Apple explains why iPad is a terrible laptop alternative

[secretk]

I don't understand. Those points that favor the PowerBook are still valid for the iPad.
- Consistent app: there are more apps designed for the iPad than, let's say, Android tablet or Windows UWP

That I agree to an extent. Yes there are more quality iOS apps than Android apps. I do however have a lot more freedom when it comes to my Windows laptop than with the iPad.

- Blistering speed: I think it's easy to say the A12X is still the fastest and most efficient mobile chipset

Completely true but I can't take advantage of this. I don't edit videos and I don't play video games. I do Software Development and I can't use the iPad for that. So basically that fast chipset is non factor for people like me.

- Built-in networking, file-sharing: Wifi and bluetooth, coupled with iCloud, Airdrop, Handover, etc

Works if you have Macbook. I own Windows laptop and iTunes for Windows is just awful. The fact that I cannot share files via Bluetooth to my iPad is annoying. Overall I find the files sharing stuff quite cumbersome with iPad. It's far easier with my Android phone. The fact that it does not have micro sd is huge turn off for me too. I do not want to use the iCloud because I want to be able to access my files even when I don't have Internet.

- Trackball: superseded by multi-touch

Maybe it depends on whether you have iPhone or Macbook. I find the iOS gestures quite not intuitive and quite difficult to do on an iPad. Quite often I want to do one thing and I get another one. It's really annoying and just frustrating. Things like that basically prevent me from seeing the iPad as a serious laptop replacement. For me it will always be a good device for going paperless as it has touch screen and a pencil.

Honestly I just checked my screen time for the iPad I have. In the weekends I almost don't use it because I have my laptop with me which I find better for media consuming, browsing and typing. I use the iPad solely at work for taking notes during meetings. The moment I go home though the iPad just stays in my purse and does not get used.

 

[pika2000]

Completely true but I can't take advantage of this. I don't edit videos and I don't play video games. I do Software Development and I can't use the iPad for that. So basically that fast chipset is non factor for people like me.

Then don't buy an iPad. :shrug: I still don't understand why this is difficult for some.
If you need a laptop with desktop OS, you buy a laptop, not a tablet. The iPad is great and many professionals have shown how it is capable to do professional stuff. But don't expect it to be a traditional laptop, because it is not.

 

[secretk]

Then don't buy an iPad. :shrug: I still don't understand why this is difficult for some.
If you need a laptop with desktop OS, you buy a laptop, not a tablet. The iPad is great and many professionals have shown how it is capable to do professional stuff. But don't expect it to be a traditional laptop, because it is not.

Except that it's bigger than that. What I am saying is that while the newest iPad is super powerful, this is just a marketing trick because no one can take advantage of said power. This is the same as how we used to get adds on how many megapixels a camera has when in fact there are other more important aspects of a camera than that.

The thing is that while this new iPad is super powerful and has potential, there is no software to harness that power. I don't get the idea of making super powerful hardware that cannot be utilized. I would much prefer people to invest their time and energy to think how to take advantage of the power that the current iPads have then to think on how to add yet another faster CPU that no app is using properly.

 

[pika2000]

Except that it's bigger than that. What I am saying is that while the newest iPad is super powerful, this is just a marketing trick because no one can take advantage of said power. This is the same as how we used to get adds on how many megapixels a camera has when in fact there are other more important aspects of a camera than that.

No one?
http://austinmann.com/trek/ipad-pro-photographer-iceland
https://9to5mac.com/2018/11/29/ipad-pro-creative-workflows-tips-stories/

When GUI was fairly recent, many diehard techies (especially unix/linux users) scoffed at GUI, claiming that real computers use command lines. I'm guessing you were one of them.
:shrug:

Back to my point, if you need a laptop, get a laptop. It's that simple. Others find the iPad to be useful.

 

[secretk]

No one?
http://austinmann.com/trek/ipad-pro-photographer-iceland
https://9to5mac.com/2018/11/29/ipad-pro-creative-workflows-tips-stories/

When GUI was fairly recent, many diehard techies (especially unix/linux users) scoffed at GUI, claiming that real computers use command lines. I'm guessing you were one of them.
:shrug:

Back to my point, if you need a laptop, get a laptop. It's that simple. Others find the iPad to be useful.

Yes no one. Previous iPad Pro was able to do the same as this one. Anyone that claims anything else is just a result of wishful thinking. Apple are great at marketing I give them that, but it does not change the fact that there is no iOS app currently that can take advantage of the power of the new iPad Pro. The previous iPad Pros were powerful enough. No one here complains about lagging.

Yes there is lagging with regular iPads that have just 2 GB ram, but no one ever has claimed that the previous iPad Pro gen was slow. It's simple. It's not.

And I do have laptop and this thread is not about whether I will buy a laptop or not. The thread is obviously started by a person that feels that iPad is not a good laptop replacement. Not because of hardware issues, but because of crippled iOS. I don't understand why people cannot see this. No one is talking about the hardware specifics of iPad and no one is denying its fast CPU. Everybody is talking about iOS and what that operating system can offer you or not. No matter how good hardware you have, you use it as much as the software allows you to. And this is what we are talking about.

 

[pika2000]

Yes no one. Previous iPad Pro was able to do the same as this one. Anyone that claims anything else is just a result of wishful thinking. Apple are great at marketing I give them that, but it does not change the fact that there is no iOS app currently that can take advantage of the power of the new iPad Pro. The previous iPad Pros were powerful enough. No one here complains about lagging.

Yes there is lagging with regular iPads that have just 2 GB ram, but no one ever has claimed that the previous iPad Pro gen was slow. It's simple. It's not.

And I do have laptop and this thread is not about whether I will buy a laptop or not. The thread is obviously started by a person that feels that iPad is not a good laptop replacement. Not because of hardware issues, but because of crippled iOS. I don't understand why people cannot see this. No one is talking about the hardware specifics of iPad and no one is denying its fast CPU. Everybody is talking about iOS and what that operating system can offer you or not. No matter how good hardware you have, you use it as much as the software allows you to. And this is what we are talking about.

Wow, such elitist comment as if those actual professionals that have found iPads to be useful in their workflow and creation are making wishful thinking. :slow clap:

iOS? Go back to the thread starter who simply put old posters for the Powerbook. I made my points of how the ads applies for the iPad. I believe it was you who replied to me and started our own chain of discussion.

 

[secretk]

Wow, such elitist comment as if those actual professionals that have found iPads to be useful in their workflow and creation are making wishful thinking. :slow clap:

I never said that iPad Pro is not useful. I said that previous gen was useful enough and that the new hardware is quite powerful but we don't have the software to harness that power. For me pure specs mean nothing. I don't care about having the best specs out there. I care about having specs that the software can utilize.

iOS? Go back to the thread starter who simply put old posters for the Powerbook. I made my points of how the ads applies for the iPad. I believe it was you who replied to me and started our own chain of discussion.

Because you claim things that are not true. iTunes is a buggy mess on Windows (which is what I said anyway in my original post) and sharing files with iPad is not a good experience (Airdrop is not a plus, it's a minus because it works only with Mac and for everyone else sharing files is with cable. My Android phone can do more than that). Multi touch gestures are not good on a big screen like iPad and half of the time my iPad does not register what I want to do. And nowadays Android store actually has more apps than iOS.

iPad has some really good points, but it also sucks in other things. That's the truth. Just because I can use it for some stuff, it does not mean that I will agree with things that are not true for me. All of those 4 points you mentioned in your previous post is something I disagree with. And I pretty much said why I disagree with them.

 

[Pakaku]

The advert comparison makes no sense. That ad is comparing a computer against a computer. You're trying to compare a tablet to a computer.

My iPad isn't a frankenstein jungle of cables and peripherals because I'm not trying to use it like a computer replacement. I use it as a computer companion for things it's good at, like Netflix or drawing, not typing essays on or major file transfers. When I need to do that, I use a proper computer built for that kind of thing.

 

[DNichter]

iPad has all of this and then some. If it can't work for you, that's fine, but it's great for a lot of people.

 

[ericwn]

The iPad is a just a big iPhone with pencil support. It is not a laptop replacement.

Maybe if you jailbreak it, it has some potential. But I won’t void my warranty.

The iPad is just another computer and the user decides what to run on it. We have plenty folks here who work on their iPads, it’s 2018.

Also, the warranty does not cover software, at all.

 

[Pangalactic]

It is definitely not a replacement. It can replace SOME of the functionality of the laptop (which may be more than enough for certain people, nothing wrong with that), but if we compare everything a laptop can do to everything an iPad can do, then it doesn't come even close.

I personally love using it as a second monitor/semi-computer with a laptop or a PC, works extremely well. But definitely not as a full package replacement.

 

[A.R.E.A.M.]

Then don't buy an iPad. :shrug: I still don't understand why this is difficult for some.
If you need a laptop with desktop OS, you buy a laptop, not a tablet. The iPad is great and many professionals have shown how it is capable to do professional stuff. But don't expect it to be a traditional laptop, because it is not.

Dag this deserves its own repost and everyone should add this to their signature on this forum!

 

[Aston441]

I wasn't pointing out it's not a laptop replacement.

I was trying to point out it's a terrible MacBook replacement , because all the things MacBook did right (elimination of cables, dongles, tangled accessories)... Apple has now brought all the mess back, all the mess we have to carry around again, to get work done.

 

[DNichter]

I wasn't pointing out it's not a laptop replacement.

I was trying to point out it's a terrible MacBook replacement , because all the things MacBook did right (elimination of cables, dongles, tangled accessories)... Apple has now brought all the mess back, all the mess we have to carry around again, to get work done.

At the same time, a lot of those cables, dongles, and tangles accessories aren't needed for a lot of people. Almost everything can be wireless now.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I wasn't pointing out it's not a laptop replacement.

I was trying to point out it's a terrible MacBook replacement , because all the things MacBook did right (elimination of cables, dongles, tangled accessories)... Apple has now brought all the mess back, all the mess we have to carry around again, to get work done.

Why? The macbook has one usb-c port. So does the new ipad pro. The macbooks don’t have an SD card reader anymore. Neither does the new ipad pro. I would think they are pretty evenly matched as far as the need for cables or dongles are concerned. Besides, like someone else just mentioned, much of what used to be done with dongles & cables, can be done wirelessly now.

 

[charlituna]

The iPad is a just a big iPhone with pencil support. It is not a laptop replacement.

Maybe not FOR YOU but there are tons of folks out there that don’t need a traditional computer. They don’t do things that require it. They are just doing email, messages, basic web browsing etc. all of which works great on a tablet.

 

[snowboarder]

iPad is super powerful and has potential, there is no software to harness that power. I don't get the idea of making super powerful hardware that cannot be utilized.

Exactly. If they don't redesign next iOS to become more useful, iPad will never become anything but a gimmick.
Seriously, how many people do you see out there using one of those? I don't see any advantage over a large iPhone.

 

[Greenmeenie]

Exactly. If they don't redesign next iOS to become more useful, iPad will never become anything but a gimmick.
Seriously, how many people do you see out there using one of those? I don't see any advantage over a large iPhone.

Tell that to professional photographers who have ditched their laptop for the ipad pro. True, the software is the weakest link...but that is changing. Photoshop is coming to the ipad next year...and rumor has it that iOS 13 will indeed come with massive changes.

 

[snowboarder]

Photoshop is coming to the ipad next year...a

Yeah, I got excited about that. Watched the presentation.
Waited for them to show me how they SAVE that massive 3GB file. Please, hit "save".
Unfortunately they didn't show that... Wonder why...
Seriously Adobe has to completely redesign the PSD file format in order to make it
work on the silly iOS. I assume it will avoid saving the entire file, but updates only.
Yes, there are apps able to open a RAW file. Great. You can display an image and show it to your client.
It still doesn't change anything until you are able to perform some basic operations like
easily connect an SD card, an outside drive, COPY and ORGANIZE your images any way you want.
Connect a Mac without using POS iTunes.
BTW you know what? There is a device running a full OS and working beautifully
with a full version of Photoshop. It's called Surface (Book). Apple is years behind Microsoft.
Crazy, isn't it?

 

[Greenmeenie]

Yeah, I got excited about that. Watched the presentation.
Waited for them to show me how they SAVE that massive 3GB file. Please, hit "save".
Unfortunately they didn't show that... Wonder why...
Seriously Adobe has to completely redesign the PSD file format in order to make it
work on the silly iOS. I assume it will avoid saving the entire file, but updates only.
Yes, there are apps able to open a RAW file. Great. You can display an image and show it to your client.
It still doesn't change anything until you are able to perform some basic operations like
easily connect an SD card, an outside drive, COPY and ORGANIZE your images any way you want.
Connect a Mac without using POS iTunes.
BTW you know what? There is a device running a full OS and working beautifully
with a full version of Photoshop. It's called Surface (Book). Apple is years behind Microsoft.
Crazy, isn't it?

Well, you seem a tad bitter. So the ipad pro isn’t for you. Thats cool. But it happens to be more than enough for many professional photogs and artists. Just because it’s not for you, doesn’t make it so for others. Be happy with your Surface then. It’s all good.

 

[sparksd]

Tell that to professional photographers who have ditched their laptop for the ipad pro. True, the software is the weakest link...but that is changing. Photoshop is coming to the ipad next year...and rumor has it that iOS 13 will indeed come with massive changes.

My iPP works great when dealing with maybe a couple of dozen RAW images to process (in Lightroom) but when I have hundreds every day to process, store, and manage - nope, then it's back to the laptop or desktop.

 

[scottrods]

And they all require some sort of Charger or power adapter (battery charger etc...)

some people are forgetting, there's an on-screen keyboard on the iPad... not a great one, in my opinion, but it does eliminate the complete absolute need for an add-on Keyboard if you're willing to put in the time to learn it and of course sacrifice some screen real estate when using it.

 

[venom600]

Wow, such elitist comment as if those actual professionals that have found iPads to be useful in their workflow and creation are making wishful thinking. :slow clap:

iOS? Go back to the thread starter who simply put old posters for the Powerbook. I made my points of how the ads applies for the iPad. I believe it was you who replied to me and started our own chain of discussion.

The iPad has lots of uses, but none of them take full advantage of what the processor can do. Trying to turn an interface designed for a phone 12 years ago into something that can rival a desktop OS is crazy. It really needs its own OS to shine. Something in between iOS and macOS.

 

[ChristianGGG]

Useless

 

[Aston441]

Right now I’m typing on an excellent bluetooth keyboard, using my iPad.

Lots of excellent replies and thoughts in this thread (except the one above lol).

I think the person who said there needs to be a “tween” OS between MacOS and iOS may be nailing it.

Maybe it’s time to admit that Microsoft’s hardware design dept has nailed it with the Surface concept.

Personally I’ve found iOS *more* useful than MacOS simply because the apps on iOS are more useful in my dad to day life than programs and accessing stuff through a browser in MacOS. I control my smart house/things with iOS apps, talk to friends, take pictures, navigate, etc., all with iOS apps.

Where iOS falls flat is TYPING and EDITING, and also FILE MANIPULATION.

The older Macbook keyboards and trackpad are simply the easiest way to manipulate words ever devised. The Pencil is a terrible mouse substitute.

If the Apple smart keyboard had a nice trackpad, and iOS had a decent file manager, iPad really would be a laptop replacement for almost everyone.

We are humans, we have two hands, arms, fingers. The physical keyboard plus glass trackpad is so far unparalleled, and that way of interfacing hands, arms, and fingers to a machine to manipulate data has been the result of centuries of exlperimentation.

Touch scrren is awesome for many things, especially quick app tasks that just require hitting buttons to turn stuff off and on, or to fire off a few words reply in a text message. For anything more wordy than that, it’s just terrible in comparison to keyboard/trackpad.

Because with keyboard/trackpad, all muscles are at rest except those making fingers fly across the keyboard. Everything else is tiring and imprecise. Maybe there is something better out there, and Apple’s experiment with pencil has been interesting and a great tool for artists, but it still isn’t close to keyboard/trackpad for making words.

Apple is just going to suck it up and admit that Microsoft has it right, and stick a trackpad on their smart keyboard. Then adding a file manager would end almost all of the other complaints.

Then iPad is a “real computer.”