iPad With iOS 9, Apple’s giant iPad Pro will make run at Microsoft Windows hybrids

[pwhitehead]

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/09...o-will-make-run-at-microsoft-windows-hybrids/

The iPad Pro – Apple’s just-announced jumbo tablet – combined with the newest iOS software upgrade, could be a formidable competitor to Microsoft’s Surface tablet and other Windows hybrid devices.

Let’s start with the virtual keyboard. The iPad Pro’s laptop-sized 12.9-inch screen allows, for the first time, a “full-sized software keyboard,” as pointed about by Apple’s Phil Schiller when he introduced the tablet at the company’s September 9 event. That, combined with changes incorporated into Apple’s new iOS 9 operating system – released to the public this week – mean the software keyboard can function more like a real keyboard and trackpad.

Related: Apple unveils iPad Pro, new iPhones, revamps Apple TV

It works like this. As you type, if you place two fingers on the virtual keyboard, iOS 9 allows you to move the cursor in a way that mimics a trackpad. So, for example, you can highlight the text with a double tap or drag the cursor across a block of text. That may sound minor but it if you do a lot typing and editing on an iPad, it isn’t. (Just in case you prefer a physical keyboard, Apple is also offering the Smart Keyboard as an accessory with the Pro.)

That’s not all Apple is doing to make the tablet more laptop-like. iOS 9 also allows split view – a kind of multitasking – that lets you jump back and forth between side-by-side apps. For example, you can be typing in Notes or Microsoft Word and jump to an Excel spreadsheet in an adjoining window. Again, if you do a lot of productivity work (e.g., writing, editing, data input) on an iPad, this can be a godsend.

And if you need to jump to yet another app, like Mail, hold your finger on the top of the active app window and pull down: voila - a column (list) of active apps appears and you can easily jump to one of them.


Related: Early signs indicate strong demand for Apple's new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

While all of the above works on a smaller iPad like the Air 2, it will be amplified with the big-screen iPad Pro. And my guess is that it is no coincidence that Apple is making these changes to iOS in concert with the release of the iPad Pro.

Then there’s the hardware. With the iPad Pro Apple is also offering a stylus for the first time. The Apple Pencil recognizes how hard you’re pressing or a change of angle, so you can vary line weight, do subtle shading, and other artistic effects, not unlike a conventional pencil.

And Apple has reserved its most brawny processor for the iPad Pro, pushing around the 5.6 million pixels on its 2,732 x 2,048 resolution display. The A9X is faster than the A9 chip used in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus and arguably gets the Pro close in performance to a laptop like the 12-inch MacBook.

Taking on Windows hybrids

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 tablet and Dell’s Venue series of hybrids will see stiffer competition from Apple’s iPad Pro. The Surface Pro 3, for example, is also a big (12 inches), powerful tablet that comes with the Surface Pen (a stylus) and the option for a Microsoft keyboard. Ditto on Dell’s Venue 11 Pro: it comes with the option for a keyboard and stylus.

Related: iOS users grow wary of updates, but more than 10 percent still got iOS 9 on day one

And both Microsoft and Dell are rumored to preparing new products in the near future. This time around, however, they may find consumers and businesses also looking closely at the iPad Pro.

The iPad Pro, available in November, starts at $799, like the Surface Pro 3. Dell has similar pricing.

In order for them to compete well with the windows tablet market, they need to let us install OSX on them.

 

[old-wiz]

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/09...o-will-make-run-at-microsoft-windows-hybrids/



In order for them to compete well with the windows tablet market, they need to let us install OSX on them.

The iPad Pro has an Apple processor, and OSX needs an Intel Processor.

 

[charlituna]

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/09...o-will-make-run-at-microsoft-windows-hybrids/



In order for them to compete well with the windows tablet market, they need to let us install OSX on them.

Or it doesn't.time will tell

 

[RockSpider]

If you can install Windows on bootcamp maybe.

 

[pwhitehead]

If you can install Windows on bootcamp maybe.

there is no bootcamp for iPad pro

 

[TacticalDesire]

there is no bootcamp for iPad pro

Pretty sure they were being facetious

 

[newellj]

The Pro is going to be a better tablet, but the Surface Pro is a better laptop replacement. I don't see them being directly comparable due to a variety of differences (the biggest two in my mind being desktop vs. mobile OS and lack of mouse support for the iPP).

 

[spiderman0616]

I may be simplifying this a little too much in my brain, but I just don't see it happening.

1. Faster processor: yeah, but the Air 2 is already a screamer, and it's not necessarily setting the world on fire as a laptop replacement. People have been trying to use these things as laptops for years with only limited success, and that includes the iPad Air 2.

2. Bigger screen: For a tablet. For a laptop that's on the small end, and it's not optimal (in my opinion) for a full time productivity machine. When I'm trying to get major projects done, I have the ability to plug my Macbook Pro into my two giant widescreen monitors. Not the case with an iPad.

3. No ports: You can use iCloud Drive and Dropbox all you want, but iOS itself makes it hard to move files around. Yes, we have the share sheet now, but moving files around between apps is still a lot more trouble than it's worth and sometimes doesn't work at all as far as what app can open the kind of file you need to open. Also, see my second point about the ability to plug into bigger screens. AND anyone trying to do anything fancy with audio will find that their options are VERY limited in iOS as far as mics. For example, if I use the included Lightning cable on my Apogee mic for recording into iOS, it's only compatible with GarageBand. I can't use it for much else. On the Mac (or PC) I can tell it to use that mic as the default for everything, or I can tell specific programs to use it as the default.

Some of the things I do with my Macbook Pro are fringe cases, but most of the things I do are things people who work in offices every day need to do to get their jobs done. iOS just doesn't cut it in that situation. I'm a huge Apple fan, but if I had to choose between an iPad Pro and a Surface Pro as a full time work machine and those were the only two choices I had, I would HAVE to pick a Surface Pro.

 

[Badrottie]

iPad Pro runs on iOS 9 then Surface Pro wins - iOS 9 lacks FILE MANAGEMENT!!

 

[Michael Goff]

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/09...o-will-make-run-at-microsoft-windows-hybrids/



In order for them to compete well with the windows tablet market, they need to let us install OSX on them.

OS X with a touch screen? Lawlno.

 

[s2mikey]

I may be simplifying this a little too much in my brain, but I just don't see it happening.

1. Faster processor: yeah, but the Air 2 is already a screamer, and it's not necessarily setting the world on fire as a laptop replacement. People have been trying to use these things as laptops for years with only limited success, and that includes the iPad Air 2.

2. Bigger screen: For a tablet. For a laptop that's on the small end, and it's not optimal (in my opinion) for a full time productivity machine. When I'm trying to get major projects done, I have the ability to plug my Macbook Pro into my two giant widescreen monitors. Not the case with an iPad.

3. No ports: You can use iCloud Drive and Dropbox all you want, but iOS itself makes it hard to move files around. Yes, we have the share sheet now, but moving files around between apps is still a lot more trouble than it's worth and sometimes doesn't work at all as far as what app can open the kind of file you need to open. Also, see my second point about the ability to plug into bigger screens. AND anyone trying to do anything fancy with audio will find that their options are VERY limited in iOS as far as mics. For example, if I use the included Lightning cable on my Apogee mic for recording into iOS, it's only compatible with GarageBand. I can't use it for much else. On the Mac (or PC) I can tell it to use that mic as the default for everything, or I can tell specific programs to use it as the default.

Some of the things I do with my Macbook Pro are fringe cases, but most of the things I do are things people who work in offices every day need to do to get their jobs done. iOS just doesn't cut it in that situation. I'm a huge Apple fan, but if I had to choose between an iPad Pro and a Surface Pro as a full time work machine and those were the only two choices I had, I would HAVE to pick a Surface Pro.

Gotta agree here. The lack of ports on the iPad pro is just mind boggling at this stage. It wouldn't have been that hard to protect their walled garden while still giving some level of direct file access. Or something like that. The iPad pro, while cool is really just a bigger iPad with a few hardware extras. There isn't anything that screams "pro" about it, IMO.

 

[roadbloc]

They call it a 'pro' and yet for some reason there are no ports or even a file manager. What exactly is 'pro' about the iPad Pro?

 

[robeddie]

They call it a 'pro' and yet for some reason there are no ports or even a file manager. What exactly is 'pro' about the iPad Pro?

Just wait, in a couple years they'll release the iPad 'Super-Pro'. It still will have a suffocatingly limited iOS, no ports, but hey, I'll be 15 INCHES, and twice as fast as the current iPad, so you can play ... Crossy Road.

When Phil Shiller announces it on stage, talking about how it's half as thin as the 2015 iPad mini, he'll say 'can't innovate my ass?" When questioned by a few clear-eyed reporters, he'll get prickly and respond "we keep making the same product bigger and thinner, what else the hell do you people want?"

 

[ZBoater]

The iPad Pro is still an iPad. It's not a "real" computer. Apple would like us to think it is, but it isn't. It's still a tablet, albeit a really good one.

 

[Mivo]

The iPad Pro is still an iPad. It's not a "real" computer. Apple would like us to think it is, but it isn't. It's still a tablet, albeit a really good one.

A tablet is a computer. It just doesn't follow the definition of what a home computer has been for the past thirty or so years (at least since HDDs became common), but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the only viable, or even best, approach. There are probably more users out there whose computer needs can be 100% covered by a tablet than there are folks who need (or want) a file system.

We are all a little stuck in old ways of thinking when it comes to computing. I understand where Apple are coming from, I just wish they were a little less half-arsed about it. A traditional file system isn't needed, but the alternative as implemented in iOS is neither here nor there, either. It's as if they started a paradigm shift, then dropped the ball and have been stuck in limbo since.

 

[ZBoater]

A tablet is a computer. It just doesn't follow the definition of what a home computer has been for the past thirty or so years (at least since HDDs became common), but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the only viable, or even best, approach. There are probably more users out there whose computer needs can be 100% covered by a tablet than there are folks who need (or want) a file system.

We are all a little stuck in old ways of thinking when it comes to computing. I understand where Apple are coming from, I just wish they were a little less half-arsed about it. A traditional file system isn't needed, but the alternative as implemented in iOS is neither here nor there, either. It's as if they started a paradigm shift, then dropped the ball and have been stuck in limbo since.

Ummm, ok. I guess all those owners of Garmin GPSs and Escort Radar detectors are just stuck in old ways of thinking, huh?

 

[spiderman0616]

A tablet is a computer. It just doesn't follow the definition of what a home computer has been for the past thirty or so years (at least since HDDs became common), but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the only viable, or even best, approach. There are probably more users out there whose computer needs can be 100% covered by a tablet than there are folks who need (or want) a file system.

We are all a little stuck in old ways of thinking when it comes to computing. I understand where Apple are coming from, I just wish they were a little less half-arsed about it. A traditional file system isn't needed, but the alternative as implemented in iOS is neither here nor there, either. It's as if they started a paradigm shift, then dropped the ball and have been stuck in limbo since.

I'm only stuck in "old ways of thinking" because as far as the Apple product stable goes, I HAVE to think the old way. I love the iPad hardware itself and always have. It's a fantastically thin and light and versatile machine. But the software is seriously holding me back and it's far more complicated than just adding ports to connect to things, unfortunately. They would have to make major changes to the iOS platform paradigm for it to be able to completely replace full blown computers some day.

And that's where I'm so incredibly conflicted. They make an iPad Pro. It has a keyboard, a big screen, and a speedy processor. The storage is kind of meh, but I could work with it. But then they put iOS 9 on it, and it's not a special kind of iOS 9--it's the same iOS 9 that they debuted in June and the same one I ran on my iPad Air (minus split screen mode, which I really don't like on my Mac anyway). People who defend this thing as a computer say, "Well, give it time--eventually it will be a lot more like the Mac." Ok--so what that tells me is that the iPad Pro strives to become a Mac, which I already have.

To me, the iPad Pro caters to a future that isn't even close to being here yet. When this thing was released, a lot of tech pundits completely flipped out and declared it the beginning of the end for laptops and desktops. The day BEFORE the iPad Pro was released, you could probably find a zillion articles about how the iPad Air 2 plus keyboard was NOT a good full time computer replacement. The software is the exact same, using a keyboard with iOS has been happening since the original iPad, and the processor in BOTH the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Pro are total overkill for most users. The bigger screen is bigger compared to most tablets, but not very big for a laptop--in fact it's downright tiny for a laptop.

For the first time in a long time, I just really don't understand Apple on this one, and I also don't believe for a second that people are going to be able to ditch computers completely for an iOS device until iOS becomes at least a little bit more like a desktop OS. You don't have to necessarily give people access to critical system files to give them some kind of finder or file manager (NOT iCloud Drive). But my god, people need to get a little bit of a grip. Deep down, this is still the same iOS 9 with the same iPad paradigm.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I'm only stuck in "old ways of thinking" because as far as the Apple product stable goes, I HAVE to think the old way. I love the iPad hardware itself and always have. It's a fantastically thin and light and versatile machine. But the software is seriously holding me back and it's far more complicated than just adding ports to connect to things, unfortunately. They would have to make major changes to the iOS platform paradigm for it to be able to completely replace full blown computers some day.

And that's where I'm so incredibly conflicted. They make an iPad Pro. It has a keyboard, a big screen, and a speedy processor. The storage is kind of meh, but I could work with it. But then they put iOS 9 on it, and it's not a special kind of iOS 9--it's the same iOS 9 that they debuted in June and the same one I ran on my iPad Air (minus split screen mode, which I really don't like on my Mac anyway). People who defend this thing as a computer say, "Well, give it time--eventually it will be a lot more like the Mac." Ok--so what that tells me is that the iPad Pro strives to become a Mac, which I already have.

To me, the iPad Pro caters to a future that isn't even close to being here yet. When this thing was released, a lot of tech pundits completely flipped out and declared it the beginning of the end for laptops and desktops. The day BEFORE the iPad Pro was released, you could probably find a zillion articles about how the iPad Air 2 plus keyboard was NOT a good full time computer replacement. The software is the exact same, using a keyboard with iOS has been happening since the original iPad, and the processor in BOTH the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Pro are total overkill for most users. The bigger screen is bigger compared to most tablets, but not very big for a laptop--in fact it's downright tiny for a laptop.

For the first time in a long time, I just really don't understand Apple on this one, and I also don't believe for a second that people are going to be able to ditch computers completely for an iOS device until iOS becomes at least a little bit more like a desktop OS. You don't have to necessarily give people access to critical system files to give them some kind of finder or file manager (NOT iCloud Drive). But my god, people need to get a little bit of a grip. Deep down, this is still the same iOS 9 with the same iPad paradigm.

i'm actually one of those people that could do away with a full blown laptop if apple would make slight changes to iOS. I just don't do a lot of heavy tasks on the computer. But sometimes I need to use a computer and not a tablet. I'm actually toying with the idea of getting a surface pro 4 when that comes out. Just think about it, apple still hasn't even made a touch screen laptop or desktop...and how long have those been out in the pc world? Again, i stated it in another thread...i love apple stuff, but some of the things they do is a huge money grab and get people to hang on that much longer until the next update and so on. Look at the apple TV. They don't really innovate anymore they just come out with something thinner or a tad bigger screen and everyone freaks out. I still don't get the new MacBook...people were claiming on dropping the iPad completely and using that as their main device. What difference is it from an 11inch MBA besides the nicer screen and it's thinner? Yet, everyone freaks out saying it's revolutionary....AND they charge $1,299 for it, which is ridiculous.

I am like you and agree with what you're saying, but on the other end i'm kind of tired of waiting around to see what apple is gonna do. Their answer to revolutionary tv is an app store and siri searches itunes content? Their answer to the iPad community is an ipad that is 3 inches bigger and has a stylus? lol

I am disappointed too.

 

[spiderman0616]

i'm actually one of those people that could do away with a full blown laptop if apple would make slight changes to iOS. I just don't do a lot of heavy tasks on the computer. But sometimes I need to use a computer and not a tablet. I'm actually toying with the idea of getting a surface pro 4 when that comes out. Just think about it, apple still hasn't even made a touch screen laptop or desktop...and how long have those been out in the pc world? Again, i stated it in another thread...i love apple stuff, but some of the things they do is a huge money grab and get people to hang on that much longer until the next update and so on. Look at the apple TV. They don't really innovate anymore they just come out with something thinner or a tad bigger screen and everyone freaks out. I still don't get the new MacBook...people were claiming on dropping the iPad completely and using that as their main device. What difference is it from an 11inch MBA besides the nicer screen and it's thinner? Yet, everyone freaks out saying it's revolutionary....AND they charge $1,299 for it, which is ridiculous.

I am like you and agree with what you're saying, but on the other end i'm kind of tired of waiting around to see what apple is gonna do. Their answer to revolutionary tv is an app store and siri searches itunes content? Their answer to the iPad community is an ipad that is 3 inches bigger and has a stylus? lol

I am disappointed too.

I think what I bolded above is what annoys me the most. A few months ago, the new Macbook was the newest thing, so everyone was going to drop their iPads for that. Now the iPad Pro is the newest thing so everyone is going to drop their Macbooks for the iPad Pro.

Also, charging $1299 for the Macbook is every bit as ridiculous as what they're charging for the iPad Pro with keyboard and pencil--which is about the same amount.

Apple is sending a very mixed message here, and there's no clear way to tell what the more future proof investment is.

 

[dyn]

They call it a 'pro' and yet for some reason there are no ports or even a file manager. What exactly is 'pro' about the iPad Pro?

What exactly is pro about ports and a file manager? Exactly: nothing and we have plenty of examples of that since server based computing really took off (read: cloud computing).

It is all about how you manage your content and file managers are a thing of the past. Most of them lack things like tags, projects, version control, subscriptions, automatically update the content of a document, support database connections, projectmanagement support and so on.

File managers are really basic things that do nothing but offer files. There is no integration with other applications, services or any collaboration functionality. You know, all the stuff you need in a "pro" environment (the correct word would be "business" instead of "pro" but people seem to like to call it "pro" instead). There are many webbased solutions that do provide these things ranging from systems like ERP, CRM, projectmanagement (Trello and the likes) to something like Blackboard, Moodle and SharePoint. That's what teaming up with IBM is all about. Developing these kind of services that can be used on a myriad of devices including Apples tablets.

If anything, iOS needs to integrate with those services instead of having a file manager unless it is something like the notification centre: a central point where you can add all of these services.

However, the iPad Pro is called Pro because it aims at the professional artist, not at businesses in general. Artists need something like a big piece of paper, pencils, pens, crayons and so on. The iPad Pro is just that when combined with the Pencil. The only shame in that is that the Pencil is a separate purchase, it should have come with the iPad Pro imo.

Again, file managers are very very old fashioned. Most of the data in businesses are in applications which usually store them in databases. Businesses want reports and dashboarding thus requiring data to be stored in a database.

 

[spiderman0616]

What exactly is pro about ports and a file manager? Exactly: nothing and we have plenty of examples of that since server based computing really took off (read: cloud computing).

It is all about how you manage your content and file managers are a thing of the past. Most of them lack things like tags, projects, version control, subscriptions, automatically update the content of a document, support database connections, projectmanagement support and so on.

File managers are really basic things that do nothing but offer files. There is no integration with other applications, services or any collaboration functionality. You know, all the stuff you need in a "pro" environment (the correct word would be "business" instead of "pro" but people seem to like to call it "pro" instead). There are many webbased solutions that do provide these things ranging from systems like ERP, CRM, projectmanagement (Trello and the likes) to something like Blackboard, Moodle and SharePoint. That's what teaming up with IBM is all about. Developing these kind of services that can be used on a myriad of devices including Apples tablets.

If anything, iOS needs to integrate with those services instead of having a file manager unless it is something like the notification centre: a central point where you can add all of these services.

However, the iPad Pro is called Pro because it aims at the professional artist, not at businesses in general. Artists need something like a big piece of paper, pencils, pens, crayons and so on. The iPad Pro is just that when combined with the Pencil. The only shame in that is that the Pencil is a separate purchase, it should have come with the iPad Pro imo.

Again, file managers are very very old fashioned. Most of the data in businesses are in applications which usually store them in databases. Businesses want reports and dashboarding thus requiring data to be stored in a database.

I don't require a file manager necessarily, but I do require an easy way to deal with files, and it can't be by opening a zillion apps to get files from one place to another. I'm all about retooling my thinking to adapt to a touch based OS--bring it on--but it can't be adaptation for the sake of adaptation. There are some things that just plain and simply AREN'T easier on iOS than they are on OS X, not even using alternate methods. Many of those things would be fixed with software updates, but that means you have to turn the iPad Pro into a touch screen Mac.

 

[robeddie]

I think what I bolded above is what annoys me the most. A few months ago, the new Macbook was the newest thing, so everyone was going to drop their iPads for that. Now the iPad Pro is the newest thing so everyone is going to drop their Macbooks for the iPad Pro.

Also, charging $1299 for the Macbook is every bit as ridiculous as what they're charging for the iPad Pro with keyboard and pencil--which is about the same amount.

Apple is sending a very mixed message here, and there's no clear way to tell what the more future proof investment is.

Agree with everything you say, but have one quibble. Calling a laptop or an ipad an 'investment' seems silly to me. A house is an investment, a famous painting is an investment. Computers, like cars are consumables that will lose value rather dramatically with time.
Call it what it is: A purchase. Using the word investment for something like a macbook seems silly, if not pompous.

 

[dyn]

I don't require a file manager necessarily, but I do require an easy way to deal with files, and it can't be by opening a zillion apps to get files from one place to another. I'm all about retooling my thinking to adapt to a touch based OS--bring it on--but it can't be adaptation for the sake of adaptation. There are some things that just plain and simply AREN'T easier on iOS than they are on OS X, not even using alternate methods. Many of those things would be fixed with software updates, but that means you have to turn the iPad Pro into a touch screen Mac.

What I'm saying is that it doesn't mean that having a file manager is a "pro" thing. Like I explained, in a lot of "pro" cases there simply are no files. Data can be stored in files but they can also be stored in databases. It all depends on what kind of data you have and how you deal with it. That means that sometimes you have to draw the conclusion that you need a different kind of OS/device to fulfil your requirements. It certainly doesn't mean that the device that doesn't fulfil your requirements is "not for pro use".

There are also many different professions requiring many different solutions. What works for you may not work for someone else or vice versa. Just because it doesn't do the "pro" stuff you want it to do, doesn't make this iPad unsuited for "pro" use. Just look at how many people are already using the iPad to do their professional sketching, painting, drawing, etc. on it. Apparently that market warrants a dedicated product.

If there is one thing that Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 has showed us, is that creating 1 OS for both tablet and desktop/notebook use is a huge challenge. What works for the tablet might piss off the desktop/notebook users and vice versa. It'll take quite some time to get things right if it is even possible.

 

[spiderman0616]

What I'm saying is that it doesn't mean that having a file manager is a "pro" thing. Like I explained, in a lot of "pro" cases there simply are no files. Data can be stored in files but they can also be stored in databases. It all depends on what kind of data you have and how you deal with it. That means that sometimes you have to draw the conclusion that you need a different kind of OS/device to fulfil your requirements. It certainly doesn't mean that the device that doesn't fulfil your requirements is "not for pro use".

There are also many different professions requiring many different solutions. What works for you may not work for someone else or vice versa. Just because it doesn't do the "pro" stuff you want it to do, doesn't make this iPad unsuited for "pro" use. Just look at how many people are already using the iPad to do their professional sketching, painting, drawing, etc. on it. Apparently that market warrants a dedicated product.

If there is one thing that Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 has showed us, is that creating 1 OS for both tablet and desktop/notebook use is a huge challenge. What works for the tablet might piss off the desktop/notebook users and vice versa. It'll take quite some time to get things right if it is even possible.

Definitely agree with everything above.

Agree with everything you say, but have one quibble. Calling a laptop or an ipad an 'investment' seems silly to me. A house is an investment, a famous painting is an investment. Computers, like cars are consumables that will lose value rather dramatically with time.
Call it what it is: A purchase. Using the word investment for something like a macbook seems silly, if not pompous.

I deeply apologize to you for using an English word in a way that you don't like.

 

[robeddie]

I deeply apologize to you for using an English word in a way that you don't like.

Ah I guess I deserve that sarcastic response, but honestly, you're not using the word 'investment' correctly. If for instance, I used the word 'mesh' when I really mean 'clash' ... someones gonna point it out.
Anyway, like I said, I'm on board with everything you said. The direction apple is going is confounding.