Which PRO Apps Are As Good As Their Mac Counterparts?

[MICHAELSD]

The real test of an iPad Pro: the amount of apps that are as capable as their Mac counterparts.

I was more impressed with the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and keyboard in theory than I was with the new Touch Bar-less MacBook Pro when I tried them out as a means of comparing them. However, without full versions of Photoshop or even Apple's own pro apps like Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X it's a tough pill to swallow.

Side note: 9.7" iPad Pro has a much better display but the 12.9" iPad Pro wasn't as uncomfortable to hold as I expected. Keyboard accessory feels a bit unfinished and unpolished.

 

[M. Gustave]

The real test of an iPad Pro: the amount of apps that are as capable as their Mac counterparts.

I was more impressed with the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and keyboard in theory than I was with the new Touch Bar-less MacBook Pro when I tried them out as a means of comparing them. However, without full versions of Photoshop or even Apple's own pro apps like Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X it's a tough pill to swallow.

Side note: 9.7" iPad Pro has a much better display but the 12.9" iPad Pro wasn't as uncomfortable to hold as I expected. Keyboard accessory feels a bit unfinished and unpolished.

Another Mac fan, hung up on the word "Pro". So your definition of success for the iPad is number of legacy x86 applications ported wholesale to iOS? LOL

What are you trying to do that you can't? There may be an app or workflow for it. You may have to change your approach. That's difficult or even impossible for some rigid thinkers.

Why do you want an iPad? Reading your posting history it's all Mac.

 

[Channan]

What's the point of this thread? Title asks a question but the entire body of the post is just a statement, like OP started to make a legitimate thread but wound up just berating the iPad.

 

[M. Gustave]

What's the point of this thread?

Eight letter word, rhymes with "rolling".

 

[Beavix]

The real test of an iPad Pro: the amount of apps that are as capable as their Mac counterparts.

You mentioned Photoshop. There are a few design apps which are okay for some things but you can't have all features from a Mac app running on a tablet with only 2 or 4 GB of RAM and a slow processor. If you're looking for a Mac replacement, the iPad isn't one.

 

[M. Gustave]

If you're looking for a Mac replacement, the iPad isn't one.

LOL, if you're looking for a Willie Nelson replacement, Taylor Swift isn't one.

 

[Abazigal]

For me, I like that iPad apps offer a great deal of functionality while also being more streamlined and easier to use than their desktop equivalents.

I remember once when I was overseas on an exchange programme with my students. I was tasked with blogging about our daily experiences. The iPad proved to be a great tool for this. It had long battery life, a decent camera, inbuilt 4G capability, and it was extremely easy to craft new posts, update existing ones and insert photos.

That the desktop version of Wordpress had more features was redundant because I never used them in the first place.

A smartphone's battery would have been dead by noon (I had to recharge my iPhone thrice a day prior to this), while a laptop was more unwieldy and lacked ready internet access. The iPad's perfect compromise of battery life, portability and ease of use made it the perfect "pro" tool particular task at hand.

 

[sracer]

Ugh. The title of this thread drew me in... it's sounded like it could be a fun and informative discussion. But as @M. Gustave pointed out, the OP is hung up on the "Pro" tag and it tainted the rest of the post.

"Pro" is simply a marketing qualifier that Apple used to differentiate the new generation of iPads from the previous ones. Using the same mentality, we should be haranguing Apple for using "Air".... after all, neither my Macbook Air nor iPad Air 2 actually "float on air".

In an attempt to rehabilitate this thread:


APPLE IWORK SUITE

Although Apple gutted out much of the advanced functionality of iWork '09 in order to attain feature parity between OSX and iOS versions, there is still a difference between the versions. Some of the differences are in features, the other difference is in how the function is performed.

On the plus side, the functional differences between the two versions do not interfere with cross-platform operation. The formatting, styles, etc. appear to be perfectly preserved.

I think that the direction that Apple has been going in is not to REPLACE OSX with iOS but to complement each other. That allows each platform to do what it does best while being able to work on a common set of data. (with iCloud being the "glue")


SIMPLEMIND (Mindmapping)

SimpleMind for OSX and iOS are as functionally identical as I can tell. They're feature-rich and working on mindmaps on iOS is as easy and intuitive as working on them on OSX.


APPLE NOTES

Notes for both OSX and iOS appear functionally identical. These apps are deceptive in their functionality. They might not seem like much at first, but there's quite a bit of flexibility in them.

 

[beernut]

bejeweled on ipad runs circles around laptop/desktop all day

 

[username:]

I find it much more enjoyable to watch pron on my laptop, due to flash mainly and easier site navigation

 

[MICHAELSD]

Another Mac fan, hung up on the word "Pro". So your definition of success for the iPad is number of legacy x86 applications ported wholesale to iOS? LOL

What are you trying to do that you can't? There may be an app or workflow for it. You may have to change your approach. That's difficult or even impossible for some rigid thinkers.

Why do you want an iPad? Reading your posting history it's all Mac.

I'm genuinely trying to compare the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to see how much can be accomplished on both. I've been considering moving over to an iPad Pro during the next refresh but that doesn't seem completely advisable at this point for Pro users. I've found it's redundant for me to own a Mac and iPad (along with an iPhone) so it's one or the other.

 

[M. Gustave]

I'm genuinely trying to compare the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to see how much can be accomplished on both. I've been considering moving over to an iPad Pro during the next refresh but that doesn't seem completely advisable at this point for Pro users. I've found it's redundant for me to own a Mac and iPad (along with an iPhone) so it's one or the other.

You talk in generalizations: "pro users", "how much can be accomplished". You need to ask specific questions, otherwise the only answer is "it depends on your needs". There's no such thing as a generic "pro user".

 

[Night Spring]

You talk in generalizations: "pro users", "how much can be accomplished". You need to ask specific questions, otherwise the only answer is "it depends on your needs". There's no such thing as a generic "pro user".

Yes exactly. A pro photographer and a pro landscape artist would have very different needs. Tim Cook would have different needs from his secretary, but they are both pros. An accountant, a doctor, a restaurant owner, a software developer, journalist... they are all pros, but some will be able to work from iPad only and others will need a traditional computer.

 

[Booch21]

I've found it's redundant for me to own a Mac and iPad (along with an iPhone) so it's one or the other.

That's a shame. Each has it's positives and limitations which makes them a very good tag team for me and what I need.

 

[JD2015]

Ulysses
IthoughtsX
Omnigraffle
PDF Expert
1Password

All equally as good on IOS as on OS Sierra if not better.

 

[iPadDad]

The real test of an iPad Pro: the amount of apps that are as capable as their Mac counterparts.

I was more impressed with the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and keyboard in theory than I was with the new Touch Bar-less MacBook Pro when I tried them out as a means of comparing them. However, without full versions of Photoshop or even Apple's own pro apps like Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X it's a tough pill to swallow.

Side note: 9.7" iPad Pro has a much better display but the 12.9" iPad Pro wasn't as uncomfortable to hold as I expected. Keyboard accessory feels a bit unfinished and unpolished.

I Have to agree with M. Gustave, it's not about apps being built exactly the same as apps on Mac which makes iPad so powerful, it's actually quite the opposite for me, the features that I need the most, I need to be able to access easily and quickly. I find apps on iOS more intuitive and faster to work with and launch than on Mac. I think it is the fact that the important features and functions are there without causing complexity and confusion, and that's exactly what I need, and that is one of the things that makes iOS on iPad powerful, for me.

 

[RudySnow]

That's a shame. Each has it's positives and limitations which makes them a very good tag team for me and what I need.

For YOU and what YOU need. I used to own both but sold my MacBook Pro because it was redundant having both, and the MBP became an expensive paperweight. Why is this shameful to YOU?

 

[Beavix]

Ulysses
IthoughtsX
Omnigraffle
PDF Expert
1Password

All equally as good on IOS as on OS Sierra if not better.

Omnigraffle on iOS has maybe 75% of the features of the Mac version.

PDF Expert on iOS cannot edit PDF files (I'm talking about real editing like on the Mac, not commenting and form filling).

That doesn't mean they're bad apps (Omnigraffle is really nice on iOS), but as I said above one cannot expect to have everything from a complex Mac app running on a device with limited resourced like an iPad.

 

[iPadDad]

Omnigraffle on iOS has maybe 75% of the features of the Mac version.

PDF Expert on iOS cannot edit PDF files (I'm talking about real editing like on the Mac, not commenting and form filling).

That doesn't mean they're bad apps (Omnigraffle is really nice on iOS), but as I said above one cannot expect to have everything from a complex Mac app running on a device with limited resourced like an iPad.

People are so stuck in their ways, there is nothing limiting on iPad! It is all about your work flow and your needs.

 

[Abazigal]

Omnigraffle on iOS has maybe 75% of the features of the Mac version.

PDF Expert on iOS cannot edit PDF files (I'm talking about real editing like on the Mac, not commenting and form filling).

That doesn't mean they're bad apps (Omnigraffle is really nice on iOS), but as I said above one cannot expect to have everything from a complex Mac app running on a device with limited resourced like an iPad.

PDF office (by the same company, but oddly a subscription app which apparently hasn't been updated in years) lets you edit PDFs.

Do people need to edit PDFs that badly? I thought that's the whole point of pdfs, that their formatting is preserved regardless of where you access it and that you can't edit them.

 

[8692574]

Another Mac fan, hung up on the word "Pro". So your definition of success for the iPad is number of legacy x86 applications ported wholesale to iOS? LOL

What are you trying to do that you can't? There may be an app or workflow for it. You may have to change your approach. That's difficult or even impossible for some rigid thinkers.

Why do you want an iPad? Reading your posting history it's all Mac.

What are you talking about? Your aggressive response has nothing to do with what he asked, he never said he want legacy X86 apps on the ipad, but a native counterpart (ala iMovie that is avaiable both on Mac and iOS).

If you resd his post without your neck vein exploding like you did the first time you will realize he asked to be able or to know some good "Pro" apps that are comparable to the Mac counterpart.

Chill out my friend this is a forum not a was scene!

EDIT:
For the thread starter
Pixelmator is a good idea of what you can do on a Mac and on the iPad almost in the same way

 

[Beavix]

People are so stuck in their ways, there is nothing limiting on iPad! It is all about your work flow and your needs.

LOL, wishful thinking at its best.

 

[Eric5273]

Here's something I rarely see mentioned in these threads:

There are many websites that offer as an alternative an iPad app, but they do NOT offer an OSX app. As a result, using these sites through the app on an iPad is much easier than using the website on a Mac. Just a couple of examples:

Banking apps -- I bank with Chase, and the app is much faster and easier to use on the iPad than using their website on a PC or Mac.

Travel apps -- Try using the expedia website on a PC and then compare it to using the expedia app on an iPad. The app is much much faster and easier to use.

And there are many more examples of this, such as newspapers, blogs, etc -- so many of them have apps which work much faster and are easier to use than using their websites.

 

[M. Gustave]

Banking apps -- I bank with Chase, and the app is much faster and easier to use on the iPad than using their website on a PC or Mac.

+1

Same for the CapitalOne and PayPal apps. Not to mention the increased security of using them in iOS, especially with Touch ID.

I also prefer the Ancestry, eBay, Zappos, Apple, and Walgreens apps to their websites.

 

[dumastudetto]

iPad Pro is so far ahead of the Mac it is almost embarrassing at this point. Go with the iPad Pro lifestyle it is the best thing you'll ever do in life.