Feedback on iOS Hardware Requirements

Correct - The third-generation iPad (originally marketed as The New iPad), retrospectively marketed as the iPad 3.

I have an iPad air…

I get the attached error message. Is it my iPad? Do I not have the proper iPad?

Think you have a 4th gen iPad , not an Air http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-Retina-Display-Md518Ll-Generation/dp/B009W9HWU6 unfortunately the app won’t work with this ipad

Its never fun to find yourself with stranded hardware. We have three iPads that don’t come up to spec. I was able to pick up a Mini 3 on a daily special deal quite cheaply and Roon looks great on the smaller screen. I find the Mini size very convenient on the couch but prefer watching video on a larger tablet.

The forthcoming release of new models might see some pretty good deals on Mini 3, which was only a minor upgrade from the Mini 2. If dealers are holding stock they need to shift then they may offer one off style discounts. There may also be scope to pick up a second hand Mini 2/3 or Air 2 as those who must have the latest sell their current tablets.
I understand there is still a good second hand market for old tablets which might also ease the upgrade pain.

A post was merged into an existing topic: iPhone app (not iPad)

Hi @tLea, @Frans, @miyagi1218 – thanks for the feedback guys.

Take a look at Danny’s post above about our iOS hardware requirements, and understand this was not an easy decision for us. Ultimately, this was a requirement if we were to deliver an experience that meets the high standards we set for Roon.

To be clear, supported iPads include iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, and iPad Mini 3. As @andybob and others have mentioned, with new iPads right around the corner there are an increasing number of great deals out there for the supported models, for those that are inclined.

Apologies again for any confusion, and thanks again for the feedback everyone!

No problem… I need an excuse to have to buy a new iPad… I’ll see what Apple announces next week is

1 Like

The iPad pro they will be announcing on Sept 9 (allegedly) won’t hit the streets until December. Just keep this in mind. I am not seeing iPad Air2 going down in price quite yet.

I just received a mint condition preowned iPad air 2 64 GB from Cowboom.com (best buy’s outlet) for $300 shipped free to North Carolina. Works fantastic as Roon remote. Super fast and looks great. Look for deals on refurb, clean preowned or open box iPad Air and Air 2s. Good site to watch is dealnews.com. This helped ease the pain of my iPad 4 not be supported. I sold it for $300 so not out anything. Always a deal out there and as others have said there will be more good deals popping up.

2 Likes

Firstly congrats on getting the app released, I know how long getting it into the AppStore can take.

However, All iPads are proper iPads. I don’t understand why you guys are not making the App backward compatible to accommodate earlier versions of the iPad. I have an iPad2 with the latest iOS 8.4.1, I have about 100 Apps that all run just fine, as do all other streaming services; Spotify, Sonos, Netflix, iPlayer, etc. They are the same regardless of which iPad you own. I would imagine that there are still Ipad 2’s and indeed 1’s still that make up a good % of the market.

The Roon App is the first time that I have experienced an App not being supported by this device, so you are unique. This IMHO, is a fail guys. You have effectively just increased the cost of my subscription from from $119 to $518 in the first year. Not happy guys.

The reasons for the hardware requirements are reported in Danny’s post further up this thread; Models 1 and 2 had insufficient RAM, 3 and 4 couldn’t support the preferred Open3GL software.

I’m not sure what this even means. iPads (and iPhones) are computers that are currently immature in both their hardware and their OS systems. Each iteration is changing processors, ram, video standards. Just like in the late 80s/early 90s of PCs each change and iteration can deprecate what came before. Anyone buying any tablet or phone should understand that their purchase could obsolesce, perhaps pretty quickly. If you want stability then a desktop/laptop is a better choice as that market is more mature and stable.

Roon is not unique in this. Any application that requires “OpenGL ES 3.0 support” will not run on those old ipads. Just because something is new to you does not mean its not common place or common knowledge for other users.

2 Likes

I read @Simon_Drinkwater’s comment as Roon being unique in terms of the ‘100’ other apps he wants to run on his current iPad, and can.

I share Simon’s frustrations - there’s not a single app I want to run on my iPad but can’t due to graphics requirements - and that includes plenty of apps with heavier graphics than Roons interface - it is, after all, a music library explorer/controller (albeit a very pretty one) :grinning:

I love Roon, so I certainly don’t argue with people defending the developers and their decisions, but I do think users should get a fair say if they feel upset that they can’t run the remote on their current hardware.

I’m now considering buying a dedicated streamer rather than upgrade all my iPads - since I didn’t want a ‘special’ single purpose iPad in the house just to control Roon - I wanted to control it from all my devices. If I’m going to pay to upgrade them all, I may as well buy a piece of dedicated hardware instead!

If this issue affects enough people, and there are resources in the future, I seriously hope the Roon guys reconsider and make a version that runs on a bigger range of hardware, even if the experience isn’t as perfect as they’d like.

In Apple terms, if you can run the latest OS, you’ve got a pretty current device. Among the lesser technically minded, I think people will be a bit confused as to why Roon won’t run.

Come on guys, rule number one of Product Management, put the customer at the centre of everything you do. As long as I can run the latest version of iOS on a device, it is current. Is there value in driving Roon from a handheld device, of course, but not for over $500. Roon is easy enough to navigate on my PC, but then again so is Tidal, so I’ll pass on being forced to buy new iPad until Apple stop supporting it, or it stops working and I’ll probably pass on renewing my Roon subscription.

There’s a Voice in my ear whispering, Richard, you have already wrote your perspective on roon’s decision re specifications for hardware for the remote app. And while you’re at it, stay out of it. Let the roon Labs team deal with their customers. After all, this isn’t a life or death issue, need for an organ transplant, a rare blood match. And those disposed to express their perspective on the matter deserve equal time and the freedom to represent their POVs.

Thank you, Voice! If I may, I love roon too. I won’t argue with members defending a position they believe is justified and are given the length and breath to express their genuine upset. And then I reached the part that of that justification that defends a POV that regards the following: “…even if the experience isn’t as perfect as they’d like…” Please note I have not included the entire text of the post (above) which I feel should have been accomplished but the proximity in time makes that post above accessible without the need to search for it.

It’s that sentence that I must contest vehemently though I am not sympathetic to the times in my past when I bought the latest and greatest and then in less time than it took to replace a used cartridge a new latest and greatest with a new cartrige arrived, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.

I have been computing as an enthusiast since 1986. We’ve all come a long way, n’est-ce pas. I can think of (too) many devices, applications that marketed their products as backwards compatible. Emphasis on the backwards. Let me pause a moment. I am not dismissing what has been previously expressed as invalid. It’s a POV. A model of the world. And I have come to appreciate a different model of the world that just happens to validate the decisions of roon Labs in the synergy they have created as which I believe will prosper with emphasis on prosper for them and for those lifetime licensees who rely on what was originally presented as the model for roon now and, Lord knows, what the Future will bring.

Since 1986 I have witnessed the backwards compatible hardware/software struggle to innovate. I reached the conclusion that backward compatible or a device for all reasons is a decision that favors incompatiblity with the pursuit of excellence. Thank you, Voice. That about sums it up. The pursuit of excellence can be made or hobbled or complicated or conflicted with creating a “thing” that works for everyone until it doesn’t given the rapid developments of technology. You know, the more things change the more they remain the same ideology. It’s true. Except the same is the new different that we’ve always wanted but because it had to work with what came before, the what comes next is tampered with.

I do not have to make members wrong for wanting to conserve their resources in finances, present device models and feel that roon Labs should either conform to what other companies struggle with and then we have to struggle with it, or in the alternative divide and conquer and make different versions for the maddening crowd. Divide and conquer? The equation I see for that is divide and stumble along.

It’s the roon Labs innovators that has made roon as perfect, a relative term, as it presently is. It’s splendid. Perhaps, in time, it will be more splendid. We all can have our say and present our perspectives without stepping on or dismissing other members POV. This is mine, and I had to present one last time. I promise not to go there again. My Voice told me so.

Thank you danny, brian, mike, et al for starting out with a marvelous product that starts further along the contiuum of technology and into the Future. I support your pursuit of excellence.

Best,
Richard

2 Likes

Rule number one of buying anything is read the minimum specification requirements and they have been on the site for some time.

Actually, I don’t think the statement of which iPads would run the Roon iOS app went up until the app was released.

That said, I can’t quibble with the Roon team’s decision on this. Once the issue was explained, it seemed to me that the powers-that-be made a reasonable decision (which individual users may choose to agree with or not, as is their right). My 3rd-gen iPad isn’t compatible, but I was planning on getting a new one anyway, so this situation just moves that purchase up the priority list.

Given that there’s a range of solutions available to those without compatible iPads (including new, used, or reconditioned iPads or Android tablets, and controlling Roon the way you were before the iOS app was released), it seems a shame to miss out on the fun just because you’re disappointed … but that’s certainly up to the individual user.

1 Like

Hello David,

Well said!
Best,
Richard

PS,
You, too, Nick. It’s like telling Apple don’t innovate. Make sure the next OSX includes my old Mac. I am not judging those who resist for whatever reasons matching the specifications set by roon Labs. I am addressing those POV who acknowledge that roon Labs has changed the UI/UX/EM for all times and anything other must endure the comparison with the model roon has set. Excuse me for being grateful for excellence. The toll one pays to cross the bridge to that excellence is not backwards compatible according to the vision of roon Labs. Consider what it took to create the very model we acknowledge as breaking the model. What compares to roon? How did they accomplish roon? What makes us gravitate to roon? How do we support them? You choose.

It is what it is I guess, but I don’t agree it could not be done on a ‘lesser’ iPad.
There are impressive and more demanding games/demos available. Ever seen Epic Citadel on even the iPad 1? Where is it lacking graphics power? I’m not expecting support for something Apple has forgotten but I’m sure that with some care it actually could run Roon perfectly.

It seems to be that Roon started it’s life for PC/Mac in this version and this is the least demanding way to port it to iPad (basically the same but exported for iOS?) with the limited resources available and I do understand that but it is not a question of power, certainly not in the iPad 4. The need for Power, OpenGL3 and 64bit doesn’t seem to bother the Android users that sideload the apk :wink: