Munro Stewart

I wonder if the rumour about the 12.9 inch iPad might not be the whole story, or even the correct story. There is a good chance the rumor is correct. However, here are a few possibilities I thought up of what Apple could do. Maybe this is more wishful thinking on my own part. Ideas that have been going on in my mind of what could happen next with iOS, tablets, laptops, and mobile computers.

As I mentioned in an earlier article, I think it's possible that smaller 8 and 7 inch tablets could become much more popular. If that happens, 10 inch and larger tablets could fall out of favour. Or more likely, the role of the laptop and tablet could change for some people, and merge into a single device. So, what are some other options of what the 12.9 inch iPad rumour could really be? And what are some options that Apple could consider in the future for the design of iPads, MacBooks, and other portable computers.

1. A New iPad With Built-in Keyboard. iBook?

Could it be possible that Apple has seen how popular keyboard accessories are for the iPad? Maybe they feel an extra accessory is a poor experience and they could offer a larger "iPad" which is actually a laptop? What I'm saying is this would not be either an iPad or a convertible tablet. It would simply be a laptop form factor with a keyboard that cannot be disconnected. A 13 inch laptop with a keyboard that runs iOS. It could be superlight. It would have crazy battery life. If they kept the same resolution it would still have a PPI of 200, which isn't perfect but is still much higher than laptops. They could even bring back the old name of the "iBook".

Separately, what if even though a keyboard was attached you could still stand the computer on its side to put it in portrait. You could swivel the keyboard backward and behind the device so it stands up with the display facing you. The keyboard would be at the rear of the device and turned off. You could kind of lay it in your lap in portrait mode too. Maybe it would allow the full yoga form factor where you can also swivel it all the way around. Though I bet Apple might not do that unless they had a second LCD where the keyboard normally is so it doesn't feel weird holding it with the keys facing out. I wouldn't expect an LCD keyboard/touchpad with better predictive text input at this point yet.

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Steve Jobs was quoted as saying 'I think PCs are going to be like trucks. Fewer people will need them.' It seems to be happening. However, in my mind there has been a significant evolution of the tablet landscape in the first 4 years since the iPad's introduction. And I believe this may have a bigger impact than we currently realize on what role tablets and PCs will play for people in the future, and what other PCs or devices we may use.

It might be obvious at this point, but to me it's looking more and more like tablets that you can easily hold in one hand will become the future of tablets, while larger tablets will merge with laptops and also include a detachable or even an attached keyboard. This means tablets of about 8 or 9 inches, but not nearly as wide as the original 9.7 inch iPad. And certainly not larger screen sizes of 12 or 14 inches that are used for laptops with keyboards built-in. Instead, these larger 10 to 14 inch tablets will merge with laptops, while tablets of 8 or 9 inches will really be the largest pure tablet size. Again, phones and pure tablets will be devices you can hold comfortably in one hand. Larger "tablets" or laptops will more likely include a keyboard, unlike the original 9.7" iPad.

If this happens, it could mean that a tablet may not be as good at completely replacing a PC or laptop as some people were hoping. Basically, as smaller tablets become more popular, it becomes more likely that more people may also need a laptop or desktop PC with a keyboard, even if it also includes a touch screen like a tablet. Meaning, the small tablet may not be their only device, and may not have a large enough screen and keyboard to do everything they need their main computer to do.

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I wish that Siri and Spotlight search were integrated so that holding the home button was just "Search".

Notes

• It would bring up a search text box at the top and Siri at the bottom so you could search by text or voice depending on what you wanted to use.
• It would search both your device and the web when you are connected to the internet, but only search your device and use better voice control options when you aren't.

Even though we get used to the fast paced way that software gets updated, it can be hard to understand at times. Sometimes I look at some decisions on software support and wonder why it's so different than other industries. I wonder why it has to continue to move so quickly and not allow for standards that can be agreed upon or last long enough to become common, platforms that exist for more than about 3 years, devices that exist for more than about 2 years, or software that exists in a similar form for more than about 1 year. For instance, the following.

Google Apps has dropped support for IE9. IE 9 was released on March 14th, 2011, just 2 and a half years ago. IE9 isn't even installed on Windows 7, but is an upgrade to IE 8. And Windows 7 is the most used OS in the world and was released on October 22nd 2009, just 4 years ago. What this means is that over 90% of the people who have a PC or notebook need to update their built in web browser to run Google Apps. Forget about people on even older operating systems like Windows XP, who can't update their browser to IE 10.

I understand that software within an OS, and even an OS can often be updated easily and freely. And even operating systems are now being updated freely and somewhat easily in many cases. Both Windows Update and App Stores on mobile devices were great advances in the software industry. But why is everyone being "forced" to update so quickly?

Being a tech junkie and software developer I like new features, getting new software, and playing around with cool new apps. But even for me, the speed at which software is getting updated is now creating more negatives than positives in many cases.

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• I think Apple might have messed up with the new design of the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch.
• The one thing they really needed to update after 5 years was the screen size, and I don’t think they did that correctly.
• It should have a 1280x720 screen from 4.3 to 4.6 inches and there should be no home button on the front.
• They needed to change the design and screen more, making the screen cover most of the device.
• The home button could be a button on the side.
• Yes it would hurt compatibility with old apps a bit more, but they would still run.
• And this is finally the device they made with a bigger screen.
• The new design feels half-hearted with just the longer 4.0 inch screen.
• They really needed to make a bigger change.
• And why not move to a more common resolution like 1280x720 when finally making the screen larger.
• A much larger screen covering most of the device and no home button is what they needed to do in my opinion.