So Incredibly Impressed By iPad Pro.

[sracer]

What I don´t understand is why everybody made such a fuss out of using the iPPs as a desktop replacement because of the Smart Keyboard. Keyboards for iPads are around for many years (e.g. from Logitech). For me the screen size of the 12.9" iPP is the real difference regarding using it for working stuff. I am using the Smart Cover to keep it light and thin and taking a Apple Magic Keyboard in the bag if it comes to heavy typing (same width than iPP 12.9"). This keyboard works without compromises...

As one who has owned keyboards for every iPad since the iPad 1 and Apple's keyboard dock (anyone remember THAT?!) perhaps I can explain...

Yes, it is true that the 12.9 screen is a big factor. But never before has there been a keyboard cover that is as thin and light as the Apple Smart Keyboard (ASK). Except for the slight bump caused by the keyboard, it is as thin as the non-keyboard Smart Cover. THAT is significant.

The fact that it is powered and activated automatically by the Pro itself are more pluses. It is only relatively recently that non-Pro keyboards included this "auto-on" capability. The Belkin Qode Ultrathin keyboard case for my Air 2 did that... VERY convenient.

The ASK is far more portable than Apple's Magic keyboard or Apple's older Bluetooth keyboard. I can pick up the iPP + ASK (as a single unit) and walk to a meeting. With the Magic or BT keyboard, I'm toting 2 separate, individual items... which would require me to use a case/tote to transport easily. Separate charging/battery changes for those separate keyboards are additional compromises.

Because the ASK is a cover and not a case, it is easy enough to quickly detach and use in "tablet" mode.

After spending a week with my 12.9 Pro and ASK, I think that I'm settling on both the ASK and Smart Cover... because like Almond Joy and Mounds, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

 

[oftheheavens]

I traded in my MacBook Air for an ipp 9.7 with Apple kb and pencil and apple silicon case and love every second of it. I use it more and it is easier to do school stuff on due to Windows and Dropbox matched with iCloud. I also have an iMac but really haven't needed it other than playing a couple games, the ipp could almost get away with all of my normal computing.

I am returning the pencil though. Don't get me wrong it is nice but I got it to take notes and found that due to my handwriting I usually have to retype notes and I can type faster than write so just flip out the kb and go to work. May end up picking up another one when I start getting deeper into my mba if I think it would be good for notes again.

So love the iPad Pro but don't really need the pencil.

 

[profets]

Just as an update--I finally got my Smart Keyboard Cover this afternoon. After some testing with typing out some emails and messages in Slack, I REALLY like it! I thought it might feel like something I could use when I'm in a pinch, but I think I could use it for more than that. It has a nice feel to it and feels pretty natural to type on. I'm not sure why people are saying you can't use it in your lap--the keyboard is nice and solid, and I just used the whole setup in my lap for about 10 minutes with no problems. I've never actually liked using laptops in my lap, but this is actually more feasible to me because there is no heat to deal with.

I agree. I was so unsure about the Smart Keyboard Cover going in, worried it would be bulky, hard to type on, and cumbersome as a general use smart cover. But I've been very impressed with it. It's still relatively thin and light, works better as a general smart cover (I'd argue anyway), and can quickly be propped up to be used as a hardware keyboard. When I was first typing on it I thought it was weird, but very soon after I was hooked. I feel like I can fly while typing on it. Honestly I'd go as far to say as its my favourite part of the 9.7" iPad Pro.

 

[spiderman0616]

Yup I think I recall reading a few. I think for a lot of people you just have to give it a try. You'd be surprised, such as you were! I can't use mine for work purposes as our IT department requires we use work issued Windows laptops..

But for my personal usage I am 100% iPad all day and have been since November.

It's awesome to know you can consolidate two devices into one, plus saves you a few bucks not having to upgrade both a tablet and a computer!

My IT department doesn't necessarily care what device we use, as most of our stuff is done in the cloud on secure servers, but my IT issued work machine is an old Windows 7 Dell laptop. They'll give me a Mac when the Dell is due to be replaced, but that's not for another few months.

For my full time day job, it is definitely more comfortable to work on the large workstation with the two big monitors, but the iPad Pro makes it so that I don't HAVE to do that if I'd rather work out on the patio for the afternoon or if I just want to get out of the house for awhile.
[doublepost=1459801417][/doublepost]

I traded in my MacBook Air for an ipp 9.7 with Apple kb and pencil and apple silicon case and love every second of it. I use it more and it is easier to do school stuff on due to Windows and Dropbox matched with iCloud. I also have an iMac but really haven't needed it other than playing a couple games, the ipp could almost get away with all of my normal computing.

I am returning the pencil though. Don't get me wrong it is nice but I got it to take notes and found that due to my handwriting I usually have to retype notes and I can type faster than write so just flip out the kb and go to work. May end up picking up another one when I start getting deeper into my mba if I think it would be good for notes again.

So love the iPad Pro but don't really need the pencil.

I think I'm going to pick up a Pencil tomorrow. It will mostly be a note taking device for me as well. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I have a bunch of Apple Store gift cards to use up, so the Pencil will basically be free.

 

[kevroc]

Just curious why you took a hard pass on the first iPad Pro? It sounds like it could've done what the smaller one is doing, just much earlier on, and maybe a little extra screen real estate wouldn't have been bad either...

I do have the larger one, and love it. Doesn't replace my needs for a full laptop, but I appreciate it for what it can do.

 

[oftheheavens]

My IT department doesn't necessarily care what device we use, as most of our stuff is done in the cloud on secure servers, but my IT issued work machine is an old Windows 7 Dell laptop. They'll give me a Mac when the Dell is due to be replaced, but that's not for another few months.

For my full time day job, it is definitely more comfortable to work on the large workstation with the two big monitors, but the iPad Pro makes it so that I don't HAVE to do that if I'd rather work out on the patio for the afternoon or if I just want to get out of the house for awhile.
[doublepost=1459801417][/doublepost]
I think I'm going to pick up a Pencil tomorrow. It will mostly be a note taking device for me as well. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I have a bunch of Apple Store gift cards to use up, so the Pencil will basically be free.

If it was free I would keep it for sure, hell even up to $50 I would keep it. If I was an artist or even a decent sketcher I would love to keep it

 

[deany]

I agree. I was so unsure about the Smart Keyboard Cover going in, worried it would be bulky, hard to type on, and cumbersome as a general use smart cover. But I've been very impressed with it. It's still relatively thin and light, works better as a general smart cover (I'd argue anyway), and can quickly be propped up to be used as a hardware keyboard. When I was first typing on it I thought it was weird, but very soon after I was hooked. I feel like I can fly while typing on it. Honestly I'd go as far to say as its my favourite part of the 9.7" iPad Pro.

Can you leave the keyboard on all the time and save money buying a smart cover or do you need both. Is the answer the % use with keyboard
Use 50%+ keyboard okay on all the time
Use less than 50% would need both keyboard & Smart cover?
But is it a pain to swap.
ps
we would only use keyboard for 1/2hr a month for MS Word Office 365, maybe more if its better than ios keyboard for web forms etc

 

[spiderman0616]

Just curious why you took a hard pass on the first iPad Pro? It sounds like it could've done what the smaller one is doing, just much earlier on, and maybe a little extra screen real estate wouldn't have been bad either...

I do have the larger one, and love it. Doesn't replace my needs for a full laptop, but I appreciate it for what it can do.

I took about 3 separate trips to the Apple Store specifically to try it out. I just couldn't envision myself using that behemoth while laying in bed watching video. What I did discover was that I wanted THAT iPad in a smaller body. I have always loved the speakers and the sharp display. I know people are saying you get used to the size, but I just like things a little more portable than that. My retina MacBook Pro was roughly that size and I never carried it around town with me much because it was just too much of a pain in the butt. I usually opted to bring an iPad instead.

In the end, I'm glad I waited because I got the newer screen tech, but I'm sure the 12.9 will get all of that as well at some point.
[doublepost=1459802014][/doublepost]

Can you leave the keyboard on all the time and save money buying a smart cover or do you need both. Is the answer the % use with keyboard
Use 50%+ keyboard okay on all the time
Use less than 50% would need both keyboard & Smart cover?
But is it a pain to swap.
ps
we would only use keyboard for 1/2hr a month

The keyboard doubles as a Smart Cover, but it's easy to pop off if you don't want to use it.

 

[deany]

I took about 3 separate trips to the Apple Store specifically to try it out. I just couldn't envision myself using that behemoth while laying in bed watching video. What I did discover was that I wanted THAT iPad in a smaller body. I have always loved the speakers and the sharp display. I know people are saying you get used to the size, but I just like things a little more portable than that. My retina MacBook Pro was roughly that size and I never carried it around town with me much because it was just too much of a pain in the butt. I usually opted to bring an iPad instead.

In the end, I'm glad I waited because I got the newer screen tech, but I'm sure the 12.9 will get all of that as well at some point.
[doublepost=1459802014][/doublepost]
The keyboard doubles as a Smart Cover, but it's easy to pop off if you don't want to use it.

I must say it does sound ideal then so the keyboard in effect is £90.00 (factoring in that you don't need a smart cover)
Thats still a lot but better value than the smart cover on its own.
Can I ask do you not use the iOS keyboard when the keyboard in attached, I hope that doesn't sound like a dumb question. If the answer is you don't use iOS keyboard, I guess that means the £90.00 keyboard gets used a heck of a lot more than say just word processing. Making it good value.

 

[spiderman0616]

I must say it does sound ideal then so the keyboard in effect is £90.00 (factoring in that you don't need a smart cover)
Thats still a lot but better value than the smart cover on its own.
Can I ask do you not use the iOS keyboard when the keyboard in attached, I hope that doesn't sound like a dumb question. If the answer is you don't use iOS keyboard, I guess that means the £90.00 keyboard gets used a heck of a lot more than say just word processing. Making it good value.

When the keyboard is attached, the onscreen keyboard doesn't even pop up.

 

[sracer]

I took about 3 separate trips to the Apple Store specifically to try it out. I just couldn't envision myself using that behemoth while laying in bed watching video. What I did discover was that I wanted THAT iPad in a smaller body. I have always loved the speakers and the sharp display. I know people are saying you get used to the size, but I just like things a little more portable than that. My retina MacBook Pro was roughly that size and I never carried it around town with me much because it was just too much of a pain in the butt. I usually opted to bring an iPad instead.

In the end, I'm glad I waited because I got the newer screen tech, but I'm sure the 12.9 will get all of that as well at some point.
[doublepost=1459802014][/doublepost]
The keyboard doubles as a Smart Cover, but it's easy to pop off if you don't want to use it.

When I want to use the Pro as a tablet but have no place to put the ASK (or is inconvenient to do) I detach the ASK, flip it over and reattach it (rather than bending it backwards). This allows the outside cover to be exposed on the back rather than the microfiber. That was my "trick" with the Surface and TypeCover, and it works well here.

 

[deany]

When the keyboard is attached, the onscreen keyboard doesn't even pop up.

see, I said it was probably a dumb question!

 

[spiderman0616]

see, I said it was probably a dumb question!

Nah--it's hard to tell from looking at the pictures of it. I didn't even fully understand how this thing was supposed to work until I got it out of the box and tried it. It feels like origami at first, but you figure it out quickly.

 

[Night Spring]

I must say it does sound ideal then so the keyboard in effect is £90.00 (factoring in that you don't need a smart cover)
Thats still a lot but better value than the smart cover on its own.
Can I ask do you not use the iOS keyboard when the keyboard in attached, I hope that doesn't sound like a dumb question. If the answer is you don't use iOS keyboard, I guess that means the £90.00 keyboard gets used a heck of a lot more than say just word processing. Making it good value.

To clarify, by "keyboard attached" do you mean attached as a cover, or in typing posiition? When you have it in the typing position, then as spiderman says, the onscreen keyboard doesn't pop up. But if you have the keyboard attached but not in the typing position (for example, having it flipped to the back), then the onscreen keyboard does pop up.

 

[deany]

To clarify, by "keyboard attached" do you mean attached as a cover, or in typing posiition? When you have it in the typing position, then as spiderman says, the onscreen keyboard doesn't pop up. But if you have the keyboard attached but not in the typing position (for example, having it flipped to the back), then the onscreen keyboard does pop up.

Yes, sorry by "keyboard attached" I meant in typing position. I see now it can flip to the back so you have the best of both worlds, appreciate you clarifying that.
Apple have now sold one more Smart Key Board for the 9.7.
Would prefer to buy for John Lewis with their 2nd year gaurantee and 3 month return though, but they only have the larger keyboard at the moment.
Apple only has a 14 day return window, which is a far from 3 months.

 

[profets]

Can you leave the keyboard on all the time and save money buying a smart cover or do you need both. Is the answer the % use with keyboard
Use 50%+ keyboard okay on all the time
Use less than 50% would need both keyboard & Smart cover?
But is it a pain to swap.
ps
we would only use keyboard for 1/2hr a month for MS Word Office 365, maybe more if its better than ios keyboard for web forms etc

I originally purchased both the Smart Cover and the Keyboard cover. Wanted to see how they would work, if there was space for both to have around, etc. I've always enjoyed just the Smart Cover with an iPad, and I do a lot of typing on the iPad screen so I wasn't sure how the Keyboard Cover would be.

Anyway, after 1-2 days of use with the Keyboard cover I returned the Smart Cover. Keyboard cover is relatively light and very convenient to have. If you truly only need a keyboard for 30 minutes per month, then it's probably easier to just go with a Smart Cover and have a less expensive Bluetooth keyboard around for that kind of use. I'd say give the Keyboard Cover a try. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[deany]

I originally purchased both the Smart Cover and the Keyboard cover. Wanted to see how they would work, if there was space for both to have around, etc. I've always enjoyed just the Smart Cover with an iPad, and I do a lot of typing on the iPad screen so I wasn't sure how the Keyboard Cover would be.

Anyway, after 1-2 days of use with the Keyboard cover I returned the Smart Cover. Keyboard cover is relatively light and very convenient to have. If you truly only need a keyboard for 30 minutes per month, then it's probably easier to just go with a Smart Cover and have a less expensive Bluetooth keyboard around for that kind of use. I'd say give the Keyboard Cover a try. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Thank you, will try the apple smart keyboard with the charcoal back.

 

[sjleworthy]

Just as an update--I finally got my Smart Keyboard Cover this afternoon. After some testing with typing out some emails and messages in Slack, I REALLY like it! I thought it might feel like something I could use when I'm in a pinch, but I think I could use it for more than that. It has a nice feel to it and feels pretty natural to type on. I'm not sure why people are saying you can't use it in your lap--the keyboard is nice and solid, and I just used the whole setup in my lap for about 10 minutes with no problems. I've never actually liked using laptops in my lap, but this is actually more feasible to me because there is no heat to deal with.

i LOVE mine too. yes, people do criticize it's form factor, personal doesn't effect me.

i love it mainly because of its close integration with the Pro and it's tactileness. it feels lovely. its very very robust too. i absolutely hammer hell out of my keys when typing - the ASK is perfectly up to this challenge

 

[Cowmonk]

I took a punt on the ASK when I got my IPP as I needed a cover, but couldn't justify the insane price of the Smart Cover. I figured it was somehow better value to spend way more (hooray for man-maths ).

It turned out to be the best part of the IPP for me. Occasionally I hit a key combo from the Mac (like bringing up left side bar in Safari) and it just works! It's always there with me, and forms a really solid stand to watch / type from. For me it's brilliant, and transforms the possibilities of how I can use the IPP, and therefore feels so worth the money.

 

[spiderman0616]

I took a punt on the ASK when I got my IPP as I needed a cover, but couldn't justify the insane price of the Smart Cover. I figured it was somehow better value to spend way more (hooray for man-maths ).

It turned out to be the best part of the IPP for me. Occasionally I hit a key combo from the Mac (like bringing up left side bar in Safari) and it just works! It's always there with me, and forms a really solid stand to watch / type from. For me it's brilliant, and transforms the possibilities of how I can use the IPP, and therefore feels so worth the money.

I'm finding that setting it up in "work" mode (with the keyboard out) and pairing it with my Nimbus controller, it also makes a FANTASTIC portable game system. I'm not crazy about "watch mode" because it's a little too straight up and down for me, but that's a compromise you make having the extra thickness of the keyboard there.

 

[Bricks44]

I feel the same as you Spider, except I bought my iPad Air 2 in December and I don't miss my 2011 MacBook Pro one bit. The apps are what make it better than the old macbook, everything I need is in the App Store.

It's a much better experience for me.

 

[zhenya]

Waiting for my keyboard to arrive. It may be that the 9.7 Pro lets me sell my Macbook. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE my Macbook, but ultimately I want the flexibility provided by the iPad, and I will always have full computers around to do the specific things an iPad might not be able to do. Having both feels excessive, and I often end up carrying both when I really could get away with just one. The other thing - beyond the keyboard, that makes me think this is possible is the realization that they just released this http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter which allows the connection of USB devices with power pass-through. That gives the iPad a lot of flexibility it didn't have just a few weeks ago.

 

[spiderman0616]

Waiting for my keyboard to arrive. It may be that the 9.7 Pro lets me sell my Macbook. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE my Macbook, but ultimately I want the flexibility provided by the iPad, and I will always have full computers around to do the specific things an iPad might not be able to do. Having both feels excessive, and I often end up carrying both when I really could get away with just one. The other thing - beyond the keyboard, that makes me think this is possible is the realization that they just released this http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter which allows the connection of USB devices with power pass-through. That gives the iPad a lot of flexibility it didn't have just a few weeks ago.

I plan on buying both the usb 3 adapter and the sd card adapter. I don't specifically need them for anything yet, but I want to have them handy in my bag if the situation comes up. I feel like if I'm going to drop the money on the Pro, I should have the full setup.

 

[Indydenny]

I plan on buying both the usb 3 adapter and the sd card adapter. I don't specifically need them for anything yet, but I want to have them handy in my bag if the situation comes up. I feel like if I'm going to drop the money on the Pro, I should have the full setup.

But the USB 3 does not work at the usb3 speed on the 9.7. Isn't that correct? I know that it does on the larger iPad Pro, but understood that the 9.7 would only use usb2 speeds.

 

[spiderman0616]

But the USB 3 does not work at the usb3 speed on the 9.7. Isn't that correct? I know that it does on the larger iPad Pro, but understood that the 9.7 would only use usb2 speeds.

That's correct, but I still want to have the adapter regardless of the speed.