Okay, with iPad Pro where does the Macbook stand?

[linkgx1]

I'm confused with the Macbook's placing now. If you need portable power, you'll get a Macbook Pro. At first it seemed like the Macbook was the ''iPad with a bigger screen and a keyboard''....or at least for those people who needed to do a little more on their laptop.

But now, what places does the Macbook have?

 

[fluidedge]

How is the macbook in any way an iPad with a keyboard? It runs a completely different OS and has 10 times the storage. Try using an iPad with a keyboard to take notes at a business meeting, or run photo editing software, or a full version of Excel, multitask multiple applications like text editors, terminal shells, Xcode etc, run games with a little bit more depth than candy crush or cut the rope, or need any type of file management at all, or run linux and windows - be my guest. I'll stick with my Macbook thanks.

 

[Aneef]

iPad Pro will be nothing in front of the Macbook. iPad pro cannot be compared with any portable computer. It would have been a different story if iPad pro could run OS X

 

[toddzrx]

But now, what places does the Macbook have?

The same one it had before the iPad Pro was released? Apples and oranges dude (no pun intended).

 

[dudup]

I get the point. I think that for some people the iPad Pro could replace a MacBook in some scenarios, like being the laptop part on a desktop+laptop scenario. It does make sense if you only do heavy duty work when on a desk (using an iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini or even a MacBook Pro with an external display, keyboard and mouse) and do light office work on the go using something like an 11" MBA, base config. I could see someone exchanging a rMB or a MBA for an iPad Pro.

But there's no way you could go for it without having a Mac to do some stuff. Even Frederico can't!

 

[boltjames]

There are those that need a real computer and those that need a tablet. I own a Retina Macbook and an iPad Air, I love both, no criticism, I use them for two very different things. The iPad is the go-to for Media. The Macbook is the must-have for Work. If your contention is that a keyboard case makes it more like a Macbook, let me remind you that keyboard cases for iPad's have existed for 5+ years and, again, they haven't made anyone not need a notebook.

Back in 2009 millions tried to make their iPad's their work warhorse and it just didn't work. Unlike the iPod which was swallowed by the iPhone, there's a reason that notebooks are notebooks and tablets are tablets.

BJ

 

[RUGGLES99]

A year or so ago I sold a 13" mba and replaced it with the samsung note pro 12.2, which does everything and more the Ipad Pro will do. I saw the BIG android tablet as a laptop replacement, mainly for word processing and other stuff. I also got a great samsung BT kb and a mouse. It works, but I actually went out and got another mba, a 2014 base 11", and now have a base rMB. The 12.2 tablet does tons of things wonderfully, but super tablets like the samsung and the apple will never replace a full blown computer like the rmb and mba. I have several tablets and rarely now use them, except for entertainment..

 

[iSheep5S]

The Macbook will stay as it is. The iPad has just got bigger, a stylus and a re band does nothing. Its still just a bigger iPad. Also, Keyboards for iPads have been around for ages so.. no change there apart from Apple made one.

If you want a true hybrid to replace both get a Surface. Its not as smexy as a retina Macbook but it has more uses than an iPad 'Pro'.

 

[Queen6]

Back in 2009 millions tried to make their iPad's their work warhorse and it just didn't work. Unlike the iPod which was swallowed by the iPhone, there's a reason that notebooks are notebooks and tablets are tablets.

BJ

Have tried the iPad, however for my needs it was basically useless. iPad Pro changes nothing for me, equally I can see those who may make use of one in a "professional" environment. I also tried the Android based tablets, they offer greater flexibility, all the same still no substitute for a full desktop OS. The Retina MacBook for my requirements is by far the best solution in the ultraportable space.

Q-6

 

[boltjames]

Have tried the iPad, however for my needs it was basically useless. iPad Pro changes nothing for me, equally I can see those who may make use of one in a "professional" environment. I also tried the Android based tablets, they offer greater flexibility, all the same still no substitute for a full desktop OS. The Retina MacBook for my requirements is by far the best solution in the ultraportable space.

+1

An iPad is good for movies and games and photo viewing, not much else.

BJ

 

[soulreaver99]

iPad Pro will be in the hands of artists or people who can afford another novelty item in the apple collection. I am neither so Macbook will still be my go to device for work and travel

 

[tbirdparis]

I think the iPad Pro is an interesting device. Probably has a pretty good future with the younger end of students whose parents want them to have something good for study, creative tasks and some games.. but without going quite so far as a fully fledged laptop. I'm sure a fair number of adult users might find a use for one too. At the very least, it's a nice way for Apple to cap off the top end of the iOS range. It seems they haven't decided to call it a day and call iOS an operating system just for phones and media consumption devices - they decidedly want to prove it can be a little more than that. So this will be telling. They now have the hardware to push iOS a bit further into a decent stab at real productivity and creativity uses, so we'll see how that pans out I guess. I wonder if they'll bite the bullet and bring a proper file management system to iOS finally.. that could be the thing that makes it or breaks it.

 

[jimboutilier]

The Macbook will stay as it is. The iPad has just got bigger, a stylus and a re band does nothing. Its still just a bigger iPad. Also, Keyboards for iPads have been around for ages so.. no change there apart from Apple made one.

If you want a true hybrid to replace both get a Surface. Its not as smexy as a retina Macbook but it has more uses than an iPad 'Pro'.

I'm with you. The Macbook and iPad Pro are two different animals. I've been down the iPad with keyboard route and it wasen't for me - iOS was just too limiting so definitely not laptop replacement. Although the iPad Pro might gain some ground as a content creation machine in specific areas.

Also, like you I ended up with a Surface 3 as a light duty laptop and tablet. I had hoped that the iPad PRO would be an OSX machine with a CoreM to compete with the Surface line. But sadly not.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Also, like you I ended up with a Surface 3 as a light duty laptop and tablet. I had hoped that the iPad PRO would be an OSX machine with a CoreM to compete with the Surface line. But sadly not.

It would of made more sense to me if it had been a direct competitor to the Surface range and given the price when fully loaded you need to be in quite a niche position to justify it IMO being just $50 less than what I paid for rMB 1.2 and more than an entry level MBA

I have been in and out on Ipad's over the years trying to find some use for them other than xmas stocking fillers for the kids, but after a few weeks they just end up on the coffee table next to the TV remotes, unused.

My 2 year old Sony Vaio Pro with touch screen was rarely swiped, so I caved in and opted for the rMB with Win10 than wait for the new Surface 4, given that Sony has now dropped laptops, which is a shame as some of their carbon styling was good.

I can see the integration of MS Office as a strong point for those who have limited demands, assuming these are full MS apps and Onedrive is included. Or even those fashion or product design students that may be drawn (LOL) by the pencil capabilities.

Given the extra weight that goes with the new real-estate seems inviting the old criticisms of the V1 Ipad owners of aching arms.

Maybe as I only typically have 20-30 apps on my phone and never got the Ipad bug I underestimate the convenience/appeal of these devices (excluding for the techno impaired) but I can't see why you would not opt for an equally priced MAC or PC laptop with far more capabilities, especially given the high likelihood of already owning a smartphone Apple or other.

 

[Macalway]

without a stand

 

[iSheep5S]

I'm with you. The Macbook and iPad Pro are two different animals. I've been down the iPad with keyboard route and it wasen't for me - iOS was just too limiting so definitely not laptop replacement. Although the iPad Pro might gain some ground as a content creation machine in specific areas.

Also, like you I ended up with a Surface 3 as a light duty laptop and tablet. I had hoped that the iPad PRO would be an OSX machine with a CoreM to compete with the Surface line. But sadly not.

I agree and thought the same. I couldn't be happier with the Surface 3.

I dread to imagine what apple would charge for a touch screen OS X hybrid, considering the rMB price is more than the rMBP.

 

[Nebrie]

To understand where the iPad Pro fits into the world, you have to understand that the shift from laptops to tablets is more of a generational shift. The same thing happened with other technologies such as the car. The car was noisy and a menace to children. The horse was graceful and gentle. Because their whole workflow was already setup around the horse and places that the horse could optimally go, they couldn't see the advantages of the car. You basically had to have a whole new generation take over from the previous one before the horse finally went away.

You have your apps, your workflow, and your habits set and refined over many years and they work perfectly for you, so why change? There's no incentive. But when you watch a lot of young people, people who grow up on mobile devices, you realize that they don't come with any of this legacy baggage. Touch is Star-Trek intuitive and mouse manipulation is archaic. Many of them are perfectly happy to bang away at a short essay on a glass keyboard because they've been doing it since birth. So that's who the iPad Pro is for. This is what Tim Cook meant when he said that the iPad Pro was "the future of computing."

The product is not quite there yet and will take another product generation or three to refine, and the key user groups for the product are still quite young, but Apple has no choice. It has hypotheses about use cases that need to be tested and refined in the real world and it can only do that by shipping out real products.

 

[spiderman0616]

I've told this story in some other threads, but I'll tell it again.

A couple of months ago I decided my Mac mini was getting too slow for some of the more processor intensive things I was doing. I decided to try seeing if my iPad Air with a keyboard case would be a better option as more of my daily driver. It wasn't. Switching between the touch screen and keyboard all the time was SUPER annoying. Even just fixing a typo on a document was irritating. I was really unhappy with iPad+keyboard as a productivity setup. I eventually scrapped my plans, sold my Mac mini AND iPad Air, and got a 2015 13" rMBP. I was instantly happy because I got a huge boost in desktop power inside of a laptop that was very thin and relatively light compared to other notebooks I've owned. Haven't missed my iPad Air at all. For me, rMBP as the main computer, iPhone as the pocket computer, and Apple Watch as the wrist computer has been an awesome combination.

When I saw the iPad Pro, I thought, "Yeah, but that's what I just tried doing and it sucked."

Don't get me wrong--I think iPads are FANTASTIC devices. But they're not for everybody.

 

[maxsix]

Where does it stand?

Simple... It's a very fine laptop that blows away any tablet. That's where it stands

 

[kazmac]

Delete...

 

[PDFierro]

iPad Pro makes no difference. While I am happy to see it introduced, the rMB falls in the same spot as it did before...those who want a thin/light computer but also need the capabilities that come with a desktop OS.

 

[joeblow7777]

I'm confused with the Macbook's placing now. If you need portable power, you'll get a Macbook Pro. At first it seemed like the Macbook was the ''iPad with a bigger screen and a keyboard''....or at least for those people who needed to do a little more on their laptop.

But now, what places does the Macbook have?

For all its size and power, the iPad Pro is still running a mobile OS, the same one that was made for phones and iPods. For many people mobile apps still can't replace desktop applications.

And lacking even a basic file management system, frankly I'm not impressed with the iPad Pro.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Whilst I understand your transition of the future, until we are hardwired and you can actually talk to siri and we have a holographic slate or contact lens. I don't see IPads with a mobile OS as the mechanism for taking us there.

As they stand at a few $100's price point they fill a need as an entertainment platform with some extra functionality and communication.

The Surface Pro currently seems a much better transitional platform IMO

To understand where the iPad Pro fits into the world, you have to understand that the shift from laptops to tablets is more of a generational shift. The same thing happened with other technologies such as the car. The car was noisy and a menace to children. The horse was graceful and gentle. Because their whole workflow was already setup around the horse and places that the horse could optimally go, they couldn't see the advantages of the car. You basically had to have a whole new generation take over from the previous one before the horse finally went away.

You have your apps, your workflow, and your habits set and refined over many years and they work perfectly for you, so why change? There's no incentive. But when you watch a lot of young people, people who grow up on mobile devices, you realize that they don't come with any of this legacy baggage. Touch is Star-Trek intuitive and mouse manipulation is archaic. Many of them are perfectly happy to bang away at a short essay on a glass keyboard because they've been doing it since birth. So that's who the iPad Pro is for. This is what Tim Cook meant when he said that the iPad Pro was "the future of computing."

The product is not quite there yet and will take another product generation or three to refine, and the key user groups for the product are still quite young, but Apple has no choice. It has hypotheses about use cases that need to be tested and refined in the real world and it can only do that by shipping out real products.

 

[palpatine]

To understand where the iPad Pro fits into the world, you have to understand that the shift from laptops to tablets is more of a generational shift.... The product is not quite there yet and will take another product generation or three to refine, and the key user groups for the product are still quite young, but Apple has no choice. It has hypotheses about use cases that need to be tested and refined in the real world and it can only do that by shipping out real products.

I cannot predict the future, but I doubt this is it, at least for me, my students, or anyone I've worked with over the last few years. As others have said, it lacks OSX, and that alone will make it unusable for too many situations. Anyone who has tried to make a complex Excel sheet, Word document, or PowerPoint presentation ought to know what I'm talking about. In many cases it *can* be done, but no one *wants* to be hobbled by the interface and iOS limitations.

Don't get me wrong. Ive got an iPad and I am thrilled with it. I've pushed it pretty far with content creation (much of my dissertation writing and research occurred on it). I may get an iPad Pro someday to replace my iPad, but the rmb is an incredible machine that I wouldn't want to work without, and the iPad (regular or Pro) isn't a substitute for it (or the rmbp). The Surface Pro is very, very tempting. I think the next iteration just might be the one that pushes it into the mainstream -- it seems to me like it is the next generation in computing. It's the OS (and the lack of my favorite apps), though, that keeps me from getting it (and maybe that keeps others from getting it as well). An OSX (optimized for touch) Surface Pro would be cool, but it won't happen anytime soon, if at all.

We've got to work with what we have now, not with what we might get in the future. I'd recommend that anyone thinking about replacing their OSX or Windows device with this iOS one turn off their computers, put them in a drawer somewhere, and go a week with the iPad. If you can do that, maybe it's OK for your workflow.

 

[oldmacs]

While i don't think OS X SHOULD EVER run on the iPad Pro(Edit - before someone says it, yes I know iOS is based on OS X) , iOS needs to be beefed up far more to allow it to even semi compete. Apple need to really work on file management, and while I believe iOS 9 has moved ahead, its still not quite there.