Highly considering an iPad Pro...Worth it?

[nightlong]

Getting back to the OP ... Whether an iPad Pro is worth it for your purposes only you can decide. Look at its strengths (fast, fabulous screen, the pencil, the size) and its weaknesses (cost, not as portable as smaller iPad, the lack of optimisation so far of many apps, lack of third party accessories so far) and look at your needs and budget.

If I could only have one iPad it would be the cellular iPad Air 2 ... So light, thin, fast, Internet almost anywhere without having to rely on public wifi, and ultra portable. As I have the good fortune to be able to afford a variety of tools, the iPad Pro is worth it to me for its strengths.

iPads are thinking machines for me, and research and learning portals. Sketching out ideas with handwriting, drawing, typing, and with music apps that cost a few dollars but give me more sounds than analogue machines that used to cost thousands, not to mention the large room it took to house all that gear. And all this without being bound to a desk all day, I can work wherever I like with just an iPad, or with a lightweight keyboard and a stylus, or with 2 iPads if I want to do work on one, using the other for Internet and looking up my notes or whatever. I've culled hundreds of books from my library, I no longer need recipe books, I'm better informed with my news and magazine apps for a fraction of the cost, it is so easy to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, family in different countries wherever I am with Skype and group messages.

I no longer have back problems, as iPads have reduced the amount of time i sit, and a lot of trees have been spared since iPads became my multimedia notebooks.

I still use computers for software that only they have and for things they do better but iPads have revolutionised the way I work (and play, consume and communicate).

This is why I react to the iPads are toys attitude. But if I had to sit at a desk all day and just used Word or Excel or I was doing intensive video and coding work then I would have different priorities. but I would still have an iPad, even if I was the most geeky power user on earth.

 

[emembee]

What do you mean? Copying files to and from Dropbox is relatively simple, and I recently discovered that iWorks files can now be kept in Dropbox, so you never have to have them in iCloud.

Dont think you can open iWork from Dropbox, at least some of my apps say that anyway but not a big deal, as I prefer to use excel which does open and save them.

 

[Night Spring]

Yes it is.. Gorilla arm is a faulty input. Copy, paste and selecting things takes forever compared to a mouse/trackpad.

Select, copy and paste with shift+Arrow keys on an external keyboard is pretty fast. No need to get gorilla arms. And if you are using the on screen keyboard, gorilla arm is a non-issue, though I conceded selecting text by touch is a bit cumbersome. But it's an okay trade off for not having a keyboard hanging off the screen.
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Dont think you can open iWork from Dropbox, at least some of my apps say that anyway but not a big deal, as I prefer to use excel which does open and save them.

Well, I KNOW I can open files in iWork apps from Dropbox, because I do it all the time. I don't know which apps you are talking about, but I've done it in all three iWork apps -- Pages, Numbers, Keynote.

 

[Loompy]

Early impressions it is an awesome, very fast device and with the smart keyboard works perfectly with the pro. You can always fold it over as a normal case if needed. Takes a while to get used to the typing on it but works fine.


A fair amount of apps aren’t really been updated for the pro screen but im sure over time they will. Amazing for watching video. Me for example watching the NBA it’s great with these loud

Personally I would go with the Logitech CREATE keyboard case over the Smart Keyboard. It has the laptop keyboard feel with backlit keys. I just dont like the very shallow travel of the smart keyboard keys. And the Logitech one is a bit cheaper too.

 

[Night Spring]

Personally I would go with the Logitech CREATE keyboard case over the Smart Keyboard. It has the laptop keyboard feel with backlit keys. I just dont like the very shallow travel of the smart keyboard keys. And the Logitech one is a bit cheaper too.

All true. But the Logitech keyboard is a lot heavier. Personally that make it a no go for me. But obviously, you and I have different priorities.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I have both and don't use the Logitech (I meant to return it but missed the return window). The Logitech is once to type on and I love the back lit keys but it does make your IPP very heavy, like twice the weight. I find typing on the Apple Keyboard very fast and easy on my lap and they way it folds makes it nice and slim. You can also easily pull the IPP out of the Apple Keyboard, it's tricky with the Logitech where it snaps into place very firmly. If only the Apple case had back lit keys it'd be perfect.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

You guys have this topic pretty much covered. I have found the iPad Pro to be very easy to work with as an out-and-about solution. I am an IT developer in my day job and a writer in the evening. I have desktops at both work and home and the iPad Pro supplements them far better than the MacBook ever did. Personally it is whether one wants to actually find ways to make things work to gain the advantages of the iOS solution while minimizing issues, or just wants to brute force a full OS onto everything. I love the elegance of the iPad Pro and use SSH command line, FTP, writing, Reddit, Twitter, email, coding, music playing, movie watching, etc. and have zero difficulties.

 

[henry72]

Since you already have a MacBook Pro, it makes perfect sense to get the iPad Pro instead of another Mac.

As for the overheat issue, could be too dusty instead? Not a good idea to put it on a pillow, just take it to the Genius and get it checked

 

[Cnasty]

Anyone have an opinion on higher resale value color wise, silver or gold?

Fun question I know but I am getting one for sure today but crossing all the options

 

[sjleworthy]

Anyone have an opinion on higher resale value color wise, silver or gold?

Fun question I know but I am getting one for sure today but crossing all the options

i bought Gold. my first gold device. and i adore it immensely, but.......

after having my Pro for a few months now i hardly even register or notice the colour. i thought the gold would give me a nice warm glow every time i used the thing, but it doesn't. i dont even notice the colour as i'm too busy looking at the screen. i find the case colour irrelevant for me now. whats important i think is the bezel colour you want, not the hard back cover.

saying that, i'd still buy gold the next time

 

[The Game 161]

Anyone have an opinion on higher resale value color wise, silver or gold?

Fun question I know but I am getting one for sure today but crossing all the options

Gold does look sweet but I wanted to match my space grey iPhone

I had the gold air 2

 

[Cnasty]

Gold does look sweet but I wanted to match my space grey iPhone

I had the gold air 2

I have a space gray 6s+ but the white has been catching my eye lately which is odd as I have never owned a white iOS device before.

 

[Sam5281]

Getting back to the OP ... Whether an iPad Pro is worth it for your purposes only you can decide. Look at its strengths (fast, fabulous screen, the pencil, the size) and its weaknesses (cost, not as portable as smaller iPad, the lack of optimisation so far of many apps, lack of third party accessories so far) and look at your needs and budget.

If I could only have one iPad it would be the cellular iPad Air 2 ... So light, thin, fast, Internet almost anywhere without having to rely on public wifi, and ultra portable. As I have the good fortune to be able to afford a variety of tools, the iPad Pro is worth it to me for its strengths.

iPads are thinking machines for me, and research and learning portals. Sketching out ideas with handwriting, drawing, typing, and with music apps that cost a few dollars but give me more sounds than analogue machines that used to cost thousands, not to mention the large room it took to house all that gear. And all this without being bound to a desk all day, I can work wherever I like with just an iPad, or with a lightweight keyboard and a stylus, or with 2 iPads if I want to do work on one, using the other for Internet and looking up my notes or whatever. I've culled hundreds of books from my library, I no longer need recipe books, I'm better informed with my news and magazine apps for a fraction of the cost, it is so easy to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, family in different countries wherever I am with Skype and group messages.

I no longer have back problems, as iPads have reduced the amount of time i sit, and a lot of trees have been spared since iPads became my multimedia notebooks.

I still use computers for software that only they have and for things they do better but iPads have revolutionised the way I work (and play, consume and communicate).

This is why I react to the iPads are toys attitude. But if I had to sit at a desk all day and just used Word or Excel or I was doing intensive video and coding work then I would have different priorities. but I would still have an iPad, even if I was the most geeky power user on earth.

Biggest benefactor to me : being able to be "portable." Work on documents / web browse / productivity out of the confines of my desk. Like you, hours upon hours of sitting at desk and working just becomes grueling. Obviously my MBP doesn't like to be portable - and work on a pillow IE: Overheat. Sounds like iPad Pro is extremely capable.

You guys have this topic pretty much covered. I have found the iPad Pro to be very easy to work with as an out-and-about solution. I am an IT developer in my day job and a writer in the evening. I have desktops at both work and home and the iPad Pro supplements them far better than the MacBook ever did. Personally it is whether one wants to actually find ways to make things work to gain the advantages of the iOS solution while minimizing issues, or just wants to brute force a full OS onto everything. I love the elegance of the iPad Pro and use SSH command line, FTP, writing, Reddit, Twitter, email, coding, music playing, movie watching, etc. and have zero difficulties.

Are you using the smart keyboard as well? Do you find issues going from internet searches / readings / to word documents you are working on?

Since you already have a MacBook Pro, it makes perfect sense to get the iPad Pro instead of another Mac.

As for the overheat issue, could be too dusty instead? Not a good idea to put it on a pillow, just take it to the Genius and get it checked

Not sure about the dust? I am under apple care - so will get it looked at. Always wondered how competent the Genius bar employees were...

 

[kathyricks]

I have an ipad pro cellular model, a 2015 13" MacBook Pro and a 2013 15" MacBook pro. I like the 13" MacBook Pro the best as it combines compact size with enough processing power to do almost anything. I got the iPad pro mainly gas a luxury item to comfortably browse the web when lying down in bed and also for cellular Internet connectivity.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Biggest benefactor to me : being able to be "portable." Work on documents / web browse / productivity out of the confines of my desk. Like you, hours upon hours of sitting at desk and working just becomes grueling. Obviously my MBP doesn't like to be portable - and work on a pillow IE: Overheat. Sounds like iPad Pro is extremely capable.



Are you using the smart keyboard as well? Do you find issues going from internet searches / readings / to word documents you are working on?

I use Bluetooth and the apple keyboard, or a slim book. Both work great, but the slim book isn't so slim. I don't see any issues like that. I use Word with Dropbox, and you can split screen word and safari.

 

[Trogladite]

And I'm using the iPP with no Pencil, and Apple's new Magic Keyboard. I did grab a Pencil while picking up the Magic Keyboard, but I'll be returning it. As fun as Pigment is, I can't justify keeping the Pencil for a coloring book.

I kind of agree. The ipp is brilliant, does everything my old 3 series did. But way better. Plus split screen. Feels as comfortable in the hand. If it has a fault, it mostly down to the fact that some of the apps I use are not making best use of the screen size.

I use it for music recording. I'd guitar and keys. And it works, though not up to my MBP, but is way more portable, and the battery is not killed.

The keyboard and pencil are a revelation, but the pencil is getting less use than I thought it would. Is it worth the money. Well I bought it. And it gets more use at home, travelling etc. Still prefer my MBP for my studio as long as it plugged in.

My 2010 iMac is steady, but still gets used for viewing videos or utube, etc. But only when I am banned from the living room. I still have dvds

 

[calden]

Stick with the MacBook, the iPad Pro is still just a toy, it really is. Though you can figure out how to use it for some of your work related tasks, the reality is, iOS is still just to limited. Also and this is something no one is talking about for some reason, only about 20% of the apps actually support the iPad Pro's resolution, instead there pixel doubled, not just that but these unsupported apps even use a different keyboard, one that is much larger, less features, ect. It's the same with the dual app view, only about 120 apps or so support it as of yet, this number will of course increase over time but I would wait till the next iPad Pro before looking. Maybe even the iPad Pro 3 as hopefully by then Apple would have fixed that horrible file management paradigm iOS is now rocking, better multitasking, the ability to choose your own default apps, yeah, can you believe Apple doesn't allow there users to even select their own default apps, ect.

If you already have an iPad and are just looking for a bigger one, well, even then I would say wait, it's just not ready yet, nor does it have that many decent apps to justify the cost, especially so called Pro apps.

 

[Farrellcollie]

I have not used my macbook air since getting the ipad pro and the pencil and a keyboard (I like the logitech k811). I am a lawyer and I like being able to take notes on paperwork without a keyboard and then switch to keyboard when it is needed. I can take handwritten notes in court where, in my jurisdiction, a computer would be odd and possibly not allowed by some judges. The apple pencil is the most useful part of the set up for me.

 

[kathyricks]

I returned my iPad pro to Best Buy today. While I really liked it for reading webpages and listening to music and youtubes, the limitations of the iOS operating system (e.g. severe ergonomic difficulties selecting, saving, storing and finding text and other files) were fatally frustrating.

 

[Legendts]

Will a pro run a 1 or 2TB (Seagate?) expansion disc?

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Will a pro run a 1 or 2TB (Seagate?) expansion disc?

I don't know of a way.

 

[rowspaxe]

How does one "reach their arms out" to interact with the iPP screen when the keyboard (if one is using an external keyboard) is right next to the screen? If I move a few inches to grab a mouse or move a few inches to touch the screen, what is the difference?

Mouse is graspable device the plane of the desk, and makes selections in a local 2d space.
Its far more efficient

 

[Legendts]

I don't know of a way.

Thanks for replying.

 

[rews]

Personally the iPad pro has really over performed in my expectations. Obviously for consuming content it is great, the speakers are good, the display is good, etc but it's the way in which it fits into my workflow that has impressed me the most.

I am a designer and illustrator, and have been using Wacom tablets for around 6 years, the pencil and iPad pro combo blows my wacom away and with Astropad makes for a genuine alternative to a cintiq, something I've wanted for a while. With duet it's an extra screen for my MacBook. The split screen feature is great for writing blog posts whilst having safari open for research or replying to client emails whilst looking over my notes or a brief, the Adobe apps allow me to start projects or do light photo editing or handle the illustration aspect of projects before sending to photoshop or illustrator to finish. These are just a few examples but it really has been the best work related purchase I've made since I switched from Windows to Mac. I've no doubt that in another one or two generations it'll be a better product but that's not to say it's not already great.

I couldn't use it as a replace for my MacBook, but then I never wanted it to. My usage is pretty specific to its advantages and this is why I'm so happy with it.

The statement made previously that the Ipad pro is nothing more than a toy simply isn't true for me. Then again I have a lot of fun with what i do for a living, so depending on how you look at it, maybe it is a toy. One of the most rewarding toys I've purchased.

 

[Check 6]

I have tried the iPad pro several times and like everything about it except the size . I currently have an iPad Air 2 and find the six just right. If I have to create formal documents I will use the MacBook Air or the iMac. That said the features of the iPad pro in an iPad Air 2 size would be perfect for me and I would be willing to pay a price somewhere between the air 2 and the iPad pro for the features. The pencil and note and diagram creation are features I would pay for and give the air 2 to my grandkids