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Like many said. It seems over spec’d and over priced to me. Besides being an obvious money magnet, the justification of this might be apparent later..,
 
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I'm still trying to figure out the scenario in which you need a maxed out iPad. Even when I'm editing photos, I'm still kind of forced to go back to my Mac...especially when I'm working with multiple drives/cards.
Someone else mentioned something that I think applies here. If a workflow requires multiple drives/cards to edit photos, then that person likely wouldn’t utilize the power of the iPad properly. For a person that had that workflow, but then modified their workflow to be most efficient with an iPad, they’d likely be able to push it as far as they’d be willing to.
 
Not everyone needs/wants to upgrade annually. I'm still using an iPad I purchased circa 2013. Apple still supports it and it runs the latest iOS. The idea may simply be that, yes, ~$2000 for a model today is truly expensive but may very well be a model you can get a lot of use out of for more than 5 years. Having the higher specs like large memory certainly helps with that longevity.
 
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That’s just the thing though. The average person isn’t even considering an iPad Pro. At best they’re deciding if an Air is worth the extra bucks over the 10.2” iPad. Of the people that are looking at the iPad Pro, I think the RAM absolutely matters. I’m sure they sell millions of units, but relative to the whole lineup, I think the iPad Pro already is a niche product.

I'm not sure who or what the average person is. I'm not a power. I do a little light video editing and some photo editing but my main uses are mundane and any of the current processors is more than sufficient for my needs. I'm still using a 9.7" Pro. I have a 256gb version and have quite a bit of media stored on it. My eyes aren't getting any younger and more screen space is desirable. It's been a much used device when traveling and I don't want to go much bigger or heavier than my current iPad. I've been waiting to see what this release would bring but have kind of been debating between an Air or an 11" Pro. I don't really feel the 64gb on the Air is sufficient. A 256gb Air is not a lot less expensive than a base 11" Pro. Depending on the deal even a 256gb 11" Pro is only about $200 ish more expensive. So I think I'll go for a 256gb 11" Pro. The screen is a little better, the speakers are a little better, the front camera seems to be better, there's more ram, a processor that is going to handle anything I'd ever throw at it without strain. I'm sure I'd be pretty happy with the Air but unless you're good with 64gb, the value of the 11" Pro doesn't seem like such a stretch for pretty average users. And I could imagine a lot of people would opt for the 12.9" simply because of the screen size. Folks who may not be doing anything other than web browsing and streaming might find the screen size compelling. If by iPad Pro you mean those with 1TB+ of storage, no not many average users have any need or use for that. I know lots of photographers who own $3k+ camera bodies and have never really learned how to use the cameras. Who's average?
 
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I cringe when folks insist technology in devices be hindered for whatever made up reason they can conjure.
For me this means that pro apps are finally coming to the iPad Pro. None of which could happen without the M1 and at least 8GB of memory. The iPad Pro is by far the most robust computer on the market and hopefully soon see professional software in parity with MacBooks.
 
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I was going to make a dad joke about the MacBook Air that I tried to detach the screen from no longer working. Most people can only see the world through their lens and not consider that there are other use cases. The screen on the MacBook is also no comparison to the new iPad 12.9 screen. Never mind touch screen/pencil support. The reason I’m shifting to iPads is heat. I’m sick of my 15” MacBook Pro getting stupid hot and the fans cranking up. The ipad gets hot once in a while, but not like that and it has no fans.

I’m torn between the 512 and the 1TB WiFi. I can no longer justify cellular, and I can’t point to a reason to have 16 GB of ram, but I think I should get it. :)
Yes! I will put off work knowing it requires using my 2019 MBP. I don't like using it. The heat is a problem. The noise is a problem. The screen quality is a problem. The antiquated clamshell is a problem. I crave the day iPad Pro performs like an iPad and functions like a Mac. I want a hybrid device.
 
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As a professional photographer, an iPad with an M1 chip would be a great tool, replacing my travel laptop, but only if it could switch between Mac OS and iOS. Then I could use it for drone work, tethered shooting, and then light editing while sitting on a plane or overnight at a location.

If it can't run Mac OS it just seems terribly overpriced and overequipped. Given that every other machine with an M1 chip can run Mac OS, I would think such a thing would be on the horizon, although I'm surprised it wasn't launched that way.
Photographers can and have been using an iPad for photo work:


The issue with an iPad running macOS is NOT the iPad hardware, it is that macOS is not designed for touch input. That's it, that's all. iPadOS IS touch-macOS, (according to Steve Jobs).

Y'all Mac-fans-that-hate-the-iPad either can't (due to workflow limitations), or choose not to learn to use iPadOS efficiently. And that's your prerogative.

Wishing to have macOS on an iPad is the same as wanting iPadOS on a MacBook Pro. Some people may want it, but it ain't happening, even if the later would be easier than the former. I get that it sounds cool.

So the problem is not the iPad, it's y'all.

By that I mean y'all wanting to do Mac-specific work on a device that is not designed for it.
 
I cringe when folks insist technology in devices be hindered for whatever made up reason they can conjure.
For me this means that pro apps are finally coming to the iPad Pro. None of which could happen without the M1 and at least 8GB of memory. The iPad Pro is by far the most robust computer in the market and hopefully soon see professional software in parity with MacBooks.
This * 1000.

Apple has removed the CPU/RAM bottleneck. Now you just choose your OS & input method (those 2 are inseparable, which is what iPad haters fail to understand).

This WWDC is going to be REALLY interesting.
 
My 2017 10.5 iPad pro can lag on some conditions, for example on big numbers files, or with super resolution on pixelmator (no neural engine on A10x)... even on demanding apps like google earth (where the device gets quite hot and seems a bit memory limited)..., so I think I am upgrading this year. Waiting for the WWDC to see if new software push me more toward 12.9. iPad OS as it is now feels perfect to me at 11”.
 
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This * 1000.

Apple has removed the CPU/RAM bottleneck. Now you just choose your OS & input method (those 2 are inseparable, which is what iPad haters fail to understand).

This WWDC is going to be REALLY interesting.
Yeah this is a big launch. The iPad Pro is the touch screen Mac. The apps will be interchangeable, the RAM is at parity, the CPU and GPU are at parity. Choose your interface. Yes the iPad Pro costs more, but it also does more due to the touch interface and because it has far better cameras and is lighter weight, not to mention offers 5G connectivity. This is the best Apple’s hardware has looked in a long time. The M1 truly is a game changer in many ways.
 
huh.... it’s easy to talk oneself into thinking it’s worth the extra money, though also easy to think it’s not.

versus the air for $200 you get a quad core cpu rather than dual, presumably more ram though I’d have to check now much, 2x the gpu/memory bandwidth, and better speakers too. All cool, though still, even the air is really pricy.

regular iPad has a cpu that’s two years out of date, less than half the ram, and apparently a much worse screen, although I doubt it’s awful.

would be cool if the 11” model had this new mini-led lighting. It doesn’t support hdr, does it? If it added hdr plus better audio plus the other upgrades, it’s easy to argue oneself in to it for video consumption....though I don’t know that the 11” model is actually much different.
 
One has to be a true idiot to buy this over a Macbook Air. I am sorry but those prices are complete madness especially with the 1TB/16GB option. It's an iPad!
Yeah, but iPads are nice to read on and for some senrios.
At this point I wish they ran actual macOS though, with full support for tablet interface. I mean at this point it literally has the same cpu and ram, sooooo....
 
Ipad just went beastmode. To powerful for me to actually upgrade from my 2018 12.9”. Impressive machine for those who might need it. For my day to day usage of safari, youtube and reddit (apollo!) this is by far to beefy for me.
 
I’m sure some apps will be optimized for the 8GB and 16GB RAM versions of the new iPad Pro, but iPadOS and most apps will still need to be well optimized to run on 3GB of RAM iPads since the 2019 iPad Air is 3GB of RAM and the 10.2” iPad as well. It now seems almost insane that Apple launched the 2018 iPad Pro with an A12X and just 4GB of RAM. The A12X was already well past most intel based MacBook Pros in 2018/2019. They could have utilized 6GB at minimum then.
Which is why my 2015 ipp 12.9 with 4gb memory still rocks. My guess is that if you get the 16gb ram version, you'll end up having to upgrade due to new processors, not for lack of ram. I would go with the 8gb version knowing the M1 will be upgraded and phased out quickly, much like the first version of the ipad.
 
I do not understand why Apple doesn't just go the Surface Pro path and make a version of
MacOS for touchscreens so this large iPads could both in Big Sur and run Mac apps natively. Am I missing something here?

Surface Pro owner here. Please don't be fooled into thinking Windows 10 has anything but an afterthought of true tablet/touch support. It's not good in the least. I basically leave my SP6 in "desktop mode" connected to the keyboard and dock at all times because as a Windows 10 tablet it's poor, and the adoption rate of high dps/touch in standard Windows applications is even more scarce.

Problem is, trying to make an OS that's targeted to keyboard and mouse environments, while simultaneously supporting touch, gestures, and the expected behavior of a tablet is FAR more difficult than it would seem, and MS has shown us over the last decade it's just not a great idea. Apple is wise to not repeat that mistake.

That being said, I think the SP6 *hardware* is fantastic and was the desktop/laptop general purpose replacement I wanted.
 
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versus the air for $200 you get a quad core cpu rather than dual, presumably more ram though I’d have to check now much, 2x the gpu/memory bandwidth, and better speakers too. All cool, though still, even the air is really pricy.
  • 2x big CPU cores
  • 2x GPU
  • 2x ram
  • 2x speakers
  • 11” instead of 10.9”
  • 600 nits instead of 500
  • pro motion
  • Thunderbolt / USB 4
  • face ID instead of touch ID
  • true depth facetime camera
  • UWA camera
  • lidar
  • 5G
for 200€
 
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Really hope they have something huge planned for the software because all this power will be worthless for just iOS apps.

You probably haven't tried to run some of the higher-tier games. It gets rough. This tablet is positioned far better to overcome GPU/CPU demands of mobile gaming in 4k+ resolutions at 120Hz.
 
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