20 reasons why I'm done with iPad

[bnmcj1]

“Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Seriously, if you want to troll MR you should offer more, but 4 pages in --this
seems to have worked. Moving on to
Why I'm opting for the Surface Pro 4 over the iPad Pro
for some real passion

If there could just be one thread with some grain of criticism towards iPad's current state without someone being called out as a troll... Don't see much passion in you "contribution",
which seem kinda troll like to me.

Actually I have a real passion for let's say the potential in iPad. Otherwise this thread would obviously not have been made.

What I am seeing in this thread is just as expected; the iPad is a third device which sits between the phone and computer - just as it was introduced.

See, the big problem about that is that the current state of technologies allows for us to have a 2-1 device without the compromises of iPad. Don't say this can't be done within the weight of the 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Adding 10 key features, including optional mouse support in e.g. productivity apps (office and also Safari) would be a great start. People are buying a special mouse for their iPads already to survive using VPN/Citrix. We don't even need Mac OS on iPad - we just need it to be further developed without being Mac OS.

The answers in this thread - in my opinion - really confirms the current state of iPad.

Not for 99% of people.

However this is why laptops will continue to be important for so many people. Not for me but sounds like for you it needs to be.

If you don't think that 99 % of people and especially students (who the pro are also marketed at) could use e.g. a cursor when using office, browsing and researching/writing with multiwindows, and that iPad's touch interface can't be maintained by offering that, then we might as well quit discussing.

We are seeing a slow transition towards this anyway, as the iPads seems to get more and more windows, but unfortunately in a very limited way in terms of functionality.
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I'm not sure where you're getting to that concusion, but hey, you do you.

It is quite obvious how many people still need a laptop even though the state of iPad as the introduced third devices could easily be tipped over to status of a true 2-1 alternative without sacrificing anything, and without making it Mac OS.

But fine. You seem to accept the current state of iPad from a customer perspective, and I find it unacceptable by today's standards.

 

[bensisko]

But fine. You seem to accept the current state of iPad from a customer perspective, and I find it unacceptable by today's standards.

I find "unacceptable" an odd phrase to use.
I get that it's not the device that matches your specific needs, but why does it have to? Since there are other options (e.g. A laptop) the iPad can be a different device for users who want a different experience. Not everything has to be the same for everybody.

 

[bnmcj1]

I find "unacceptable" an odd phrase to use.
I get that it's not the device that matches your specific needs, but why does it have to? Since there are other options (e.g. A laptop) the iPad can be a different device for users who want a different experience. Not everything has to be the same for everybody.

It does not have to match my needs, but due to current possibilities in tech, this debate is really about whether consumers should have to buy three devices and accept the issues not solved.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It does not have to match my needs, but due to current possibilities in tech, this debate is really about whether consumers should have to buy three devices and accept the issues not solved.

Well for some people there aren't any issues. Have you considered that?

 

[bnmcj1]

Well for some people there aren't any issues. Have you considered that?

Of course. But maybe they haven't put a lot of thought into how they could reduce the amount of devices they own.

Personally I think three devices is too much now. Not from 2010-2014, but in 2017 technology has improved so that it shouldn't be necessary.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Of course. But maybe they haven't put a lot of thought into how they could reduce the amount of devices they own.

Personally I think three devices is too much now. Not from 2010-2014, but in 2017 technology has improved so that it shouldn't be necessary.

I like owning multiple devices because I'm a techie. If I were to do away with one of them it would be my laptop and not my iPad. I barely use the my MacBook. I only use it maybe once or twice every few months. All the things I need to to I can do on my iPad or iPhone and I find them more convenient to use.

If we only bought based on what we actually needed we would probably only have two devices and some could even forgo a laptop and hair use a phablet sized phone. When you really think about it having multiple devices is more of a luxury than a necessity.

 

[rui no onna]

I like owning multiple devices because I'm a techie. If I were to do away with one of them it would be my laptop and not my iPad. I barely use the my MacBook. I only use it maybe once or twice every few months. All the things I need to to I can do on my iPad or iPhone and I find them more convenient to use.

If we only bought based on what we actually needed we would probably only have two devices and some could even forgo a laptop and hair use a phablet sized phone. When you really think about it having multiple devices is more of a luxury than a necessity.

Same. Tech is my hobby so I'm not really interested in reducing the number of gadgets I have. Having spare/backup devices is convenient. Lol, I only use my laptop once a month or so to do local iTunes encrypted backups of my iDevices. Alas, that's also part of the reason I'm unwilling to give my laptop up.

Yes, the tablet is absolutely a luxury. Heck, $600+ smartphones by themselves are a luxury considering how capable $200 Android smartphones are nowadays. We're also pretty much starting to hit the limits of Moore's Law so frequent device upgrades have become unnecessary. One reason my tech funds are going into mobile devices instead of computers is because my 5-year old Windows 7 laptop and desktop still perform everything I need them do with no slowdown.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Same. Tech is my hobby so I'm not really interested in reducing the number of gadgets I have. Having spare/backup devices is convenient. Lol, I only use my laptop once a month or so to do local iTunes encrypted backups of my iDevices. Alas, that's also part of the reason I'm unwilling to give my laptop up.

Yes, the tablet is absolutely a luxury. Heck, $600+ smartphones by themselves are a luxury considering how capable $200 Android smartphones are nowadays. We're also pretty much starting to hit the limits of Moore's Law so frequent device upgrades have become unnecessary. One reason my tech funds are going into mobile devices instead of computers is because my 5-year old Windows 7 laptop and desktop still perform everything I need them do with no slowdown.

I totally agreee. I only upgrade my computers when they physically stop working. My mobile devices get upgraded far more, even when they are still working perfectly well. Partly because I'm a techie but also because they really my primary devices so it pays to have the latest and greatest specs, however arbitrary they seem over the previous model.

 

[rui no onna]

There is a big difference, however, between "I wish Apple would......." and "OH MY GOD I HATE IPADS BUT I OWN THREE OF THEM!!!!" Not saying that's what this particular poster did, but I do see it pretty often.

In all fairness, I believe I've owned around 7 different models of Android tablets and 3 Windows convertibles and the only one I liked among them was the Nexus 7 2013. Even that was hampered by low capacity, non-expandable storage. I've just never found a non-iOS tablet that I liked as much as the iPad so I've stopped wasting money trying to find alternatives.

If one was married to desktop OS workflows, I can understand how one might try multiple iPads at different points in time but still find them lacking.

 

[maflynn]

Of course. But maybe they haven't put a lot of thought into how they could reduce the amount of devices they own.

Or perhaps your issues are not theirs. The iPad is not perfect, and is not for everyone, but your list isn't fact its your opinion on how things work for you. I may agree on a small number of them, but many others I do not. One size does not fit all.

 

[one more]

I have used an iPad as my primary computing device for the last three years and am pretty happy with it. Obviously, the needs and workflows are different, but it suits me just fine. So for me it is not an “extra” something between a laptop & a phone, it is the real thing. You also need to consider the pricing: MacBook starts at 1299$ (we can disregard MacBook Air due to its screen), iPad Pro 10” starts at 649$, so we are talking double. Considering that repairability is not easy on both, I would feel more comfortable repairing/replacing a 649$ device. iOS 11, the beta of which I am running at the moment, is making an iPad even more comfortable to use.

 

[CooperBox]

Out with the new, in with the old......
I haven't used my 4th gen Ret.iPad for at least 6 months, dispite the fact that it's perfectly serviceable. What I do use everyday (and love it!) is my 2005 1.67GHz PPC G4 PowerBook A1138. With the latest browser and tuned-up in accordance with the numerous PPC forum tip & tweeks, these still have a lot of life left in 'em! And they are still as sexy as a pre 1990 cat-walk model, not resembling today's half-starved looking models (think MacBook Air) with so much built-in hardware obsolescence, and without CD/DVD drives!!
Guaranteed my PowerBook(s) will still be going strong in 10 years time - either with or without a few changes of readily available parts.

 

[spiderman0616]

Of course. But maybe they haven't put a lot of thought into how they could reduce the amount of devices they own.

Personally I think three devices is too much now. Not from 2010-2014, but in 2017 technology has improved so that it shouldn't be necessary.

Again, you keep wording things as if you think people only like iPads because they haven't really stopped to consider that they shouldn't like them. Yes, in 2017, it is possible to reduce things down to one device. For me, that device has been the iPad Pro for the last couple of years. For you that's not possible. It doesn't make me wrong and it doesn't mean I'm compromising anything. It just means I realized all my workflows work just fine on iPad.

For people like me, your not particularly well presented list is not going to change any minds, no matter how much you seem to think it will. If anything, it will just make people more confident in their own point of view. This thread has not confirmed your opinion or made you the ultimate authority on this topic. It's just simply another thread (probably the thousandth one in the last two months) that shows that different people need/want different things. If you got anything more than that out of the discussion, then you're simply only hearing what you want to hear and tuning out the rest.

 

[pika2000]

TL;DR
I expected the iPad to be a laptop, and it wasn't.

There you go, one sentence.

 

[The Game 161]

If you don't think that 99 % of people and especially students (who the pro are also marketed at) could use e.g. a cursor when using office, browsing and researching/writing with multiwindows, and that iPad's touch interface can't be maintained by offering that, then we might as well quit discussing.

Sure they could use a mouse but is it needed? Not really. I certainly don't miss having a curser or mouse going from my MacBook Pro to the 12.9 pro. It works Perfectly and with the pencil to nav around it puts no more strain than what a mouse or curser would.

There's nothing i need from a MacBook Pro than the iPad Pro can't do.

 

[Foxglove9]

By far the iPad is my favorite electronic device I've owned in the last 10 years.

 

[seadragon]

This thread has made me realize just how horrible and utterly useless my iPads are. Those 2̶0̶ 8 reasons really made me think. I feel so bad for buying them and wasting MY money on something *I* like. I'm a fool for falling for a tablet. What was I thinking? That is the point of this thread right? Making owners feel bad about their devices? Well, it worked!

What should I do now? I can't think for myself so please tell me. Should we burn our iPads in the street?

 

[jlseattle]

I have used an iPad as my primary computing device for the last three years and am pretty happy with it. Obviously, the needs and workflows are different, but it suits me just fine. So for me it is not an “extra” something between a laptop & a phone, it is the real thing. You also need to consider the pricing: MacBook starts at 1299$ (we can disregard MacBook Air due to its screen), iPad Pro 10” starts at 649$, so we are talking double. Considering that repairability is not easy on both, I would feel more comfortable repairing/replacing a 649$ device. iOS 11, the beta of which I am running at the moment, is making an iPad even more comfortable to use.

Don't forget accessories like keyboard and case. For all you are almost at laptop costs.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Don't forget accessories like keyboard and case. For all you are almost at laptop costs.

I paid £700 for my MacBook Air in 2015. My iPad Pro 10.5 cost me £709. So my iPad Pro already cost me the same as my MacBook Air without taking into account the pencil or Smart Keyboard.

 

[Mivo]

I actually see increasingly less need for a laptop, for myself. I have a beefy desktop for serious work and serious processing (rendering, video gaming), which also has a large screen for movies and such, and I use the iPad (well, two active ones right now) for browsing away from the desktop, reading (especially PDFs, which do not work well at all on an e-ink device, though I have a Kobo e-ink reader for plain text fiction), researching. The new 12.9 that I just got is for drawing, music making, and for writing, though in time it will probably acquire some of the tasks that I keep the Air 2 for. I don't want a giant phone, and the 4" model is great for SMS and phone stuff, but not for anything else.

As for upgrading, I don't get a new iPad every year. I went from the iPad 2 (2011) to the Air 2 (late 2014) to the 2nd gen Pro (2017), the desktop machine is expandable and upgradable as needed, and I don't relay much on a mobile phone, so it's also not in need of replacing often. Laptops I used to replace more frequently.

iOS 11 adds some new functionality to the Pro that will make it even more suitable as a laptop replacement (for me). Mileage may vary, of course.

 

[bensisko]

Of course. But maybe they haven't put a lot of thought into how they could reduce the amount of devices they own.

Personally I think three devices is too much now. Not from 2010-2014, but in 2017 technology has improved so that it shouldn't be necessary.

... assuming you WANT to reduce he number of devices you own.

I'm actually a subscriber to a multi-device belief system. In all my years of computing, there has never been a single device that even comes close to being "the one" device. Every single time I try to look for such a device, there are too many trade-offs that make it not worth trying to use only one device. The battery life (or lack there-of) alone would make one device impractical.

So let's say I did what you're saying and decided "Let's do one device". What are my needs/wants?

• Gaming
• Windows Mixed Reality development
• Video Editing
• Ultra-Mobile computing (carry around with me everywhere)
• Stylus for drawing
• Listening to music on the go
• Reading eBooks
• Taking pictures/video
• Mobile communications (texting, etc)

There's a short list. Even if we were to be our most generous and say an iPhone and a top-of-the-line SurfaceBook, there are still FAR too many compromises.

I have a lot of devices and make no apologies for it. I have an iPad mini 4 that i use the way a lot of people use their iPhones. My iPhone is for calling, texting, taking pictures/video, and music (something which is actually a shared responsibility between devices). I do most of my reading (eBooks, web surfing), YouTube amd such on my Mini 4. I use my 9.7" Pro for drawing/sketching and writing (sometimes light video editing). I have an Alienware laptop at home for gaming and development work.

Could I slim down? Not without giving up something. I've actually thought about giving up the phone, but my main reason for keeping the phone around is the camera and the connection to the Apple Watch (for tracking health activity and monitoring incoming communications).

I get why people have a strong desire for a "one device" but when you really get down to it, it's rarely practical.

 

[one more]

Don't forget accessories like keyboard and case. For all you are almost at laptop costs.

They are not a must, though. I am personally fine with iPad’s own on-screen keyboard as I need to switch between three different languages. As for cases, there are lots of them to fit your preferred price range and functionality. Your math also does not add up: you can get both a keyboard and case for 200-250$, so we are still well below the MacBook entry price at 1299.
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I paid £700 for my MacBook Air in 2015. My iPad Pro 10.5 cost me £709. So my iPad Pro already cost me the same as my MacBook Air without taking into account the pencil or Smart Keyboard.

Your iPad Pro 10.5 has a much better screen than that 2015 MacBook Air, though. As well as being lighter & more portable. The pencil or smart keyboard are both optional, depending on your use.

 

[Perene]

********
6. You have to hold it. No really. Think about it. If you are not holding it, it is even more a pain to use. Kickstand anyone? (though I will not buy a Surface either)
********

I don't get it. I had two iPADs here (currently I own only #1).

iPAD #1 with the TStand, mostly to watch videos. Don't need to hold it while using. One of the advantages of having a stand is to prevent this sort of thing:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...text-neck-how-smartphones-damaging-our-spines

The downside is that (if we are talking about the TStand) it's not good to keep removing (I just leave the iPAD there, attached to it) and in this case I agree the use is really bad with the stand, if your fingers need to touch the screen most of the time:
http://postimg.org/gallery/18iomr6d8/

And you can forget about using the iPAD in portrait mode. Not a bad thing for me, I always preferred landscape.

iPAD #2 used another tablet stand, this time a triangle. In both cases they are over a desk:

http://imgur.com/a/9Jvvu

You can see this 2nd choice allows me to use the iPAD more freely (since the "triangle" it's not attached to the iPAD with the Smart Cover and Silicone Case). However, since we are talking about touchscreen, somehow I'll still need to hold it to do more sensible tasks.

I can't just leave the iPAD there in the triangle, and poke it with my fingers from a short distance (say, 20 inches), while sitting in my chair, and expect this experience to be complete. I'll need eventually to hold it, to apply the correct pressure against the screen, with my fingers.

So you would prefer to have a cumbersome computer instead of a tablet?

I think what would solve this for you is mentioned in another point you made: the lack of...

*********
...mouse/trackpad support (a big missing part for anything work related)
*********

Then again, this is Apple we are talking about... the same company that does s.hit like that:
https://torrentfreak.com/apple-sorry-bittorrent-apps-were-approved-by-mistake-120911/

Don't expect certain improvements with that mentality.

********
New models are very expensive
********

Everything from Apple is too expensive. Haven't you noticed that before?

********
You may be better off with a laptop and phone combo
********

I use a PC to do some specific tasks, yet most of the time I prefer the iPAD. Don't like laptops or iPhones. It's good to have options.

********
Games are underdeveloped and do not reach PC level entertainment
********

One thing I would like to see is full support for old games, as discussed in this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/best-app-to-stream-games-from-pc-to-ipad.2030349/

To play all these ancient games in the iPAD and use any Bluetooth controller. That I would really appreciate it.

******
Since release of iPad we've had some great fanless laptops with great battery as well as bigger phones which negates the need for iPad
******

I agree that the 10 hours provided by the battery is enough, however in a single day it's easy for me to spend 80%. This is even worse for the Airpods, in a few hours they need to be recharged (which is really fast, I might add), and keep wasting battery even if not being used (they only need to be outside the charger case for that to happen).

The iPAD would be much better if could last 3, 4 days. For me this is the worst drawback of these Apple devices, since I have to recharge them every single day.

Honestly, I think this is even more important than your other point:

*******
Charging is slow and the quick charger should come with it
*******

And sadly it's not complained enough.

 

[rui no onna]

Don't forget accessories like keyboard and case. For all you are almost at laptop costs.

I'm not anchored to Mac pricing. When I bought the iPad 2 64GB ($699), it was already more expensive than a midrange Windows laptop and it cost significantly more than netbooks.

I have a $10 case from Amazon and if I wanted to constantly use a device with a physical keyboard, I'd just use my laptop. The tablet/slate form factor is the primary draw of the iPad for me and I'm fine with the onscreen keyboard for majority of my usage.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I haven't used a laptop for home browsing/entertainment for about 5 years now. I don't need a laptop replacement in a tablet, therefore the iPad for me is a brilliant device. Sorry it's not worked for you though, but I'm sure you'll get over it.