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Why it hat to replace a laptop? can't you just use it as a tablet? I don't think it can and it shouldn't
 
Why it hat to replace a laptop? can't you just use it as a tablet? I don't think it can and it shouldn't
Great question.

For people who use their laptop AS their home system, then yes, use the iPad Pro as a tablet. For people who have a desktop system AND a notebook, then the iPad Pro can in many instances replace the notebook. In that scenario, the notebook is not the MAIN system but a complementary system to the desktop. The iPad Pro can definitely serve that same need for many.
 
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I opted for an iPad Pro 9.7 and an Apple Pencil instead of a laptop so I could draw on my screen. I don't have any regrets and I didn't need a computer for a task other than gaming since I got it. I am a hobbyist artist and iPad Pro is everything I need for drawing. You need to list what things you want from a computer and check if they all can be done on iPad.
 
I just got back from 2 weeks in Japan and a week in San Francisco earlier this month (not WWDC). As an experiment, I tried only using my iPad Pro 9.7 and iPhone 6S as my computers during both these trips. I can say that for me, it worked out swimmingly. I will soon be getting rid of my MacBook Air for travel (but keep my iMac for my main machine).

I use my iPad mainly for business (client email, letters, etc.) but also for some web surfing and personal stuff. During the trips, I was mainly concerned with business use, which is mainly portfolio management and client correspondence. For example, my secretary sent me by email a draft letter for my review (as a Word file). I saved the file to my OneDrive account, made a few edits using the Word for iPad app, signed the document, and emailed it back to her to send to my client. For me, the key is using a cloud service such as Dropbox or OneDrive as a repository for any documents. From there, you can edit or email virtually anything. With a few key apps, the iPad workflow has replaced the same work on my laptop.
 
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Why it hat to replace a laptop? can't you just use it as a tablet? I don't think it can and it shouldn't

This largely revolves around what Tim Cook infamously said:

Tim Cook said:
“I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?”....

“Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones,

This is understandably controversial, because it really depends on who you are and how you use your notebook / desktop. If you're heavily into programming, professional photo / video editing or anything highly technical that requires setup and customization of workflows, it's very unlikely to work out for you. This problem is particularly aggravated in tech-savvy forums, where a large number of (vocal) users fit this profile in a professional context.

Personally, I would advocate for Steve Jobs' original vision where the iPad sits as in in-between device, but it is not difficult to see how, for non-technical users, the iPad Pro fulfills many needs.

The only thing that the iPad Pro really lacks is fully featured iOS applications that have close parity to desktop application features, which is something that requires significant incentive for developers ($$$, really, the ultimate motivator for anything human). Having that parity would go a long way to eliminating the disadvantages, although I have to admit, a proper document / workflow management solution seems necessary as well, one which is not bound to the cloud - not because the cloud isn't the future - it eventually will be, but connectivity is still not sufficiently reliable, affordable or universal to make it a viable long-term solution for many use cases.
 
This largely revolves around what Tim Cook infamously said:



This is understandably controversial, because it really depends on who you are and how you use your notebook / desktop. If you're heavily into programming, professional photo / video editing or anything highly technical that requires setup and customization of workflows, it's very unlikely to work out for you. This problem is particularly aggravated in tech-savvy forums, where a large number of (vocal) users fit this profile in a professional context.

Personally, I would advocate for Steve Jobs' original vision where the iPad sits as in in-between device, but it is not difficult to see how, for non-technical users, the iPad Pro fulfills many needs.

The only thing that the iPad Pro really lacks is fully featured iOS applications that have close parity to desktop application features, which is something that requires significant incentive for developers ($$$, really, the ultimate motivator for anything human). Having that parity would go a long way to eliminating the disadvantages, although I have to admit, a proper document / workflow management solution seems necessary as well, one which is not bound to the cloud - not because the cloud isn't the future - it eventually will be, but connectivity is still not sufficiently reliable, affordable or universal to make it a viable long-term solution for many use cases.

Regarding your last line regarding cloud & connectivity - I have found in my travels that connectivity is indeed unreliable (or non-existent) in a lot of places. As for affordability, now that I am retired I have greater interest in reducing my regular monthly expenses so costs for cloud connectivity are something I prefer to avoid (same would go for anyone on low or fixed incomes).
 
I do agree that people are stubborn in seeing what an iPad can do, just as people were stubborn when it came to the power of a MacBook. The iPad Pros are very capable however I don't think they can replace a laptop. It all depends on usage though, and if your usage can be transferred to an iPad then it probably can replace a laptop.

Apple have always said it is better than a Mac at some things:
Browsing
Email
Photos
Video
Music
Games
eBooks

I think that hasn't changed a lot you could probably add light photo editing, sketching, and some aspects of CAD to the list now but it really isn't there to replace Macs. Phil Schiller said on stage that they think it could replace some peoples 5 year old PCs, which stereotypically is the market of people who use their computers to do the things listed above. As with many statements made by Apple, a lot of people are twisting it and taking it too far. Other than the intro of the Pencil, nothing changed with iPad it could always handle most consumers usage.
 
I'm going to spend a few hours this weekend, or minutes.

I'm almost certain, I can live with IPadAir for a few years.

Just need to consider keychain and which of my fav apps are useable via iPad Air screen.

Then I'll need to in effect de activate keychain and iCloud from MacBook Pro to prep for sale.

If all goes well I can re consider Mac again sometime in the future.

Trackpad is a definite feature I'll miss.

Siri not bothered t.b.h.

Iv'e been through mountain lion/Mavericks/El Capitan recently Sierra.

I've reached a point where technology has reached hand held status.

It may be nice not to be typing after sitting in front of a work p.c. Since 1999 5-7 days a week.

Well done Sky for Q app-all my telly and recordings via iPad -love this app.

Haven't decided yet if my air deserves ios10 status yet, finding it a wee bit laggy via iphone6 though very useable.

I presume keychain and iCloud will be preserved via iPad Air not that I have a lot stored anyway.

Think I'll ditch my 3rd gen extreme and 500gb external hdd-never really worked when I've really needed to use a time machine restore.

For once I'm having a techy clearance.
 
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I'm leaning more and more to the desktop and tablet combination but at present I have a device in each category. I haven't yet settled though because I'm waiting for Scrivener to be released on iOS before I make my decision.

The desktop (Mac mini) is where I do my heavy lifting and work the two monitors with lots of connected devices and storage. The iPad mini is the device I use everywhere for reading, browsing, email, podcasts and casual writing.

The laptop (running Linux) I use for portable writing, coding and terminal use. This is the device I use less and less and I can see myself replacing it with the iPad.

I am seriously tempted by the iPad Pro 9.7 but am worried that I wouldn't find it as pleasant to read books with.
 
I just got back from 2 weeks in Japan and a week in San Francisco earlier this month (not WWDC). As an experiment, I tried only using my iPad Pro 9.7 and iPhone 6S as my computers during both these trips. I can say that for me, it worked out swimmingly. I will soon be getting rid of my MacBook Air for travel (but keep my iMac for my main machine).

I use my iPad mainly for business (client email, letters, etc.) but also for some web surfing and personal stuff. During the trips, I was mainly concerned with business use, which is mainly portfolio management and client correspondence. For example, my secretary sent me by email a draft letter for my review (as a Word file). I saved the file to my OneDrive account, made a few edits using the Word for iPad app, signed the document, and emailed it back to her to send to my client. For me, the key is using a cloud service such as Dropbox or OneDrive as a repository for any documents. From there, you can edit or email virtually anything. With a few key apps, the iPad workflow has replaced the same work on my laptop.


The iPad has been my mobile device for several years now. Like tgara wrote, using Dropbox or similar is key. The more that I use the iPad the more that I find that I can do with it.
 
1. Write down what you do with your laptop.
2. Can those be done with ipad?

There is your answer. No one here can say yes or no. It all depends on what you do with your laptop.

I know that ipad cant replace my laptop usage.
 
If you can get away with it, do it. Leaving behind all the complexities of a full desktop OS is a beautiful thing.

But know what the limitations are. You can't have multiple floating windows on the screen. You can't have more than one instance of a given app open at once. File management is tricky. Moving files between apps is wonky. The whole workflow is different.

But for many, the iPad is now good enough to be their full-time computer. That's not true for me, but it is a great companion for my PC and often I can use it on its own. And now with the Pro, I'm really not feeling any hardware limitations to heavy computing whatsoever. It's the first time I can say that. The limitations are purely in software, and are less than they used to be with recent updates.
 
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Eu acho que você não pode editar este tipo de tabela no Word para Ipad, se possível acreditar que o rato é mais rápido
 

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Regarding Tim Cook's quote about the iPP replacing laptops/computers, I don't see it as controversial because he said for many people, not ALL people, and I think that is accurate. I know for myself, I didn't use my iMac for anything that I can't do on this iPad (okay, maybe for making a more complex book on Shutterfly, but that probably isn't a reason to own a $1400 computer). Everything else I did on my iMac, I can do on my iPad with ease. The thing is, I used my iPads before as $500 toys; now I have a $1,000 machine that I can play with and do work on, that replaced the $1400 AND the $500 machine.

Of course in my situation, it also came down to Internet options. Where we are, satellite and AT&T (or other provider) data are our only real options. If I wanted to go with AT&T unlimited data, I had to give up the ability to use my hotspot to get internet connectivity to my iMac; otherwise my data was pretty limited. I knew if I could make the transition to using the iPad Pro for everything, I could give up the Mac and get unlimited data. For me that was a biggie, and it is working out quite nicely. On top of making the transition, I have learned a lot more about what the iPad can really do and know I have plenty more to learn.
 
If using a laptop for creating non heavy content?

Depends on the content.

If Apple would only give it a optional mouse capability and open up the file system more...then it would really be a genuine contender.
 
Depends on the content.

If Apple would only give it a optional mouse capability and open up the file system more...then it would really be a genuine contender.

Definitely make sure you mention those two things in every post you make. I'm sure Apple is making a heat map of macrumors forum keywords now, for upcoming dev work.
 
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Regarding Tim Cook's quote about the iPP replacing laptops/computers, I don't see it as controversial because he said for many people, not ALL people, and I think that is accurate.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/controversial said:
of, relating to, or characteristic of controversy, or prolonged public dispute, debate, or contention; polemical:

Trust me, it's very controversial. It's not a matter of whether you think it is or not, it's a matter of how many people continue to argue about it. Tons of people argue about it practically non-stop...
 
Definitely make sure you mention those two things in every post you make. I'm sure Apple is making a heat map of macrumors forum keywords now, for upcoming dev work.

Assuming your post was in all seriousness...I do think adding those two aspects would make the uses cases - for the iPad replacing the PC/laptop - quite compelling.

Until then, I'm still a fan of the iPad (I have the ipad2)...but I can understand why someone might get the Surface or some other tablet/hybrid over another iPad.

I was considering maybe getting a pixel c to try out...when I saw that there was no SD card and only 64gb capacity, I laughed my as* off. Elementary blunder.
 
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Why it hat to replace a laptop? can't you just use it as a tablet? I don't think it can and it shouldn't
Most people are just doing it because of the statements made by Phil Schiller and Tim Cook or because others have done it due to the statement. Since those statements were emphasized online in articles/videos, people try it out and realize that they can replace their laptop (or even desktop) with what is usually an iPad Pro.

The iPad is fundamentally the same iPad it has always been; if it can replace your laptop it has almost always been able to do that and is nothing new to the Pro (unless you replace it with the 12" pro). Try switching to an iPad 4 (I would go earlier but they don't run iOS 10) and you'll realize that it can replace your laptop. It annoys me that people act like its something new to the Pro; consumers have been ditching their PCs for iPads since 2010.

It doesn't need to replace a laptop and is very much still the middle device it was proposed to be at it's introduction, but a bit more functional. A lot of people who switch now are doing it for the challenge and are making compromises but want to 'move on with the future with simplicity'. It's like somebody who switches from iOS 10 to iPhone OS 1, if the 2 coexisted in terms of support and updates - You can do it an it'll be simpler but you'll get a whole lot more with iOS 10.

Amazing how much of an impact something said by Apple can make.
 
The iPad is fundamentally the same iPad it has always been; if it can replace your laptop it has almost always been able to do that and is nothing new to the Pro...

I disagree. Not only has the iPad hardware progressed, but iOS is far more capable than it ever was before. iOS 9 was a big leap forward in terms of app integration, Siri functionality, cloud and streaming services. Not to mention the progress made in apps (Microsoft Office, just to name one developer).

All of those things have conspired to make this a good time to go "iPad only", if it fits your needs. Two years ago? No way, at least not for me.
 
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Most people are just doing it because of the statements made by Phil Schiller and Tim Cook or because others have done it due to the statement. Since those statements were emphasized online in articles/videos, people try it out and realize that they can replace their laptop (or even desktop) with what is usually an iPad Pro.
Interesting. You know MOST people? Have you polled most people or is there a poll published that gathered that information?


The iPad is fundamentally the same iPad it has always been; if it can replace your laptop it has almost always been able to do that and is nothing new to the Pro (unless you replace it with the 12" pro). Try switching to an iPad 4 (I would go earlier but they don't run iOS 10) and you'll realize that it can replace your laptop. It annoys me that people act like its something new to the Pro; consumers have been ditching their PCs for iPads since 2010.
It is a matter of scope. There were two new things introduced with the iPad Pro... a notebook-sized screen and a keyboard cover that is tightly integrated to the iPP. You can ignore that and dismiss those things as "no big deal" but they DO have an impact for some people.


Amazing how much of an impact something said by Apple can make.
Repeating an opinion doesn't turn it into a fact.
 
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