Daring Fireball has some thoughts on why iPad sales are down:

By 1987 or 1988, it was easy to argue that the Mac was, hands-down, the best platform the world had ever seen for graphic designers and visual artists. By 1991 — seven years after the original Mac — I think it was inarguable...

That’s just not true for iPad. The iPad is a terrific platform for casual use. I think it’s better than a MacBook for reading and watching video. It’s great for casual gaming. I know plenty of people who much prefer the iPad as a tool for writing. Not because iPad writing apps are more powerful, but rather because they’re simpler, less distracting, and easier to focus upon. None of those are compelling reasons to upgrade an older iPad for a newer more powerful one. In fact, those are all good explanations for why owners of older iPads (especially starting around 2012’s iPad 4) see no reason to upgrade. [emphasis mine -mfn]

This begs the question, "Why do we feel we need to upgrade our phones so much more often than our tablets?"

There are lots of "obvious" reasons.

  • Your phone is the computer you always have with you.
  • This also dovetails nicely with, "Our phones get more use".
  • Better cameras
    • iPads, as annoying and obvious as folks are who do use them as cameras, aren't nearly as nice as point-and-shoot camera substitutes.
  • Service provider upgrade subsidies
  • iPhone 6 screen size, though that should have balanced by now.
  • Status symbols.
    • iPhones are public. iPads are private.

But I wonder if there's an even simpler practical explanation: When we use our phones, we're in a hurry. A few hundred milliseconds is a much bigger delay for typical phone usage than when you're relaxing/consuming on your iPad.

When I'm in a hurry, a faster processor/experience matters more.

In "patting your own back" news...

From Apple unlikely to develop an Echo-like standalone Siri speaker - report:

Apple doesn't appear interested in developing a standalone Amazon Echo-like speaker utilizing Siri, as the company's vision is instead linked to devices like the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.
Apple has "no apparent interest" in replicating the Alexa family of devices, according to Time's Tim Bajarin. Citing discussions with unnamed Apple executives, the future goal of the technology is to utilize Siri as an "omnipresent AI assistant across devices" rather than have a central hub.

File that away in the annuals of, "I believe I had that."

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