Am I the only one who thinks the Pro is a joke?

[Osamede]

I work in the same office with designers. It is unimaginable that any of them would do their job day to day with only an Ipad. Even the "Pro". They dont just sit around playing with pencils and brushes all day. They are part of production and business processes.

No problem with the idea that this device is supposed to replace a Wacom in the designers tool kit. But that makes it a TV/browser/sketchboard. Still a far cry from "Pro"

 

[techthusast]

Surface Pro 4: 786g
iPad Pro 12.9": 723g
Not quite a metric ton anymore, huh?

I guess not! That's good to see that they're now in the same weight class. Can you stand it in portrait yet? How does the built in stand work?

 

[sracer]

Surface Pro 4: 786g
iPad Pro 12.9": 723g
Not quite a metric ton anymore, huh?

Surface Pro <> Surface Book

Surface Book = 1.51 kg

 

[Red Viking]

I work in the same office with designers. It is unimaginable that any of them would do their job day to day with only an Ipad. Even the "Pro". They dont just sit around playing with pencils and brushes all day. They are part of production and business processes.

No problem with the idea that this device is supposed to replace a Wacom in the designers tool kit. But that makes it a TV/browser/sketchboard. Still a far cry from "Pro"

I'm a digital artist/designer, and it's unimaginable that I do my job day to day on only my Mac Pro as well. I require other tools and media. Being a "Pro" device doesn't have to mean it's all encompassing. It means it's targeted toward professionals, particularly those who can take advantage of the Apple pencil to create notes, sketches and paintings. From engineers to salespeople to artist, and others. If you don't require such a device, you won't fully appreciate the value of this tool.

The iPP fits into my workflow nicely and expands my creative options. A pro tool doesn't need to do everything, but what it does do it needs to do well, at a professional level. For me, the iPP meets this criteria. It's become my primary device for expressing creative concepts, drawing storyboards, and digital painting. I still use my desktop computer for other tasks, but this doesn't diminish the capabilities of the iPP; they all complement my work style. Being a professional, you need a wide assortment of tools anyway.

I'll admit when the iPP was first announced, I was skeptical that a "Pro" device didn't feature a full OS. But then I realized I don't need the bulk of a full OS on my tablet; I already have that on my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. I didn't want to buy another Mac computer but in a different form; I wanted a different experience, and my 12.9 iPP offers that.

 

[Osamede]

I'm a digital artist/designer, and it's unimaginable that I do my job day to day on only my Mac Pro as well. I require other tools and media. Being a "Pro" device doesn't have to mean it's all encompassing. It means it's targeted toward professionals, particularly those who can take advantage of the Apple pencil to create notes, sketches and paintings. From engineers to salespeople to artist, and others. If you don't require such a device, you won't fully appreciate the value of this tool.

The iPP fits into my workflow nicely and expands my creative options. A pro tool doesn't need to do everything, but what it does do it needs to do well, at a professional level. For me, the iPP meets this criteria. It's become my primary device for expressing creative concepts, drawing storyboards, and digital painting. I still use my desktop computer for other tasks, but this doesn't diminish the capabilities of the iPP; they all complement my work style. Being a professional, you need a wide assortment of tools anyway.

I'll admit when the iPP was first announced, I was skeptical that a "Pro" device didn't feature a full OS. But then I realized I don't need the bulk of a full OS on my tablet; I already have that on my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. I didn't want to buy another Mac computer but in a different form; I wanted a different experience, and my 12.9 iPP offers that.

I assure you that the average university student will use this device more intensely than an designer in an office. So what's the "pro" tag? Positioning.

It's not a debate over whether its a useful, multifuncitonal tool. Indeed it is. And for that price, it had better be.

Question is why the "pro" tag aimed at justifying the price, for an item that is actually broad use not not only "pro".

 

[donklaus]

I'm a digital artist/designer, and it's unimaginable that I do my job day to day on only my Mac Pro as well. I require other tools and media. Being a "Pro" device doesn't have to mean it's all encompassing. It means it's targeted toward professionals, particularly those who can take advantage of the Apple pencil to create notes, sketches and paintings. From engineers to salespeople to artist, and others. If you don't require such a device, you won't fully appreciate the value of this tool.

The iPP fits into my workflow nicely and expands my creative options. A pro tool doesn't need to do everything, but what it does do it needs to do well, at a professional level. For me, the iPP meets this criteria. It's become my primary device for expressing creative concepts, drawing storyboards, and digital painting. I still use my desktop computer for other tasks, but this doesn't diminish the capabilities of the iPP; they all complement my work style. Being a professional, you need a wide assortment of tools anyway.

I'll admit when the iPP was first announced, I was skeptical that a "Pro" device didn't feature a full OS. But then I realized I don't need the bulk of a full OS on my tablet; I already have that on my Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. I didn't want to buy another Mac computer but in a different form; I wanted a different experience, and my 12.9 iPP offers that.

This is possibly the most lucid and spot-on explanation I've read on the whole "pro" discussion. An iPad Pro doesn't perform all possible tasks that a professional writer, designer, business exec, music composer, photographer, etc., could want or need, it's a tool that enables their professional work.

 

[sracer]

100's posts on this forum debating what "Pro" is and how one definition of "Pro" is not as good as another. Where was this discussion when the iPad Air was released?! I would love to have seen the same discussion about "Air". I could see someone complaining that "Air" is a poor name because the iPad doesn't levitate.

I feel gypped.

"Pro" is nothing more than a market segment identifier, like "Air" and "Mini".

 

[Night Spring]

Question is why the "pro" tag aimed at justifying the price, for an item that is actually broad use not not only "pro".

The MacBook Pro is a "broad use" device used by not only professionals, but students and general consumers. I never hear any complaints about that name.

The iPad Pro at least has features that regular iPads don't have, like Pencil and Smart Keyboard compatibility. The MacBook Pro has a few extra ports, and more powerful CPU. To me, the iPP feels more "pro" in comparison to other iPads, than the MBP does in comparison to other MacBooks.

 

[kodos]

I do think some of this confusion was invited by Apple. They have made bold claims about it replacing your PC, about Tim Cook not needing a MacBook anymore, etc.

If they had called it the "Pro" iPad, I don't think there would be as much scrutiny about the name if they hadn't said that it is a "Supercomputer", etc. That is the kind of marketing that can cause grief later down the road if people think that they were sold something different from what is being advertised.

For what it is - the iPad Pro is quite a nice tablet. I even bought a 12.9" one after liking my 9.7" (the 9.7 is going back). But for me it is a dedicated writing and creative outlet machine. It sits next to my beefy desktop for the jobs that pay the bills. On the other hand, my Surface Book can do the same kinds of tasks as my desktop (but not as well). And it can also do the same kinds of tasks as my iPad Pro (but not as well). So it is a question of your budget (I have a business and can afford to use these devices for my business, which makes them less painful to purchase) and how specialized you can be in your purchase of these devices.

We are living in a great time to have such choices!

 

[Beavix]

In Apple's marketing lingo "pro" means "better". Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[jamesrick80]

For what I use it for, it is definitely a desktop replacement, and for that matter, it's a MacBook Pro replacement as well.

1. Web search
2. Email
3. Online banking
4. Photos and music
5. Some simple games
6. YouTube
7. Pages
8. Some movies, when the TV is occupied by someone else

This can all be done on any powerful smartphone.......

 

[Night Spring]

This can all be done on any powerful smartphone.......

Yes, but not as comfortably. I hate typing emails and word/pages documents on a smartphone because space is so limited. Web surfing is also not optimal on a smartphone. But I'm sure there are many people who don't mind the limited screen space, and use the smartphone as their main computing device.

 

[omgitsbees]

The surface book turned the Pro from a mild joke, to a forgotten piece of the ancient world before it even shipped.

Then buy the Surface and enjoy that. No ones stopping you.

 

[maxsix]

The average consumer is easily duped. The "Pro" moniker helps Apple command such an obscenely high price. The companies fortunes are the result of brilliant marketing, no one has as much influence over their customers as Apple.

 

[prospervic]

...... I really don't understand how it is "Pro" in any way, shape or form?.......
This product to me (purely opinion) seems like a money grabbing gimmick.

I wouldn't give much credence to Apple's marketing terms. (Or, for that matter, those of any manufacturer -- "Monster Energy Zero Ultra" drink -- really?)

The iPad Pro is not a joke to those who find it highly useful. I too, had misgivings when I purchased mine six months ago, being frustrated that I couldn't easily do things the "normal" way. It wasn't until I realized that I was trying to solve problems from a PC/Mac power-user mindset that I was able to stop and rethink my whole approach to computing, which is what the iPad, being the "future of computing" requires.

Once I started really using the Apple Pencil, it became clear that I had a entirely different kind of device than my MacBook Pro, which the iPad Pro replaced. (My 5K iMac handles "heavy duty" tasks.)

We all have different needs, but the the iPad Pro can be a liberating experience, once you change your conception of what a computer is.

 

[Michael Goff]

100's posts on this forum debating what "Pro" is and how one definition of "Pro" is not as good as another. Where was this discussion when the iPad Air was released?! I would love to have seen the same discussion about "Air". I could see someone complaining that "Air" is a poor name because the iPad doesn't levitate.

I feel gypped.

"Pro" is nothing more than a market segment identifier, like "Air" and "Mini".

Let's spend another hundred posts comparing the iPad Air to the MacBook Air and what Air means.

 

[ABC5S]

This can all be done on any powerful smartphone.......

Yes, but I don't like doing so on a small screen, no matter how powerful it is.

 

[Osamede]

Let's spend another hundred posts comparing the iPad Air to the MacBook Air and what Air means.

Clearly some people dont understand how handsomely someone at a branding agency and their client at the Apple marketing dept got rewarded for tagging a three-letter word onto an existing product, so that someone else in the corp management and finance line could make that quarterly number and get that giant stock option reward unlocked.

But hey yes indeed: the words just are there to pry the darn money out of your....no, no, no sorry - to help inform you, dear customer. Why spoil it for the kids.....

 

[darkarma]

iPad Pro is a joke in itself. Being a long time Mac, iPad and iPhone user I am dismayed at the fact that the iPad Pro is not even capable of anything greater than running apps.
Shame on Apple, they should look at the MS Surface Pro product and make one like it.
Long time Steve Jobs said that external input devices was not happening and lo we have the Apple Pencil.
I don't want to carry two products, a laptop and a tablet.
Combining both is the logical choice. Alas I am shifting to a Surface Pro 4 at least until Apple makes a solid hybrid device.

 

[Michael Goff]

iPad Pro is a joke in itself. Being a long time Mac, iPad and iPhone user I am dismayed at the fact that the iPad Pro is not even capable of anything greater than running apps.
Shame on Apple, they should look at the MS Surface Pro product and make one like it.
Long time Steve Jobs said that external input devices was not happening and lo we have the Apple Pencil.
I don't want to carry two products, a laptop and a tablet.
Combining both is the logical choice. Alas I am shifting to a Surface Pro 4 at least until Apple makes a solid hybrid device.

I find this argument lacking. Apple should do what everyone else is doing? Do you really want 1 idea of how things should be?

 

[darkarma]

Combining both a computer and a tablet is logical. I work in a hospital setting as a provider. Thus I carry a iPad. It is cumbersome to work on the iOS especially to input. Surface Pro is used by many now. Use as a laptop when you want, and as a tablet when needed.
This is big advantage

 

[Coolpher]

I use my iPad Pro 12.9 every day video word web sites etc

 

[Osty]

Combining both a computer and a tablet is logical. I work in a hospital setting as a provider. Thus I carry a iPad. It is cumbersome to work on the iOS especially to input. Surface Pro is used by many now. Use as a laptop when you want, and as a tablet when needed.
This is big advantage

I've been tempted but I've read so many mixed reviews that I dont know if real-word usage lives up to the promise. Battery life seems to be the big Achilles heel and I don't like Windows 10. I'd consider one though if it ran Linux

 

[darkarma]

Real world you will get anywhere between 5-6 hrs battery life. But it charges fast.
True I too hate windows 10. But the functionality is worth having it for work situations like mine.
Still contemplating.

 

[rowspaxe]

True I too hate windows 10. But the functionality is worth having it for work situations like mine.
Still contemplating.

Do you even know anything about Windows 10? I think MS could have done better but is it "hatable"? I spend about 1% of my time in the os, the rest in apps. If you are building in to macOS ecosystem of contimuim, cloud, etc, I get a preference. But "hatable"? Really?