Phil Schiller Says iPad Pro Can Both Supplement and Replace the Mac

[flat five]

Yes I did in broad terms.
I work in Regulatory. In Engineering. I work on ERP and database systems.
iOS doesn’t cut it.

Btw - on the truck/car - you are also minimizing. If a good portion of my daily use requires a pickup truck, I would not buy just a car and hire a truck. Seriously not cost effective.

hmm. i wasn't talking about iOS..

car = iMac or Laptop
pickup truck = MacPro
actual truck = render farm (64+ cores)

---
and in computerLand in certain workflows, you can lease time on 60,000 core supercomputers (albeit, you're allotted about 120 cores or so)... for cheaper yearly costs than you'd pay for a MacPro..
as in-- a lot cheaper and a helluva lot faster.

 

[AgentAnonymous]

An iPad is not a computer replacement. Not even close. It is a toy best suited for light media consumption.

 

[gnomeisland]

What's amazing is that with the processor/speed advances, what is holding iOS/iPad back is largely the apps and interface constraints. An iPad Pro is plenty powerful enough to do my daily work on it but the apps I need aren't available and/or aren't optimized for a touch-based UI. If the 2018 iPad Pros use an A11X we may have single-core speeds that rival most of the current lineup of Mac computers.

 

[viizi]

hmm the level of ignorance in Phil's comments makes me even less likely to stick with Apple products.

 

[nsayer]

There is absolutely no reason to worry about the future of the Mac until and unless Apple ports Xcode over to iOS.

 

[ipedro]

It sure can replace the MacBook. But not in a "Pro" way. The device shouldn't be labeled "Pro", because it isn't. You can't do any proper 3D modeling, powerful video editing (with Final Cut Pro), use multiple professional apps at the same time intuitively... But I do believe they could achieve this if they worked hard enough. Focus on great apps, add the OPTION of using it like you would use a Mac. Then it is a computer.

So “Pro” has to fit your exact use case or it’s not a pro tool at all for anyone else? As a photographer, I use my iPad Pro as my main computer. I edit my photos in Lightroom for iOS which is so feature rich that the Mac version was just redesigned to look and work like the iOS version. It’s absolutely a pro device and I couldn’t go back to editing on my Mac.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Make that 0.003%

 

[wolfie]

I own a 2017 MacBook and 10.5 iPad Pro.
95% of the time I prefer the laptop for ease of use. On the couch I dont need to adjust my position to view the screen, I adjust the screen unlike the iPad.

Im not a heavy user or poor by any means. Im a average Joe bloe. The iPad is used mostly for in bed situations or travelling on holidays. That is it. The iPad can fulfil all my needs easily, it is just less comfortable or too many steps involved in doing so.

 

[VictorTango777]

Judge Apple not by what they say, but by what they do. Apple says they remain committed to the Mac. Is the continuing iOS-ification of Mac OS a way to show this commitment? Is removing functionality from Mac applications so as to make them more resemble the iOS versions of those applications a sign of commitment to Mac OS?

 

[Jim Lahey]

Thanks Phil and Timmy.

Today I ordered 2 Android Pixel 2's.
Next month I'm going to get me a new PC and load it up with Ubuntu.

You've lost my confidence and wallet. It was fun. Good bye.

Yeah see ya later

 

[Keniutek]

hmm?

LOL, i ment "not until it stops running iOS". My bad

 

[Bacillus]

A trained monkey can supplement Phil. One could replace Phil if we could only train it some courage.

That's a grave insult but so true, in this particular case.
Schiller c.s. just the heck don't know what they are talking about. Marketing an iMacPro with the flimsy keyboard and thin design stuff is like marketing a tank and artillery based on side-stripes and a kinky steering-wheel.
These guys are so abnormally disconnected from the world that uses real computers as daily gear that they should be replaced. And oh, that cooperative Cook is the greatest turd you can have at that position. You need an young, angry, non-conformist, critical guy kicking ass instead of lamenting and selling the Chinese freedom that they have to fight for themselves or either don't deserve.
[doublepost=1513153470][/doublepost]

"Schiller claims that Apple "learned over the last few years" the "depth and love" that the Mac platform has by pro users.”
This is a shocking level of incompetency on Apple's part and shows just how out-of-touch Apple has gotten with its customers. You're just NOW learning that the people who used to be your bread and butter have a depth and love for the Mac platform? Perhaps if you had realized this earlier you wouldn't have crippled/eliminated the software that those pros rely on DAILY to get their work done. Perhaps you wouldn't have made asininely thin and spec-crippled "Pro" machines. Perhaps you wouldn't have eliminated pro ports. Perhaps you wouldn't have made that stupid trash can Mac Pro
It's sad. There used to be a time Apple courted pros to its platform. Now they seemingly don't even KNOW what a pro Mac user is.

Very true (sadly) but the problem is that listening now is too late.
Advanced Pro's left the platform after they felt betrayed, and so have major media app developers. Phil will never reach them again (and neither will any of this Board)
They behaved like disconnected imbeciles and have to depart.
[doublepost=1513154162][/doublepost]

To add on, what the haters here need to realise is that this isn't a binary situation. No one is holding a gun to my head and forcing me to give up my Mac in exchange for using the iPad, nor is the iPad necessarily a crippled device just because it cannot yet replace my Mac 100%. Each has its place in my life, and I am happily using all my Apple products.
Case in point - I own an iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Air and iMac. At home, I use my iMac to help prepare my work-related documents for use on my iPad. At work, I use my iPad to teach in the classroom and my MacBook Air for work that requires a conventional PC. I do have a work-issued windows touchscreen computer, but I use that mainly for accessing my network drives and printing documents. I don't use my iPad to create google forms, just as I don't walk around my class with MacBook Air in hand trying to annotate on pdf documents.
Every now and then, I uncover a new workflow which lets me do something on my iOS devices that I couldn't do before (such as automating a previously cumbersome task via workflow), but otherwise, I don't force myself to use my iPad for tasks I know it isn't suitable for. Having used the iPad for such a purpose since 2012, I will say that iPad productivity has come a very long way. And it says a lot that we have moved on from general statements (eg: the iPad can't multitask) to extremely specific and niche use cases (the iPad can't run linux) which really impact like what - 1% of users?
Likewise, the majority of the tasks people here are saying the iPad cannot do, I have absolutely no idea what they are. So I can't access Terminal, or develop iOS apps? I suppose that might be a cause for concern, if I needed to perform those tasks in the first place. I think the posters here also need to realise that their needs aren't really representative of the general consumer at large, and stop acting like their needs are the be-all and end-all of what makes a pro computer.
Wake up, people. The iPad may not be something you personally can use instead of a laptop, but let’s not confuse that with the fact that the iPad is a powerful computer that maybe, just maybe, can exist as an alternative to what’s out there instead of a straight replacement.

You're not saying you're mainstream - switching between all kinds of devices while all you need is the MacBook ?

 

[ds2000]

Out of 4 iPads in my house a year ago, only one remains (my mums). We sold all the rest of them.
That said, if Apple keep taking our ports away he may be proven right.

 

[Bacillus]

The New Apple wants to kill the Mac, the consumers wants more Macs. Ohh the executives

An introductory Commodore64 BASIC course should be mandatory for these guys (as to elevate them from some proclaimed PRO grandmothers in this thread not programming, shocking...)

 

[Commentist]

I tried to write documents on my iPad with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, but got frustrated very quickly by the arrow and tab keys (including the shortcuts to go to the beginning/end of a document). This is also a problem when accessing web pages etc. I do write quick emails on an iPad but wouldn't want to use it for serious writing/producing presentations etc without full keyboard and trackpad/mouse support. Another issue for me is that I can't plug in a Logitech presenter to advance slides in Powerpoint (good for hands-free presentations). So basically, for me it's a play machine or for quick use on the occasions when the battery is dead on both my Macbook and phone. If I need to write a long email, do serious web browsing or produce content, I switch to something with a keyboard/mouse, or wait until I get somewhere with better facilities.

If anyone knows how to enable the keys, let me know! It might make the iPad much more useful for me
As others have said, adding multiple user accounts, a proper file system and USB support would also greatly increase its usefulness to me much more than things like 3D touch, side-by-side screens etc.

My wife on the other hand is mostly very happy with her iPad: she writes short emails/messages/facebook posts, does a small amount of web browsing, and has some interactive games. She doesn't touch her laptop.

 

[Steve121178]

iOS hardware deserves software which takes advantage of the power & potential available. iOS 11 doesn't even come close to tapping into what the hardware is capable of.

 

[Wanted797]

It's so weird how many MR users can't understand this. Phill is spot on. Go and work in consumer electronics for a week and 99% of the people you talk to no longer need a computer. iPad completely fills their needs.

MR users are of course the other 1% being tech fans.

 

[44267547]

The number of computer tasks you cannot do with, say, a MacBook Pro, is very limited.

I can list a huge number of tasks, ranging from very normal to specialized, that the iPad either cannot do or does not do efficiently.

Honestly, Your glib analogy is severely shortsighted and truthfully, you're selfishly speaking on your own behalf without taking account for everybody else's uses. The iPad is just as much of a computer as a MacBook or Vice versa. But the reality is, only the consumer bases that on their productivity and workload and what they need to accomplish with either device.

The concern is, that others conflate what can be considered a real computer because of ports, storage and/or what can't be used for coding, etc.

But not in every application does an iPad have be able to do what a MacBook can accomplish Over the iPad. You stated that you can list a huge number of tasks ranging from normal to specialized the iPad cannot do or efficiently, as somebody could make the same exact argument in the case of what a MacBook may not be able to accomplish based on their needs on perhaps what an iPad can be just as productive in other segments . So the argument goes both ways, it's not just based on your own conjured anecdotal claim.

 

[iLLUMI]

Apple - iPad Pro - Mac/desktop/laptop replacement? - NO!
Microsoft - Surface Pro - PC/desktop/laptop replacement? - YES!

Microsoft went there and got it right.
Apple haven't gone there yet. As others have said, until OS X can be run on the iPad Pro then it cannot replace Mac.

Apple should release a series of high end Mac tablets running OS X. They could call it MacPad or iPad Mac.
I mean shouldn't the question really be, can an iPad replace a MacBook?
Laptops were the portable device we took with us, it gave us freedom from the desktop. But now we also have tablets for mobile computing (to a degree of course), so again, Apple should be evolving the portable computing realm.

iPads are App driven and not every single software application out there has an equivalent App for it in order for it to be run on an iPad.

If Apple are serious about pushing the concept that an iPad can replace a laptop/desktop then they need to make OS X available on a tablet.

But then I guess one has to ask the question, if there was such a thing as a MacPad would people buy an iPad Pro as well? If you are traveling would you take both your iPad and MacPad, or would you only take your MacPad?
If MacPads were high end enough (constrained to professional users like the Surface Pro) then I guess the general public would still buy iPads therefore no product conflict at that level.

Maybe a MacPad could be dual boot, both iOS and OS X?

 

[iPadDad]

To say that an iPad Pro cannot replace a PC/notebook in 2017 is embarrassing!!!
[doublepost=1513161725][/doublepost]

[doublepost=1513131473][/doublepost]Without mouse support this isn't a computer.

“What’s a computer?”
[doublepost=1513162196][/doublepost]

I wasn't aware iOS could run iTunes to sync my iPhone or it could recognize external hard drives.

Just be a straight shooter and say Apple's main priority is now iOS and macOS is pretty much dead to them or at least doesn't hold much of their attention. It's selling iPhones until the end of time.

Why not sync to the cloud, easier, no external this or that or hardware etc #youarelivinginthepast

 

[NewdestinyX]

To say that an iPad Pro cannot replace a PC/notebook in 2017 is embarrassing!!!
[doublepost=1513161725][/doublepost]

“What’s a computer?”
[doublepost=1513162196][/doublepost]

Why not sync to the cloud, easier, no external this or that or hardware etc #youarelivinginthepast

Exactly. Much of the business PC world is even running their operating system from an AWS instance in the cloud. Their PC’s are nothing more than “terminals” even running the OS in the cloud.

Mice and hard drives are so 2010. Lol.

#GetCaughtUp

 

[0837990]

The iPad can easily replace casual computing needs (web browsing, email, online purchasing, online banking, facetime, messaging and so on).

But as soon as you want to create something, you'll still need a computer to do it efficiently, and to have access to professional software with an efficient workflow: Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, Capture One, Final Cut Pro X, XCode, Visual Studio, Logic Pro X, ProTools, all types of software development (Perl, Python, C++, C#, C, Swift, etc).

 

[Bacillus]

The wording offset at Apple has come close to imbecility.
An iPad is an iPad - which misses a lot of computer parts/features/technology/connectivity/usability specifics.
"Pro" users using an iPad may convince (or fool) everybody that they don't miss that, but that says more about their usage profile than about real PRO users. Most of which have left the platform and don't communicate to Phil anymore for ≈ 3...5 years (let alone that Phil is listening to them)

It's his good right to listen to kids using an iPad in an avocado-bar, but he shouldn't run a computer company because that's a disgrace to the industry.

 

[latweek]

In a similar story, one Ben "Obi Wan" Kenobi informed local law enforcement officials that "these are not the 'droids' they were looking for".

 

[Abazigal]

I tried to write documents on my iPad with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, but got frustrated very quickly by the arrow and tab keys (including the shortcuts to go to the beginning/end of a document). This is also a problem when accessing web pages etc. I do write quick emails on an iPad but wouldn't want to use it for serious writing/producing presentations etc without full keyboard and trackpad/mouse support.

As a rule of thumb, I have rarely had to use the arrow keys when typing. In fact, I have gotten quite used to typing out fairly long emails on my iPad using the virtual keyboard (I generally don’t use Bluetooth keyboards with it).

I am still better off typing from my iMac, but I find the experience on my iPad ain’t all that bad.

Another issue for me is that I can't plug in a Logitech presenter to advance slides in Powerpoint (good for hands-free presentations). So basically, for me it's a play machine or for quick use on the occasions when the battery is dead on both my Macbook and phone. If I need to write a long email, do serious web browsing or produce content, I switch to something with a keyboard/mouse, or wait until I get somewhere with better facilities.

I use my iPhone as a clicker. In fact, most of my presentations are done from my iPad, though admittedly not all are done on them.

Once, for the fun of it, I ran my presentation from my iPhone and controlled it via my Apple Watch.

Though with my iPhone now lacking a headphone jack, I will likely be presenting less from it.

If anyone knows how to enable the keys, let me know! It might make the iPad much more useful for me
As others have said, adding multiple user accounts, a proper file system and USB support would also greatly increase its usefulness to me much more than things like 3D touch, side-by-side screens etc.

For me, I find that the solution is rarely ever to force the iPad to be more like a Mac, but instead to rethink my workflows so as to embrace its strengths and adapt to its flaws. To maximise its advantages while minimising the drawbacks till they become all but inconsequential.

For example, keeping my files in the cloud to work around the inability to use flash drives, then syncing them to my iOS devices via the document app so they are available offline.

I use Copied to store text snippets, which makes copying and pasting multiple chunks of text easier on an iOS device.

I guess that’s what happens when you have been using the iPad since 2012. You start to normalise its idiosyncrasies until the way things are done on my iPad become the new normal and it’s the tasks on my Mac which feel like the workarounds at times.