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

[sevvere]

It seems like Apple propaganda is on 100% to counter Windows on Snapdragon with 20 hours of battery life and starting at $600 which is the start of a new post-iPad era.

Bingo. And the second generation chipset of these laptops are expected mid 2018 or whenever Samsung s9 is released. If a company mimics the iPad 10.5 with windows arm with an attached keyboard and mouse compatibility, I'm all over it.

I can't use iPad to write anything long because of a lack of a pointer device to instinctively and easily to go to a specific place in the document and edit it.

 

[Arthur123]

The iPad Pro can replace a laptop for some of the everyday people, for example my dad who uses my old 2015 iPad Pro now that I’ve upgraded to the 2017 version, he uses it to check and write emails, Facebook, FaceTime, browsing the web, buying things from Amazon and so on, for him it’s replaced his old and rubbish Acer laptop. For people such as myself who still love the Mac and both write a lot and edit a little (especially if you use Final Cut X) it won replace a Mac.

I don’t think the iPad Pro needs to replace a Mac, there is room for both, I certainly love to use both my iMac, iPad Pro and my MacBook Pro, they all serve different purposes.

Can you create power point presentations, edit and format a Word document, run spreadsheet macros's on an iPad?
Does it have a file saving/open feature from app to app .... NO to all.
A cheap Chromebook can do email too.

 

[lightmyway]

The lack of a pointer interface on iPad means that it will never replace a computer for me.

I use this pointer on my iPad Pro and it works great.

 

[Zaft]

The main issue I see with replacing a computer with iPad is gorilla hands. If I attach a keyboard to the iPad it becomes very uncomfortable scrolling.

The iPad would be better if the keyboard has a pad to scroll.

 

[StevieD100]

Front-end web developer and sometimes full-stack dev here. No way. I work for a huge airline on their front-facing site, and there's no way I can do my work on an iPad outside of email and mobile web testing.

spot on. Never a truer set of words posted.
My previous job was integrating all the systems on a large industrial site. I regularly ran 12 VM's. Even my fully spec'd MBP could not get close to handling that but my fully loaded 27in iMac did it perfectly.
Yes, this is rather extreme but to me this is typical Pro development.

I challenge you Phil, to give me (and others) an iPad that can run 12 X86 VM's running Windows and Linux (at least 40GB of Ram and 2TB of storage) and I'll believe you.
I'll probably be pushing up the daisies before that happens

 

[techwhiz]

The lack of a pointer interface on iPad means that it will never replace a computer for me.

Also the lack of a file system that a user can access precludes it's use or function as a general computer replacement.

 

[Brammy]

A Mac will. I use mine every day to do just that.

A Mac will, but macOS will not.

I think when we talk about dual booting/virtual OS we fork the discussion away from Apple's sofware: macOS or iOS.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Amazing... I guess Apple must have better margins on the iPad because I can't think of any other reasons why they are so desperately trying to kill off a multi-billion dollar Mac business.

I may be in minority here, but I use iSO devices in part because I use Apple computers as well. I enjoy the integrated experience. If they kill the Mac, they will remove a key incentive for why I am sticking around, despite the fact that Jonny took a box of crayons to the whole iOS design.

Who said kill the Mac? Mostly what Schiller said is that instead of selling you just a Mac, he’ll happily sell you a Mac and an iPad Pro. People use both, they switch off depending on the task at hand.

Some posters here seem to believe Apple is abandoning the Mac—incredibly ironic given Apple is just days away from shipping their most powerful Mac ever. They respond as if they’ve been ordered to replace their Mac with an iPad, but they’re heroically refusing, and won’t go down without a fight.

“You’ll get my MacBook and replace it with an iPad when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” Ummm, yeah, no one cares. Continue buying your laptop or desktop, and stop with the self-inflicted melodrama already.

 

[Woyzeck]

I‘d honestly prefer a headless Mac over a headless Schiller any time.

 

[citysnaps]

Yet you can’t develop iOS apps on it...

And???

Is that somehow a requirement for a device being called or used as a computer?

 

[Dave245]

Can you create power point presentations, edit and format a Word document, run spreadsheet macros's on an iPad?
Does it have a file saving/open feature from app to app .... NO to all.
A cheap Chromebook can do email too.

Yes you can create PowerPoint presentations, edit and even write a document on the iPad Pro!

 

[itsmilo]

Not until i can run jDownloader on it and have my files be sorted in folders as I want them to be or convert videos for that matter.

I would also like to be able to use a mouse. Tapping the screen is super annoying (i know the irony, its a tablet) when i use the smart keyboard

 

[RickInHouston]

Hey, Phil -

Go ahead and give your job a try with just a tablet! Heck, I'll even let you use your watch. Hehehehe.

 

[urkel]

What reason is there for Apple to keep pushing this narrative of "iPads are Computers" and "Computers are Dead"?

Is it to upset the remaining Mac diehards and Apple defending old-timers (people over 35)? Is it to convince children that their first "computer" should be a $750 iPad Pro + $160 Smart Keyboard + $99 Pencil and they shouldn't be afraid to take it along as they climb up a tree with their $1000 of gear? Is it to convince Apple themselves that they are doing the right thing?

Just because iPads are great doesnt mean Macs are not. Especially at this point when BOTH sides are flawed and incomplete. Because people dont want to hear that Apple prefers one thing over another. They want to know that Apple is putting effort into EVERYTHING they put out.

 

[arubinst]

Give me VMWare for iOS and the possibility to plug USB devices to the iPad pro and I'll never use any other computer again.

 

[SoundJudgment]

So the iPad can replace the notebook? Let's see if they can replace the iPad's lightning-connector with a Type USB-C... as they SHOULD HAVE by now!

 

[xitongzou]

In my experience Phil is right, for situations where a light machine is required for traveling an iPad Pro can easily replace an ultrabook. For 90% of what people do on a computer and iPad Pro can replace it. For the other 10% like software development or heavy duty video editing / CAD design / gaming etc you need a desktop or a powerful laptop. I find I usually have all my bases covered with an iPad Pro (travel + media consumption), MacBook Pro (programming + video editing) and Alienware 15 (gaming).

 

[lostngone]

The pathetic thing is, it absolutely could replace a Mac* if Apple didn't hobble iOS.


Edit: For most users.

 

[arkmannj]

hmm, perhaps for many basic tasks. But the second I need to get any real work done then not really.

When it comes to work then in my experience, iPads are a great (even if not required) supplement but not a replacement.

For personal stuff, sure an iPad could replace a Mac for what a lot of people do day-to-day in terms of facebook, casual web browsing, email, some light games, and general media consumption.


Saying Device X and replace Device Y usually boils down to requirements and use cases. Broad sweeping statements are useless in these scenarios as everyone's needs/uses/wants vary. We will all have our own personal view on how well it works out, and all are valid from our own uses and perspective.

 

[H2SO4]

A Mac will, but macOS will not.

I think when we talk about dual booting/virtual OS we fork the discussion away from Apple's sofware: macOS or iOS.

Well he said it can replace a PC did he not? If you are a mobile engineer, your probably knackered if you run just iOS and/or OSX.
Even then. I don’t run Windows natively. I run Parallels which last Tim I checked won’t run on my iPhone.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I hate TABLETS!!! If this is a pre cursor to not making the MBP anymore I will never buy an Apple product again.

Apple sells 75+ million Macs per year, and according to them, 80% are laptops. So if anyone should worry, it would be the mac mini/iMac/Mac Pro users, who comprise only 20% of sales. But Apple is just days away from releasing its fastest desktop ever. So no worries there.

And Apple updates MBP every year. There will be updates by this time next year, including new 6 core processors. Which will be their fastest laptop ever.

 

[DNichter]

He's spot on. It can replace a traditional computer for some (me included, iOS only), but not for everyone. It's every bit of a computer that a MacBook is though. I don't see myself ever going back to macOS.

 

[BornAgainMac]

With this logic, you can do everything on your Apple Watch that you can do with your iPad Pro.

 

[DNichter]

Totally deluded and demented. Who is he trying to kid?
No mouse
No useable file system
Browser only works as iOS browser

How can you do work with that?

Easy, I do it every day. I manage a 30 plus logistics team.
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Wish they would stop trying to replace the computer and just make the tablet so good that I don't want to use the computer anymore.

That's what they are doing. They sell both.

 

[Ghost31]

Yet you can’t develop iOS apps on it...

Probably because it wasn’t made for that. My car can’t haul a boat. I don’t get mad about it and blame it for not being a truck