The iPad Pro 12.9" has replaced my Mac.

[placidity44]

I had gotten the iPad Pro a few months ago and just this week picked up a Smart Keyboard and an Apple Pencil. It was a good tablet before, but now with the accessories it has all but killed my Mac for my usage. I use my Mac to do a little bit of analytical work, but everything else I've been doing on my Pro and I've been ecstatic. So glad I opted for cellular as well. This is the computer of my dreams. Really glad I splurged on the accessories.

 

[DontGetTheCheese]

In before the obligatory religious battle and many formatted expressions of how you suck for doing that.

Honestly, I totally get this. All 3 similar devices iPad Pro, rMB and rMBP are so close in usability for most people that any of the three could fit the bill. Yet, we wind up fighting about which is the best, because.

Glad you are happy with it.

 

[placidity44]

Not trying to fight...I'll always have a Mac just because but I'm super stoked that I no longer have to carry one with me everywhere I go.

 

[DontGetTheCheese]

I didn't think you were.

I was just having a small bit of fun at how these things can go.

 

[masotime]

There's nothing religious about the arguments if you ask me. It's more of how people manage expectations.

From the very first introduction of the iPad, people have been regularly dissing it because it "doesn't have a real OS / file system / etc. etc.". Truth be told, iOS really is a paradigm shift in the way people use computers, but it's very much a work in progress, and Apple doesn't want to compromise their vision for it by mixing paradigms from the more traditional desktop / laptop world.

What you generally find is dissatisfaction when people are surprised the iPad doesn't or can't do things the way traditional operating systems can. In fact, an iPad is perfectly capable of all that, especially since iOS is really Unix based at its core - if you jailbreak it, you can start an SSH server and have full access to the file system and are free to add multi-window, volume mounting (external USB drives) etc. etc. if you really want to spend the time to do it.

It's just not designed that way, intentionally.

It's not to say iOS is "the holy grail" or "the perfect way", but people really need to discard the thinking that it "doesn't work the way I think it should" and just use it as is, or just buy something else if it doesn't fit their needs until Apple figures it out.

I mean seriously, if the iPad did everything magically well for everyone, there'd be no point in Apple continuing to update MacBooks and iMacs. No one forces you to buy the iPad, enjoy it or dump it. It's that simple.

 

[maxsix]

It's simply a matter of personal preference. Neither is superior, merely different.

 

[480951]

My iPad would replace my iMac if I were able to download torrents and transfer files. I probably can't discuss what I get, but that's the only thing I can do with a computer that I can't do with an iPad.

 

[Booji]

There's nothing religious about the arguments if you ask me. It's more of how people manage expectations.

From the very first introduction of the iPad, people have been regularly dissing it because it "doesn't have a real OS / file system / etc. etc.". Truth be told, iOS really is a paradigm shift in the way people use computers, but it's very much a work in progress, and Apple doesn't want to compromise their vision for it by mixing paradigms from the more traditional desktop / laptop world.

What you generally find is dissatisfaction when people are surprised the iPad doesn't or can't do things the way traditional operating systems can. In fact, an iPad is perfectly capable of all that, especially since iOS is really Unix based at its core - if you jailbreak it, you can start an SSH server and have full access to the file system and are free to add multi-window, volume mounting (external USB drives) etc. etc. if you really want to spend the time to do it.

It's just not designed that way, intentionally.

It's not to say iOS is "the holy grail" or "the perfect way", but people really need to discard the thinking that it "doesn't work the way I think it should" and just use it as is, or just buy something else if it doesn't fit their needs until Apple figures it out.

I mean seriously, if the iPad did everything magically well for everyone, there'd be no point in Apple continuing to update MacBooks and iMacs. No one forces you to buy the iPad, enjoy it or dump it. It's that simple.

You captured the essence of the Apple strategy very well!

 

[jdechko]

I've done the same thing, but I sold my MacBook Air. It is a paradigm shift, but it's just so much easier in my opinion.

 

[richinaus]

You captured the essence of the Apple strategy very well!

I think it also depends on your usage. I replaced a macbook with the 13" pro and have found that for certain drawing apps it is now indispensable for a lot of my design work, however some of the other apps I use are a bit lacking compared to the desktop versions [evernote, todoist, mail, Safari etc].

100% agree on embracing the way iOS works and have done so quite fluently into my workflow and work completely off the cloud, but unfortunately need a laptop [for now] for certain tasks and apps.

I have no doubt I will be ditching the laptop in a few years, but just not for now

 

[M. Gustave]

Wow, everyone in this thread is polite and accepting! The Mac holy warriors must be busy with July 4th celebrations?!?

 

[Osty]

My iPad would replace my iMac if I were able to download torrents and transfer files. I probably can't discuss what I get, but that's the only thing I can do with a computer that I can't do with an iPad.

I use a raspberry Pi for that.

 

[iSheep5S]

Yup, due to screen size the 12.9 is my go to. I like all formats and play with all formats but i do love the iPad.

The big one is the grail and i have no accessories for it. I just use it like any other appreciating the screen real estate.

 

[DJTaurus]

I use a raspberry Pi for that.

Any workaround and which equipment to buy ?

 

[Digital Skunk]

I agree. I've gone from needing a MacPro for editing video to doing more script review and writing. I've dumped my MacPro for an IMac, then a 15" rMBP, then a rMB, now I'm eyeing an iPadPro and can't wait for scrivener to come out with an iPad app.

Once that happens, I won't need a Mac for much save for the few projects I still do in Adobe and making and updating playlists in iTunes.

For me it will be a laptop replacement.

 

[Osty]

Any workaround and which equipment to buy ?

Firstly, a love of tinkering and a workable knowledge of linux is a must.

Minimal setup

Equipment
1. A Raspberry Pi (a model 3 is almost good enough as a desktop system) and case
2. SD card and maybe a SFF USB drive
3. Power supply (mobile phone portable chargers work well)
4. Wifi dongle (or mobile broadboad dongle, though you could tether your phone too)
5. OS for the raspberry pi - i prefer Ubuntu Mate.
6. Portable router (optional: i use a TP-Link TL-MR3020 flashed with OpenWRT)

On your Pi:
1. Install OS (flash the ISO to SD card - you need a computer to do this)
2. Enable SSH
2a. Optionally configure your Pi to login automatically to the CLI or UI
3. Install and set up Transmission CLI (has a nice web interface)

On your iPad
1. Install a terminal (Panic's Prompt is great)
2. Log in over SSH
3. With Safari on your iPad, go to the Pi's IP Address: i.e 192.168.1.2:9091 to access Transmission's web client
4. Torrent away! You can paste in Magnet and direct links to a torrent file.

Optional extras

1. Install a VNC or RDP server on your Pi
2. Install a remote desktop client on your iPad
3. Create a wifi network using the portable router
4. Use your iPad as a remote desktop for your Pi

Playing content
Assuming you are downloading playable (video, audio) content (and it's iOS friendly) you can use the Pi as a web, webdav or DLNA server and feed your content to your ipad that way.

If it's documents they can also be transferred over HTTP. If they are ePubs, you have the added possibility of installing Calibre, an ebook management tool with a built in server.

Alternative scenario:

You can pretty much do the same set up on a VPS like AWS or DigitalOcean if you don't want the hassle of buying and setting up the hardware. Even remote desktop works well on a good broadband connection. The flip side means you need to be online to access your rig though. I can get you $10 credit for DigitalOcean if you like

Another alternative that's more out-of-the-box, would be buying an Intel Compute Stick or a Kangaroo. The Kangaroo looks really compelling but it's not available in Australia so I'm SOL and besides, I do like to tinker

 

[tsang2320]

I had gotten the iPad Pro a few months ago and just this week picked up a Smart Keyboard and an Apple Pencil. It was a good tablet before, but now with the accessories it has all but killed my Mac for my usage. I use my Mac to do a little bit of analytical work, but everything else I've been doing on my Pro and I've been ecstatic. So glad I opted for cellular as well. This is the computer of my dreams. Really glad I splurged on the accessories.

Good for you.
It can't replace my living room Mbp until it supports multiple users though.

 

[Peepo]

I use a raspberry Pi for that.

And how does one format/prepare the SD card for raspberry Pi using only an iPad???

 

[bingeciren]

I had gotten the iPad Pro a few months ago and just this week picked up a Smart Keyboard and an Apple Pencil. It was a good tablet before, but now with the accessories it has all but killed my Mac for my usage. I use my Mac to do a little bit of analytical work, but everything else I've been doing on my Pro and I've been ecstatic. So glad I opted for cellular as well. This is the computer of my dreams. Really glad I splurged on the accessories.

I'm glad that the iPad Pro works for you. Unfortunately I cannot replace my Mac with an IOS device and I will never be able to do so unless IOS: 1) Support multiple user accounts, 2) have user accessible file system, 3) be able to read/write to external USB disks, 4) support true multitasking with scalable and relocatable windows, 5) run Virtual Machines like Parallels VMware etc, 6) be able to dual boot and run different OSs, 7) run Xcode, 8) be able to load and delete music files without needing iTunes, 9) support Time Machine backups. I'm sure there will be more to add to this list but these are the first that comes to my mind.

Currently I have a Mac Mini Server (i7 Quad Core 2.6) for video editing, centralized backup, media storage and media server. Additionally I have an iPad Mini for short trips and lightweight use such as email, web browsing and book / magazine reading. For extended trips and couch computing I have a 12" MacBook which is no bigger than your iPad Pro to carry around.

If I was going to have only one machine and had to choose between an iPad, MacBook and a desktop Mac, I would choose the most portable MacBook as the best compromise.

Oh, last but not least, I hate fingerprint smudges. That's why I love doing my work on my Macs as opposed to an iPad. It would drive me nuts to use a Surface Pro like device with fingers all over the display

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I'm glad that the iPad Pro works for you. Unfortunately I cannot replace my Mac with an IOS device and I will never be able to do so unless IOS: 1) Support multiple user accounts, 2) have user accessible file system, 3) be able to read/write to external USB disks, 4) support true multitasking with scalable and relocatable windows, 5) run Virtual Machines like Parallels VMware etc, 6) be able to dual boot and run different OSs, 7) run Xcode, 8) be able to load and delete music files without needing iTunes, 9) support Time Machine backups. I'm sure there will be more to add to this list but these are the first that comes to my mind.

Currently I have a Mac Mini Server (i7 Quad Core 2.6) for video editing, centralized backup, media storage and media server. Additionally I have an iPad Mini for short trips and lightweight use such as email, web browsing and book / magazine reading. For extended trips and couch computing I have a 12" MacBook which is no bigger than your iPad Pro to carry around.

If I was going to have only one machine and had to choose between an iPad, MacBook and a desktop Mac, I would choose the most portable MacBook as the best compromise.

Oh, last but not least, I hate fingerprint smudges. That's why I love doing my work on my Macs as opposed to an iPad. It would drive me nuts to use a Surface Pro like device with fingers all over the display

Yeah, you will never be able to get by with an iPad, but it appears you know that, so all is good. I am in between you and the OP. I love my iPad Pro (in a Logi Create keyboard case). It has definitely replaced my Macbook Pro. I use it for everything from movies, music, blog posts, web coding (not XCode), art, writing (Scrivener--in the beta), etc.

However, I also have a Win10/Mac desktop capable of Photoshop, gaming, and hosting my appleTV movie library, etc.

In summation, I am glad that you recognize up front that you could never make it work. There seems to be an inordinate amount of people that go "all in" on an iPad only solution and then act all surprised when it doesn't work flawlessly.

 

[Osty]

And how does one format/prepare the SD card for raspberry Pi using only an iPad???

You can't unfortunately, as I noted in my instructional post. Worse case scenario you can buy a card with Raspian or Noobs pre-installed. There are several Raspberry Pi starter kits sold with a pre-formatted card ready to go.

I also posited the Kangaroo or Intel compute stick as an alternative, which ship with the OS installed.

Let me be clear that I don't necessarily advocate not having access to a full, general-purpose computer. I was providing a possible solution to the poster's stated problem. Even if iOS was at the state where I could do 95% of what I wanted, I'd still keep my Mac mini or something like a Nuc around as a local server/backup workstation for when I needed it.

Another consideration is that in the last 6 years, every computer my employers have given me has been a laptop for travel and hotdesking. I suspect most professionals are in the same situation and could use a work machine at a pinch for the elusive 5%.

 

[ssledoux]

My iPP has replaced my iMac. I'm not a heavy computer user, but I do type and print Pages docs fairly often because I'm a Disney travel planner and I print itineraries for clients. The only other thing I ever really did on my iMac is sync all my devices (now I use iCloud), and back up photos (now using cloud for that as well). I've even gotten myself set up to upload all my photos to Shutterfly for making my photo books. I may have to use my daughter's computer when I want to do a more complicated one, but for basic stuff, I'm pretty much set.

I LOVE my iPP!!

 

[orioncrystalice]

There's nothing religious about the arguments if you ask me. It's more of how people manage expectations.

From the very first introduction of the iPad, people have been regularly dissing it because it "doesn't have a real OS / file system / etc. etc.". Truth be told, iOS really is a paradigm shift in the way people use computers, but it's very much a work in progress, and Apple doesn't want to compromise their vision for it by mixing paradigms from the more traditional desktop / laptop world.

What you generally find is dissatisfaction when people are surprised the iPad doesn't or can't do things the way traditional operating systems can. In fact, an iPad is perfectly capable of all that, especially since iOS is really Unix based at its core - if you jailbreak it, you can start an SSH server and have full access to the file system and are free to add multi-window, volume mounting (external USB drives) etc. etc. if you really want to spend the time to do it.

It's just not designed that way, intentionally.

It's not to say iOS is "the holy grail" or "the perfect way", but people really need to discard the thinking that it "doesn't work the way I think it should" and just use it as is, or just buy something else if it doesn't fit their needs until Apple figures it out.

I mean seriously, if the iPad did everything magically well for everyone, there'd be no point in Apple continuing to update MacBooks and iMacs. No one forces you to buy the iPad, enjoy it or dump it. It's that simple.

Finally. Finally. Yes. Finally. Thank you.

 

[Kal-037]

I feel the same, I have had my iPP as my main computer since it came out, and it's amazing. I still will need an iMac 5k for animation and Film, but luckily that isn't until the next Spring Semester. In all honesty I personally think the 12.9" iPP is the best device Apple has made in the past few years. Not to say I don't love the Apple TV 4, iPad Mini 4, or the Macs, but never have I had a device that does everything I need it to while also being thin and pleasing to look at.
But as always YMMV.



Kal.

 

[Starfia]

That's lovely to hear now and then – I certainly know a couple of people who are iPad-only computer users. I'm not there yet (I'm definitely still on the Mac desktop for at least a half-a-dozen major kinds of things), but iPad has definitely become superior for a half-dozen other things, like reading, taking notes and digital painting. It hasn't replaced the desktop for me, but it may have replaced the laptop.