Cook snuck it in there: «Or on any computer.» Apple believes the iPad should be compared to any kind of computer—even the MacBook Air, though it didn’t say as much. The MacBook Air, after all, is what computers have been. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what they will be in the future.

Yesterday’s event had its fair share of subtly awkward moments as Apple tried to present its two philosophies for how it believes you’re supposed to use a computer. On the one hand, there was a new laptop. This clamshell design still matters, Apple was insisting. Moments later, the company was touting a tablet it clearly sees as the real future of computing, something better and more advanced than a notebook. Cook even called the iPad not only the most popular tablet but also «the most popular computer in the world.»

 

About the new MacBook Air…

Of course, many people were just happy to hear that that the MacBook Air is not being totally neglected. The MacBook Air was first released in 2008 and has received only incremental updates since then. Now, it has a high-resolution display; an improved keyboard and trackpad; a fingerprint sensor for authentication; and internals that are, at the very least, up to date. …

But none of those updates are really new for Apple, or for the broader laptop market. High-resolution displays have been done for years; so have fingerprint sensors. The MacBook Air’s «new» Intel 8th-generation chipset isn’t even the newest.

 

via Apple’s iPads Are Officially More Interesting Than Its MacBooks | WIRED