New iPads - Meh?

[Nighthawk4]

Not quite sure how to phrase this, but here goes....

When the first iPad was announced, I was excited by the idea. On the day it came out I travelled to my closest Apple Store (some distance) and bought one. It was one of the most magical devices I have ever owned. Also, I was one of the first people I know who bought one, so it raised a lot of interest - at work, in the coffee shop, etc.

When the iPad Mini came out I bought one of those as well. Much more convenient in size and weight and still magical.

Last week, I bought a new iPad Mini (only a 2, I couldn't afford a 3).

I am trying my best, but I can't really love it in the same way. With the dull and flat icons, the thin and pale fonts that are hard to read, the pastel colours, it just isn't the same.

Steve Jobs, RIP, was an inspiration to us all. The new guy (I can't even recall his name) is just a dull bean counter - and his products just don't inspire the same loyalty.

The new iOS (both 7 and 8) has spoiled a brilliant device and made it hard to use. It would appear that Yosemite is intended to do the same to the Mac.

Not sure where this is leading - I really do not want to go over to crappy Windows8 (stupid 'not called Metro any more'). It is just that now I use the Mac and the iPad as tools because they are still (more marginally than before) better than Windows8 and Android respectively.

Just no more magic. Very sad

Anyone else feel that way - or is it just that my old eyes don't appreciate thin fonts and pastel colours now?

 

[McBie]

Yeah, the new flat interface is something to get used to.
For me that took about 15 seconds as I see these devices purely as a tool to get my job done.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I like the quality of the kit and the efficiency of the OS. That combination is what works for me.

But I do understand what you mean, my 2 daughters took a little longer to get used to the new UI.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[RadDave]

Not quite sure how to phrase this, but here goes....

I am trying my best, but I can't really love it in the same way. With the dull and flat icons, the thin and pale fonts that are hard to read, the pastel colours, it just isn't the same.

Steve Jobs, RIP, was an inspiration to us all. The new guy (I can't even recall his name) is just a dull bean counter - and his products just don't inspire the same loyalty.

The new iOS (both 7 and 8) has spoiled a brilliant device and made it hard to use. It would appear that Yosemite is intended to do the same to the Mac.

Anyone else feel that way - or is it just that my old eyes don't appreciate thin fonts and pastel colours now?

Well, I have an iPad 2 & wife a Mini which I've upgraded to iOS 8.1. We adjusted quickly and I find the device as useful as below - now I would suggest that you go into Settings -> General -> Accessibility; activate some of the options there to see if the appearance improves for you - as an example I turned ON 'Reduce Motion' which eliminates the icon motions - has been a plus for me! Dave

 

[Nighthawk4]

I have the font set to bold and a larger size, which help a little.

However, these should not be necessary - it should be designed to be legible

 

[MYmacROX]

I don't know... I mean it's to be expected that some degree of amazement would wear off after a few versions of basically the same device. Yeah, the new iPads are faster and slimmer and have a very different iOS visually. But I'm picking up my new iPad Air 2 far more often than I did my original iPad. And I barely even touch my MBP anymore. It's so thin and lightweight and browsing in Safari is great (especially compared to the original iPad). Maybe if you wait a few versions before getting another iPad, you'll feel more of that "Wow factor"?

 

[Deckyon]

When I bought my original iPad it was simply to watch movies on my way home from work (mass transit). I had been using an Archos 708 media player (7" screen) and it stopped functioning. I needed something. The iPad did exactly what I wanted it to do, and was much lighter and thinner than the Archos. I found myself using the iPad for more and more, to the point I no longer even carry my work laptop home anymore - I can access everything I would need from the iPad.

Fast forward - replaced the iPad with the iPad 3 when it came out, and now the iPad 3 with the iPad Air 2. I dont use any other computer more than the iPad. It goes everywhere, and with the new weight and speed, it is smaller and faster than anything else I use (well, my MBP is still a demon, but my work computers are left far behind.)

As to the flatness of the iOS? Yeah, took some getting used to, but eventually you do and things move on.