Why the iPad Should Stay Touch-Only and Resist Becoming a Laptop
By
jen729w
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
The article argues that the iPad should remain a purely touch-based device without keyboard, mouse, or trackpad support, and that apps should be full-screen only. It reflects on how early iPad app pioneers like PushPopPress showed the potential for unique, touch-native interfaces before being acquired by Facebook. The piece critiques the trend of making iPads more like laptops and advocates for preserving the iPad's distinct identity as a radical, touch-first computing device.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledThe iPad should be radically (though obviously) touch-only. No keyboards. No pointers. No mice. No trackpads.
Just your disgusting fingers flopping over the screen and mooshing into icons.
iPad apps should be weird as hell, unlike anything you find on a desktop operating system.
PushPopPress began to illuminate this path fifteen years ago, and then they got slurped up — like so many other promising, young, talented designers and companies around that time — by Facebook.
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