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Apple Highlights iPad Pro Reviews
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And it's also the most affordable Apple notebook—with performance on par with the MBP—if you're willing to grab a Smart Keyboard and glue stick.
Have you ever tried to make a precise selection using your fingers? It's absolutely horrifying. It takes half a minute just to select the right characters, while it's a second with the mouse. It's also super frustrating. Clipboard operations are unusable without a mouse and a keyboard.
I would prefer a Mac with pen support for drawing and handwriting math formulas.
Apple forgot to quote The Verge on the new iPad Pro:
"I don't want to adapt to my computer, I want my computer to adapt to me."
"I don't want to adapt to my computer, I want my computer to adapt to me."
I agree. I wanted to pick up the 12.9 inch, but I just cannot justify spending at LEAST $1,000.00 on a machine I’d use for casual reading, work emails from the couch and a second screen while watching sports.
But Lord it is pretty.
I realize that Photoshop is coming to the iPad, but it's going to be a crippled version with very limited features. First of all, the iPad pencil doesn't support hover, so there's no way to preview the clone stamp tool, like you can with a Cintiq or a Surface. Yes, there may be a preview gesture, like the three finger touch with Astropad Studio, but it just slows everyone down.
Second, you cannot connect an external drive. It's a pain to transfer files back and forth between an iPad and a computer, unless the synchronization is completely automatic, like in OneNote. I'm sure Adobe Cloud will sync completely seamlessly in the background as well. But it's a pain just to get videos and photos on and off iOS. I may be old-fashioned, but I feel seriously limited by these iDevices. And video editing is nowhere near as fast with a pencil as it is with a mouse. Just because it's possible to on an iPad it doesn't mean you're more productive than with a MacBook + a Cintiq, or even a Surface device.
Second, you cannot connect an external drive. It's a pain to transfer files back and forth between an iPad and a computer, unless the synchronization is completely automatic, like in OneNote. I'm sure Adobe Cloud will sync completely seamlessly in the background as well. But it's a pain just to get videos and photos on and off iOS. I may be old-fashioned, but I feel seriously limited by these iDevices. And video editing is nowhere near as fast with a pencil as it is with a mouse. Just because it's possible to on an iPad it doesn't mean you're more productive than with a MacBook + a Cintiq, or even a Surface device.
"Have you ever tried to make a precise selection using your fingers?"
Yes, for many years using a laptop and various engineering and creative apps.
"It's absolutely horrifying."
Horrifying? Oh noes, I certainly don't need any horrifying in my life. I have no idea how I've gotten along. For so long.
It’s undoubtedly the best iPad ever, but it’s still an iPad. If the prior gen was too limited to replace your laptop, this one will be too. Software innovation, not hardware, is what is needed to really move iPad to the next level.
Nope. Apple just don't support vp9.
"The problem is down to Apple's lack of OS-level support for Google's VP9 codec, used by YouTube. While it remains unclear when or even if Apple will include VP9 support in its software and devices, it is also unknown if Google will work around Apple's decision not to use the codec in software as it has done on the Xbox One, if only to enable 4K or 1440p video streams on hardware that could play it."
Smart of Apple to only send 12.9” units to reviewers so nobody mentioned the awful black bars on 3rd party apps on the 11” version because of the new aspect ratio.
I like the direction they are heading and we will probably see phoneOS and iPad OS next year, but they really need to add the ability to access external files from a USB drive. This would be great for traveling to grab the images off my camera and transfer to a USB drive. I had the first gen 12.9 Pro and upgraded to the second last year. I will probably hold off until next year. I like the new design, but I’d have to buy a new keyboard and pencil and don’t seem to gain for my usage. I love the iPad and use mine way more than my MacBook Pro, but I have to agree with that the file system needs some work in order to be a computer replacement.
Why is it necessary that an iPad needs to replace your laptop? Mine doesn't and that's great. Sometimes I like using a laptop, sometimes a desktop, and sometimes an iPad. Depends on what I'm doing and how I feel like interacting at the time.
Yeah, I think every one of those reviewed dinged the iPads for not being able to access drives via the USB-C connection.
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There was a great article once, reviewing the MacBook Pro and showing how it just couldn't replace an iPad. I wish I could find that. It was funny and insightful.
When did I say that an iPad needs to be able to replace a laptop? You’re misreading my comment.
Sorry but I completely disagree with this, an iPad that can easily be connected to a screen, keyboard and mouse would be a huge step forward for productivity, The ergonomics of using one hand low to type and the other much higher to navigate just don’t work.
also regarding the OS I don’t want Mac OS on iPad, but iOS needs to support much more activities such as mice and external hard drives to truly be a ‘pro’ device outside of artistic fields.
Everyone here is hilarious. For those of us that remember Photoshop 1.0, talking about the limits of the iPad are ridiculous.
If all you had was an iPad you could get a whole lot of stuff done. It's more functional than a pad of paper, and just as portable.
The question is, can you use it to replace a laptop? In many cases the answer is no. If the question is "can you get actual work done with an iPad if it's all you had?" The answer is, in many cases, yes.
I can bring my iPad Pro places with the expectation that I won't be fully functional, because it's a lot easier to bring it around than hauling my MBP. Does it replace my MBP? In certain circumstances, yes. In certain circumstances, no.
If all you had was an iPad you could get a whole lot of stuff done. It's more functional than a pad of paper, and just as portable.
The question is, can you use it to replace a laptop? In many cases the answer is no. If the question is "can you get actual work done with an iPad if it's all you had?" The answer is, in many cases, yes.
I can bring my iPad Pro places with the expectation that I won't be fully functional, because it's a lot easier to bring it around than hauling my MBP. Does it replace my MBP? In certain circumstances, yes. In certain circumstances, no.
Two changes mentioned repeatedly online and in this thread would make the iPad a much more viable laptop replacement option for just about everyone—plug and play support for ALL types of files via external storage (and integration right into the Files app) and support for mouse/trackpad. Just adding those two elements would change the utility of iPads and allow much greater use of all the power Apple’s put into them.
FWIW, an OG 12.9 iPP has been my daily driver for a few years now as I don’t need it for anything beyond Office apps, email, messaging, light photo editing, general daily life management (calendar, task management, notes, etc), media consumption and some gaming. The portable, light weight, quick ease-of-use it affords me is invaluable but I can absolutely appreciate how it’s too limiting for many. I was planning on upgrading but the pretty steep price increase and aforementioned limitations have me holding off as future needs may warrant grabbing a laptop with far greater flexibility. If they could just add those two items I previously mentioned, it would make my decision far easier.
FWIW, an OG 12.9 iPP has been my daily driver for a few years now as I don’t need it for anything beyond Office apps, email, messaging, light photo editing, general daily life management (calendar, task management, notes, etc), media consumption and some gaming. The portable, light weight, quick ease-of-use it affords me is invaluable but I can absolutely appreciate how it’s too limiting for many. I was planning on upgrading but the pretty steep price increase and aforementioned limitations have me holding off as future needs may warrant grabbing a laptop with far greater flexibility. If they could just add those two items I previously mentioned, it would make my decision far easier.
In a search for why this may be, it appears the terms of licensing this royalty free codec requires the licensee to agree to no patent litigation against Google’s WebM efforts. Not sure if this would be a reason, but it’s the only unusual language I see in implementing VP9. Maybe Apple wishes to leave the door open, as any patent litigation results in a revoking of the VP9 license.
The regular iPad, which starts at $329, is really what you should buy if you just want a tablet. It has power to spare and has great industrial design. The 2017 Pro was a luxury item and a powerful work device. But this new iPad just takes that to another level. It is even more of a luxury device if you just want it as tablet for in bed web surfing. Or it is a powerful work device for the type of person who uses computers consistently throughout a creative workflow.
Totally agree though on the segmentation. The XS and XR are also part of that segmentation. The XS is for folks with discretionary money. But the XR is really the phone to buy if you just want a smartphone.
The Mini is the consumer version of the soon to come modular Mac Pro. So I think the vision will be complete soon.
Though what to do with the Macbook.