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iPad Pro Just Replaced My MacBook

I

infiniteentropy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 9, 2009
237
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After some time with my MacBook, and enjoying it greatly, I've decided to replace it with the iPad Pro. The MacBook is a great computer and has a wide range of uses! That said, an iPad Pro will replace it entirely and actually do more than it used to do, at least in my case - taking notes at meetings, browsing the web, and managing emails. As an added bonus I'll be able to also do my drawing and doodling on it!

The only thing I'm losing from a functionality standpoint is the terrific keyboard, the ability to run Xcode, and some video games. What I gain - even more mobility, the Apple Pencil (which is on order but will be delivered soon enough), the mobile games I enjoy, and a terrific sound system for watching videos on it - far outweighs what I lose.

In many ways, this realization makes me as surprised as anyone, as I certainly loved the MacBook at the beginning. Over time, I stopped playing video games on it and started playing them on my gaming system instead, and I never ended up running Xcode, and though I'll miss the keyboard, I'll manage.

Figured I'd share my experience with the MacBook, as someone who definitely enjoyed his time with the MacBook. It simply fell short of being a machine that was something I wanted to keep.
 
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It sounds like you don't have a keyboard but I figured I'd ask in case you might or anyone does. Does the iPad Pro + keyboard combo actually work on your lap? or does it flop over?
 
noobinator said:
It sounds like you don't have a keyboard but I figured I'd ask in case you might or anyone does. Does the iPad Pro + keyboard combo actually work on your lap? or does it flop over?
Click to expand...
It's shorter so the angles are different, but it's fairly stable. I can balance it on my lap easily enough to lap-type and not be straining in any way.
 
My IPad Pro can probably do just about everything I traditionally did on my laptop but I am not quite ready to go 100% IPad just yet. I don't have the keyboard so for long writing sessions, the laptop still is the tool of choice. Similarly, I just don't feel comfortable working with big spreadsheets on the IPad Pro (although having a pencil eventually might make that task easier.)

One my last couple of trips, I've left the laptop at home and done just fine with work and personal computing needs.
 
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infiniteentropy said:
After some time with my MacBook, and enjoying it greatly, I've decided to replace it with the iPad Pro. The MacBook is a great computer and has a wide range of uses! That said, an iPad Pro will replace it entirely and actually do more than it used to do, at least in my case - taking notes at meetings, browsing the web, and managing emails. As an added bonus I'll be able to also do my drawing and doodling on it!

The only thing I'm losing from a functionality standpoint is the terrific keyboard, the ability to run Xcode, and some video games. What I gain - even more mobility, the Apple Pencil (which is on order but will be delivered soon enough), the mobile games I enjoy, and a terrific sound system for watching videos on it - far outweighs what I lose.

In many ways, this realization makes me as surprised as anyone, as I certainly loved the MacBook at the beginning. Over time, I stopped playing video games on it and started playing them on my gaming system instead, and I never ended up running Xcode, and though I'll miss the keyboard, I'll manage.

Figured I'd share my experience with the MacBook, as someone who definitely enjoyed his time with the MacBook. It simply fell short of being a machine that was something I wanted to keep.
Click to expand...

You found the right tool for your needs and that's what really counts, enjoy :)
 
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The iPad Pro is a cool device. I used to work almost exclusively with my iPad, and I think the device has the potential to almost completely replace a laptop for a lot of people, but for my workflow there are just too many bottlenecks with iOS, and there are several fabulous apps on OSX that I would definitely miss using. I'll often go a week or two with just the iPad.
 
There is definitely some product overlap between the two.
What I like about the IPP, it has a larger screen and feels more robust.
What I like about the MacBook, is that it runs OS X, which opens the door to me running much more apps.

I guess it all depends on your needs and usage, either one is a good computer.
 
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I felt the same way as the op when i got my samsung note pro 12.2 over a year ago ( now knocked off by apple, and far superior to the ipp) and sold my 13" mba. I saw the note pro as a total laptop replacement. With a superior samsung bluetooth keyboard and mouse i actually wrote a number of chapters on the note pro for a now published nonfiction book. But after a time i longed -- not sure why -- for an osx laptop, and now have a gold base rmb, and an 11" mba mostly attached to a 27" monitor along with my long trusty mac mini, my main desktop. The note pro now sits rarely used in its charger. My go to laptop is the rmb. I think the infatuation many buyers of the ipp now have will eventually decrease and they'll venture back to a laptop. Btw, if you are looking into buying an ipp, you should check out the note pro 12.2. An amazing tablet.
 
Sorry but i have attended to many meetings over the last couple of years, were a colleague would be struggling with simple editing on their iPad. Pro or air i now dread asking for edits during meetings, yes even excel edits seem to go a lot faster on a normal laptop. i have even heard the phrase "sorry but i am on a iPad" being muttered as an excuse:) So i dont think a iPad increases productivity in anyway compared to a ultrabook. (not trying to troll)

Actually i caught myself in assigning a work package deliberately to a person not carrying a iPad (just kidding)- but be aware electronic racism is real.
 
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flight505 said:
Sorry but i have attended to many meetings over the last couple of years, were a colleague would be struggling with simple editing on their iPad. Pro or air i now dread asking for edits during meetings, yes even excel edits seem to go a lot faster on a normal laptop. i have even heard the phrase "sorry but i am on a iPad" being muttered as an excuse:) So i dont think a iPad increases productivity in anyway compared to a ultrabook. (not trying to troll)

Actually i caught myself in assigning a work package deliberately to a person not carrying a iPad (just kidding)- but be aware electronic racism is real.
Click to expand...

There are workarounds for just about anything (including using a remote desktop to open or manipulate tricky stuff). Your colleagues probably just can't be bothered to figure it out or lack the equipment (sometimes another computer for the remote desktop) to get things done.

In my case, I got tired of jumping through all of the hoops after a while. If it were an occasional thing, I could tolerate it, but as my work has changed over the last few years, the bottlenecks have increased a lot, and iOS is too much of a headache now for getting work done, especially when the rmb is so light and powerful. I carry both (iPad and rmb) around with me in a small messenger bag with me these days.
 
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maflynn said:
There is definitely some product overlap between the two.
What I like about the IPP, it has a larger screen and feels more robust.
What I like about the MacBook, is that it runs OS X, which opens the door to me running much more apps.

I guess it all depends on your needs and usage, either one is a good computer.
Click to expand...

infiniteentropy said:
After some time with my MacBook, and enjoying it greatly, I've decided to replace it with the iPad Pro. The MacBook is a great computer and has a wide range of uses! That said, an iPad Pro will replace it entirely and actually do more than it used to do, at least in my case - taking notes at meetings, browsing the web, and managing emails. As an added bonus I'll be able to also do my drawing and doodling on it!
...
Figured I'd share my experience with the MacBook, as someone who definitely enjoyed his time with the MacBook. It simply fell short of being a machine that was something I wanted to keep.
Click to expand...

What / How do you handle those infrequent but they always come "connect to iTunes" to fix serious issues? I have yet to own an iDevice that I eventually didn't have to connect.
 
Rhonindk said:
What / How do you handle those infrequent but they always come "connect to iTunes" to fix serious issues? I have yet to own an iDevice that I eventually didn't have to connect.
Click to expand...
I've never connected the iPad Pro to iTunes for anything and never intend to. What do you mean by that?
 
[/QUOTE]
maflynn said:
Tbh, I've never seen that message. Perhaps because I plug my iDevices into my computer regularly that corrects the issue.
Click to expand...
infiniteentropy said:
I've never connected the iPad Pro to iTunes for anything and never intend to. What do you mean by that?
Click to expand...

I seem to get that from Apple CS or Genius folks when I turn to them to try to solve an issue. At some point their solution(s) invariably involve iTunes. :(

Reboot... Hard Reboot... Backup and Restore... Backup and Factory Reset... etc...
 
i think you can usually get by without itunes.

ios is, frankly speaking, rather cumbersome at times, and it does help to use itunes on occasion (i disable the automatic backup in terminal). for example, if you leave a bluetooth keyboard on in your bag, the keys will depress, this will activate the lock screen, and the incorrect passwords entered will lock up the ipad. i think i've been locked out for 40+ minutes before (it makes you wait before you can try the password again). plugging it into itunes solves the problem. admittedly, this isn't a common issue.

but, i can't think of a case anytime recently when i've *needed* to connect to itunes.
 
noobinator said:
It sounds like you don't have a keyboard but I figured I'd ask in case you might or anyone does. Does the iPad Pro + keyboard combo actually work on your lap? or does it flop over?
Click to expand...

I have used it on the toilet at home to type out a few e-mails and it's been fairly stable with me, no concern about it flopping over...

I'm either a fast typer or it was a rough few days of KFC.
 
Before I bought my rMB, I looked at using the iPad Pro as a pseudo-laptop device. Then I thought back to the times I tried that until I finally called it quits. iOS apps do not offer the same depth of functionality and usability as OSX apps. In my mind if an iPad Pro will work for a person in place of a laptop, you didn't need a laptop to begin with.
 
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Rhonindk said:
Before I bought my rMB, I looked at using the iPad Pro as a pseudo-laptop device. Then I thought back to the times I tried that until I finally called it quits. iOS apps do not offer the same depth of functionality and usability as OSX apps. In my mind if an iPad Pro will work for a person in place of a laptop, you didn't need a laptop to begin with.
Click to expand...

Im in the same boat as you there. Even things like Office on iOS just does not cut it, and I find it hard to work w/o a mouse. If the SP4 battery were better this would be a different story in my case. Hoping for a rMB w/ a second port soon...
 
I've been having the same thoughts recently but after a week with the iPad Pro, its just not there yet.. for me at least. The main problem is that even with the keyboard shortcuts, I still found myself having to touch the screen too much. If they could find a way to maybe pair a trackpad with it that would help, but given the size of the MB and MBA, its just not a compelling enough switch for me yet.
 
ascender said:
I've been having the same thoughts recently but after a week with the iPad Pro, its just not there yet.. for me at least. The main problem is that even with the keyboard shortcuts, I still found myself having to touch the screen too much. If they could find a way to maybe pair a trackpad with it that would help, but given the size of the MB and MBA, its just not a compelling enough switch for me yet.
Click to expand...

It is all down to an individual's needs ultimately. The IPP bets MacBooks hands down in certain areas for me (media consumption, conducting presentation at work, art, process mapping, annotating PDFs, conducting mbw audits). In some areas such as project management it is equal to MacBook. Where I think IPP will struggle in is video editing and I am not sure about photo editing. Plus if you are heavy users of office then iOS one doesn't match up yet, though there are work arounds. The point is whatever your needs you get what device fits them. For some IPP will meet their professional work needs. However others may need to the MacBook range.
 
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