Video Review: Using the 12.9-Inch M1 iPad Pro for Two Months

[IllinoisCorn]

So... what? We just ignore the fact that it has already replaced laptops?

It's such a silly argument. For some people it can replace a laptop. But that's always been the case. For some people, it is the only device they need. My wife is a great example of that. She only uses an iPad and a phone---nothing else

But that is not the user we're talking about. The user we're talking about wants to do all the "Mac" things on an iPad.

The iPad can't do all the Mac things well enough to replace a Mac for most users, especially the ones reading MacRumors. That's the user we're talking about.

 

[skitidetdu]

Even if Logic Pro come for the iPad I don't think I would switch out my laptop as my mobile rig. I've used GarageBand and other DAWs on the iPad and always gravitated back to the laptop.

Also, pro users seldom use one app for their work so those would need to be ported as well as all the 3rd party plugins.

 

[mazz0]

You really didn't need to give this 2 months - you, and we, knew all that the day you got it. Nothing significant has changed in iPad OS, so it was always going to be essentially the same as the 2018 model.

 

[frifra]

Are you running a beta? That sounds awfully poor.

Have you gone into the power section to see if anything else is running? Did you set it up fresh or via a restore? Something doesnt seem right.

No, nothing else is running. Set it up fresh.
Used the battery section in settings for my numbers.

Edit: Since the last charge it seems better. Almost 3 hours from 100% to 80% with only safari and brightness level 5.

 

[R3k]

Typical reply, but hey. On 11”” ipp


Been using mine with a magic keyboard for work for the past month, it’s been really frustrating.

Lots of things not cool for it to be a mac replacement. from google forcing you to use their sheets app instead of the web version- it sucks, to certain links that are sent my way are broken but not on my Mac. Dropbox condenses file names so I can’t tell what’s what sometimes. Harder to get an overview in iOS mail via Mac mail. Way more hoops to jump through when organizing and filing files I’m sent.

It’s contributed to me really losing an overview on the ‘office’ side of my work. Can’t wait to get the upcoming laptop and get everything sorted and my head around it all again.

 

[sstreky]

I must say, my 12.9" 2021 blows my M1 Air away in a number of ways . And the Air is pretty good. Funny how the iPad has overtaken the Laptop, and by a good margin.

But a lot of it is the new screens, which are remarkable. When the Pro laptops come out with this, it's going to be something.

I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would buy an M1 Air and a M1 iPad Pro?

And just so I’m clear I don’t mean that to be critical, this is America after all you can do what you want.

It’s just that is something I would so never do on the basis that they are so alike in so many ways it just doesn’t make sense I guess.

 

[jeffjank33]

Typical reply, but hey. On 11”” ipp


Been using mine with a magic keyboard for work for the past month, it’s been really frustrating.

Lots of things not cool for it to be a mac replacement. from google forcing you to use their sheets app instead of the web version- it sucks, to certain links that are sent my way are broken but not on my Mac. Dropbox condenses file names so I can’t tell what’s what sometimes. Harder to get an overview in iOS mail via Mac mail. Way more hoops to jump through when organizing and filing files I’m sent.

It’s contributed to me really losing an overview on the ‘office’ side of my work. Can’t wait to get the upcoming laptop and get everything sorted and my head around it all again.

That is probably one of the most frustrating items, why do web apps like google docs/sheets not work via the browser like I’m MBP.

guessing it has to be OS related but can’t we just get a duplicate browser experience. My 2021 1tb 12.9” IPP has more power than my 2019 16” mbp but it can’t do anything on par or better

 

[AMTYVLE]

Was not a 2020 iPad Pro powered by Apple’s own A12Z chip? 🤔

Yes, sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me.

 

[jmgregory1]

No regrets on my launch-day purchase (12.9” M1 5G, 256gb), even though it replaced a 2018 12.9”, and it is my daily driver for work. In general what I really like about it, when paired with the Magic Keyboard, is how it does replace my rMBP, and I can easily shift to note taking on it using the Pencil, or video consumption at the end of the day. Is it perfect? Of course not. The new mini LED screen is awesome, and the additional ram compared to my 2018 makes shifting between apps more fluid. Hopefully Apple will add in external screen support, but the lack of it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I don’t see going back to a proper laptop.

 

[StuBeck]

This is why, for me, the Surface Pro line is better in this regard. The poor components in the Surface is a downside. But Apple could destroy the surface line if they made it more professional workflow oriented.

This is why my wife switched to a Surface Pro. She had a MacBook Air that was running out of space, and replacing the hard drive was going to cost hundreds of dollars. Being able to take hand written notes was something she was interested in doing, but there was also specific software she had to run in her lab. The Apple Store's solution was for her to buy a $2000 MacBook Pro plus a $900 iPad Pro and the $300 Pen/Keyboard solution. It was $800 for a Surface Pro with keyboard and pen.

She misses some aspects of the Mac, but loves having a touch screen. When Apple decides to make a touch screen laptop, we'll both likely move back.

 

[switz]

When using either the iPad Pro M1 11" or 12.9" in landscape mode, the port is on the side. I have attached a multiport device That allows all sort of items to be attached (ethernet, printer on the network, SD card etc. Suddenly, it is similar to the 12" MacBook with a single USB port that was recently retired for many folks.

I have the 11" M1 which can be used on any airline "micro flat platform" when traveling by Air. If one wants super programs, then run them on a regular Mac laptop that can have 2TB or more of SSD, over 64Gb of ram and more processors and plan to pay dearly for that capability. My fully loaded 16" MBPro was over $6,000 in December of 2019.

Words are that the M! is more powerful, but the limited 16Gb of memory means the SSD cycle count is being used up very fast as a swap device and cache for program memory.

Getting the proper tool for the job is best practice.

 

[4jasontv]

It's such a silly argument. For some people it can replace a laptop. But that's always been the case. For some people, it is the only device they need. My wife is a great example of that. She only uses an iPad and a phone---nothing else

But that is not the user we're talking about. The user we're talking about wants to do all the "Mac" things on an iPad.

The iPad can't do all the Mac things well enough to replace a Mac for most users, especially the ones reading MacRumors. That's the user we're talking about.

And it never will. A car will never do all the things a truck does. A microwave will never do all the things an oven does. It makes no sense to ask a product to replicate another product exactly. All that matters is can many people stop using one and only use the other.

For iPads and laptops, yeah, they are already doing that.

 

[mi7chy]

They could make it a lot more useful running MacOS with support for iPadOS apps if they wanted to but Tim Cook wouldn't get hundreds of millions in compensation for you buying only one integrated device vs two (MacBook + iPad). OS and apps are so gimped on my overpriced M1 iPad Pro 512GB that I wouldn't recommend it over a ~$500 Lenovo Yoga 6 convertable laptop.

 

[Macalway]

I can’t for the life of me figure out why you would buy an M1 Air and a M1 iPad Pro?

And just so I’m clear I don’t mean that to be critical, this is America after all you can do what you want.

It’s just that is something I would so never do on the basis that they are so alike in so many ways it just doesn’t make sense I guess.

That ain't the half of it .

 

[jmgregory1]

They could make it a lot more useful running MacOS with support for iPadOS apps if they wanted to but Tim Cook wouldn't get hundreds of millions in compensation for you buying only one integrated device vs two (MacBook + iPad). OS and apps are so gimped on my overpriced M1 iPad Pro 512GB that I wouldn't recommend it over a ~$500 Lenovo Yoga 6 convertable laptop.

It could be just me, but I’m tired of so many people suggesting that Apple makes product decisions that factor in adding or omitting features on one device so that they get a sale on another device. Have you never worked for a consumer product manufacturer before, or have any idea of how companies develop and produce products?

Apple’s iPad team, like every other product team, sets goals for the product and the technical development teams work to hit those goals. Never do the teams get together to gimp one product or favor another. Sure, there are director level, or exec level people who have insight at 30,000 feet, but they’re not pushing some conspiracy of ”hey iPad team, why don’t you make the new M1 iPad not work quite right, so that people have to buy an M1 MacBook”. It’s insanity to even suggest this - or maybe it’s just a way that people get to write something to provoke a response from others on forums like this, so they feel their life has more meaning…

 

[raindogg]

I got an iPad Air from work and I think that's a waste of money. All I use it for is checking their secure email. I can't use it for any actual work.

Lots of wasted power.

 

[fontman]

I can see that the screen is nice and the speed is OK working with a keyboard and trackpad makes it a lot easier but it's better off to work in the browser based apps than actually the apps that are provided for iOS

 

[HVDynamo]

I just ordered an 11" ipad Pro with smart keyboard and pencil. To be completely honest, I don't NEED it. But I have a really old iPad 4 that has been my tablet and while I do still occasionally use it, it's stuck on iOS 10 and most apps are no longer supported for updates and it's super slow to use. It's gone from tolerable to mostly unusable now. This upgrade will be insane, and I get that it's completely over powered for my needs today, but if I aim to keep it like my old iPad 4, that performance will pay off someday. I used to use my old iPad a lot, and I think I have just cut back on using it due to the compatibility and extreme slowness.

 

[Mitochris]

If you read any Steve Jobs books, they did know iPhone would cannibalize iPod sales but Jobs reaction was, if we don’t cannibalize ourselves, someone else will.

Well, this is sort of what I meant. They knew it would replace the iPod. They never thought they could do-exist.

 

[dorkygeek]

One thing I was really looking forward to when I ordered my iPad is SideCar. This app has been out for a long time, but really it's a fantastic way to basically double your MacBook's screen real estate with an iPad. You don't need an M1 iPad for SideCar, but it definitely helped me justify the purchase (I didn't have an iPad before the M1). Yes ~$2K is insane to spend on a glorified external monitor, but this one happens to also be an iPad and travels very very well.

 

[R3k]

That is probably one of the most frustrating items, why do web apps like google docs/sheets not work via the browser like I’m MBP.

guessing it has to be OS related but can’t we just get a duplicate browser experience. My 2021 1tb 12.9” IPP has more power than my 2019 16” mbp but it can’t do anything on par or better

Usually you can force the web version of most things and use in Safari, just Google flat out refuse to do this. Maybe I have to use Chrome on iPad lol.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

I'll just wait for them to reduce the price when M1X releases and I'll replace my Air2 with it.

 

[R3k]

Its looking very clear to me that Apple are exploring all their options to amalgamate iOS and MacOS…in the future. I’m thinking there is a very good chance we’ll see a merging of iPadOS and MacOS when we next see a major OS overhaul. No need for the iPad to be roped to the iPhone anymore, with Apple Silicon

 

[Vldmr]

There are other apps similar to Logic X and Final Cur Pro, but just less capable, fitting with the purpose of iPad Pros. If you heavily rely on Logic X or Final Cut Pro, you are supposed to be using Mac Pros instead of MacBooks.

I’ve been doing it wrong all these years. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[mi7chy]

Usually you can force the web version of most things and use in Safari, just Google flat out refuse to do this. Maybe I have to use Chrome on iPad lol.

You actually need a full desktop browser which requires a different OS so either MacOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc. That's one of the several reasons why iPadOS can never be a computer/laptop replacement.