On Tuesday Apple announced an “off cycle” 128GB iPad (4th Generation). While this was initially regarded as a well-timed attack on Microsoft’s Surface Pro launch, I think the true meaning of this quiet announcement is something much bigger.
Apple is getting ready to start cannibalizing its Mac line.
Two years before the iPad was introduced, the Macbook Air was released to great fanfare. Unlike any computer available at the time, a full powered machine that was more compact than an underpowered netbook, it quickly became one of the driving forces in Apple’s Mac lineup.
Apple introduced the iPad two years later, which completely changed not only the tablet landscape, but also the computer landscape forever. You no longer needed a laptop or desktop to get on the Internet, edit photos, write a document, or even read a book.
The iPad offered three major differences to the MacBook Air since it’s conception: Touchscreen, Keyboard, and Memory. You can pair a bluetooth keyboard with an iPad and with the introduction of a 128GB of NAND Flash memory, you can foresee using this as a primary computer.
This new iPad model offers enough space to store a large amount of files and apps, and the ability to use without a computer to setup. It’s easy to see how this iPad is beginning to prime the consumer to think of an iPad as a primary machine. This is not a far fetched thought – look how the adoption of the iPad over the last three years have changed people’s thoughts and usage patterns on computing.
The MacBook Air has never offered a touchscreen panel, which is rumored to be the byproduct of designing a screen and screen enclosure that is so thin. The Air has also never been offered with an onboard cellular chip, for reasons unknown.
With the rise of the Ultrabook line from Microsoft ,which were created in response to the Air, and the touchscreen functions of Windows 8 now being offered in Ultrabooks, the convergence of a touchscreen full-powered computer is looking clearer than ever.
I don’t think it’s long before touchscreen functionality comes to the OSX operating system…
Read More: groundreport.com
