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I didn't agree with Jobs then, and I don't agree with him now. "Personal Computers" will be around for a very long time. I love my iPad to death, but my computer is much better for getting work done.

My GF uses my iPad more than me, but she still needs my PC (she's using it RIGHT now) to search the web for work related tasks. People need PC's for work, and work isn't going anywhere. Every non-tech person I know in my family still need PCs for certain tasks, even though they use the heck out of Apple's mobile computers.

I feel that we will use our PCs less and less, but there's something about the desk and chair experience that an iPad can't replicate.
I don't think its because of that. It's more of how Apple decided to do the UI design for the original iPad. All they really did was increase the size of the iPod Touch which worked.... but was a horrible UI for any form of serious work. Changing an app required several steps and always brought you out of the app you were in, it never replicated the feeling of productivity you got on a computer, where it felt like you saw the whole picture. With a desktop computer, you always got this sense that you saw every UI element and that you were in master control. With the iPad, you just don't get that feeling; you get the feeling that the iPad is controlling you and that you have to adjust to how it wants to work.
 
LOL, now who says Apple lovers are "iSheep"? This article and most of the replies up to this point see the BS Apple tries to get people to believe. I like Apple products and have Apple products, but even I laughed at the title of this article.

I have no interest in upgrading to a iPad Pro, nothing about it appealing to me enough to spend the money. It has nice features I'll admit, but not enough to make me spend the money.

It's a great devise for content consumption but very limited on content creation when it doesn't support major content creative software. I'm not a creative professional but even I require the software capabilies of products like Premiere Pro and Photoshop, I think most novices do, much less pros.

Sorry Tim, but I think you're wrong and I think iPad Pro sales are going to prove it to you. It's not "Pro" enough for serious professionals and for people who just want to check their email, web browse, Facebook, Twitter, etc, a cheap laptop fits that need for a LOT cheaper.
 
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Can it run Xcode or other IDEs? No. Can it run any of the full desktop Adobe Suite? No. Can it run the full MS Office Suite? No.

Can it replace notebooks for "many, many people"? No.


I would say your average, everyday person does not worry about Xcone, or other IDEs. Nor do they need the Adobe Suite. Full MS Office Suite? Possibly, but even then it is not necessary for your average everyday user.

For me personally this is a product I would never buy. I am quite happy with my MBP and iPad Mini for what I do. However, I do not have such a narrow world view that I believe the rest of the world must all be fluent in everything tech. That seems to the case with a lot of people on tech boards. Apple isn't targeting the power user. That isn't where the money is. Most of the non-tech people in my and my fiancé's family have pretty much shed themselves of a computer to go the tablet route. If it has the capability to browse Facebook, answer emails, and shop online I would say it offers more than enough capability for the everyday user they are targeting.

Just because you need power user features, doesn't mean the chef, truck driver, waitress, priest, or carpenter need it. There is an entire world outside the tech sector that could care less about the features that are important to you and they are the majority.
 
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So disappointed in Tim's comment. He's full of sh*t
I'm not sure why you're "disappointed". He has a product to sell, he's trying to sell it. If you take "many, many" or whatever he said to mean "millions", he's probably right, even if that's no longer a big number to Apple. What do you expect him to say, "This thing probably is only good for a few people."?
 
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Sorry Tim, still not selling me. I just bought an i7 Surface Pro 3 with 8gb of RAM for $650 on eBay, and got an open box Surface Pro 4 Type Cover w/fingerprint sensor for under $115 at Best Buy. That's still less than your entry level iPad Pro, and the Pen was in the box. As an Apple fanboy of close to ten years now, it pains me to say that Microsoft made a better professional product.

Don't get me wrong, the iPad HAS already replaced the PC for many people, including my own father. It's simpler to use, and virtually fool proof as far as being able to accidentally mess something up beyond repair. The difference here is that folks like my Dad won't need an $800 version of the iPad to be satisfied. When you put "Pro" in the name, you're expected to live up to that, and this product just doesn't do that unfortunately. I'm sure the Apple Pencil will be "magical" and the "best stylus on the planet" but not everyone is an artist, and I don't really care if Angry Birds has a slightly better framerate.

The iPad Pro is really something that's going to need to be put to use by developers first and foremost. If Adobe makes full desktop class versions of their products for the iPad Pro, it will be a nice start, but it will take time. I expect the second or third gen will be worth picking up once the software is there for it, much like how the original iPad took some time to get native iPad versions that differentiated themselves from the phone versions. For right now though, something like the iPad Air 2 is perfect for the people Tim is referring to.
 
I would say your average, everyday person does not worry about Xcone, or other IDEs. Nor do they need the Adobe Suite. Full MS Office Suite? Possibly, but even then it is not necessary for your average everyday user.

Apple isn't targeting the power user. That isn't where the money is. Most of the non-tech people in my and my fiancé's family have pretty much shed themselves of a computer to go the tablet route. If it has the capability to browse Facebook, answer emails, and shop online I would say it offers more than enough capability for the everyday user they are targeting.

With them marketing it as a "Pro" device, one would think that it has the capability to run "Pro" apps, no? Everyone keeps saying that this iPad Pro is good for the general consumer, but then why does it carry the "Pro" naming? Average consumers aren't people you would think that would be in the market for a "Pro" device. If it can't do anything "Pro", don't call it "Pro."
 
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Sorry Tim, but I think you're wrong and I think iPad Pro sales are going to prove it to you. It's not "Pro" enough for serious professionals and for people who just want to check their email, web browse, Facebook, Twitter, etc, a cheap laptop fits that need for a LOT cheaper.

There are lots and lots of things that most consumers don't understand, as evidenced by quotes like this.

Every business of any size has at least 1 PC per person that is basically a dumb terminal running Windows. That dumb terminal has costs associated with it, both hard and soft costs. The iPad Pro is designed to replace a large number of those dumb Windows terminals with a more secure and more manageable device.

You don't have to understand or validate the market for it to exist. It's there and it's real, and it's the future. You don't have to like it, and in fact your opinions don't matter at all. This is being driven by corporate IT via Apple's partnership with IBM.

Apple's launching it to consumers because Apple is a consumer company. But as most everyone has realized, the use case for this in a consumer space is, well, difficult to justify. However, mount this on a VESA mount with 11ac and you've got a small terminal that's easy to use, saves space, is manageable, and isn't subject to random virus attacks.

This tablet isn't for you, macrumors readers. This is for those poor corporate users who don't do anything except run custom apps in a workflow that's designed to facilitate regulatory compliance.
 
Don't get me wrong, the iPad HAS already replaced the PC for many people, including my own father. It's simpler to use, and virtually fool proof as far as being able to accidentally mess something up beyond repair. The difference here is that folks like my Dad won't need an $800 version of the iPad to be satisfied. When you put "Pro" in the name, you're expected to live up to that, and this product just doesn't do that unfortunately. I'm sure the Apple Pencil will be "magical" and the "best stylus on the planet" but not everyone is an artist, and I don't really care if Angry Birds has a slightly better framerate.

Spot on. With Pro in the name, you'd expect that it would do something worthy of the Pro name. This doesn't really do that at all IMO.
 
That Tim Cook is a funny guy.....now get back to changing the world and get those software guys to write great software again and stop this obsession with thin pink hardware!!!
 
"many, many people." They don't read anything here ... unless copied into email and forwarded to them.

Editing photographs cannot really be done on other than desktops with larger displays. Applying various effects to photos is not editing.
 
However, just to play devils advocate, I think Tim's statement could apply to many people. Most folks have a work computer provided by their employer that runs all of the professional apps required to do their jobs. So, for people buying a device for purely home use, I think most folks really don't need much more than a tablet, and an iPad Pro might be just the thing.

Yes, and these people will buy the regular iPad and be perfectly happy with it.


Every business of any size has at least 1 PC per person that is basically a dumb terminal running Windows. That dumb terminal has costs associated with it, both hard and soft costs. The iPad Pro is designed to replace a large number of those dumb Windows terminals with a more secure and more manageable device.

The iPad doesn't have good Enterprise management tools, lacks Active Directory Support, USB for transferring files, ability to run full versions of Office, and is priced similar to a Microsoft Surface which is a full blown tablet PC.

The iPad Pro has no chance - I think it'll be a niche product Apple keeps around just because they can.
 
As much as I think some of you are being too harsh on the iPad Pro, I do think that at a price point $100-$200 less expensive it's a much more interesting value proposition. At that price that "Oh man, it's almost costing me as much as a MacBook, do I really need this?" argument goes away.
 
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Spot on. With Pro in the name, you'd expect that it would do something worthy of the Pro name. This doesn't really do that at all IMO.

If they just would have called this the iPad Plus or something along those lines, it would have felt like less of a lie than it does in reality, and could have helped level the expectations. It's a bigger screen iPad with some optional accessories that have some exclusivity tied to this device, until next year when they announce the iPad Air 3 with Apple Pencil compatibility. Apple has just gotten too predictable lately and it's a shame that I have to turn to a Microsoft keynote to actually be surprised by something. Heck, even Lenovo is making some really great looking all-in-one iMac-like Windows desktops with huge adjustable touch screens (I get kind of giddy seeing them on the hit TV show "Arrow"). People will still buy the iPad Pro up, but Apple just aren't the innovators they used to be.

I still absolutely love Apple's ability to make seamless products and experiences for the most part (especially in contrast to the buggy launches of Microsoft's new products), but we all know they're capable of more.
 
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I could never see this thing REPLACING my notebook, but rather complementing it very well. Parallels will emulate my Mac environment for me, but I would obviously need my Mac for that... So no Timmy, won't be replacing any Mac hardware of mine; will just give me a new way to play with it.
 
I don't see it for most people No file structure, no mouse support, and the iOS apps are universally far less useful and flexible than their OS X cousins. Tablets are great, but they are really their own category, not PC-killers.
 
A Macbook can't replace a pc to be fair, let alone an iPad. They all have their niche but the pc does everything, it does it well, it's supported all over the world, and it costs less. Uncool as it may be, it will remain the king for a while longer.
 
In fact, for most of the people who are not members of MR, iOS devices or Android devices have replaced their laptops. In fact, I sometimes find myself doing the same thing on my MacBook Pro as I do on my iPad.

Maybe the problem is the Pro moniker.
 
How many homes had PCs 30 years ago? Just because you've become used to it, doesn't mean that the next generation will be interested in the least in having a computer anchored to their home.

Sorry to break it to you but we old folks from the previous generations have been left behind. Kids today will spend 99.9% (if not a full 100%) of their time on their own personal computer: the one in their pocket.

Don't get me wrong, I love my pocket computer too. It goes everywhere with me. But I love the interaction with my desktop more. Maybe as someone who is older I appreciate the curatorial aspect of an iMac...a place to collect things. I think of iOS devices as temporary or throwaway...a place for fun, consumption, sharing. All good things, but little permanence. But you're absolutely right, the Snap Chat generation doesn't care that much about archiving a life, but about living it in the moment. Apple should try to capitalize on that.

But we've gotten away from the main subject of this thread, the iPad Pro. It doesn't really do the trick for either generation: the older Mac fans and power users who need file systems, backups, USB ports, and professional software; nor the young kids who want instant gratification in the palm of their hands. I believe the iPad Pro will only find a niche audience for now.
 
If you were doing shopping/research and you open lots of tabs (this is common usage for mainstream users too) what's better a PC or iPad? I know the newest iPad has more ram and doesn't suffer as much but remember even if we consider just 1 generation ago (iPad Air 1), it was colossal Tab-Refresh-Gate which made it very slow going back and forth among tabs.
 
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