When I look at the iPad Pro as just a 'big iPad', I filter my expectations of its capabilities and miss a lot of what it can do. When I look at the iPad Pro as a 'laptop replacement', my expectations are colored by that lens -- I expect to have big monolithic apps and mouse control. Yet the iPad Pro is neither and both of those things at the same time. So I have an iPad Pro and this is my review...
General Observations
The 12.9" screen is absolutely fantastic. Everything is better with a bigger screen -- writing, reading, viewing, browsing, playing -- simply wonderful. For the first time ever, I don't have to pinch-and-zoom to read comics. I now have a personal big screen TV when watching videos. The sound is the best I have experienced from any portable device. The battery life is all-day excellent. The on-screen keyboard is roomy and comfortable. Split-screen multitasking is genuinely useful and usable. Yes, the size also makes it less comfortable to hold suspended for long periods of time, but that is a minor issue relative to the significant benefits. If I am watching something on the couch, I use a TV tray and smart cover. If I am reading in bed, I strategically deploy pillows. Not that big of a deal.
The iPad Pro is an expensive device. As with any $1K+ purchasing decision, I carefully weighed the pros and cons. I made lists of my expected use cases and objectively noted the things that the iPad Pro would not be able to do. I also decided that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I was going to get the high end configuration and also any extras that would help me get the most out of it (after all, I wouldn't purchase a Playstation 4 and then not get extra controllers, games, PSN subscription, etc...).
The 128GB of on-board storage means I can load all of music and photos, and still install any apps I want. LTE means I can be online wherever I am. And because I have a smart cover, pencil, keyboard, and case, I am able to get the most out of my investment. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and just subscribe to Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud. All of these decisions increased the overall cost of my iPad Pro. Like most things in life, you get out of something what you put into it. In this case: money.
Things iPad Pro Cannot Do
Of all of the many things that iPad Pro can do, there are still a few key things that it cannot do: rip or burn CD's, apply firmware updates to external devices, print pictures with advanced settings control, backup/restore data to an external hard drive, or provide local access to terabytes of videos. For these reasons, I have not gotten rid of my 27" iMac. What I did instead was download OSX Server and set up a remote VPN connection to it. I then bought Transmit, Reflection, and Screens for the iPad to allow me to access and control the iMac remotely from the iPad. So far this has been a workable solution.
Pleasant Surprises
I have started taking my iPad Pro to meetings at work, mostly to take notes and refer to documents or web pages. In one meeting I was asked to present to the group and instead of declining because I didn't have my VGA adaptor, I did a quick search on the app store and found a free Epson app for controlling projectors over the network. Five minutes later I was wirelessly presenting to the group from my iPad.
The fact that the Pencil exists is not a surprise, but I am still surprised every time I use it. It does what I have hoped every single expensive stylus I have purchased would do -- write and draw responsively and accurately. Uniquely, the Pencil has met that expectation.
Conclusions
The iPad Pro is a new, expensive, and amazing piece of hardware. With the right combination of apps and extras, it is capable of handling 95% of my computing needs. With its portability, Pencil, battery life, and touch interface, it is able to do many things that my desktop Mac cannot do. And most of the remaining limitations are likely to be solved with clever software updates.
It is only going to get better (and cheaper) from here.
General Observations
The 12.9" screen is absolutely fantastic. Everything is better with a bigger screen -- writing, reading, viewing, browsing, playing -- simply wonderful. For the first time ever, I don't have to pinch-and-zoom to read comics. I now have a personal big screen TV when watching videos. The sound is the best I have experienced from any portable device. The battery life is all-day excellent. The on-screen keyboard is roomy and comfortable. Split-screen multitasking is genuinely useful and usable. Yes, the size also makes it less comfortable to hold suspended for long periods of time, but that is a minor issue relative to the significant benefits. If I am watching something on the couch, I use a TV tray and smart cover. If I am reading in bed, I strategically deploy pillows. Not that big of a deal.
The iPad Pro is an expensive device. As with any $1K+ purchasing decision, I carefully weighed the pros and cons. I made lists of my expected use cases and objectively noted the things that the iPad Pro would not be able to do. I also decided that if I was going to spend that kind of money, I was going to get the high end configuration and also any extras that would help me get the most out of it (after all, I wouldn't purchase a Playstation 4 and then not get extra controllers, games, PSN subscription, etc...).
The 128GB of on-board storage means I can load all of music and photos, and still install any apps I want. LTE means I can be online wherever I am. And because I have a smart cover, pencil, keyboard, and case, I am able to get the most out of my investment. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and just subscribe to Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud. All of these decisions increased the overall cost of my iPad Pro. Like most things in life, you get out of something what you put into it. In this case: money.
Things iPad Pro Cannot Do
Of all of the many things that iPad Pro can do, there are still a few key things that it cannot do: rip or burn CD's, apply firmware updates to external devices, print pictures with advanced settings control, backup/restore data to an external hard drive, or provide local access to terabytes of videos. For these reasons, I have not gotten rid of my 27" iMac. What I did instead was download OSX Server and set up a remote VPN connection to it. I then bought Transmit, Reflection, and Screens for the iPad to allow me to access and control the iMac remotely from the iPad. So far this has been a workable solution.
Pleasant Surprises
I have started taking my iPad Pro to meetings at work, mostly to take notes and refer to documents or web pages. In one meeting I was asked to present to the group and instead of declining because I didn't have my VGA adaptor, I did a quick search on the app store and found a free Epson app for controlling projectors over the network. Five minutes later I was wirelessly presenting to the group from my iPad.
The fact that the Pencil exists is not a surprise, but I am still surprised every time I use it. It does what I have hoped every single expensive stylus I have purchased would do -- write and draw responsively and accurately. Uniquely, the Pencil has met that expectation.
Conclusions
The iPad Pro is a new, expensive, and amazing piece of hardware. With the right combination of apps and extras, it is capable of handling 95% of my computing needs. With its portability, Pencil, battery life, and touch interface, it is able to do many things that my desktop Mac cannot do. And most of the remaining limitations are likely to be solved with clever software updates.
It is only going to get better (and cheaper) from here.
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