We may not like it, but sometimes software implementation decisions are a compromise between features and performance. And this week, some people are hot about it.
When Apple announced Stage Manager for iPadOS 16 last week, it noted that the feature is only available on M1-based iPads. This makes some people wonder why the feature doesn’t work on the latest iPad Pro, which doesn’t have an M1 chip. That’s a fair question, but Apple’s answer is basically what you’d imagine:
Stage Manager is a fully integrated experience that provides a whole new experience when working with windows …
It is an experience. When you have a recursive experience, you know you need first-class hardware.
… Which is incredibly fast and responsive and allows[s] users to run 8 applications simultaneously on the iPad and an external display with a resolution of up to 6K. Providing this experience…
Was this answer written from experience?
… with the immediate experience that users expect from the iPad touch experience …
Is everything okay there, Apple?
… Requires a large internal memory, incredibly fast storage and a flexible external I / O display, all of which come from the iPad with the M1 chip.
I think you mean the “M1 chip experience.”
Too long, I fell asleep while reading: it sucks on iPads that aren’t M1, and Apple doesn’t like it when things suck.
Craig Federigi continued to add more color to this restriction, while gaining the use of the word “experience” from “OPERATIONAL TEST MODE” to “Regular Test Mode”.
“We also see Stage Manager as a complete experience that includes external display conductivity. And the M1’s IO supports connectivity that our previous iPads don’t support, it can control 4K, 5K, 6K displays, it can control them at scalable resolutions. We can’t do this on other iPads.
In fact, showing the Stage Manager on an attached display is what really made Macalope think it was interested in this feature. Experience. Anyway. It turns out that this will be a small problem for him, at least initially, as his current iPad is a 2018 iPad Pro, not an M1-based model. What should a mythical beast do? He wants to launch Stage Manager when the public beta comes out, but the iPad Pro is likely to be updated this fall. Are you buying an iPad Air now or waiting?
IDG
It is unfortunate that we are in this position, but these trade-offs often occur in technology. Stage Manager is essentially a professional feature and thus only works on higher-end hardware.
If you want to be angry about something (and who doesn’t ?!), here’s a much more ridiculous thing that Apple is doing right now. If you go to the old Apple.com web store right now, this day, you will see the Apple Watch Series 3 for sale. You can buy one! Apple is still selling this nearly five-year-old watch in June 2022. But it’s cheap! Only $ 199! What’s wrong with that?
The bad thing about it is that watchOS 9, which will be released this fall, will not work on Series 7. Buy a watch from Series 3 today and enjoy three months of working with the latest operating system.
Now, apparently, Apple has delivered some software features that do not work on hardware that is more than a few years old. Macalope remembers not being able to enjoy the block rotation animation when switching OS X accounts for several years. But it’s hard for him to remember a case of a company selling a device that won’t receive the OS update coming three months later. That seems like something Apple shouldn’t do. In fact, Macalope was surprised to see that the Series 3 was still on sale after last year’s Series 7 event. He was even more surprised to see it go on sale after last week’s WWDC Keynote.
Excited does not like to play the “Do not buy this device!” Game. Everyone’s situation is different. But you should probably buy an Apple Watch 3 only in very limited circumstances. For example, if you need an Apple Watch to smash a TV show or art installation or a fit of rage or something.
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