Anyone Using iPad Pro as Main Device?

[JD2015]

Prices of MacBooks just announced will see me in the future just go with iPad pro as my main device. Interesting how apple have started to take the step of incorporating touchscreen into mac OS now.

 

[alecgold]

My experience has been that there are just very few use cases where I needed an iPad-specific iOS app to get things done, so it has been gathering dust. I can get 95% of the same experiences with iOS apps on the iPhone (albeit with a smaller screen) - a device I always have on me.

Sorry to read it didn't work out for you. What is your specific use case?

 

[riptidewahoo]

Sorry to read it didn't work out for you. What is your specific use case?

Working with spreadsheets on an iPad is still a nightmare no matter how they spin it. Another big thing for me is being able to download MP3 files from the web in my DJ pool for my side gig. This is nearly impossible to do on an iPad due to the file restrictions without some crazy workarounds. Although the DJ apps have improved somewhat, I strongly prefer Serato and rekordbox. I also tend to have issues with certain websites in the iPad version of Safari not displaying properly. Music production apps are also limited (I use Ableton Live occasionally on my Mac).

Those are just a few reasons I need to keep a Mac...

Thinking about it now, I can't really think of anything I could ONLY do on a tablet (I don't draw). There are a few things that are somewhat easier to do on a tablet than a smartphone due to screen size (web browsing, iBooks, etc.) - but I can't justify keeping a $700 tablet for those narrow use cases. You can still do those things on a phone. Even video on the new iPhone 7 is good enough for when I can't watch a TV or use my Mac.

 

[rui no onna]

Working with spreadsheets on an iPad is still a nightmare no matter how they spin it.

This one's actually not so bad if you've done all the heavy lifting (formulas, scripts, etc) on a traditional PC and just need to input data or make minor modifications.

 

[Synergie]

This one's actually not so bad if you've done all the heavy lifting (formulas, scripts, etc) on a traditional PC and just need to input data or make minor modifications.

I don't know why the devs can't just make their iPad apps fully featured. I'd pay for them (and have). But I find mobile office fairly good. Can't speak for MS Office on iPad because I don't want to pay 10.00 a month for it. I'm already paying adobe for the PS / Lightroom package and the 200 Gb storage for iCloud monthly.

 

[rui no onna]

I don't know why the devs can't just make their iPad apps fully featured. I'd pay for them (and have). But I find mobile office fairly good. Can't speak for MS Office on iPad because I don't want to pay 10.00 a month for it. I'm already paying adobe for the PS / Lightroom package and the 200 Gb storage for iCloud monthly.

MS Excel for iPad is excellent (pun not intended). It's well designed for touchscreen usage.

Honestly, I wish MS Excel for Windows tablets were as easy to use. Alas, Windows tablets just get the full desktop version which isn't really optimized for touchscreens. On the flip side, at least the software is full featured.

 

[riptidewahoo]

This one's actually not so bad if you've done all the heavy lifting (formulas, scripts, etc) on a traditional PC and just need to input data or make minor modifications.

True, but then the iPad can't really be your "main" device if you've gotta do the hard work on the PC...

 

[rui no onna]

True, but then the iPad can't really be your "main" device if you've gotta do the hard work on the PC...

For me, I define "main device" as being what I use most. I'd create relatively complex spreadsheets for maybe a few hours or a couple of days on the PC but 80-90% of the time, I'd be using my iPad.

My PC is indispensable and if I had to choose only a single device to keep, I'd choose my laptop. That said, I do have the luxury of choice and for majority of my personal usage (web browsing, reading comics, PDFs, etc), an iPad is much nicer to use.

 

[Synergie]

Ok I just tested saving spreadsheets and word docs into same folders as described by someone above. It's easy with mobile office suite. Instead of selecting 'save' which saves to local plus iCloud in the apps folder, you instead select "share" then "open in another app" then select iCloud. It will allow you to save in any folder you choose. You can set up customer folders using the iCloud app and then easily save the appropriate files to the customer folder. And reopen them easily again. Not sure about other office apps. I use mobisystems mobile office suite currently and it works without issue. Other apps also allow the same like Pixelmator if you need a photo or recordings if you need voice recording etc. Most apps allow saving to selected folder in iCloud instead of the apps folder. You just need to share instead of save. But doesn't take any more work.correction app I use is office suite Pro.

 

[rui no onna]

Ok I just tested saving spreadsheets and word docs into same folders as described by someone above. It's easy with mobile office suite. Instead of selecting 'save' which saves to local plus iCloud in the apps folder, you instead select "share" then "open in another app" then select iCloud. It will allow you to save in any folder you choose. You can set up customer folders using the iCloud app and then easily save the appropriate files to the customer folder. And reopen them easily again. Not sure about other office apps. I use mobisystems mobile office suite currently and it works without issue. Other apps also allow the same like Pixelmator if you need a photo or recordings if you need voice recording etc. Most apps allow saving to selected folder in iCloud instead of the apps folder. You just need to share instead of save. But doesn't take any more work.correction app I use is office suite Pro.

Yikes. That sounds pretty complex. I'm glad Microsoft Office has very good cloud integration so no need to jump through those hoops. I just save my files to Dropbox (I use Windows PCs primarily) inside the app itself.

 

[Synergie]

Yikes. That sounds pretty complex. I'm glad Microsoft Office has very good cloud integration so no need to jump through those hoops. I just save my files to Dropbox (I use Windows PCs primarily) inside the app itself.

Sorry if I made it sound that way. It's actually not. lol it's just a different menu selection is all.

 

[M. Gustave]

...(MP3 file management for my DJing, game emulators, web browsing experience, music production programs, Office/iWork, etc.). Some of these are inferior experiences or simply impossible on an iPad...

Please name something that was "simply impossible" on the iPad. And how was "web browsing" better on the Mac? I find browsing on legacy laptops absolutely insufferable. Are you on the five flash sites left on the internet?

 

[sjleworthy]

Please name something that was "simply impossible" on the iPad.

really? thats very easy to do if comparing to my pc

 

[M. Gustave]

really? thats very easy to do if comparing to my pc

I'm asking for a software task, not something obvious like "plug in a USB drive".

 

[sjleworthy]

thats what i'm talking about too. quick obvious example, just take a look at anything 3d+visual on my website. totally completely out of an ipad's capabilities without being stupid about it.

( www DOT sjleworthy DOT com )

 

[kalex]

thats what i'm talking about too. quick obvious example, just take a look at anything 3d+visual on my website. totally completely out of an ipad's capabilities without being stupid about it.

( www DOT sjleworthy DOT com )

pretty cool. Are all the images under portfolio rendered 3d?

 

[sjleworthy]

pretty cool. Are all the images under portfolio rendered 3d?

cheers. yes, modeled and rendered in Cinema4D on my PC's. Post work done in AfterEffects and Photoshop. Any breath of this for an ipad would give it kittens. but, this type of thing utilizes the ipad beautifully as a portfolio display for clients.

 

[kalex]

cheers. yes, modeled and rendered in Cinema4D on my PC's. Post work done in AfterEffects and Photoshop. Any breath of this for an ipad would give it kittens. but, this type of thing utilizes the ipad beautifully as a portfolio display for clients.

Very cool
I'm sure you can use your ipad pro with pencil to color it after all the heavy lifting is done on a PC

 

[sjleworthy]

Very cool
I'm sure you can use your ipad pro with pencil to color it after all the heavy lifting is done on a PC

that's what i like, humor on a Friday afternoon!

 

[riptidewahoo]

Please name something that was "simply impossible" on the iPad. And how was "web browsing" better on the Mac? I find browsing on legacy laptops absolutely insufferable. Are you on the five flash sites left on the internet?

1. Running Ableton Live or Logic Pro for music production as one example.
2. DJ apps (such as djay Pro) and iPad-compatible hardware are vastly inferior to the macOS counterparts like rekordbox DJ and Serato.
3. Downloading MP3 files from my paid DJ file pool in Safari to play in the Music app - in general, downloading files from the web on an iPad sucks.
4. Playing games such as Starcraft 2 or WoW.
5. I can't stream my PS4 to my iPad and there is no way to connect a DualShock 4 controller.
6. Multitasking with two documents in MS Word/Excel is really hard (the workarounds are stupid for this, but technically it isn't IMPOSSIBLE).

Those are just a few.

The web browsing thing is hit or miss, but I hate getting inferior "mobile" versions of websites compared to the desktop counterparts on the iPad. Text is often misaligned in iOS browsers and the iPad's size just amplifies the issue.

 

[Phisherman81]

How is everyone storing their photo archive so it's still accessible? This is my main hurdle. I don't wish to pay a subscription for cloud storage. Without a mac at home, a NAS would be a good solution, but is there iPad software out there to manage photos over a home network?

 

[macgeek18]

For media consumption the iPad really shines. I'm on it now. Also I have been using it for work pulling up parts manuals and service manuals and it's a lot faster to use than my work laptop.

 

[Synergie]

How is everyone storing their photo archive so it's still accessible? This is my main hurdle. I don't wish to pay a subscription for cloud storage. Without a mac at home, a NAS would be a good solution, but is there iPad software out there to manage photos over a home network?

Why not use an external SSD? Myself I'm using iCloud 200 Gb plan. That will last way more than I need since I don't need to back up any music with Apple Music which I don't mind also paying for. It's only 14.00 a month. That's less than 3 Starbucks lattes a month which I can do without all the calories anyway.

Or GDrive? Not sure how much you get for free storage but I think it's about 50 Gb isn't it?

 

[Night Spring]

How is everyone storing their photo archive so it's still accessible? This is my main hurdle. I don't wish to pay a subscription for cloud storage. Without a mac at home, a NAS would be a good solution, but is there iPad software out there to manage photos over a home network?

Have you tried FileBrowser?

 

[keeper]

Ok I just tested saving spreadsheets and word docs into same folders as described by someone above. It's easy with mobile office suite. Instead of selecting 'save' which saves to local plus iCloud in the apps folder, you instead select "share" then "open in another app" then select iCloud. It will allow you to save in any folder you choose. You can set up customer folders using the iCloud app and then easily save the appropriate files to the customer folder. And reopen them easily again. Not sure about other office apps. I use mobisystems mobile office suite currently and it works without issue. Other apps also allow the same like Pixelmator if you need a photo or recordings if you need voice recording etc. Most apps allow saving to selected folder in iCloud instead of the apps folder. You just need to share instead of save. But doesn't take any more work.correction app I use is office suite Pro.

Where are you seeing the share option? I don't see this in ms office?