Looking Forward to October

Unlike the professional Apple pundits, like the team at Connected — (who are in the midst of their annual fundraiser for Saint Jude's/), there is no cost or benefit associated with any predictions I make about Apple products. And, as I've admitted in the past, there's as much wishing things into existence when I do this as there is true analysis.

That said, I have some thoughts about October.

I've written before about my belief about what I think (read: want) from, the next iPad Mini. I think the recent iPhone announcement has hinted that what I want is about to arrive.

I think the A18 and A18 Pro chips that went into the latest iteration of the iPhones will make their way into the base iPad and iPad Mini so that the entire iPad line will be able to use Apple Intelligence. I am also willing to bet that the "mighty" iPad Mini will get the Pro version of the chip.

That doesn't guarantee that the Mini will get external monitor support but I suspect that is coming, too.

The move to the Apple Pencil Pro (with the required shift in camera placement) also makes sense if Apple wants to fully shift to a two Pencil future ( Pencil — currently called USB-C — and Pro).

I wouldn't be surprised if the event's name is “Mighty”, given the rumors of a redesigned Mac Mini. If the HomePod Mini is given some stage time with an Apple Intelligence upgrade to highlight how Siri and Home are moving into the future, it would produce a neat narrative while showing off the prowess of Apple's engineers and what kind of technology they can fit into a small space.

And it I'm wrong? Odds are you'll have forgotten I wrote this by then.

"What's a computer?"

Apple caused a lot of consternation amongst the tech world's equivalent of the chattering classes (On a good day, I include myself in that group.) with the question asked at the end of this ad. For many, the question was one that challenged the preconceived notion of the form factor: Could something without a fixed and attached keyboard and a lot of I/O options really be a computer?

Some probably typed this on their lovingly crafted mechanical keyboards while their laptop was docked in clamshell mode, not giving it a second thought.

For others, the question was one of specs: Could anything with so little RAM or storage or CPU/GPU power really be a computer?

They probably didn't stop to consider that their cellphone's specs are superior to what NASA used to travel to the moon and that Voyager has less computational power than their car's key fob.

For still others, it’s about the software capabilities. Can anything that is incapable of running intensive desktop computing software really be considered a computer?

They probably didn't stop to ask if the real computer they used three to five years before could comfortably run the latest version of the program they are using as a benchmark.

I'm not making these observations to poke fun of the nameless, faceless strawmen I have set up to point at derisively. Rather, I think their objections are critical for understanding what I am beginning to explore in response to that ad's question.

“What’s a computer?”

The ad’s answer, according to the graphics that appear on the screen, includes an iPad Pro running iOS 11 — a device and operating system those of us living the iPadOS lifestyle might consider limited in the same way my strawmen might attribute to our iPads.

But the point of the ad, along with ads like “Homework” —an ad that haunts me because it highlights what I fear are my own pedagogical shortcomings, is that the computer must serve a purpose if it’s going to be real.

I suspect many consumers generally “get it” — whether they are buying an iPad, a Mac, or a Windows machine. It's about what the device can (or can't) do for them and what they're comfortable with.

The iPad Mini I am writing this on right now is, for my immediate need, more powerful than the most impressively tricked out Mac Pro because the Mac Pro doesn't support Scribble or the Apple Pencil. And while there's no question that the new M4 iPad Pro outperforms my Mini, the Mini's form factor still delights me more than it would.

So what's a computer? It's a tool — a tool that can only be measured by its utility to the user and not an abstract set of specs and form factors.

My preference for the Mini comes with clear trade offs. The smaller size that, for reasons I cannot explain, I prefer can feel cramped at times and is less forgiving when dealing with online meetings. And I will need to post this via my iPad Pro because Squarespace doesn’t trust the Mini with hyperlinks. But I get more worthwhile (Your opinion may differ.) writing done on it with my Apple Pencil than I do on my iPad Pro with its excellent Magic Keyboard. And I have noticed I actively dislike the thought of using a traditional computer of any manufacture.

The girl in the ad's question is one every user looking at a new device should ask. What, for them, is a computer? And how open are they to change?

At the Risk of (Briefly) Stating the Obvious

For those of you carrying an M-series iPad or Mac into the classroom and plugging into a projector, turn on Stage Manager. You will be able to keep your screen private (letting you access things that might violate FERPA or do searches on the web that make you hesitate).

While you are setting up Stage Manager, schedule a Focus Mode to turn on for class. This prevents all sorts of badly timed messages from accidentally disrupting class.

Not that I have ever done something like that to my wife.

These two small settings changes let your devices improve the quality of your life in the classroom.