Finite write cycles iphi e3/10/2023 ![]() In terms of accessibility, the idea that the iPad is nothing but a slab of metal and glass is the main attraction. It was primarily for this reason Jobs described the product as “magical and revolutionary.” To paraphrase Jony Ive, the iPad’s physical nature meant it conformed to the user rather than forcing the user to conform to it – which it continues to do with aplomb to this day. ![]() That Jobs was casually sitting back in that cushy recliner, browsing photos, writing email, and reading the (Flash-free) New York Times, sent the message that the iPad was highly unlike any conventional computer. The chair helped telegraph what the iPad meant to Apple to wit, that the product’s form factor ( and accompanying software) represented the company’s conception for the future of personal computing. In written retrospectives and on podcasts, many in the Apple commentariat have pointed to the chair Jobs sat in as he demonstrated the original iPad on Januas a metaphor for Apple’s goal with the device. This means the object itself and its interaction model. In order to completely understand why iPad has been so successful for students, parents, and educators, it’s crucial to first examine the iPad at the product’s most basic level. “For us, the concept of differentiated learning and how the accessibility tools that we build in help make that possible is really important to us.” Form Follows Function “In many ways, education and accessibility beautifully overlap,” Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s Director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, told me in a 2018 interview for TechCrunch. You just have to be willing to keep an open mind. Such advances get right at the heart of the oft-cited Steve Jobs quote on the so-called intersection of technology and the liberal arts, when he said, “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough.” Assistive technology obviously caters to the humanities part of the liberal arts, and it’s not hard to see how the iPad’s roots as ostensibly a bigger iPhone can be an asset rather than a liability. One of the unheralded aspects of the device’s success is how its approachable, intuitive nature has made it a hit in accessibility-centric contexts such as special education classrooms and as a communicative aid. Thus, it’s not at all unreasonable to look at what was heretofore a pejorative assessment – the iPad is nothing but a big iPhone – and turn it into a positive. The foremost reason this is important is that the easier it is to acclimate to a device, the easier it is to find and configure mission-critical accessibility features. From an accessibility standpoint, easy acclimation sets the tone for an enjoyable user experience. From icons to text to features to the touchscreen, the iPad being so similar to the iPhone means acclimating to the device takes minimal time and effort. Especially for less nerdy users, the consistency across devices makes for a seamless, less intimidating experience. The reason is iOS familiarity breeds comfort – Apple shrewdly created the iPad’s user interface (and to lesser extents, Apple Watch and Apple TV) to largely resemble the iPhone. In actuality, the iPad being more or less a scaled-up iPhone isn’t necessarily an entirely bad thing. The iPad was left to wither thirstily when it came to its own growth, and it suffered for some time as a result. 2 For better or worse, the company has been preoccupied with savoring every last drop of mother’s milk from the cash cow that is the iPhone. 1 As much as Apple has extolled the iPad for being “ unlike any computer,” the truth is the product stagnated for quite a while in terms of software. Until last year, meaningful upgrades tailored to the tablet were few and far between. The penchant for bemoaning this bigness emanates from discontentment over the fact that substantial improvements to the iPad’s software have come at a glacially slow pace. At a fundamental level, the criticism is certainly valid: by and large, the iPad runs the same software as the iPhone. Perhaps the most common complaint hurled against the iPad over its first decade of life is that it‘s little more than a bigger iPhone. ![]()
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