Teenage Engineering OP-1

Way different. Korg Gadget is awesome, so is the OP-1, both in different ways, in 8 years time though your ipad might be out of date and not work with Gadget anymore or all those other nice apps, meanwhile the OP-1 will still be working fine, unless it malfunctions, but it doesnā€™t rely on Apple IOS forced obsolescence.
Speaking from experience, my ipad 1st gen stopped working with most music apps that I bought within 5 years, not too bothered but it is something to take into consideration, I probably sunk well over Ā£1000 into the ipad and all the apps I bought. Some of them work on my new ipad, some of them donā€™t, the old ipad is pretty much useless now though. I bought my OP-1 a year after the ipad, and it still works just as well as when new, in fact better because of all the firmware updates.

7 Likes

and full credit to TE for those pretty magnificent updates Quite unlike PioneerToraiz.

2 Likes

Why? Donā€™t update apps or iOS and youā€™ll be fine. Even if newer versions are incompatible with your current iOS you always get the option to install the last version that was compatible. So if your iPad + Gadget and al the other nice apps work today and you donā€™t update they will work for as long as your iPad lasts.

Ok then, I must have imagined the whole thing and just made it up :joy:

1 Like

This. Is why trying to stay in the box is maddening. I got like 15 new gray hairs just reading that @darenager. And this is why I will always gravitate to hardware like the OP-1. Pay now or pay now and keep paying.

2 Likes

You didnā€™t provide any arguments as to why apps would stop working. As long as the iPad works the apps will work.

1 Like

Iā€™ve had some iPad mini 1ā€™s for just a few instruments per device. Works great, and you could sequence them from an Elektron box easily. My current iPad (plain 2018 model) is powerful enough to run everything I need at once :smiley:

Still have my old iPad 2 running Lemur and a couple of other apps. I remember wanting the original Lemur back in the day which was horrifically expensive.

I can imagine that TEā€™s production costs have increased 40% because of the new screen, but I am not an engineer. I am one of those who thought the old price was still too much for me. Over time, I reckon new things will come along that will make the OP-1 redundant for many people. Just wait and see. :slight_smile:

The claim was that Gadget and others would stop working. Which is not true. But Iā€™m not here to argue. Just wanted to clarify for others that if your iOS apps work today they will work for as long as your iPad works.

1 Like

That requires the proviso that ā€˜if you do not update iOS or the app in questionā€™.

While many will update their apps, there are often problems, so the only way to actually guarantee that ā€˜if it works now, itā€™ll always workā€™ is to maintain stasis in the code base.

And though that may be the case, it does not represent a realistic prospect for most peopleā€™s usage cases of iOS products (eg if you donā€™t update the os you may not be able to use more modern apps, or updated functionality in them.

1 Like

What a bizarre and unnecessary tangent. Can everyone just go back to unnecessary ranting and raving about the current TE injustice please? :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Iā€™ve got an iPad2 on iOS6. I cannot add or update any apps on that particular iPad, and havenā€™t been able to for quite a while. But everything that is on the iPad works. I even still have rebirth.

What @Nevets is stating is true even though people are disagreeing about if that is the proper use of the iPad.

On topic: pretty disappointed about the op1 price hike. Iā€™ve always wanted one and was looking forward to new stock being available but 899 is where my internal system says the price is good. 1399 doesnā€™t sit well with me for just a screen upgrade and no obvious improvements.

1 Like

Good luck running much on ios 5.1.1.

2 Likes

You can appreciate something and not own it at the same time. I LOVE the OP-1.

And fwiw when I was a kid I loved Gameboys and Super Nintendo and Game and Watches. Thatā€™s the spirit the OP-1 comes from. Yeah, the OP-1 is pretty high end, but in the hands of a 12 year old who loves music, who knows what they would do with it.

Re: dn dt. just the fact that an op1 price now gets you two Elektron boxes.

All g man, just expressing my view

2 Likes

Thatā€™s a nice way to look at things :slight_smile:

1 Like

Weā€™re getting a bit off topic here, but yeah I donā€™t tend to buy stuff that is really just a 5 year rental in disguise, anymore at least.

3 Likes

sunvox does, quite merrily

1 Like

I have ipad pro these days, but my ipad 1 works just fine, bought in 2010. Of course it doesnā€™t run the latest apps, but it does still run the ones it did all those years ago.

That said, investing in new ipad every few years is not a bad investment - they are awesome devices and worth the asking price, unlike TEā€™s offerings.

1 Like

Not to mention not updating your OS is a security risk as more and more vulnerabilities are exposed. Modern operating systems need security patches regularly because hackers are always working to find weaknesses.

1 Like