Once again, two recent articles made the Particle Debris article of the week.

“Apple finally admits Microsoft was right about tablets.”

Apple has spent the past 10 years trying to convince everyone that the iPad and its vision of touch-friendly computing is the future. The iPad rejected the idea of a keyboard, a trackpad, or even a stylus, and Apple mocked Microsoft for taking that exact approach with the Surface.

and…

“The iPad Pro is ready to supplant the Mac just as the MacBook Air is great again.”

Now, apparently, Apple has decided that the iPad Pro “is not a computer.” Okay.

The first article chronicles how, “The iPad Pro now looks even more like a Surface Pro.” I suppose if Apple took its time for this transition, hoping beyond hope that each improvement would be the magic key to igniting sales, that we wouldn’t notice. But we have.

The second article elaborates on something I wrote recently. “Apple’s iPad Pro Gets Seriously Good Amidst a Confusing Ad Campaign.” Author Bohn delves into Apple’s self-generated tension between the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro. It’s almost as if Apple is letting each duke it out in a kind of survival of the fittest scenario.

And Apple wins either way.

The Week’s News Debris

• Sascha Segan writes:”AT&T 4G Gets a Big Capacity Boost in Coronavirus Crisis.” Some nice tech detail here.

• Here’s a favorite theme of mine. “Is it time for an even bigger iPad Pro?”

Still, seeing the iPad Pro suspended in mid-air from the cover’s new, cantilevered hinge puts me in the mind of an iMac-style docking station, not just a case that happens to be handy for text entry.

Let your mind fantasize for a bit…

• At Tom’s Guide, author Diaz writes: The “iPhone 9 [SE 2] enters mass production as release date nears.” But wait. There are complications.

So what’s actually happening with the iPhone 9? Here’s why Apple may still delay its new phone — and why it might not.

• Here’s an intriguing look at where Apple is going with AR. (Think LiDAR.) “New iPad Pro holds the secret to Apple Glasses — and the future of computing.”

Step by step, Tim Cook and his team are putting all the pieces in place to introduce The Next Big Thing in 2023 — the Apple Glasses, the device that will move us from the smartphone era into one in where wearables are the key to our information age existence.

You knew this was coming. But are you ready?

• Finally,

“Ahem. Replicator: Tea, Earl Grey, decaff.”

Particle Debris is generally a mix of John Martellaro’s observations and opinions about a standout event or article(s) of the week followed by a discussion of articles that didn’t make the TMO headlines, the technical news debris. The column is published most every Friday except for holiday weeks.

