After an interesting turn of Apple stock in the past couple of weeks, Apple released a new 128 GB iPad. This event may seem small especially considering the means of which they announced it, but this is huge! The iPad is catching up to PC computers and Apple knows it. People are choosing the iPad over the MacBook Air already and with this new release, that number will continue to rise. The iPad will cost $799 and compares favorably to the 128 GB MacBook Air 13 inch for $1199 and even more so than the 11 inch Macbook with 64 GB for $999. People have been complaining in recent times that now that there are so many apps on the App Store that people start to run out of room. Some apps now take up to more than a GB, which is high for most apps, but there are a few out there.

To me, the addition of a 128 GB iPad is the beginning of the end for desktops. If iPads, a device that we all have come to know and love, are now getting to low-end MacBook Air speeds with high end MacBook Air storage space, desktops and laptops are going to see a decline in sales, not only in PC makers but in Apple itself as well. No doubt, people still want to buy the MacBook Air and similar products because of the versatility of the MacBook but then again a lot of people don’t. People can be mobile with the MacBook Air but they can be even more so with an iPad. The iPad is the most sought after device on the market right now and the addition of a 128 GB iPad will make the the iPad appeal even more to businesses and professionals. While kids may not need 128 GB of storage, adults who need storage space may consider an iPad instead of a MacBook Air, and that is a sign of the times. People already seek iPads more than Macs anyways, the introduction of this 128 GB iPad will further that process.

The one thing that I am afraid of is Apple going to the iOS side completely and dropping Macs, no, make that desktop Macs, because people will only be buying iPads. The introduction of the 128 GB iPad signifies a step in that direction since, in terms of storage space, the iPad is competing with it’s MacBook Air brothers directly. You may say that the iPad doesn’t have the specs to compete with computers yet. Yeah, you’re right, but since the hard drive space is catching up, who’s to say the speed or the graphics won’t catch up too? In fact, they are improving quickly. Take a look at the iPad 2 and the iPad 4, a one and a half year difference, Apple sells both but yet they are very much apart. The iPad 4 has the faster processor and the faster graphics and more RAM. Who’s to say that a few years from now that these specs won’t improve dramatically? They will. When it comes to the iPad, I feel we are back in the age of 2005 when computers were starting to get better processors and in less than a decade, we have gone so far. I feel as though that in an even shorter period of time, the iPad and other tablets will catch up to the computer, be it desktop or laptop, and compete directly with them. We are in the beginning stages of something HUGE and I am excited to be a part of it. This 128 GB iPad shows a continuation of that process towards the tablet world.

I believe that the end of the desktop world is coming and the iPad and other tablets, once strong enough to replace them, will replace them. It will be a huge revolution in computing. Desktops times are limited.

Thanks for reading,

Joe

Image Courtesy: apple.com/ipad/overview/