Phil Schiller Talks About the Development of the Original iPad in New Interview

[MacRumors]

In a retrospective on the technology of the last decade, The New York Times has shared a new interview with marketing chief Phil Schiller, covering the debut of the iPad in early 2010.

Schiller says that the iPad was conceived when Apple began looking at a future computer device that could be sold under $500. Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO at the time, said that to reach that price point, things need to be removed "aggressively."

Apple cut the clamshell design and the keyboard, prompting the iPad team to work on multitouch technology, which would go on to debut first in the 2007 iPhone.

And so the team started working on multitouch technology. During that process, a human interface designer, Bas Ording, showed us this demo where he pretended to scroll and the whole screen moved up and down with realistic physics. It was one of those "holy crap" moments.

Apple set the iPad aside to focus on the iPhone, but once the second-generation iPhone was launched, Apple returned to working on the tablet form factor. Schiller says that it was "easy to imagine" what needed to be taken from the iPhone to make the iPad.

When we got back to the iPad, it was really easy to imagine what to take from iPhone and what needed to be different to create the product it would be. It really helped.

The New York Times piece on the iPad also includes a tidbit from Walt Mossberg, former technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, who worked closely with Jobs. Jobs invited Mossberg over to his home to show him the new iPad ahead of its launch.

Mossberg says he was impressed with the thinness of the iPad, and Jobs was "careful" to demonstrate how it "wasn't just a big iPhone." The most impressive part, though, was the price. Mossberg initially guessed $999 when Jobs asked what he thought the iPad might cost, twice the actual $499 price tag.

He gave me this wicked smile, and he said, "You're going to be really amazed if that's what you think. It's way lower than that."

Since the iPad first launched in 2010, Apple has released new versions on a yearly basis, and in 2019, the line has grown to encompass multiple pricing and design choices. There's the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models at the high-end, the middle tier 10.5-inch iPad Air, the tiny 7.9-inch iPad mini 5, and the low-cost 10.2-inch seventh-generation iPad.

The New York Times also looks at several other technological advancements and changes that took place over the course of the last decade, including the development of Siri, Apple's 2016 fight with the FBI, and the 2011 death of Steve Jobs.

Article Link: Phil Schiller Talks About the Development of the Original iPad in New Interview

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[The Mercurian]

What happened to the 'under $500' part ?

 

[farewelwilliams]

amazing how many people are still asking for full mouse support (not the accessibility feature) on the iPad or touch support on the MacBook.

you don't need it.

 

[Classie]

I never get tired of reading stories from Apples development history

 

[DeepIn2U]

I never get tired of reading stories from Apples development history

reading or watching the interviews no ... but this has been talked about before ad naseum, do we really need Phil’s take on this? Great guy but let’s focus on something fresh and new would be nice on topics/products/services more recent.

 

[now i see it]

When we got back to the ‌iPad��, it was really easy to imagine what to take from ‌iPhone‌ and what needed to be different to create the product it would be. It really helped

No kidding. It was exactly the same in every way - just bigger. Lots of things needed to be different on the iPad but it wasn't until recently that that finally came to pass

 

[Falhófnir]

What happened to the 'under $500' part ?

In fairness they now offer a whole range of iPads under $500, down to as little as $329!

 

[macfacts]

Still no calculator app for the iPad. Super fail

 

[Plett]

Great device. Loved everyone I’ve owned. Just not wowed by them and prefer my phone or MBP. That said love the historical perspectives on this stuff.

 

[macdisciple]

If I recall correctly, at launch the media was critical and said there was not sufficient need or demand for a niche product.

 

[centauratlas]

Mossberg initially guessed $999 when Jobs asked what he thought the iPad might cost, half of the actual $499 price tag.

Almost exactly DOUBLE the actual price tag. Just FYI. ;-)
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Still no calculator app for the iPad. Super fail

There are free ones in the app store, but I'm guessing you meant from Apple?

 

[The Mercurian]

In fairness they now offer a whole range of iPads under $500, down to as little as $329!

And also in fairness the ones that are truly 'computer devices' are definitely not under $500!

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I remember the launch and being floored by it... and then my girlfriend getting me one just before the 2 debuted. I still loved and cherished it, and wish my brother hadn't stolen it for drug money. Anyway...

I kinda miss those days, things were much simpler back then.

...as my $2,000 iPad Pro 11 with Cellular sits just to the side of my keyboard, able to be connected to with just a touch of a button.

amazing how many people are still asking for full mouse support (not the accessibility feature) on the iPad or touch support on the MacBook.

you don't need it.

Dude, if I could play mouse & keyboard games on my iPP, I'd probably never turn my gaming PC on again (unless it was needed to stream from).

 

[BootsWalking]

amazing how many people are still asking for full mouse support (not the accessibility feature) on the iPad or touch support on the MacBook.

you don't need it.

It's amazing how many people still think they're the ordained arbiters of what other people need.

 

[Elitegate]

What happened to the 'under $500' part ?

The current-gen iPad is 329$, and you can find that one even cheaper from third-party. iPad mini is 399$ and the Air is 499$. They are all below 500$, except the Pro, but that's not something the average tablet buyer needs, and Apple knows that.

iPads are cheaper than ever before, and they get better every year. Chipset Performance, Display etc...

 

[Falhófnir]

And also in fairness the ones that are truly 'computer devices' are definitely not under $500!

So what exactly can you do on a Pro that you can't on an Air? The original concept of the iPad was of course an 'in between' device as well not a full computer replacement.

 

[realtuner]

It's amazing how many people still think they're the ordained arbiters of what other people need.

You mean like those who say Apple needs:

• A Mac Pro for normal people that doesn't cost so much and uses Threadrippers instead of Xeons?
• A 3.5mm jack on iPhones?
• SD card slots on iPhones or iPads?
• A MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM instead of 16GB (because they need to run VMs)?
• Nvidia graphics cards instead of AMD?
• And so on.....

If so, I agree. It's amazing how many people think they should dictate what Apple does.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

And also in fairness the ones that are truly 'computer devices' are definitely not under $500!

So what exactly can you do on a Pro that you can't on an Air? The original concept of the iPad was of course an 'in between' device as well not a full computer replacement.

My dad does more "actual computing" on his base-model iPad than I do on my Pro.
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You mean like those who say Apple needs:

• A Mac Pro for normal people that doesn't cost so much and uses Threadrippers instead of Xeons?
• A 3.5mm jack on iPhones?
• SD card slots on iPhones or iPads?
• A MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM instead of 16GB (because they need to run VMs)?
• Nvidia graphics cards instead of AMD?
• And so on.....

If so, I agree. It's amazing how many people think they should dictate what Apple does.

Apple does need a MBP with 32gb and a GeForce GTX.

 

[realtuner]

I always find it funny to go back and read all the naysayers about the original iPad (or iPhone) and how totally wrong they were about......everything.

 

[coumerelli]

...the line has grown to encompass multiple pricing and design choices. There's the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models at the high-end, the middle tier 10.5-inch ‌iPad‌ Air, the tiny 7.9-inch iPad mini 5, and the low-cost 10.2-inch seventh-generation ‌iPad‌.

And this is where Apple have gone astray. When Steve Jobs came back in '98 there were umpteen lines of Mac, Performa, Quadra, Power Mac, etc etc. His first order of business was to cut EVERY one and start over. There were only four, which could be set up in a four-quadrant table: the left was personal, the right was business. The top was mobile, and the bottom was desktop. Period. They absolutely flourished.

Get back to the simplicity of Apple.

 

[Elitegate]

And also in fairness the ones that are truly 'computer devices' are definitely not under $500!

iPad + Average Consumer, that's your usecase:

Apple advertised just that for 499$ (which is now 329$). If you want more than a media consumption device, then there's the Pro, which is a bit more, since it can replace a full-sized laptop, especially the 12.9" with the Pencil and iPadOS file management. The Pro starts at 799$, just checked. I mean, a decent laptop you can use to do serious work with is also atleast that money, PC or Mac.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Still no calculator app for the iPad. Super fail

What’s new, more non-facts from Macfacts ?
There are plenty of calculator apps for iPad.

Super duper fail.

 

[Falhófnir]

Still no calculator app for the iPad. Super fail

I'd really like a calculator in a PiP like window that can be dragged to sit in any corner of the screen, it could be a utility accessed ('toggled on and off') via control centre!

 

[Michael Scrip]

I'm waiting for an interview with the guy who developed the Motorola Xoom tablet...