iPad Pro Does the iPad Pro make sense anymore?

[Hadron]

Definitely. One who’s looking for a tablet device will need the iPad.

It reminds me of Jobs keynote of the 2011 MacBook Air. “What would happen if the iPad and the MacBook hooked up?” The AS MacBook Air is the final answer to that question.

Not "final". The final answer would be if it had a touchscreen and Pencil support, and you could detatch the screen to use as a tablet (more portable than flipping a 2-in-1 around) or run the full desktop OS when connected to the keyboard (an Apple version of Samsung's Dex system). Until then both iPad and Macbook have things the other can't do (the reason I have both).

Of course back in 2011 Apple's line was still that a stylus gave a bad user interface and nobody wanted it. That's also why my first tablet was a Samsung.

 

[spiderman0616]

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.

I don't necessarily need a Mac OR an iPad, honestly. I have a work Mac that I'm able to use for whatever as long as I don't do anything shady with it. I could get by with just that and my iPhone if I really had to. I've used an iPad Pro as my main PERSONAL computer since the first gen 9.7" model came out.

What pushed me over the edge to switch back to an M1 Mac for my full time personal machine was the new chip, and the fact that my IT dept. is not letting us update to Big Sur yet. Going by how long it took them to finish testing Catalina, it probably won't be until about mid-2021 before I can actually use Big Sur for my job. I figure if I get a Macbook Air with M1, I'll have Big Sur, I'll have some iOS compatibility to temporarily fill in the gaps for what I'm missing by not having an iPad, and I can log out of all my iCloud stuff on the work Mac, which will give me less paranoia about who is seeing what on my machine.

I realize the iPad apps are hit and miss at best on Big Sur, but I think the ones I'll want to run will work fine.

 

[spiderman0616]

Not "final". The final answer would be if it had a touchscreen and Pencil support, and you could detatch the screen to use as a tablet (more portable than flipping a 2-in-1 around) or run the full desktop OS when connected to the keyboard (an Apple version of Samsung's Dex system). Until then both iPad and Macbook have things the other can't do (the reason I have both).

Of course back in 2011 Apple's line was still that a stylus gave a bad user interface and nobody wanted it. That's also why my first tablet was a Samsung.

Yep--this is the dream for a lot of people. The design would be closer to iPad and Brydge keyboard, except Apple would come up with a much more elegant way to attach/detach the screen than Brydge has come up with. I would love to be able to pop a Macbook screen off the hinge and use it as an iPad on iPadOS and then put it back on and have it flip back over to macOS.

I have a feeling Apple probably thinks that's too much of a frankenstein device. They like things to be more refined than that. They're not just going to slap an iPad on a Mac keyboard and call it a day. They're going to come up with a way to do it that seems completely out of left field, but at the same time so obvious that you can't believe nobody thought of it already.

I can say that with the advent of the Magic Keyboard, I was using the iPad Pro as a laptop 99% of the time, even in bed. It just started making less and less sense to not have a Mac instead, and these M1s just made that even more clear in my mind.

 

[Never mind]

Agree with above poster. I’ll keep my iPad Pro much, much longer for consumption use, and get myself a M1 Mac that an iPad can’t handle and that solves the problem for me. I’ll have the best both worlds and Apple will have more money in their pocket. ?

 

[kristalsoldier]

Not "final". The final answer would be if it had a touchscreen and Pencil support, and you could detatch the screen to use as a tablet (more portable than flipping a 2-in-1 around) or run the full desktop OS when connected to the keyboard (an Apple version of Samsung's Dex system). Until then both iPad and Macbook have things the other can't do (the reason I have both).

Of course back in 2011 Apple's line was still that a stylus gave a bad user interface and nobody wanted it. That's also why my first tablet was a Samsung.

You mean like a Surface Book

 

[Hadron]

You mean like a Surface Book

Yes, though I was thinking of something that would behave more like an iPad when undocked and more like a Mac (albeit with a touchscreen) when docked, which is why I used Dex as the example. (I admit that I've never seen anyone with a Surface Book in real life, but it's presumably one of the 2 interface modes of Win 10, while I was thinking of a bigger shift).

I was also thinking that the keyboard unit might contain a second battery if we wanted to keep the weight down when using it as a tablet (because the battery life of the M1 Macs is a very appealing feature I'd not want to give up, but I can't see Apple thinking a tablet chunky enough to do that is acceptable)..

 

[QCassidy352]

I have a 3rd gen iPad Air, and I can see it being my last iPad. As iPhone screens have gotten bigger, and AS Macs have gotten many of the advantages of iPads (silent, power efficient, instant on, iOS apps), there isn't much of a gap left for the iPad to fill - at least for my uses.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Yes, though I was thinking of something that would behave more like an iPad when undocked and more like a Mac (albeit with a touchscreen) when docked, which is why I used Dex as the example. (I admit that I've never seen anyone with a Surface Book in real life, but it's presumably one of the 2 interface modes of Win 10, while I was thinking of a bigger shift).

I was also thinking that the keyboard unit might contain a second battery if we wanted to keep the weight down when using it as a tablet (because the battery life of the M1 Macs is a very appealing feature I'd not want to give up, but I can't see Apple thinking a tablet chunky enough to do that is acceptable)..

While I am not sure, I think the tablet part of the SB has an independent battery, though it’s life is relatively short (something like 3-4hours or thereabouts). I also think when detached from the base, the tablet goes into a touch-friendly OS mode, but I may be wrong.

The problem that I have with the SB though is the aspect ratio of the tablet part when detached from the base.

 

[sparksd]

While I am not sure, I think the tablet part of the SB has an independent battery, though it’s life is relatively short (something like 3-4hours or thereabouts). I also think when detached from the base, the tablet goes into a touch-friendly OS mode, but I may be wrong.

The problem that I have with the SB though is the aspect ratio of the tablet part when detached from the base.

Windows just isn't a great OS for touch. I have an XPS-13 laptop with a touchscreen and while it's a great laptop, the touch aspect is not so great due to the underlying system.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Windows just isn't a great OS for touch. I have an XPS-13 laptop with a touchscreen and while it's a great laptop, the touch aspect is not so great due to the underlying system.

Yes, but I don’t think it needs (or wants) to be. The touch aspect is incidental, not central, to Windows.

 

[ericwn]

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.

Real apps vs unreal apps?

 

[Digitalguy]

While I am not sure, I think the tablet part of the SB has an independent battery, though it’s life is relatively short (something like 3-4hours or thereabouts). I also think when detached from the base, the tablet goes into a touch-friendly OS mode, but I may be wrong.

The problem that I have with the SB though is the aspect ratio of the tablet part when detached from the base.

What's the problem with the aspect ratio? I think it's one of the strong points of SB. Tablet mode is optional and honestly I never use it in any device... it's not great...

 

[kristalsoldier]

What's the problem with the aspect ratio? I think it's one of the strong points of SB. Tablet mode is optional and honestly I never use it in any device... it's not great...

I prefer the AR of the iPad.

 

[Digitalguy]

I prefer the AR of the iPad.

Me too, but 3/2 is not far from 4/3 and I wish more windows convertibles had that AR...

 

[kristalsoldier]

Me too, but 3/2 is not far from 4/3 and I wish more windows convertibles had that AR...

Not far, but the difference to me is stark. I experienced this first hand during my stint with the Surface Pros and handling a colleagues SB.

 

[sparksd]

Yes, but I don’t think it needs (or wants) to be. The touch aspect is incidental, not central, to Windows.

Except in the case of the Surface that also wants to be a touch device.

 

[Digitalguy]

Not far, but the difference to me is stark. I experienced this first hand during my stint with the Surface Pros and handling a colleagues SB.

Yeah, for portrait view, the difference is noticeable. Back in 2015 I had made a comparison on a music forum between the aspect ratio of ipad air, surface pro 3 and the then all new ipad pro (this was the picture I had posted

https://imgur.com/3H0kG7I

)

 

[kristalsoldier]

Yeah, for portrait view, the difference is noticeable. Back in 2015 I had made a comparison on a music forum between the aspect ratio of ipad air, surface pro 3 and the then all new ipad pro (this was the picture I had posted

https://imgur.com/3H0kG7I

)

Yeps. I tend to use a tablet in portrait mode.

 

[Dovahkiing]

Very weird question to me. What about the switch to ARM on the Mac side changes anything about the decision you have to make between buying a MacBook Air or an iPad Pro?

Macs still:

• Don't have touch screens
• Don't have tablet mode
• Run the same OS as they did prior to the architecture switch

Seriously, why do end-users even care about the underlying architecture? A M1 Mac and an Intel Mac purchased today run the same OS and, at least for the foreseeable future, the same applications. With the exception of people who choose an iPad Pro over a MacBook/laptop for the explicit need of having 15 hour battery life I can see no other reason. I don't imagine this use situation is a common driver for iPad sales.

Until Apple releases a MacBook similar to something like the Surface Book - or an iPad that runs macOS - the choice of which to buy has little to do with the architecture of Mac computers.

 

[Markgnyc2]

The iPad is one of the most versatile computers you can buy. I can use it like a laptop when I want. I can use it like a tablet when I want. I can sit on the couch and sit comfortably and read and browse. Until Macs can do that, there will always be room for iPads. Its not one or the other. You can use both.

 

[crashnburn]

Not "final". The final answer would be if it had a touchscreen and Pencil support, and you could detatch the screen to use as a tablet (more portable than flipping a 2-in-1 around) or run the full desktop OS when connected to the keyboard (an Apple version of Samsung's Dex system). Until then both iPad and Macbook have things the other can't do (the reason I have both).

Of course back in 2011 Apple's line was still that a stylus gave a bad user interface and nobody wanted it. That's also why my first tablet was a Samsung.

Given the complex ergonomics of human beings and our free form movement through the body, no answer is an ABSOLUTE - CONTEXT changes everything.

A stylus was a pen - not an object of selection but writing/ precision hence.. poor in that context.

Anyone who says X now will swallow as things evolve.

 

[jwolf6589]

With the release of AS Macs, do the iPad Pros still make sense?

iPad Pro 12.9 WiFi 6GB RAM, 128GB A12Z + magic keyboard: $1348. Only runs iOS apps.

Base MacBook Air, M1, 8Gb RAM, 256GB: $999. Can run both Mac and iOS apps.

The iPad Pro is still the choice if you need Apple Pencil usage or if you only want it as a tablet, but if you’re looking at a laptop replacement, the new MacBook Air seems to counter Apple’s own argument about iPads as replacement for PC. The line is blurred even more with AS Macs being able to run iOS apps with better performance. Thoughts?

Oh yes iPads make sense. I have the Mini 5 and iPads definitely make sense over lugging around a bulky laptop.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Mmmm when I've spent some time on the iPad Pro's I've always ended up wishing they were more like a laptop with fewer workarounds. But the strength of the iPad is the ease in which you can pick it up and get straight into your apps - email, spotify, browsing etc. That said it still just feels like a larger iPhone for me which makes the price with the Magic keyboard (with the tiny trackpad) a tough pill to swallow when you can now get the new Macbooks for not a lot more. The obvious setup is still to have a Macbook and an iPad which is what Apple wants.

 

[callihan_44]

I personally have decided an ipad is a consumption device only for me, I much prefer getting real work done on a desktop with a huge widescreen display with full keyboard and mouse...yeah I can do some things on the ipad but it's not my cup of tea and heck even on a laptop can be limiting...

 

[emembee]

Apple’s mistake in a way was to push the iPad as a mac like device with keyboard and mouse, rather than develop strong UI for touch and pencil precision accuracy, and get the 3rd party developers on board and to see where it goes. If you are using it mostly with keyboard then it doesn’t make sense with all its limitations not to prefer a Mac or PC O/S.