Mac replacement, complete with keyboard and trackpad accessories and high-end apps like Final Cut Pro… but you can’t beat the Mac’s operating system when you need to get real work done.

That’s left the iPad in limbo. The device lost its original purpose and has become a more confusing piece of Apple’s product portfolio.

So here’s where the Vision Pro comes in. There’s been a lot of talk that the headset could be the future of the Mac or a replacement for the iPhone. I don’t think either is true. After using the $3,499 device for about a week, I believe the Vision Pro could instead cannibalize the iPad. It has the potential to provide a far better experience for the main jobs that Apple’s tablet was designed to handle. But don’t get me wrong, it’s still very early days.

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MacDailyNews Take: Yup.

The Apple Vision Pro is currently limited because so much of its content was designed for 2D. It’s filled with flat iPad apps running in an OS, visionOS, that offers so many more possibilities. With the passage of time and as developers learn to think and design in 3D — as sculptors, not the poster makers they are today — the Vision Pro will achieve its full promise. That is when it will surpass iPad in revenue and, eventually, unit sales. – MacDailyNews, February 8, 2024

It makes perfect sense, even if it seriously lacks imagination, to use Vision Pro as an iPad replacement. After all, what’s Apple’s most superfluous OS? iPadOS. Apple Vision Pro neatly replaces and/or improves upon iPad’s most-used features. We suspect Gurman, as the rest of us, will come to use Vision Pro as much more than just a mere “iPad replacement” as we all spend more time with Apple’s new spatial computer. – MacDailyNews, February 5, 2024
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