iPad Pro Fact: iPads are iPads. And MacBooks are MacBooks. And that's just fine! :)

[Surfman]

The only reason i would buy another Mac is if i want a bigger screen, i havn’t found anything I can’t do on my new 12.9” iPad v my late 2015 27” imac i sold 3 weeks ago.

 

[Digitalguy]

My point is simply that if Apple was against the iPad getting better monitor support, they would’ve never given the iPad the crappy, cropped, and shadow-boxed monitor support it has today. Anyone saying that Apple is against monitors for iPads is proven wrong by Apple already. It’s not about WHETHER Apple would ever do it. It’s about improving what’s already there.

The crappy monitor support is like the crappy mouse support we had in accessibilities before Apple made it good. Naysayers said that Apple made it crappy on purpose because they didn’t want anyone to use a mouse with an iPad. Now it’s the same thing all over again with the ipad monitor naysayers. The trackpad rumors started in 2015 and it took Apple 4 years to deliver.

One day when the iPad has real extended Home Screen on monitors, everyone is going to say “In hindsight it was obvious. There were all kinds of clues”.

again using old rumors to try to prove a point... I explained why trackpad support makes sense for Apple, no need to repeat it...
What people want is extended displays at an OS level (like on Windows and Mac), Apple is not doing it. It doesn't mean they will never do it... They may throw this bone in a couple of years once the Apple silicon transition is complete and especially once they have raised all iPads to a RAM level that can support the added multitasking capability that this allows. It will take a few years...but why hurry, nobody is pushing them...

 

[collin_]

So we should just accept, for example, that an $1,100 device with a Thunderbolt port doesn’t have proper external display support? That you can get up to 16 GB RAM but apps can’t use more than 5? They are separate products, sure, but some of the artificial limits on iPadOS are just absurd for the price and the power it possesses. There’s simply no justification for some of it.

 

[apparatchik]

I wholesomely agree, were they to bring macOS to iPad they would ruin both, as you can tell by how Windows 8 go, different form factors, different paradigms.

This, of course, doesnt prevent Apple and others to port professional software to iPad, starting with Xcode.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Absolutely, I agree. But to be fair, they were too impatient and did not wait for WWDC as many of us here had suggested...
Personally I decided to go with a refurbished 2018 12.9 last week (as an upgrade from a 2015 one).

I think much of that impatience you refer to can be attributed to the lure of the miniLED screen. The rest was/is simply wishful thinking and not realising that it was an enhanced iPad chip that was put into the Mac and not the other way around. And, as for the extra RAM, that’s likely just a way for Apple to justify a price hike, in part.

 

[kristalsoldier]

They don't know what to do with it, honestly. My iPad is more than 5 years old and it works great for everything I need an iPad to do. I think of it like a "Model T" device in that it can do lots of things — stand in for a teleprompter, a coloring book, a notepad, a casual web browser, second screen for my laptop, e-reader, airplane entertainment device. But they've never figured out a killer app that makes me need to upgrade to take advantage of the updated specs. I think for many it just lives in a purgatory between computer and phone, and it can be useful but not vital.

That’s exactly what the iPad’s design-intent is. Just refer to Steve Job’s presentation about the ipad.

 

[GuruZac]

why not? makes perfect sense for Apple not to make a different SoC just for the ipad since the M1 works on it
And a lot of users i bet will keep this M1 ipad for 5-6 years easy thanks to its hardware. And the price still the same (expect the 12.9" but that is due to display)

Maybe, but people were salivating just as much at the power of the A12X in 2018 and nothing came of it then, and many people who purchased the 2018 iPad Pro have also replaced it with the M1 iPad Pro, even going so far as to say "anyone with a 2018 or older iPad Pro should upgrade..." Those same people who bought the M1 iPad Pro will be upgrading to the next gen or the one after that and make the same arguments.

As to the OP, the reason the topic of iPads replacing Macs being in the forefront lately is that this is the first time an iPad and Mac have shared the same CPU, GPU, and RAM. Many took that as something big in the works in the way of iPad functionality. As it turns out, the iPad Air is just as capable of a device for 98% of all tasks to the 11" iPad Pro, even sharing the same peripheral support. I think the disappointment in iPadOS 15 is what it is, but the belief that the M1 iPad Pro is a waste of hardware I can understand. People keep bringing up and justifying the 16GB of RAM using an absurd number of open tabs...that seems a ridiculous reason to spend $1500+ so that you can keep extra tabs open. I would say given iPadOS, I think anyone with a 2018 iPad Pro is in great shape. I'm running iPadOS 15 on both my 2017 10.5 iPad Pro and 2018 12.9 iPad Pro and it works just as fluidly on both even though the 2018 is far more powerful. It is also surprisingly stable on both.

Absolutely, I agree. But to be fair, they were too impatient and did not wait for WWDC as many of us here had suggested...
Personally I decided to go with a refurbished 2018 12.9 last week (as an upgrade from a 2015 one).

A great upgrade even now. You get the current form factor, USB-C, and support for the current and latest accessories-Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard.

 

[GuruZac]

Exactly. Sometimes I think that people on this forum believe that iPad pro is the majority of iPads... The vast majority of sales is the 329 iPad... iPad pro is a relative niche market... a profitable niche, but one where Apple has no competition...
The Mac is a potentially much bigger market and Apple knows that it can grow the Mac business much more than the iPad pro one.... and than the iPad as whole... The Apple Silicon transition is the big deal, that's where the big investments of time and resources are going.... And we are only at the beginning. Only entry level M1 and no Macbook redesign yet... There is much more market share to take with the Mac than with the iPad... I wouldn't be surprised if Apple doubles the market share of the Macs over the next 2 years... The iPad? The rest of the tablet market is basically cheap low margin Android tablets. Windows tablets are first and foremost portable laptops.... Tablet-wise the iPad has no real competitors.
Giving exclusive features to the iPad pro would only expose how RAM constrained are other iPads, air 4 included... Real monitor support would allow at least 4 apps to work at the same time (2 on the monitor and 2-3 on the iPad...). No real reason to do it when people are buying anyway... They complain? Well, that's fine, as long as they keep buying...

Honestly, converting buyers from Mac to iPad Pro would be far more profitable for Apple. Compare a 512GB base MacBook Air at $1249 vs a comparable 12.9 iPad Pro with 512GB and Magic Keyboard at $1749. Then add Apple Pencil and a much larger App Store for iPadOS to generate even more revenue. I think at this point, Apple is relying on developers to bring full featured desktop level apps to the iPad Pro. iPadOS still has lots of work, but every year it gets better and better feature wise and functionality wise.

 

[Momof9]

iPad pro is a relative niche market... a profitable niche, but one where Apple has no competition...
The iPad? The rest of the tablet market is basically cheap low margin Android tablets. Windows tablets are first and foremost portable laptops.... Tablet-wise the iPad has no real competitors.

So the iPad Pros do have competition - Wacom tablets..... A lot of people, who have both, are preferring the iPP's.... including the display ones....

I have an Intuos tablet pro - and I LOVE my iPPs so much better....

 

[Abazigal]

Well, I think it's beyond time for people to accept the fact that there is almost zero chance of Apple purposely taking steps that would murder their very own laptop line. And frankly, why would they? Would it honestly be a good business decision for them to tell the public, "Hey, you know those MacBook Airs and Pros that we make? Well, feel free to ignore them! Because over here, we have a machine that runs the same OS, is designed to replace those laptops and oh, by the way, also has a better screen, better speakers, better cameras and much more!"

I liked your post, but I think there's a lot more nuance to this point, because it sounds like Apple simply wants people to buy more hardware.

At the end of the day, I still believe it's about meaningful choices. MacBooks and iPads are very different devices, each enabling a very different sort of user experience and this means each is free to excel in their own areas. If you are going to bring macOS to the iPad, or otherwise turn the iPad into a carbon copy of the Mac, then you lose that meaningful distinction.

Ultimately, what I love about the iPad is that it is at its very core a giant iPod touch. I think the allure of being able to have a giant-sized twitter browser in your hands on your sofa is a great experience that cannot be understated, nor should it be flippantly dismissed as mere consumption. I have shared in countless other threads about how I have used my iPad to teach in the classroom, to get meaningful work done, to blog about my overseas travel experience with my students, and every time, it's the unique combination of tablet form factor, long battery life, touch-optimised UI and native apps and cellular connectivity that makes using it so much more intuitive and seamless compared to my Mac (or any other windows PC for that matter).

And all this is possible only because the iPad is nothing like the Mac.

 

[jeremiah256]

Since the dawn of the iPads, there has been this huge push from fanboys (and some general fans) to insist that Apple should take the appropriate steps that would allow the iPad to replace the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This is all despite Apple being clear that the iPad is designed to have its own place alongside their laptop line and is not meant to be a replacement.

And so, with every new hardware and software release, we get mired in the same 'ol trolling, discussions and complaints of "Where's my MacOS??" and "iPadOS sucks because I can't use it like MacOS!"

Well, I think it's beyond time for people to accept the fact that there is almost zero chance of Apple purposely taking steps that would murder their very own laptop line. And frankly, why would they? Would it honestly be a good business decision for them to tell the public, "Hey, you know those MacBook Airs and Pros that we make? Well, feel free to ignore them! Because over here, we have a machine that runs the same OS, is designed to replace those laptops and oh, by the way, also has a better screen, better speakers, better cameras and much more!"

Look - an iPad is an iPad and a MacBook is a MacBook. They each have their strengths and weaknesses and they each are perfectly valid options. A MacBook will always have an upper hand for certain workflows...and THAT IS OK! And the iPad will also have the upper hand for a lot of media uses and other items...and THAT IS OK, TOO!

It's time to stop expecting Apple to do something that they have no interest in doing and that is against their business interests to do so.

I somewhat disagree. It’s against their business interests now, but only because they are still putting parts in place. The ‘macOS or laptop replacement’ features Apple has added to the iPad have actually been both expected and inevitable. A child could have predicted their eventual inclusion. The frustrating part is waiting for Apple to figure out how they can benefit the most.

Customers say they want better keyboard support. Apple seemingly resists. Their media supporters provide them cover. Third parties try to fill the need. Apple then releases the Smart Keyboard.

Customers say they want a stylus for finer interactions with their iPads. Apple seemingly resists. Their media supporters provide them cover. Third parties try to fill the need. Apple releases the Apple Pencil.

Customers say they want a mouse support. Apple seemingly resists. Their media supporters provide them cover. Third parties try to fill the need. Apple releases the Magic Keyboard.

And for the last part of the puzzle for many, customers say they want full external monitor support. Apple seemingly resists. Their media supporters provide them cover. Third parties try to fill the need. Apple releases…Airplay to Mac? I can’t tell if this provides full external monitor support or not. I hope you don’t need a Mac as an accessory for full external monitor support for your iPad. But, whatever solution Apple comes up with, best believe they’re going to make sure they get paid.

So again, I disagree with the premise that they are protecting any single product. This may seem controversial, but Apple is definitely moving in a direction beyond the traditional Mac.

So (eventually) we’ll get full external monitor support. Two years, max. The media will cheer. Those who resisted on this forum will cheer. Hell, I’ll cheer. And Apple will have finally fulfilled expectations that have literally been in place since the OG iPad tablet was brought down from the mountain top.

 

[cocoua]

OP is quite right, only concern is that as illustrator, i’d like to have something similar to the surface pro, the modbook pro or the cintiq studio.
Cintiqs are a very important tool for many artist, iPads and sidecar arent same experience (in my experience) as is quite unconfortable drawing in the ipad-macbook on the train and the backpack for a weekend involve several devices.

a mac insode an iPad pro size with ports for external displays and external drives at home, with macos would be so great...

i work mainly with harmony, after effects, lightroom, premiere, animate, audacity and many other tools iPad hasnt yet and all them ruled by a digital pen...

on the go i can draw on the ipad but not in the formats I need
and cant bring with me my files and programs.

sidecar to my workflow is a workaround, quite neat, but I cant control several screens with the pen and the workflow is quite awkward switching mouse and pen.

 

[Shirasaki]

Back in 2010, iPad was just a glorified iPhone that could not make phone call or send text message. Runs all apps designed for iOS and iPad just fine, had no multitasking capabilities and so on.
Nowadays, even with M1, to me iPad is still a glorified iPhone that do most things iPhone can do, minus managing Apple Watch, making phone call and sms. I use iPad way more often than iPhone cause I can multitask on iPad but can’t on iPhone.
Apple has rendered iPad a weird hybrid much like windows tablet. Except for windows tablet, they are better on laptop than on tablet where apple is the Other way around. macOS Big Sur tells me apple is trying their best to bandaid macOS to somewhere between iPadOS while trying to please older mature computer users. I can bet apple abandon macOS in a heartbeat if there’s only younger generations using iPad.

 

[Digitalguy]

Honestly, converting buyers from Mac to iPad Pro would be far more profitable for Apple. Compare a 512GB base MacBook Air at $1249 vs a comparable 12.9 iPad Pro with 512GB and Magic Keyboard at $1749. Then add Apple Pencil and a much larger App Store for iPadOS to generate even more revenue. I think at this point, Apple is relying on developers to bring full featured desktop level apps to the iPad Pro. iPadOS still has lots of work, but every year it gets better and better feature wise and functionality wise.

This is a wrong argument that comes up all the time. The mistake is assuming that those Mac users don't already buy iPads... The fact that as 12.9in pro with magic keyboards costs more than an equivalent Macbook air does not keep into account the fact that a Macbook air + iPad (and magic keyboard), which is what many people have, costs much more. And the relative small price difference between the air and the iPad + MK would not offset the loss of the Macbook...
Again, Apple has shown many times that they are not aiming at convergence but at integration, as it's more profitable... And they are right and probably smarter than those clients suggesting they do otherwise....

 

[Tozovac]

Look - an iPad is an iPad and a MacBook is a MacBook. They each have their strengths and weaknesses and they each are perfectly valid options. A MacBook will always have an upper hand for certain workflows...and THAT IS OK! And the iPad will also have the upper hand for a lot of media uses and other items...and THAT IS OK, TOO!

It's time to stop expecting Apple to do something that they have no interest in doing and that is against their business interests to do so.

Those thoughts (which I agree with) is why so many of us (except Apple apparently) thought the “what’s a computer” commercial was such an eye-roller.

Having said that, I would consider a dual-boot iPad Pro (iPadOS & OS) depending upon price of course, even if the touchscreen was “shut off” in OS mode.

 

[Ludatyk]

Giving exclusive features to the iPad pro would only expose how RAM constrained are other iPads, air 4 included... Real monitor support would allow at least 4 apps to work at the same time (2 on the monitor and 2-3 on the iPad...). No real reason to do it when people are buying anyway... They complain? Well, that's fine, as long as they keep buying...

Exclusive features were giving to iPads in the past.. when Apple first introduced multitasking, so that’s irrelevant tbh. But I do believe Apple is not trying to implement features that doesn’t work on fairly recent iPad hardware.

At this point… it’s 3rd party developers who are able to differentiate the M1 from other iPads.

Those thoughts (which I agree with) is why so many of us (except Apple apparently) thought the “what’s a computer” commercial was such an eye-roller.

Tbf, the commercial was meant to break the stigma surrounding the iPad as a tablet. I think those in the Mac/PC world might have felt it was rather insulting for Apple to label an iPad as a computer.

But, I believe those who favor the iPad… understands the goal behind that campaign.

 

[ejin222]

The problem is that the hardware on the new iPad Pro is ludicrous overkill given its software limitations. The hardware updates suggested new functionality that would at least slightly close the gap between iPads and Macs for professional use, but iPadOS15 failed to deliver on that promise - much to the (very understandable) disappointment of many.

If Apple wants "an iPad to be an iPad", fine, but then there's no reason to give us an iPad with an M1 chip, a thunderbolt port, 16gb of RAM, etc. If they had even done a couple of small things to improve the device's capabilities as a professional device (like full resolution external monitor support that didn't just mirror the iPad screen), I think people would be a lot happier (and Macs could still remain Macs, capable of many things iPads are not). As it stands, it's not hard to see why a lot of people are feeling disappointed with their expensive, overpowered devices being deliberately held back by the software.

I'm not sure if you have the 12.9" iPad Pro, but as a purchaser of one, I appreciate the fact that it comes with all those features at its price point. I would HATE to have a slower A10X chip since it's more of an "iPad" chip and still pay $1099 for just the mini-LED screen upgrade. I love the fact that my iPad has the very best Apple has to offer in terms of chips and port capabilities. I mean, which would I rather have: a lightning port vs thunderbolt port?

At the end of the day, these new features aren't closing any "gaps" between operating systems - they're two completely different devices built for two purposes. An iPad is an iPad and a Mac is a Mac. Would you say bringing 4 wheel drive on a sedan is completely useless because 4 wheel drive should ONLY belong on SUV's?

People will complain no matter what. Is there any universal device that is perfect for every person on Earth? No. The only metric of a device's success is in sales and not opinions, and as long as Apple is selling more devices, then they're doing something right.

 

[richpjr]

That’s exactly what the iPad’s design-intent is. Just refer to Steve Job’s presentation about the ipad.

The world evolves. Jobs also hated large screens on phones and styli.

This place is kind of amusing with these declarations about what Apple will and won't do. It wasn't very long ago we were told repeatedly here by many that Apple would never add mouse/trackpad support because it wasn't designed for it and they would never "ruin" the touch experience. Yet here we are...

 

[kristalsoldier]

The world evolves. Jobs also hated large screens on phones and styli.

This place is kind of amusing with these declarations about what Apple will and won't do. It wasn't very long ago we were told repeatedly here by many that Apple would never add mouse/trackpad support because it wasn't designed for it and they would never "ruin" the touch experience. Yet here we are...

The point is not about the dimensionality of phones, or iPods, or iPads. Rather, it’s about the design concept of the iPad and what the form factor was imagined to do.

And, as for your observation - “the world evolves” - interestingly, the world does not seem to have evolved too much in the mobile computing space considering we still use laptops, which have not really changed their design profile for now at least 30 years.

 

[Shreducator]

I think a lot of the controversy around the iPad is Apple’s own fault. They made a big marketing push for iPads being your next computer. Which is the opposite of everything Steve Jobs talked about during the introduction of the iPad. I do believe that the majority of Apple sales in the iPad/Mac area come from pro-summers. People Who imagine all the things to do with a great new iPad then they buy it impulsively and regret it later.

 

[ChromeCloud]

Not everything that's technically achievable makes sense as a product: different use cases, input devices and usability constraints require a different set of design choices and optimizations.

If you believe iPadOS is holding back the iPad, you fail to understand the very thing that makes iPad successful: the fact that it's so simple to use that anybody, even your computer-illiterate mom, can operate it without ever reading a manual or asking for technical support.

If the iPad Pro ran macOS, it would be neither a great iPad nor a great Mac.

If you are longing for better multitasking and a more powerful and flexible OS, then you should simply buy a Mac.

 

[jeremiah256]

The point is not about the dimensionality of phones, or iPods, or iPads. Rather, it’s about the design concept of the iPad and what the form factor was imagined to do.

And, as for your observation - “the world evolves” - interestingly, the world does not seem to have evolved too much in the mobile computing space considering we still use laptops, which have not really changed their design profile for now at least 30 years.

There’s been lots of evolution. 20 years ago, laptops were treated like the iPad is today. People were saying no ‘real’ professional would use a laptop as their main machine. Desktops ruled the mindset.

30 years ago, most people had only seen a computer on tv. Mainframes ruled.

 

[yalej]

I recently had the idea of getting a base MB Air together with a base iPad 12.9” instead of a (future) 16” M1. I think it would end up being the same price, but I would get more screen real estate when using iPad as external display, and have the flexibility of using one or the other if my traveling computing needs are short term.

I don’t do any video or photo editing, so your use case may vary.

There is basically nothing that I would need to do that wouldn’t already be crushed by just the M1 we have today.

 

[Freeangel1]

Except every New Version of macOS looks more like and even functions like iPadOS

So you should anticipate that the 2 OS's will eventually merge. This will also save Apple a-lot of money to work on 1 OS across all gadgets and platforms.

Not like Windows 10 and Windows 11 which has not sold out to a mobile OS like Android and is very much a desktop os for powerful pro's and creatives alike

People have been dumping macOS for years among creative pro's

Now that they have gone ARM and cant run Windows or bootcamp This will further accelerate the switch to Windows. Windows 11.

 

[GuruZac]

I recently had the idea of getting a base MB Air together with a base iPad 12.9” instead of a (future) 16” M1. I think it would end up being the same price, but I would get more screen real estate when using iPad as external display, and have the flexibility of using one or the other if my traveling computing needs are short term.

I don’t do any video or photo editing, so your use case may vary.

There is basically nothing that I would need to do that wouldn’t already be crushed by just the M1 we have today.

I’m in the same boat. Went for an M1 MacBook Air and have a 2018 iPad Pro 12.9. The combo is really nice.