[mogelijk]

Some rumors are saying that Apple is going to release a new 6th Gen iPad (not Pro) this week at their Chicago education event -- specifically an iPad that is cheaper with an aim to get them into schools.

If Apple does announce a new iPad, what new features would you like to see?

I'd like to see less bezel, FaceID, a faster processor (at least the A10), laminated glass and anti-glare coating -- though some of this seems unlikely if they want to keep it a budget device. OTOH, it would be nice if they offered some of these improvements, without lowering the price (and possibly raising it slightly) and kept the current iPad on sale at a lower price.

[anony_mouse]

The only essential update is an anti-glare coating. The iPad 5 is ruined by screen reflections.

[johnmoore13]

Face ID, horns, and a damn calculator app

[Just_Me_D]

A macOS operating system on it....

[mogelijk]

Face ID, horns, and a damn calculator app

Unfortunately, I think we can rule out FaceID and horns (a notch) since the rumors, and since this allegedly is being introduced for schools, state they are trying to price this below the current iPad.

[Rob Phillips]

Unfortunately, I think we can rule out FaceID and horns (a notch) since the rumors, and since this allegedly is being introduced for schools, state they are trying to price this below the current iPad.

Yeah I doubt the base model iPad will have Face ID and I don’t think we’ll ever see horns on an iPad. I don’t think bezel is as much of a concern due to the larger size of the iPad.

[robertk328]

Yeah I doubt the base model iPad will have Face ID and I don’t think we’ll ever see horns on an iPad. I don’t think bezel is as much of a concern due to the larger size of the iPad.

With the screen size of the iPad they would be really big horns.... or they can just pull the entire screen in to hide them.

[anony_mouse]

Yeah I doubt the base model iPad will have Face ID and I don’t think we’ll ever see horns on an iPad. I don’t think bezel is as much of a concern due to the larger size of the iPad.

I think you're right about the horns. A small bezel for the camera, light sensor and speaker is not a big deal on a tablet. I even wonder if the horns will survive on smart phones. Only Essential and Apple have gone with a notch so far - other manufacturers have decided against it.

[Rob Phillips]

I think you're right about the horns. A small bezel for the camera, light sensor and speaker is not a big deal on a tablet. I even wonder if the horns will survive on smart phones. Only Essential and Apple have gone with a notch so far - other manufacturers have decided against it.

Funny thing, Mobile World Congress this year was all about the notch. Several phone makers announced upcoming phones featuring notches.

[mogelijk]

I think you're right about the horns. A small bezel for the camera, light sensor and speaker is not a big deal on a tablet. I even wonder if the horns will survive on smart phones. Only Essential and Apple have gone with a notch so far - other manufacturers have decided against it.

Several Android manufacturers have announced (as anony_mouse stated) that they will be releasing phones with notches. In fact, Android P (the next Android version) will have support for notches built into the OS; leading experts to speculate that the Pixel 3 will have a notch. It has become such a trend, that some reporters even commented on how the Samsung had decided not to put the notch on their Galaxy S9 (such as this one).

[anony_mouse]

Funny thing, Mobile World Congress this year was all about the notch. Several phone makers announced upcoming phones featuring notches.

OK so some notches are appearing on Android phones, from Essential (a long time ago), Asus ... and some minor Chinese manufacturers. None of these brands have much market share. Sure, Android itself will support notches. It has supported non-rectangular screens for a while. But I personally doubt we will see many notches on Android phones, even though the panels will become much cheaper this year because of the lower than expected sales of the iPhone 10. I think notches are just too ugly and impractical. But we will see - let's continue the discussion December. :-)

[Rob Phillips]

OK so some notches are appearing on Android phones, from Essential (a long time ago), Asus ... and some minor Chinese manufacturers. None of these brands have much market share. Sure, Android itself will support notches. It has supported non-rectangular screens for a while. But I personally doubt we will see many notches on Android phones, even though the panels will become much cheaper this year because of the lower than expected sales of the iPhone 10. I think notches are just too ugly and impractical. But we will see - let's continue the discussion December. :-)

True, although Samsung is really the only Android phone maker (aside from maybe Google itself) who sells a decent number of phones. Until there’s a Galaxy phone with a notch it’s nothing more than a laughable matter of companies trying to make their devices look more like an iPhone.
Did you catch the ASUS Zen announcement in the video? They bragged about their notch being 26% smaller but failed to mention it only contains a speaker and a single camera.

[anony_mouse]

True, although Samsung is really the only Android phone maker (aside from maybe Google itself) who sells a decent number of phones.

I'm not sure how you define a "decent number of phones", but this is really not true. Check out the numbers at: Communities Dominate Brands: Smartphone Stats: Full Year 2017 Top 10, OS Installed Base and Everything Else You Ever Wanted

Until there’s a Galaxy phone with a notch it’s nothing more than a laughable matter of companies trying to make their devices look more like an iPhone.
Did you catch the ASUS Zen announcement in the video? They bragged about their notch being 26% smaller but failed to mention it only contains a speaker and a single camera.

I'm not a fan of notches, so smaller is better for me. :-)

[mogelijk]

True, although Samsung is really the only Android phone maker (aside from maybe Google itself) who sells a decent number of phones. Until there’s a Galaxy phone with a notch it’s nothing more than a laughable matter of companies trying to make their devices look more like an iPhone.
Did you catch the ASUS Zen announcement in the video? They bragged about their notch being 26% smaller but failed to mention it only contains a speaker and a single camera.

I can't agree that they are doing it to make their devices look like an iPhone, at least most manufacturers. Instead, it is a way to maximize the viewable area of the screen.

OnePlus announced their next phone will also have a notch. They say they didn't do it to emulate Apple; which seems somewhat true considering their rather rabid Android (with wanting lots of customization) fanbase.

But what is odd, to me, is that they also announced they will have gestures, and that they are going to change their naming scheme (the new model won't be the OnePlus 6) -- which makes it feel like they are trying to copy Apple.

[Rob Phillips]

I can't agree that they are doing it to make their devices look like an iPhone, at least most manufacturers. Instead, it is a way to maximize the viewable area of the screen.

OnePlus announced their next phone will also have a notch. They say they didn't do it to emulate Apple; which seems somewhat true considering their rather rabid Android (with wanting lots of customization) fanbase.

But what is odd, to me, is that they also announced they will have gestures, and that they are going to change their naming scheme (the new model won't be the OnePlus 6) -- which makes it feel like they are trying to copy Apple.

I agree but, at the same time, I doubt any of them would have put a notch on their phones if Apple hasn’t done it with the iPhone X. It’s not a coincidence that there is a sudden flurry of notched phones being released. Obviously I have no way to prove this but that’s my opinion.

[mogelijk]

I agree but, at the same time, I doubt any of them would have put a notch on their phones if Apple hasn’t done it with the iPhone X. It’s not a coincidence that there is a sudden flurry of notched phones being released. Obviously I have no way to prove this but that’s my opinion.

Except Apple wasn't the first with a notch, that was the Essential phone. I think we still would have seem plenty of notches this year, even had Apple not done it. It just makes too much sense, in order to maximize screen real estate to include the notch -- which is why Essential started the trend.

[Rob Phillips]

Except Apple wasn't the first with a notch, that was the Essential phone. I think we still would have seem plenty of notches this year, even had Apple not done it. It just makes too much sense, in order to maximize screen real estate to include the notch -- which is why Essential started the trend.

We can agree to disagree.
I actually never said Apple was first. Essential technically was but they sold like 10 phones.

[mogelijk]

We can agree to disagree.
I actually never said Apple was first. Essential technically was but they sold like 10 phones.

Essential is an odd company, in that they have far more influence than their phone sales would suggest. It comes from Andy Rubin, one of the creators of Android, which gave the phone far more attention and influence than a startup company would normally ever have.

As for the "10 phones," I actually have one of them, though I did buy it new for an extremely cheap price. I actually like the phone a lot -- it may be the only phone with a better "build quality" than the iPhone X and they are pretty close to the same size. It is too bad the Essential had so many software issues at launch.

[Rob Phillips]

Essential is an odd company, in that they have far more influence than their phone sales would suggest. It comes from Andy Rubin, one of the creators of Android, which gave the phone far more attention and influence than a startup company would normally ever have.

As for the "10 phones," I actually have one of them, though I did buy it new for an extremely cheap price. I actually like the phone a lot -- it may be the only phone with a better "build quality" than the iPhone X and they are pretty close to the same size. It is too bad the Essential had so many software issues at launch.

I think the downfall was that Rubin was only able to secure one carrier partner (Sprint). That’s a tough gig.

[anony_mouse]

Except Apple wasn't the first with a notch, that was the Essential phone. I think we still would have seem plenty of notches this year, even had Apple not done it. It just makes too much sense, in order to maximize screen real estate to include the notch -- which is why Essential started the trend.

I agree (even though I don't like notches).

The notch is made possible by the ability to manufacture display panels that are not rectangular. This has only become possible recently, with the latest generation of OLED displays from manufacturers like Samsung and LG, and has enabled both curved corners and notches. This is really an innovation of the display panel makers, not the smart phone manufacturers.

[Rob Phillips]

I agree (even though I don't like notches).

The notch is made possible by the ability to manufacture display panels that are not rectangular. This has only become possible recently, with the latest generation of OLED displays from manufacturers like Samsung and LG, and has enabled both curved corners and notches. This is really an innovation of the display panel makers, not the smart phone manufacturers.

Nobody likes the notch; we put up with the notch. It’s the sister-in-law that always shows up to the family Christmas party inebriated. Everybody is at least slightly irritated but your brother loves her so we accept it.

[anony_mouse]

Nobody likes the notch; we put up with the notch. It’s the sister-in-law that always shows up to the family Christmas party inebriated. Everybody is at least slightly irritated but your brother loves her so we accept it.

Great, so we all agree that Apple should drop the notch for the iPhone 11. :-)
I also don't really like the curved corners of the high end Androids since early 2017. Maybe we should just accept corners that are slightly more square, and top and bottom bezels and the slightly larger (but only enough for a speaker, a camera and fingerprint sensor).

[johnmoore13]

I like the notch!

[Jude526]

I don’t like the notch. Ugly in my opinion.

[Spencerdl]

For me, my iPad is not really that much of an important piece in my Apple puzzle. It does what I need it to do and does it well, so all the bells and whistles are really not needed the way I use my iPad. When I think of an Apple product upgrade, my iPad is last on the list to be honest. Of course enhancements to any Apple product is always welcomed.