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Tom R

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Original poster
Oct 13, 2009
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My wife needs a new device to replace her 2009 17: MacBook Pro. Uses are as above. We are iPhone and MacBook Pro users in general. Wife has very moderate computer knowledge other than her uses of basics as stated above. I have been watching over the years for thew time when an iPad may serve as your basic "computer"? My reading seems to indicate she would be fine with a new Mac iPad Pro...w/keyboard. We have subscription to Office 365 which I believe would set up easily and she would then have access to Outlook and Word...she does not use Excel. Also curious if wireless connect to our home printers would be "easy" set-up? We have a couple of homes and different printers and wifi at each location. Am I missing something?...or would a nice new iPad Pro serve her well. Thanks...TMR
 
base model iPad will do all of that with a bluetooth keyboard case (suggest the Logitech one) - it will also be a lot quicker than her old MacBook Pro, assuming her excel use isn't too extensive.

Reason being (vs. Excel) that the screen is a bit small for heavy excel use due to sheets getting too big for the screen.

You do not need an iPad Pro for that at all. Save the money. Well, unless you need/want a 12.9 inch screen instead of 10 inch. Then you're kinda stuck going pro. But the current base model non-pro iPad is more than capable of doing that stuff and a lot cheaper - which means you can stay current easier. Rather than pushing a pro out to say 5 years, upgrading the base model after 2-3 will still be cheaper.

Encourage her to check out the 10 vs. 12.9 inch form factors for herself. Also the mini. Any of them will do the job - my ex for example liked smaller than 12-13" machines (she loved her 11" Air) because they fit in her handbag...
 
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My wife needs a new device to replace her 2009 17: MacBook Pro. Uses are as above. We are iPhone and MacBook Pro users in general. Wife has very moderate computer knowledge other than her uses of basics as stated above. I have been watching over the years for thew time when an iPad may serve as your basic "computer"? My reading seems to indicate she would be fine with a new Mac iPad Pro...w/keyboard. We have subscription to Office 365 which I believe would set up easily and she would then have access to Outlook and Word...she does not use Excel. Also curious if wireless connect to our home printers would be "easy" set-up? We have a couple of homes and different printers and wifi at each location. Am I missing something?...or would a nice new iPad Pro serve her well. Thanks...TMR

Be sure to check the missing functionality in Word on the iPad to see if that will be an issue -

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...latforms-5e00dfba-3d7c-4222-b850-a0527ff7b066
 
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base model iPad will do all of that with a bluetooth keyboard case (suggest the Logitech one) - it will also be a lot quicker than her old MacBook Pro, assuming her excel use isn't too extensive.

Reason being (vs. Excel) that the screen is a bit small for heavy excel use due to sheets getting too big for the screen.

You do not need an iPad Pro for that at all. Save the money. Well, unless you need/want a 12.9 inch screen instead of 10 inch. Then you're kinda stuck going pro. But the current base model non-pro iPad is more than capable of doing that stuff and a lot cheaper - which means you can stay current easier. Rather than pushing a pro out to say 5 years, upgrading the base model after 2-3 will still be cheaper.

Encourage her to check out the 10 vs. 12.9 inch form factors for herself. Also the mini. Any of them will do the job - my ex for example liked smaller than 12-13" machines (she loved her 11" Air) because they fit in her handbag...

Thanks...Is electronic printing "natural"...ie imbeded?...or do you need some type of printing "app"?
 
Thanks...Is electronic printing "natural"...ie impeded?...or do you need some type of printing "app"?

in all honesty I haven't used wireless printing at all.

But if the printer is compatible with AirPrint - it should "just work" as I understand it. Be sure to check with the printer to ensure it is compatible with AirPrint. I believe it just works via the sharing arrow icon, and then selecting print and picking a discovered printer.
 
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^^ yeah the tablet versions aren't identical, but if you're only doing basic stuff (I even use mine for writing internal IT documentation) it's fine.

But if you're trying to do advanced typesetting stuff maybe not.

Yeah, for me it's the missing support for captions and table of contents and having the ability to compare/store/merge revisions.
 
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Thanks...Is electronic printing "natural"...ie imbeded?...or do you need some type of printing "app"?

No app for printing, it is part of iOS/iPadOS. The printer just needs to specifically be Air Print compatible. When selecting Print, the Air Printer will show up on the list of available printers to send the job to. However, I have noticed that it's for quick print jobs where you don't need to mess with margins, zoom etc. Not a whole lot of customization can be done in my experience.
 
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Any current iPad will perform these tasks. In order to test Air Print compatibility in advance just try to print from your iPhone. If it works, it will work with other iOS devices too.

You can connect a lot of Bluetooth devices like mice and keyboards to iPads easily so no need for new stuff if you have these accessories already.
 
Can you use an external monitor in stead of the iPad screen? I have been using my MacBook Pro w/an external monitor and an external keyboard (kind of like docking) when at my desk for many years. It has worked well. Same thing OK with iPad Pro? I realize you would not have touch screen and perhaps that would just not work? Anyone done this? This would be kind of like an iPad mini.
 
Can you use an external monitor in stead of the iPad screen? I have been using my MacBook Pro w/an external monitor and an external keyboard (kind of like docking) when at my desk for many years. It has worked well. Same thing OK with iPad Pro? I realize you would not have touch screen and perhaps that would just not work? Anyone done this? This would be kind of like an iPad mini.

There are several ways to connect an external display. You can use AirPlay 2 wirelessly to a TV that is AirPlay 2-compatible, or to any HDMI-equipped display connected an Apple TV box. You can also use a hardwired connection with the use of an adapter - either a Lightning Digital AV Adapter for those iPads with a Lightning port, or USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter for USB-C- equipped iPads.

As was mentioned earlier, for printing you require an Air Print-compatible printer connected to your wifi network - no drivers or extra software required. Air Print has been around for a long time and is widely available, so it's quite possible you already own one.
 
She could also switch to Numbers if that is an option.
And she could use Pages. Numbers and Pages are a delight to use on the iPad.

As for printers, I have an HP Envy 5530 which is now ancient--a testament to its reliability. I also use HP's Instant Ink plan which has saved me both a ton of time shopping for cartridges and a ton of money on ink.
 
Can you use an external monitor in stead of the iPad screen? I have been using my MacBook Pro w/an external monitor and an external keyboard (kind of like docking) when at my desk for many years. It has worked well. Same thing OK with iPad Pro? I realize you would not have touch screen and perhaps that would just not work? Anyone done this? This would be kind of like an iPad mini.

Keep in mind that the iPad is 4:3 whereas monitors are 16:9. You will have black bars on the side when mirroring to a tv.
 
Can you use an external monitor in stead of the iPad screen? I have been using my MacBook Pro w/an external monitor and an external keyboard (kind of like docking) when at my desk for many years. It has worked well. Same thing OK with iPad Pro? I realize you would not have touch screen and perhaps that would just not work? Anyone done this? This would be kind of like an iPad mini.

From what I've seen, monitor support for the iPad pro isn't ideal.

You could snag one of the 2020 Macbook Airs from the refurb store and a base model iPad close-ish to the cost of getting the iPad Pro + accessories.
 
You could snag one of the 2020 Macbook Airs from the refurb store and a base model iPad close-ish to the cost of getting the iPad Pro + accessories.

Yeah, but I say this as the owner of both an iPad Pro from 2018 and a 2020 air - for the basic stuff she's doing even a base model iPad will probably be better - and you'll have plenty of budget left even if you buy a Logitech keyboard case, a bluetooth mouse and an Apple Pencil for it.

It will be quieter, won't get hot, just as if not faster and more responsive, play YouTube better, can draw on it, etc.

The MBA may just be an expense she doesn't need.

IMHO looking at an iPad Pro for this stuff is total overkill, and at the low end a base iPad plus peripherals will provide a better experience, provided the tasks fit within that usage model. If you need a 12.9" screen fair enough (and the pro is the only way to get that), but a 10" iPad plus accessories will be 1/2 - 2/3 the price.

I very nearly bought a 2020 iPad Pro 12.9 instead of my MBA 2020 and in some ways I regret going the way I did, but for me iOS isn't QUITE there yet. I'm still going to buy a 2020 / 2021 iPad Pro 12.9 to pair with the MBA, and I suspect it will eventually supplant it with iOS 14, 15 or 16 (for me).

But my usage is a lot more "power user" than what the OP describes (network administration, to lots of terminal sessions, RDP, VMware Fusion to administer remote ESXi servers, etc.). Even the base model iPad hardware is capable. It's iOS that tis holding it back. If your usage fits within iOS, I'd pick iPad every time.


Maybe as per the quoted post above - forget the iPad Pro for now, buy a base model iPad, keyboard, pencil and mouse - and give it a shot to see if it works out for her. If the apps won't do the job, buy an MBA to complement it?

Depending on how the pandemic is where you are, maybe try to demo one in the store. Will also be good for her to check which form factor she prefers.
 
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My wife needs a new device to replace her 2009 17: MacBook Pro. Uses are as above. We are iPhone and MacBook Pro users in general. Wife has very moderate computer knowledge other than her uses of basics as stated above. I have been watching over the years for thew time when an iPad may serve as your basic "computer"? My reading seems to indicate she would be fine with a new Mac iPad Pro...w/keyboard. We have subscription to Office 365 which I believe would set up easily and she would then have access to Outlook and Word...she does not use Excel. Also curious if wireless connect to our home printers would be "easy" set-up? We have a couple of homes and different printers and wifi at each location. Am I missing something?...or would a nice new iPad Pro serve her well. Thanks...TMR

if she is replacing a 2009 MacBook Pro then buy her a $1,600 MacBook Pro 13” Not an iPad Pro
 
Yeah, but I say this as the owner of both an iPad Pro from 2018 and a 2020 air - for the basic stuff she's doing even a base model iPad will probably be better - and you'll have plenty of budget left even if you buy a Logitech keyboard case, a bluetooth mouse and an Apple Pencil for it.

I am in a similar position as you as I own both the 2018 regular iPad (6th gen) and the 2018 iPad Pro.

It will be quieter, won't get hot, just as if not faster and more responsive, play YouTube better, can draw on it, etc.

Agree on the quieter. On the hotness not exactly. iPads can get hot when I use Procreate for hours. Is it hotter than my laptop? Hell no! Do I feel it more? Yes because my laptop on my desk and I do not interact directly as I do with the iPad so in a sense I actually notice the temperature changes on the iPad more.

The MBA may just be an expense she doesn't need.

Indeed. Basic iPad is far less expensive than MBA. IMO it makes sense to consider MBA if you consider 12.9 inch iPad. Then the price is similar, the size too.

But my usage is a lot more "power user" than what the OP describes (network administration, to lots of terminal sessions, RDP, VMware Fusion to administer remote ESXi servers, etc.). Even the base model iPad hardware is capable. It's iOS that tis holding it back. If your usage fits within iOS, I'd pick iPad every time.

I agree. It is not the hardware the issue, it is iPadOS. That being said I want to mention something. Using iPads in a desktop like setup is not ideal for me. The screen is too small and I get back and neck pain from just looking down and I am 5'3. On top of it I have both myopia and astigmatism and just looking at such small screen for 8 hours is a no go. Having proper external monitor support is crucial for me to use iPad this way. So if a person would use it mostly like that I would for entry level laptop instead. If it would be mostly used for tablet stuff then go for iPad for sure.

Maybe as per the quoted post above - forget the iPad Pro for now, buy a base model iPad, keyboard, pencil and mouse - and give it a shot to see if it works out for her. If the apps won't do the job, buy an MBA to complement it?

Depending on how the pandemic is where you are, maybe try to demo one in the store. Will also be good for her to check which form factor she prefers.

Good advice indeed!
 
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