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I showed off my iPP this Christmas and everyone loved it

Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
Nov 14, 2011
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I showed off my iPad Pro at a couple family Christmas parties and everyone loved it. They especially loved the Pencil with this coloring book app called Pigment. What's interesting is I got very few questions about the device from a productivity standpoint. No one asked about file systems or windowed apps or even keyboards. And when I was showing people that you can just stick the pencil in the lightening port to give it a quick charge if you're running out of battery they all thought that was the coolest thing ever. The tech press can make fun of it all they want but my non-techie family and friends gave it a big thumbs up. Oh and one other thing I remember...no one mentioned weight, in fact most people were impressed with how light it felt for the size.

After thinking about these reactions a bit more I think it was a mistake for Tim Cook to talk about how iPP can replace your laptop and 'who needs a PC anymore'. The way to market this device is its just a really great iPad that can do all the things you love, and more, on a really big, beautiful canvas. And push the Pencil more. The people I showed this device off to absolutely fell in love with the Pencil. And you don't need to be an artist to get enjoyment out of it. We were having so much fun just using it with a coloring book app. I think Apple should push the creative, fun side of the device and stay away from PC comparisons.
 
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I think Apple's smart kb is the culprit even if Cook never said a thing. From that moment, reviewers got obsessed with the "can it replace a laptop" stuff. Apple wanted that kind of discussion.

I suppose they thought no one would pay 1079 to simply have a coloring book. That's when your family would start being oddly quiet. "you paid what for this?"
 
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Rogifan said:
I showed off my iPad Pro at a couple family Christmas parties and everyone loved it. They especially loved the Pencil with this coloring book app called Pigment. What's interesting is I got very few questions about the device from a productivity standpoint. No one asked about file systems or windowed apps or even keyboards. And when I was showing people that you can just stick the pencil in the lightening port to give it a quick charge if you're running out of battery they all thought that was the coolest thing ever. The tech press can make fun of it all they want but my non-techie family and friends gave it a big thumbs up. Oh and one other thing I remember...no one mentioned weight, in fact most people were impressed with how light it felt for the size.

After thinking about these reactions a bit more I think it was a mistake for Tim Cook to talk about how iPP can replace your laptop and 'who needs a PC anymore'. The way to market this device is its just a really great iPad that can do all the things you love, and more, on a really big, beautiful canvas. And push the Pencil more. The people I showed this device off to absolutely fell in love with the Pencil. And you don't need to be an artist to get enjoyment out of it. We were having so much fun just using it with a coloring book app. I think Apple should push the creative, fun side of the device and stay away from PC comparisons.
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I had the exact same responses over Christmas. Everyone, both techie and non-techie just fell in love with the device. My auntie who currently uses a Surface Pro (as well as a main desktop computer) to run her business said that she will be purchasing an iPad a Pro to replace her Surface (which she hates). She said she wouldn't be sure she could use the iPad Pro on its own, but her intention was always to have a main desktop computer, so the iPad Pro fits into her work pattern perfectly.

All of my family loved the Apple pencil and as with yours, loved how you could quick charge it by plugging it directly into the iPad. Every single person commented on how light and thin it is.

I think the thing to remember is that with all the media publication and news stories that take the p**s out of the iPad Pro are doing it for clicks. I'd say that none of them have a true idea about what the general public actually want, as is proven year after year with the popularity of Apple products.

Enjoy your iPad Pro and I'll take a look at the Pigment app that you mentioned :)
 
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sracer said:
Sounds like you had an enjoyable Christmas. It's great to be around family and friends for the holidays.

Your non-techie family and friends may have loved the iPP, but I suspect that few/none of them would spend $1000 for one, especially if the focus is as a fun device.
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Well I don't know because we didn't talk about price. And who cares what the focus is? This past month and a half I got a lot of enjoyment out of this device and feel like it was money well spent for me.

cardfan said:
I think Apple's smart kb is the culprit even if Cook never said a thing. From that moment, reviewers got obsessed with the "can it replace a laptop" stuff. Apple wanted that kind of discussion.

I suppose they thought no one would pay 1079 to simply have a coloring book. That's when your family would start being oddly quiet. "you paid what for this?"
Click to expand...

Of course I was just using a coloring book as a simple example. And I do think Cook's comments are the real culprit. Go to the iPP page on Apple's website and the keyboard is barely featured. Cook made the mistake of creating the "can it replace my PC" discussion. And when someone asks him about the Surface he needs to not take the bait. Just give a non-answer and move on.

virginblue4 said:
I had the exact same responses over Christmas. Everyone, both techie and non-techie just fell in love with the device. My auntie who currently uses a Surface Pro (as well as a main desktop computer) to run her business said that she will be purchasing an iPad a Pro to replace her Surface (which she hates). She said she wouldn't be sure she could use the iPad Pro on its own, but her intention was always to have a main desktop computer, so the iPad Pro fits into her work pattern perfectly.

All of my family loved the Apple pencil and as with yours, loved how you could quick charge it by plugging it directly into the iPad. Every single person commented on how light and thin it is.

I think the thing to remember is that with all the media publication and news stories that take the p**s out of the iPad Pro are doing it for clicks. I'd say that none of them have a true idea about what the general public actually want, as is proven year after year with the popularity of Apple products.

Enjoy your iPad Pro and I'll take a look at the Pigment app that you mentioned :)
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I got the Pro not knowing if I would keep it. Now my Air sits in a drawer and I'm probably going to sell it. I could never go back to the smaller screen. And I could never go back to a device that doesn't support the Pencil.
 
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My interactions with it has been when people see it they say, "omg its huge...why do you need an iPad the size of a laptop?"

And then once I let them hold it, "oh wow this cool" or "those speakers are loud" or "its so light I am surprised."

I haven't felt this way about an Apple product since the original iPad...where so many people were skeptical until they held one.

The Watch sadly did not have that experience, although I still like mine...they really need to address performance though...thing is so sluggish it borders on pointless at times.
 
I have had my iPP now since they first came out, and have had the smart keyboard and pencil since the begging of the month. I find I almost never turn on my iMac 27" any more. Even though the Mac boots in about 10 seconds or less, it's just faster to use the iPP. To me the keyboard has been a game changer when answering email and other things involving typing. I take a lot of hand written notes with my work, and the pencil has really improved that over a rubber tipped stylus. About the price, to me it's not over priced and not an issue. My Christmas gift to my self was a $1000 coffee grinder, I suspect many people here would think that is crazy too.
 
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I love the way people want to bash the Pro because of the price. One has nothing to do with the other. If you think it's to expensive just don't buy it. I personally think it's expensive but I still bought it because it's the best IPad to date IMO. Let's not confuse expense with people thinking its a cool device. OP glad you are liking the Pro I had the same experience as you when I show my Pro to people. Value is in the eyes of the beholder.
 
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The iPad pro for me is also purely a "fun" device. To me it feels rather large but I've changed the way I "use" it and have started treating it more as a laptop by using it docked in the Logitech create keyboard case (which sucks awfully, it doesn't seem to register most of my typing?) Really makes it feel like a laptop and eliminates the need of having to prop it up on something on the couch.

I also received a Steel Series Nimbus bluetooth controller for Christmas and its awesome using it to play games on the Pro, the large screen makes it feel like your own little tv/ game console all in one!

Thank you for mentioning that coloring app! I love the adult coloring books that are popular now and I was hoping there would be something similar for the iPad! I picked up a pencil from the Marketplace so I am anxious to try that!

(Sorry for any typos this keyboard is trash and going back to Apple today)
 
Angler said:
I love the way people want to bash the Pro because of the price. One has nothing to do with the other. If you think it's to expensive just don't buy it. I personally think it's expensive but I still bought it because it's the best IPad to date IMO. Let's not confuse expense with people thinking its a cool device. OP glad you are liking the Pro I had the same experience as you when I show my Pro to people. Value is in the eyes of the beholder.
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I always find price discussions amusing. Think about how much someone spends when they go out for dinner and drinks at a nice restaurant. That could easily be the price of an Apple Pencil, per person. And that enjoyment lasts one night. I spent $50 on a bottle of champagne for Christmas dinner and that was the cheapest Möet line on sale. Had I gotten top of the line it easily would have cost me $150-$250, for one bottle. It's amazing to me that people will complain about prices of certain things yet have no problem spending $5 on a cup of coffee or $15 on a fancy drink at a bar.
 
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Rogifan said:
Well I don't know because we didn't talk about price. And who cares what the focus is? This past month and a half I got a lot of enjoyment out of this device and feel like it was money well spent for me.
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Who cares what the focus is?! You are the one who said that Cook should push the "fun side" rather than "productivity". :confused:

No one is questioning whether or not you are enjoying your device. I don't even know why you are bringing this (your enjoyment) up.

You believed that your experience showing the iPad Pro to friends and family offered you some insight based on what they said and didn't say. I was simply pointing out that price is a significant factor.
 
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sracer said:
Who cares what the focus is?! You are the one who said that Cook should push the "fun side" rather than "productivity". :confused:

No one is questioning whether or not you are enjoying your device. I don't even know why you are bringing this (your enjoyment) up.

You believed that your experience showing the iPad Pro to friends and family offered you some insight based on what they said and didn't say. I was simply pointing out that price is a significant factor.
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No what I'm saying is when it comes to price who cares what the focus is. People spend a lot of money on things that are purely for enjoyment. I don't think price has to correlate to use case.
 
sracer said:
Who cares what the focus is?! You are the one who said that Cook should push the "fun side" rather than "productivity". :confused:

No one is questioning whether or not you are enjoying your device. I don't even know why you are bringing this (your enjoyment) up.

You believed that your experience showing the iPad Pro to friends and family offered you some insight based on what they said and didn't say. I was simply pointing out that price is a significant factor.
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I have to kind of agree with this. The OP's friends and family may have been impressed with the iPad Pro, but that nobody asked about price seems to suggest that they weren't seriously thinking about getting one for themselves.

On the other hand, my Mom"s friend went to an Apple Store to pick up a Pencil for my Mom, played with the iPP and Pencil while at the store, and is now seriously thinking of getting one for herself. This friend is an artist, and wants the iPP + Pencil to draw.

What I mean is, admiring something doesn't immediately translate to sales. I might admire a musician friend's new guitar, but I'm never going to go buy one for myself because I don't play guitar!
 
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I have a friend who hates Apple products and can be very bitchy about them. The reason for that is because she cannot afford them herself. I think that is the case for many people.

I love all my Apple products, especially the IPP. That's all that matters really. What other people think is their concern, not mine.
 
Night Spring said:
I have to kind of agree with this. The OP's friends and family may have been impressed with the iPad Pro, but that nobody asked about price seems to suggest that they weren't seriously thinking about getting one for themselves.

On the other hand, my Mom"s friend went to an Apple Store to pick up a Pencil for my Mom, played with the iPP and Pencil while at the store, and is now seriously thinking of getting one for herself. This friend is an artist, and wants the iPP + Pencil to draw.

What I mean is, admiring something doesn't immediately translate to sales. I might admire a musician friend's new guitar, but I'm never going to go buy one for myself because I don't play guitar!
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I didn't say anything in my original post about anyone rushing out to buy the device. It was an an anecdote, nothing more, nothing less. My broader point was this device doesn't need to viewed as a laptop replacement in order to sell and I think Tim Cook's comments, plus taking the bait when asked about Surface aren't helpful. IPP doesn't have to be productivity or consumption; it's not binary. And like I said in a previous post I think Apple should push the Pencil more. They had that great 'Shot on iPhone' campaign; they need a 'Drawn on iPad Pro' campaign. Put up billboards and stick this artwork up in Apple stores.
 
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I know the IPP isn't cheap, however, maybe I'm in the minority that thinks the price was pretty reasonable - especially for Apple. Considering that an unlocked iPhone 6s Plus costs around $900, I don't find the price that exorbitant. I know others will. To me, it's all about how long something can last. I suspect the Pro can last me for quite a long time (at least 3-4 years). Considering I have to upgrade my phone every two and it costs almost the same price (unlocked), I think the value is decent. But value is always in the eye of the beholder.
 
Rogifan said:
They had that great 'Shot on iPhone' campaign; they need a 'Drawn on iPad Pro' campaign. Put up billboards and stick this artwork up in Apple stores.
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Photography is something everybody does. Drawing is not. If you put a really nice drawing on a billboard, people will think "what do I care, I can't draw".
 
Rogifan said:
I didn't say anything in my original post about anyone rushing out to buy the device. It was an an anecdote, nothing more, nothing less. My broader point was this device doesn't need to viewed as a laptop replacement in order to sell and I think Tim Cook's comments, plus taking the bait when asked about Surface aren't helpful. IPP doesn't have to be productivity or consumption; it's not binary. And like I said in a previous post I think Apple should push the Pencil more. They had that great 'Shot on iPhone' campaign; they need a 'Drawn on iPad Pro' campaign. Put up billboards and stick this artwork up in Apple stores.
Click to expand...

My point is that since your family and friends aren't exactly rushing to buy the device, then their reactions have little relation with how to market the iPad Pro in order to sell it.

I do agree with production/consumption not being binary, and iPP can be a great device for both. I also think that Apple is already marketing iPP as a multi-purpose device, not just for productivity. For example, see the "Universe" ad. It's just that Tim Cook made one remark abut iPP being able to replace laptop for many people, and in tech circles that remark is getting over focused.
 
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