[massysett]

Indeed I have no interest in multi-user iPad. I have one, my wife has one, my daughter has one. Sharing them just wouldn’t get us anything.

Would some people want it, sure, but features aren’t free to add or maintain.

iPhone mini showed how much vocal Internet commenters (don’t) represent the actual user base. Commenters said they wanted a smaller iPhone. Then it sold poorly. And I say this as I write this on an iPhone 13 mini.

I suspect the multi-user iOS, right along with the people complaining that iOS is underpowered generally, is the same phenomenon at work.

[Phrodo_00]

I know that iPads aren't a necessity of life, but your post reads as "I have enough money to buy 3 iPads, so I don't care about families that want to share a single one to save money"

[massysett]

Or they can buy 3 cheaper Android tablets. Or they can buy 1 Android tablet, seeing as Android supports multiple users. So no, I really don’t care about families that would rather whine about Apple than exercise some agency and buy other products that already have the features they claim they want.

[hollerith]

Sure, but don't Android tablets suck -- especially the ones with 11-inch displays rather than 7-inch displays?

[freetanga]

Samsung ones are quite good. And Google Family gives you a lot of granularity on what they can access too…

[redeeman]

sure it does.. just significantly less than ipads

[massysett]

Welcome to being a grown-up. You have to pick from available products and decide what’s important. If you want multi-user support, don’t buy an ipad.

There are non-tablet alternatives. Get a laptop. Get a Chromebook. Both support multiple users. Both can be cheaper than an iPad.

Indeed maybe the Android tablets “suck” because Google and those manufacturers are busy adding things people don’t want, like, ahem, multi-user support, while maybe Apple products are better because they are focused and don’t have the kitchen sink.

[seec]

That is just plain wrong.

Android tablets absolutely don't suck if you put as much money in them as you would in an Apple one. It is just that people have been convinced by marketing and by people like you (believers) that they suck at any price and that if you have to put as much money, you better get an Apple one anyway, which is just plain wrong.

You seem to conveniently forget that the reason iPad got so much traction is because they launched at a price that was very competitive. It was state-of-the-art technology and even if you wanted to put more money there wasn't much better to be had.

Now you are somewhat right telling people to not buy an iPad, but they also have the right to complain about the state of things, particularly since switching OS is an expensive (have to rebuy all the software, possibility content held captive in the "Store") and time consuming (need to figure out how to transfer everything and learn new stuff). This is especially true since Apple has made this part very difficult for obvious reasons. If you relied on their messaging platform there is just no other way than to export and archive, losing all continuity and if you relied on their office suite there is no other way than to export and recreate any files in a competitor software. This problem exists in other parts of this industry but it's rarely as bad as with Apple... And there is the fact that since their hardware doesn't support any other OS, telling people to just change hardware that is still in good shape, that should be more than sufficient for their need is just stupid peak consumerism. "It's fine, you just need to re-buy all the things, and then it works "

So, people complain against their disgusting behavior and ask for better solutions for the money they spent, as they should. You don't have more legitimacy telling people to just chose another vendor no matter how you feel...

[utensil4778]

> features aren’t free to add or maintain.

The argument is that is is free because the feature already exists and is being maintained. You just aren't allowed to have it.

[darkwater]

And Apple wants all families to behave like yours, to grab more money.

[runjake]

You've just described capitalism. Consume accordingly.

Edit: It seems people are offended. I didn't mean to. Let me rephrase: Apple's fiduciary responsibility is to make money for its shareholders. If you are not in favor of this, pick different products (slowly migrating back to Linux, in my case.)

[checkyoursudo]

https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/08/24/stakeholder-gover...

1. Fiduciary duty has a specific legal meaning that is not really applicable here.

2. Corporations are not responsible solely to their shareholders.

[lenkite]

Boeing kills people, but it is OK since they have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. This is just capitalism.

If you are not in favor of this, pick different products. You must learn to kneel to the overlords.

[fauigerzigerk]

I think the question isn't so much whether Apple users want multiuser support. Rather the question is whether Apple wants customers who can't afford to buy one of each sort of device for each family member.

[sargun]

At a previous company, we rotated secondary (more portable) devices around the oncall rotation. I think we used a macbook air, and some fancy portable Windows netbook. Now that iPads exist, and they're super portable, I can imagine that they'd be great for oncall. That being said, I wouldn't want my settings, say in the terminal for example, to affect mine. Although MDM is a solution, at the scale of the ~50 person company, we didn't have anything as the such, nor the capabilities, time, or money to figure it out.

[alt227]

> features aren’t free to add or maintain.

No, but Apple already built this feature and maintain it. So why only restrict it to large organisations?

[kolanos]

Isn't the iPhone SE, which is now on its third generation, selling pretty well? That kind of made the mini redundant, no?

[freetanga]

I rock it and they can pry it off my cold dead hands…

The button works every time, unlike Face ID which is sometimes hit / miss for me.

Camera is quite good. Not the latest / greatest but honestly, who cares? Most people believe they are artists that are shooting the next masterpiece, yet most pictures are a)never seen ever again or b) a poor attempt of a picture already taken 20 million times - you are not that special as Apple makes us believe.

Pocketable, decent battery, does not force me to grip it forcing my finger joints. Screen is small, yes, but an upside to remember to put my phone in my pocket more and live the world more. I have a laptop and a tablet for longer sessions.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

I have one (original SE, makes the Mini -which I also have, and use daily- look like a slab).

It's my low-end test device, but tops out at iOS15, so it's almost useless.

[massysett]

It still has the home button, which makes the screen smaller. No FaceID. And the camera is inferior.

[withinboredom]

The iPhone mini was so crippled it was a waste of money. When I say I want a smaller phone, I mean I want a smaller version of the same phone. Not one with shitty components and artificially disabled hardware.

[lotsofpulp]

The 13 mini is perfectly capable, even today, for 90% of users.

[samatman]

I'm going to keep using mine for as long as I can, and just hope that Apple releases another one by the time I need a new phone.

"shitty components and artificially disabled hardware" is one way to look at it. I think "significantly smaller battery and scaled accordingly" is more accurate, personally.

I'm an undemanding phone user. I take pictures, catch rides, use the map, take calls, listen to stuff. I don't hang out on my phone. So I want a phone that's as small as it reasonably can be, it fits more places and I notice it less.

However, I also want the battery to last a full day. The only way I'm going to get that is if the phone is somewhat less powerful than a phone running the same OS and apps with a rather larger battery. This is a tradeoff I am comfortable with, and was able to figure out from first principles when getting the 12 mini (and now the 13).

It's fine to want a phone which is small like the mini, as powerful as the base model, and which lasts just as long on a charge. But I don't see how any company could deliver that phone.

[withinboredom]

yes, today. When it came out, it was missing some features that were enabled in the bigger models. I don't remember specifics, so I can't be more helpful here.

[samatman]

I'm fairly sure you're conflating the mini with the base model, and comparing it to the Pro. The Pro always has features which the base model lacks.

I don't remember there being any features, ever, which the mini was missing and the base model iPhone had. Might have missed it, but I'm going to need to see a link.