This is BEDABILITY, also works best with a tablet ?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro Does the iPad Pro make sense anymore?
- Thread starter ian87w
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is BEDABILITY, also works best with a tablet ?
The cellular data capability of the IPP keeps it relevant for me. Yes, I know I can use the hot spot on my iPhone but that burns the faster portion of my "unlimited" plan. My data plan is my only internet connection since my RV does not have WIFI like one would have a home or an apartment. Cellular makes the IPP a winner for me. Just my .02.
The iPad Pro cannot make "sense" for itself. As we have seen with all the answers here, it's the individual user who makes "sense" for it.
I need a large, detachable screen to use on a music stand which I cannot do on my 16" MacBook Pro. To me, my 12.9" makes a whole lot of sense.
I need a large, detachable screen to use on a music stand which I cannot do on my 16" MacBook Pro. To me, my 12.9" makes a whole lot of sense.
It’s both funny and sad to hear a laptop being discussed as a way to get raw power, what with all the throttling and heat issues of laptops.
Last edited:
The M1 chip is a variant on the a14X which will most probably feature on the next ipp
Right now I have a MBA 2018 docked with a monitor and a new iPad Air 4 with magic keyboard and pencil. For the most part the MBA is a docked desktop with the versatility to use as a laptop. I have multiple apps open and can multitask easily. When im not sitting at my desk, the iPad Air is the perfect companion. I can use the magic keyboard and get things done. Or I can undock it and use it as a tablet and relax on the couch. Each great devices, each with their own use.
I'd kill for an iPad with M1 running MacOS with touch support. I need a portable device that can run real apps and I'd rather have the option of using it as a tablet or attaching an external keyboard/mouse/display when I need to do serious work on it.
Does anyone think Apple will increase the PPI on the iPad Pro once they switch to Mini LED? They increased it on the iPhone when it switched to OLED.
With OLED they more or less have to, the pentile sub pixel layout looks terrible at 326ppi so the higher pixel density is needed to hide it. miniLED will still use regular RGB pixels (it is still an LCD ultimately) so there's no technological need. There would probably be quite a big performance penalty for the next logical step (@2x rendering to @3x) due to the higher than iPhone base resolutions. Particularly factoring in ProMotion as an extra burden on the GPU, at least on the Pros.
with Mac OS now allowing for iphone and iPad apps it makes the decision harder if to still use the 12.9 pro as a laptop...hmmm
I'm sitting here joining the conversation with my new M1 MBA and a 2018 12.9" iPad Pro - love both devices, but really the MBA is now my new main device for all over the house computing. I did not like keyboard options on the Pro - mainly because magic keyboard was just ridiculously priced and over a third the price of the much more capable MBA with M1 and backlit keyboard and a better trackpad. I was hoping more of my iPadOS games would port over to the M1 platform - but most devs are locking that out because they have much higher priced Mac Store variants, but it's annoying to buy twice, so I want to keep the iPad around. As much as I adore pro-motion and the huge "slate" screen device - I'm trying to sell and pick up an Air, or hell, can I do with a basic A12 equipped iPad as a complementary device I can still use for touch enabled strategy games, reading, etc?
But to OP's question - with the M1 MBA, a once in a 10 year moment for the computer industry - no, the current iPad Pros, with the over the top cost when you buy all the necessary accessories - just don't make much sense to me anymore. I just wish the new iPad Air had 128GB in the base model, but from a cost/benefit/use - I just don't see the iPad Pro making as much sense right now until it really brings more to the table - whether through software or simply price adjustments.
But to OP's question - with the M1 MBA, a once in a 10 year moment for the computer industry - no, the current iPad Pros, with the over the top cost when you buy all the necessary accessories - just don't make much sense to me anymore. I just wish the new iPad Air had 128GB in the base model, but from a cost/benefit/use - I just don't see the iPad Pro making as much sense right now until it really brings more to the table - whether through software or simply price adjustments.
I love pro-motion, but I too have to agree that the iPad Pros don’t make a whole lot of sense. iPads in general will still be popular because of the form factor. But people will probably stop trying to make a laptop out of iPads over the course of the next two years. Why bother when the MacBook Air can do that even better. In order to get people to buy both devices, there needs to be enough of a differentiation between the two in overall user experience.
Yes, of course iPads absolutely still make sense. What has changed? Laptops are still laptops and tablets are still tablets. M1 hasn’t changed anything in this regard. It’s the same Macs with better thermals. Bring out a touch screen MacBook with a foldaway keyboard and pencil support, then we’ll talk.
Last edited:
Converting Windows users? Very unlikely. They already have Surface Pro, as you mentioned, which runs a fully operational OS, unlike a heavily trimmed down iPadOS. As I mentioned before and which is still true now, IMO, iPad is a fantastic piece of hardware labels back by a rather mediocre iPadOS running on it. It evolves, of course, but not fast enough to keep up with competition.
I agree with many of your comments, but I still like the iPad Pro with this very bright screen and the only way I’m going to get a bright screen on a MacBook M1 is to go with the MacBook Pro M1. And I am seriously considering buying one, but may have to wait until the M2 version comes out next year. The M1 version now coming out seems like the best of both worlds for many but it’s the first version. Another reason having the notebook version is when and if something goes bonkers with your iPad you have to get into iTunes to get things straight again. All I have is an iPhone and iPad.
Last edited:
Once you spec the air 4 up to 256gb it’s only 150 less than pro 11
I know which one I’d go for
i personally think the 6gb ram is a lot more important than the faster - supposedly - cpu
I know which one I’d go for
i personally think the 6gb ram is a lot more important than the faster - supposedly - cpu
Any of you who have read my past comments here for the last few years will know that I've been an absolute iPad Pro zealot. I have not owned my own Mac in a long time--just my company Mac that gets updated every 5 years or so. I have been perfectly happy with that setup, especially with the launch of the Magic Keyboard, which I find to be the best iPad "case" I've ever used. The Apple Pencil has been absolutely inspiring as well. It prompted me not only to dabble in digital art, but also to learn more professional photo editing and graphic design techniques. I have absolutely no skills in freehand art, but the Pencil is useful for so much more than that even if you just have it for taking handwritten notes and document markup. It's just a great tool to have handy. Honestly, the iPad Pro has been the answer to my prayers as far as speed, portability, battery life, versatility, power, ease of use, and just as a more "fun" computer.
That's why it will surprise nobody more than myself that I now have my 12.9" iPad Pro up on Swappa and an M1 Macbook Air coming from Apple in the next couple of weeks. In my mind, there's just no denying at this point that what we are witnessing is a total disruption (yet again) of the computing industry and that nothing is going to catch up with the Mac anytime soon. For almost all the same reasons I originally switched over to the iPad as my only main computer, I'm now switching back over to the Mac. The M1 has the iPad Pro beat as far as heat, speed, battery, portability, and power management. Does it have a Pencil compatible ProMotion touch screen that I can remove and use as a tablet? No it doesn't. That's a glaring hole in the Mac package that I will very much miss, and that keeps one check in the iPad box on the comparison chart for versatility. And I'm only giving it a "TBD" for iOS apps--I need to see how the ones I want to use function in Big Sur.
But that's where the 12 Pro Max comes in. I know mileage may vary and all that, but in my brain, using the 12 Pro Max feels like using a small iPad, not a huge iPhone. The thinner, boxier design has made all the difference somehow. It's definitely easier to game on than any sized iPad, it's great for watching/reading media in bed, it's plenty big enough for me to triage work tasks on the go, and the speakers sound mindblowingly good. I even have the LIDAR scanner that I'm losing by selling my iPad Pro. I would also absolutely re-buy the Apple Pencil if they ever make it iPhone or Mac compatible.
The long and short of it is this: The iPad has had the power and "fun to use" crown over the Mac for so long, and the Magic Keyboard turned it pretty much into a proper laptop for my use cases. But seemingly overnight, it no longer has most of those advantages because the M1 blew them all out of the water. It's time for me to just cut my losses and admit it--I'm back to the Mac full time.
That's why it will surprise nobody more than myself that I now have my 12.9" iPad Pro up on Swappa and an M1 Macbook Air coming from Apple in the next couple of weeks. In my mind, there's just no denying at this point that what we are witnessing is a total disruption (yet again) of the computing industry and that nothing is going to catch up with the Mac anytime soon. For almost all the same reasons I originally switched over to the iPad as my only main computer, I'm now switching back over to the Mac. The M1 has the iPad Pro beat as far as heat, speed, battery, portability, and power management. Does it have a Pencil compatible ProMotion touch screen that I can remove and use as a tablet? No it doesn't. That's a glaring hole in the Mac package that I will very much miss, and that keeps one check in the iPad box on the comparison chart for versatility. And I'm only giving it a "TBD" for iOS apps--I need to see how the ones I want to use function in Big Sur.
But that's where the 12 Pro Max comes in. I know mileage may vary and all that, but in my brain, using the 12 Pro Max feels like using a small iPad, not a huge iPhone. The thinner, boxier design has made all the difference somehow. It's definitely easier to game on than any sized iPad, it's great for watching/reading media in bed, it's plenty big enough for me to triage work tasks on the go, and the speakers sound mindblowingly good. I even have the LIDAR scanner that I'm losing by selling my iPad Pro. I would also absolutely re-buy the Apple Pencil if they ever make it iPhone or Mac compatible.
The long and short of it is this: The iPad has had the power and "fun to use" crown over the Mac for so long, and the Magic Keyboard turned it pretty much into a proper laptop for my use cases. But seemingly overnight, it no longer has most of those advantages because the M1 blew them all out of the water. It's time for me to just cut my losses and admit it--I'm back to the Mac full time.
I did the same with the 2020 air earlier in the year with covid WFH, found it a bit slow/hot and ended up getting a iPad again, got a good deal off ebay as had given my original 2018 11" to my wife lol, although now wanting a keyboard for my 11" 2018 it's like $500AUD here, i could sell my iPad and get the base M1 for same price. A 12.9" 256 wifi iPad and keyboard is $1k more than the base M1, crazy.
If i could deal with a max phone would be easier. I do have a 27" 5K iMac which helps.
Everyone under the age of 25 or so i know including my kids use a iPhone and MacBook, they dont see the use for a iPad, have even had them ask me what id do with it lol, same as iPhone is my answer just bigger haha.
Last edited:
@Robbosan i was thinking this ... next round downgrade from my iPad Air to equivalent of Gen 8 iPad. And, more importantly, downgrade iPhone to a smaller one. And keep using MBA M1.
On iPhone, I really use iMessage and the Camera. Then I’d have a sit-proper get to work laptop, a slouch-on-the-couch iPad, and my communication device for my pocket.
On iPhone, I really use iMessage and the Camera. Then I’d have a sit-proper get to work laptop, a slouch-on-the-couch iPad, and my communication device for my pocket.
Depends on what you need a Pencil for. I already use an Intuos 4 for drawing on a Mac/PC, and all it's missing is the feeling of drawing on the screen itself, or having the ability to flip the computer around like a sketchbook. Apart from that, I don't really even know what else I'd need a Pencil for.
I use my iPad Pro in conjunction with my Shadow PC account. Full blown Windows 10 PC in the cloud. iPadOS for my business use while my Shadow PC for my Gaming use.
The argument about an iPad as a laptop replacement never really made sense to me, but that's because I do need the extra flexibility of a desktop OS. On the other hand the ability to run mobile apps on the laptop doesn't mean much to me either. So in terms of the viability/utility of an iPad the AS Macs don't actually change anything for me.