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AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
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I was reading this today and was shocked that my iPad Pro is more powerful than my MacBook which runs XCode Atom Nodejs Python C C++ Swift etc.... What am I missing?
 
This shows the limitations of relying on Benchmarks.

http://bgr.com/2015/11/12/ipad-pro-surface-pro-4-macbook/

Shows that in Geekbench then the iPad Pro is more powerful.

Having said that then they are different and have different purposes, you do different things on them, they run different software etc.

An MBP can export h264 faster then a Mac Pro purely because it has the QuickSync hardware in the CPU. It doesn't make the MBP suitable for the same use as a Mac Pro.
 
If Apple simply created the iPad Pro in the same design as the MacBook, with a touchpad and everything, and officially added the pointer support to iOS, which I think can't be that hard, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even need it to be detachable. Of course they won't do that.
 
If Apple simply created the iPad Pro in the same design as the MacBook, with a touchpad and everything, and officially added the pointer support to iOS, which I think can't be that hard, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even need it to be detachable. Of course they won't do that.

Welcome to last month. We went through this Frankenpad discussion in October. To save you the drama and the forum of another 275 posts of nonsense, click here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...k-could-have-been-what-new-macs-need.1926098/

BJ
 
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Yes, I remember it. An entertaining discussion. But I don't even want the "Frankenpad", I'd be happy if the screen was fixed to the base and it ran purely iOS. Just with touchpad support. I don't like raising my hand to touch the screen.
 
Yes, I remember it. An entertaining discussion. But I don't even want the "Frankenpad", I'd be happy if the screen was fixed to the base and it ran purely iOS. Just with touchpad support. I don't like raising my hand to touch the screen.

If Apple updated Boot Camp to allow for an iOS install with touch pad functionality that would be cool. Not sure how file management would work across OS's, but it would be interesting to see.

BJ
 
If Apple simply created the iPad Pro in the same design as the MacBook, with a touchpad and everything, and officially added the pointer support to iOS, which I think can't be that hard, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even need it to be detachable. Of course they won't do that.

Just curious, what aspects/features of iOS would you prefer over OS X when the hardware is in a laptop configuration as you described? To me OS X wins all the time in a laptop form factor. Would having the Launchpad app as a desktop space (so you have a permanent grid from which you can launch apps) sway you back towards OS X, for example?

I actually really love Apple's current approach in integrating some of the nicer things in iOS into OS X rather than watering it down into a hybrid OS. Swipe actions in Mail, Launchpad, Notifications etc. come to mind as simple additions that go a long way in making the trackpad mimic an iOS touch type experience
 
Just curious, what aspects/features of iOS would you prefer over OS X when the hardware is in a laptop configuration as you described? To me OS X wins all the time in a laptop form factor. Would having the Launchpad app as a desktop space (so you have a permanent grid from which you can launch apps) sway you back towards OS X, for example?

I actually really love Apple's current approach in integrating some of the nicer things in iOS into OS X rather than watering it down into a hybrid OS. Swipe actions in Mail, Launchpad, Notifications etc. come to mind as simple additions that go a long way in making the trackpad mimic an iOS touch type experience

It's not so much the Launchpad, but the fact that every single one of the millions of apps on the App Store are likely to run flawlessly, performance wise, on the iPad Pro. The same can't be said for the MacBook. Apps will continue to come in the future that take even better advantage of the iPad Pro's power. If the Smart Keyboard had integrated a touchpad, like the Surface Cover, I might have got the iPad. Besides that, the iPad Pro also has a sharper screen and maybe better battery life?
 
iOS is also much less taxing than OS X.
And less capable, in terms of services and abilities it provides. iOS while great for the phone and typical iPad stuff, can be rather limiting as a desktop replacement imo

Completely academic for me, as the iPad Pro is not capable of running the OS & applications I need...
That's my issue, I've long said that the iPad Pro is Apple's answer to Microsoft's Surface Pro, yet they did not want to cannibalize their laptop sales and it would require touch capability in OS X which they've yet to add.
 
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It is in raw cpu power i believe

Definitely more power in raw cpu, even faster than the top end to Bto MacBook 1.3ghz.

Graphics - not even close, in gfxbench iPad pro is 3x faster.

Skylake Core m will close the gap in cpu..but in graphic iPad pro should still be >2x faster.
 
Battery is a lot better doing simple tasks like web browsing, watching videos and reading PDFs. Basically school work and some consumption and I get over 12 hours on the pro or more. The MacBook was 8-10.
 
As part of an academic exercise if we take say the IPAD Pro 128GB with Wi-Fi, Pencil and Logitech KB which cost $1197.95 where the equivalent Surface Pro 4 I5 4GB Ram 128GB SDD with KB costs $1128.99 and pretend that to save all arguments on OSX vs Win 10 that the Surface Pro runs OSX and performance and weight wise they are nearly equivalent.

Outside of maybe 2 hrs better battery life what can you do on a IPAD PRO over our imaginary SP4/OSX is it all about just a few apps available in IOS ?
 
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The OS and games and such are more tasking I assume for iPad. I returned my iPad Pro and am getting the RMB personally.
 
I bought and later returned an iPP. Big fan of iOS on my phone and Air 2, especially since iOS9 which improved the Air 2 immensely. iOS feels embarrassingly basic on the iPP though, and I currently wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than artists (for which it is likely a revelation) and people who really, really want a massive tablet for whatever reason.

All that screen real estate thoroughly unoptimised and a chore to navigate when attached to a clumsy, subpar keyboard lacking a trackpad that's painful to use on anything other than a desk. Gorilla arms confirmed I'm not in the least bit interested in touchscreen laptops - give me a precise, well placed trackpad every time, so much more ergonomic and efficient.

The keyboard shortcuts are handy but there's precious few of them. On screen keyboard is significantly worse than an Air or Mini due to size and design reasons.

It's great that some people can get by just with iOS, the thing that irks me are those that evangelise
the laptop like activities that can be performed with it...who then proceed to explain the ridiculous, inefficient workarounds they have to do to achieve said tasks. As the old saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

The time I spent with it did me a favour though - it acted as a reminder of how wonderfully portable and light my Air 2 is, how brilliantly effective my rMB is for light/medium tasks on the go, and how my 15" rMBP is an absolute powerhouse for productivity for my usage.
 
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All that screen real estate thoroughly unoptimised and a chore to navigate when attached to a clumsy, subpar keyboard lacking a trackpad
From what I've read, this was one of the main complaints. The UI on the screen is not really optimized for the large form factor, and interacting with it (the sidebar of scrolling apps is horrible to scroll through) and the keyboard is the worst that apple produced.
 
From what I've read, this was one of the main complaints. The UI on the screen is not really optimized for the large form factor, and interacting with it (the sidebar of scrolling apps is horrible to scroll through) and the keyboard is the worst that apple produced.

What like the main screen with a few icons spread over a large piece of real estate :), It looks like a tablet for the visually/motor impaired. No need for the pencil just use a cut down broom handle. Even after you have waited a few weeks for your pencil I understand that there is only half a dozen or so apps that are specifically written to use it.

It will sell simply as so many are use to coughing up $800-1000 for Apple products, just a lot more disappointments will come when they realise it's just a big Phone/IPad and drawing be it manually or electronically requires a skill.

A lot of these products have encouraged the otherwise technophobes to develop some useful skills in communication/entertainment/information gathering but even Apple will not make them artists.
 
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