Exactly. It’s just a marketing term that the extreme minority that wrongly wants MacOS constantly obsesses over.
Don’t merge two devices. Buy a Mac.
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iPad Apple's Forgotten Purpose: What Happened to the iPad's Original Intent?
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Don’t merge two devices. Buy a Mac.
This ^^^ we hear things like, needs new OS, just a consumption device, good for the kids. I'm 61, still in the workforce and use my iPad more than my MacBook Air. I'm a professional. Sometimes it's not the car, it's the driver. Everyones wants and needs are different and that is why there is alot of overlap for some and NONE for others.
Pro usually means the best specs. With the first 13” Pro in 2015, it meant bigger better screen, faster processor, double the RAM, four better stereo speakers, smart connector with keyboard, etc. so not that different from now.
Exactly. People’s obsession with the term is erroneous.
Or said another way, a way for Apple to create an upper price tier in a product line.
Plenty of people over the years complained about the constraints on the Pro phones, like being stuck on lightning speeds for file transfers and lack of accessory connectivity to pro gear (both finally fixed with USB-C on the 15 pros), lack of raw and prores capture prior to the introduction of those formats, lack of full manual controls in the camera app, etc. Lots of people have taken issue with the pro name on the phones.
To be fair, even if the iPhone could run a version of Final Cut Pro, I doubt many people are interested in the prospect of trying to edit their videos on a 6" screen.
A 13" iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard is comparable to a MacBook Air, and it's also the closest you will ever get to a touchscreen laptop if you are willing to VNC into your Mac. I can understand the desire to run macOS on an iPad, but I am also not convinced it's something the majority of Apple's user base wants or needs.
Exactly, Why add the 'Pro' word to the name if it's going to do the same as the $350 one. I have both the 8 and the Pro 12.9, both can do the same. Higher price for great internals that can't be use for professional work? Really?
The expectation is straightforward: affordability. Why demand a higher price for top-tier specifications when your device runs the same applications as the cheaper alternative? The only "pro" aspect of iPad Pros lies in their internals, yet one can't utilize them professionally without a Mac! Am I alone in perceiving this absurdity? If you've shelled out $2000 for an iPad, it ought to function as a laptop replacement by then!
You don't use them professionally. Plenty of people do. As many have pointed out, the iPad now if more affordable then it was at launch.
I'll be honest: In the months and weeks leading up to this week's events, I've been pondering the exact same thing.
The iPad was originally created to be that perfect in-between device between a 13-14-inch laptop and a smartphone.
It feels like, for the most part, at least since the advent of the iPad Pro, the intended aim (on Apple's part) is to instead slowly cannibalize that 13-14-inch laptop market. By the time you need anything bigger, a 16-inch MacBook Pro or similar caliber 15-17-inch PC laptop will be the best choice all around.
With support for ever advancing Apple Pencils and keyboard attachments that cost nearly (or just) as much as a base model 10th Generation iPad does on its own, the iPad has stopped being that perfect middle device and has instead tried hard to replace the MacBook Air and similar caliber PC Ultrabooks. Hell, I work in IT and have concocted proof of concept plans that would replace lower-end Macs with 12.9/13-inch iPads. If all of your Mac apps have iPad versions, it kind of makes perfect sense and is a whole lot cheaper (when you consider that you no longer need corporate anti-malware software solutions and that MDM per-device licensing is a fair bit cheaper for iPads than it is for Macs. The point being is that the iPad is no longer trying to co-exist with a 13-14-inch Mac laptop nor PC equivalent. It's trying to replace them altogether.
That being said, choice is good and I don't fault Apple for releasing the past five or so generations of iPad Pro. They're good products! But positioning them as iPads and not as completely different creative tools running a different OS better suited to said creativity (rather than STILL being a blown up Smartphone OS with extremely kludgy multi-tasking and limited control) (And no, I'm not talking about macOS on iPad!) sets Apple up to fail to meet expectations that these devices will even come close to using the power of M-series SoCs. The iPad Pro is a powerful creative tool that DOES do a few things better than a Mac, iPhone; but unless you need it, it's not worth the rent money it costs to buy. And this is Apple's flagship iPad. You could argue that it's the perfect between product between an iPad (be it standard or Air) and a Mac, but even then, the iPad Air is also being positioned to cannibalize 13-14-inch Macs and PCs, especially now that there's a "13-inch" iPad Air on the market.
Before we had Smart or Magic Keyboard attachments, the iPads were perfect at what they were originally intended to do. Now, the only iPad that feels like it isn't trying to incentivize me to turn it into a computer replacement is the iPad mini and I love it all the more for it.
It's totally true. You could buy a 10th Generation iPad or an M2/6th Generation "11-inch" iPad Air, and completely ignore the Apple Pencil and the Magic Trackpad and it's basically the modern version of that original iPad that Steve Jobs introduced. I think the point is that it's not marketed that way. I hate typing on any iPad keyboard for any iPad smaller than a 12.9-inch iPad. Obviously, I'm not in enough of a majority there or else Apple would've only supplied those accessories for the larger iPads. Still though, there are many who look to even a 10th Generation iPad as being a possible laptop replacement. Certainly the 11-inch iPad Pro is the cost of a laptop now.
For how large the 12.9-inch iPads are, I can't imagine prospective buyers won't at least consider the keyboard strongly. Then, at that point, it's no longer Steve Jobs' original idea.
While that is true, the goal posts have clearly moved. Apple expects more of their iPads and, now, so do we. Yes, an M2 "11-inch" iPad Air still serves those purposes, but that's not what it's marketed to do anymore. And what it's now marketed to do, it is kludgy at doing, compared to a traditional laptop. (Obviously, anything involving the Apple Pencil is a huge exception to this.)
That's not to say that one can't buy a 10.9-11.1-inch iPad Pro or iPad Air to meet those needs. But it's somewhat overkill.
It did in some respects to multi-tasking. But those gripes are minor and neither here nor there.
Again, we were given processors that gave Intel processors a run for their money, but with nothing to apply them to. Other than the use and optimization of iPad versions of applications and games most still prefer to use on traditional laptops and desktops, I'm not really sure what this extra performance gives us. We're just being told that an iPad costing $600-2000 can do more than the iPad now costing $350-650, when, with the exception of some of the creatives and creative workflows out there, the iPad is still best at and best for things that are more than adequate to do on the latter.
Considering a Galaxy Tab S9+ starts at $899, the "13-inch" iPad Air is a fantastic deal. To the OP's point, though, it's more laptop replacement than laptop compliment...unless, that is, the laptop you are trying to compliment is a 15-17-inch MacBook or PC laptop of some kind.
Browsing and e-mail are debatable. If I'm on the go (which, at this point, I only really prefer to be using a tablet on the go if it's an iPad mini, unless I'm taking my iPad to a friend's house), sure, browing the Internet or checking e-mail on an iPad is way more convenient than doing so on a laptop. Taking notes, reading books, also superior on an iPad. Videos, Music, Games? Nah; a traditional computer still wins (though Music is entirely subjective; though for those of us with traditional MP3 collections, you can't really manage nor add to what's on an iPad. In that regard, it's far from convenient and more like an iPod.
The 10th Generation iPad carries the goals of the 1st Generation iPad. This much is true. However, the iPad Air and iPad Pro are on a whole different mission and it's not like, with Apple Pencil support, Keyboard and Trackpad attachments, and now, front facing cameras in landscape mode, the standard iPad isn't flirting with joining them on said mission.
Sure. But that's kind of beside the point.
I think they have an idea what they want it to do. However, I do not believe there is currently evidence to suggest that said idea is at all grounded in reality.
THIS RIGHT HERE!!!
I don't disagree at all with this sentiment. However, I think the problem there is that they technically haven't disappointed anyone yet. The iPad Pro was always a niche product. The artists and creatives that it's catered to still love and rely on it. It's those that have the option NOT to buy one that are upset with it.
It started at least a decade before the advent of the M1. The very first 13-inch MacBook Pro followed by the joke that was the initial releases of Final Cut Pro X were where that crap started. And consumers have been eating it up ever since.
In an iPad, maybe. That's definitely not true of just about anything else Apple sells with that word in its title. Hell, Pro, following 'M' and a positive integer isn't even the best of Apple's SoCs. Historically, only Apple's larger laptops have been worthy of that moniker, and even then, it has been laughable at times.
That iPad Pro was closer to what the larger iPad Air is now than it is to what the 13-inch iPad Pro and the last several 12.9-inch iPad Pros have been. Speakers are pretty much the only area that hasn't since caught on in iPad Air parlance.
Oh the goal posts have moved alright - on the actual motivation behind this thread. Apparently the “forgotten purpose” is now being able to afford the most advanced iPad tech at the same prices at what the iPad was at launch.
I totally get that the goal post you’re referring to is now an expectation that “Pro” can actually fulfill what many consider to be “Pro” purposes - hence all the calls for macOS - this has been repeated ad nauseum, but it is a fair opinion / perspective.
I’m just not happy that the OP has not been very honest about what exactly the “goal post” they’ve been referring to is.
This reads like "I want the best one, I deserve the best one, but I don't need the best one, and I don't want to pay for the best one."
There's plenty of lower priced iPads to choose from. That new iPad Air is incredible for the price.
For illustrators, photographers, writers and professionals it's more powerful than any current laptop (the M4 eats the M2 and 3 for lunch) and the pencil is an incredible tool for those trades. Likewise for musicians. And anyone who works with technical documentation, etc.
I'm sick of the "it needs MacOS" nonsense. I've come to realize that it's just a smoke screen for wanting side loading. I don't want side loading. Other than that, it seems to come down to not being able to format an external drive. Whatever... I'm a professional, and make extensive use of my iPad. Then I turn around and use it as a hobbyist for a bunch of creative activities.
The iPad is what it should be.
The Mac Pro runs the same applications as the Mac Mini and Mac Air.
Yes, I'm starting to think so...
If you've shelled out $2000, it ought to be very good at what you bought it to do. The iPad Pro meets that bar for me.
I think the main motivation behind threads like this is to wax philosophical about Apple related topics. I'm not saying that it's done effectively at some times. But I think that's all the actual goal is here.
And, I don't think that expectation is at all limited to the iPad Pro. I think it extends to pretty much all of them, save for the iPad mini (whose only serious deviation in expectation from Jobs' original mission statement with the iPad is support for the Apple Pencil). I think the problem is that unless the app you are using serves your needs on one of these higher-end iPads (presumably with hardware features that legitimately lend themselves well to that particular use case), the rest of the iPadOS experience doesn't lend itself well to any of what Apple markets all of these iPads as being able to do beyond that original mission statement.
This is the correct approach. At least one vendor (Microsoft) has trashed their entire portfolio trying to make one software platform do everything. They burned their entire mobile proposition to the ground and heavily compromised their desktop operating system for years.
I see the devices as complimentary. My typical academic workflow is writing up notes on the iPad by hand, then typesetting them on the Mac. Typesetting on an iPad would be a nightmare. Writing on a Mac would be a nightmare. There are many use cases which are complimentary here.
As for the general utility, my daughter's school actually issue them with an iPad with a keyboard case for everything. surely that fulfils the original question?
So the iPad should be affordable for many users. It seems, Apple direction on releasing iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard and stage manager plus FCP are not aligned with this iPad’s original idea.
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Cool word. Never heard of it until your comment here. Not sure I read that out of the original post and poster.
If you're adding inflation, you should add economies of scale. The first CDR writer I bought was $400, now they cost under $50. Tech is suppose to get cheaper as time goes on.
You also get worse battery, cosmetic imperfections, and a screen with mini scratches and dings everywhere. No thanks.The best ipad are air or pro that are 2-4 years old.
They cost 200-400. You get the same OS as the latest models, pencil support and future proof specs without spending $600-1000.
Apple also probably knows that this is a minority, and they have better ways than me.
Look, from what I’ve seen, MacRumors is a community of heavier users than the average person. Obliterating the iPad via MacOS has LOST on polls here. If not even this minority of power users has within itself a majority that wants that garbage approach... what makes anyone think people at large want this?
Yeah, I’ve never liked buying used especially due to your first point: people update devices, updates worsen battery life and performance.
If I’m not forced to, I like to keep devices on original iOS versions (iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 and iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15). Buying an older iPad would preclude me from doing this.
Probably very difficult to find, say, a 3rd-gen iPad Pro on iOS 12 for sale.
Even if they’re on perfect condition, they aren’t perfect (for me).
Then don’t buy the Pro if you see no value in it. It’s not that difficult. You have the $600 Air if you want a good spec iPad for less.
They demand a higher price because it is the very best ipad. That's it. That's the entire reason.
And for very many people it can replace a laptop. For those that it can't, or prefer them, Apple still makes Laptops.