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

[Duckyduckbumps]

As an illustrator who also does some video editing and music, my ideal device is something like a Surface Pro, but with a stylus that is as responsive as the Apple Pencil or Cintiq pens. (Yes I've tried Wacom's mobile solutions and they are rather clunky).

As it stands, I have an iPad Pro, a Cintiq and a PC laptop.

I think it's reasonable for users like me to think, "Hmmm, I wish I could do all this with just one device".

I'm not about to go on YouTube berating Apple for their choices. But I think some of the criticisms are quite valid and reasonable. Where is the better file system? Where are the pro apps from Apple?

 

[Abazigal]

Where are the pro apps from Apple?

What kind of pro apps are you expecting from Apple? Seems this is an issue more with developers who probably feel that the market for pro iPad apps is too small for them to support?

 

[rui no onna]

What kind of pro apps are you expecting from Apple? Seems this is an issue more with developers who probably feel that the market for pro iPad apps is too small for them to support?

Niche isn't an issue if the customers are willing to pay $$$ for the product. Alas, most people are conditioned to expect $0.99-9.99 apps and still get updates year after year.

 

[Duckyduckbumps]

What kind of pro apps are you expecting from Apple? Seems this is an issue more with developers who probably feel that the market for pro iPad apps is too small for them to support?

Final Cut Pro and Logic.

LumaFusion does do a great job for video editing though.

 

[PrettyWings]

Final Cut Pro and Logic.

LumaFusion does do a great job for video editing though.

Can you imagine if Lumafusion wasn’t there?? iMovie time

 

[UBS28]

iPads are just big iPhone’s with pencil support, while it could be so much more.

 

[ejin222]

iPads are just big iPhone’s with pencil support, while it could be so much more.

Maybe iPhones are just small iPads without pencil support ??

 

[iPadified]

Maybe iPhones are just small iPads without pencil support ??

Considering the history, it is. iPad was devloped before the iPhone but released after the iPhone.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

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.

I have only encountered this controversy amongst content creators and some vocal Mac power users who decided to whip themselves up into a frenzy. Apple never once claimed M1 on iPad was going to mean Mac apps or MacOS on an iPad.

I think people are blaming Apple instead of reflecting on the fact they were misled by content creators, or perhaps deluded themselves.

Content creators’ business models are based on daily uploads that constantly require something interesting to say in order to satisfy the YouTube algorithm. Content creator-led speculation over M1 iPads, iPadOS, WWDC, MacOS on iPad fed around 4-weeks of clickbait content, plus another 3-days after Day 1 WWDC of whinging about pro apps.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

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?

I know! I don’t know why folks would think Apple would ever end one of their products. I just bought this Apple IIGS Pro just a few weeks ago and I’m LOVING it. Folks were like “You know Apple’s going to replace that with the Mac, you know!”

 

[Surfman]

iPads are just big iPhone’s with pencil support, while it could be so much more.

buy a MacBook if you can afford it

 

[Yebubbleman]

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 agree with you.

That being said, Apple needs to step up the iPadOS UI, correct silliness like the multi-tasking interface (iPadOS 15 seems to be making some strides in this, but it's not enough), allow more than 5GB per app, allow apps to run in the background (this isn't an iPhone), add full multi-user support, add in the Terminal (there's no reason to not have it) as well as other Pro apps (Xcode, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, Logic Pro, MainStage). This isn't a Mac, but it's not an iPhone either. If they want it to be a viable alternative to a Mac or a Windows PC, then they should at least grant it more capability so that I have less of a reason to want a Mac or a Windows PC for the tasks that I was never going to use an iPhone for.

 

[Abazigal]

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.

That’s what I did. I adapted my workflows for the ipad, and I am better off today with the ipad being an oversized iPod touch than I am had the ipad run macOS instead.

 

[007p]

By the way, for those that think that Apple is leaving money on the tablet, that iPads could outsell Macs, it's not going to happen. Even now Macs outsell iPads

Barely….

That’s just hardware as well. That would be the ‘old’ iPads vs new M1 macs too.
Once you add in the revenue iPad does/could bring in from the App Store on top of this, I expect it’s really close, if not higher.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Barely….

View attachment 1794886
That’s just hardware as well. That would be the ‘old’ iPads vs new M1 macs too.
Once you add in the revenue iPad does/could bring in from the App Store on top of this, I expect it’s really close, if not higher.

In addition, the original poster confuses “revenue” with “unit sales”. Knowing that the iPad is outselling HP’s and Dell’s laptops, and that the majority of Macs sold are laptops AND the Mac is NOT beating sales of HP and Dell, I think we can comfortably say that the iPad’s unit sales are quite a bit greater than the Mac’s.

 

[mainelyme]

iPads are just big iPhone’s with pencil support, while it could be so much more.

This is what's good about iPads but bad about the iPad Pro.

 

[Digitalguy]

In addition, the original poster confuses “revenue” with “unit sales”. Knowing that the iPad is outselling HP’s and Dell’s laptops, and that the majority of Macs sold are laptops AND the Mac is NOT beating sales of HP and Dell, I think we can comfortably say that the iPad’s unit sales are quite a bit greater than the Mac’s.

Who cares about unit sales! iPads start at $329, of course they will sell more than Macs that start at over double that....
You are the only one introducing confusion here, revenues was the subject...

 

[Digitalguy]

Barely….

View attachment 1794886
That’s just hardware as well. That would be the ‘old’ iPads vs new M1 macs too.
Once you add in the revenue iPad does/could bring in from the App Store on top of this, I expect it’s really close, if not higher.

The Mac transition will probably push that 8% quite a bit higher once it's completed... Instead I don't expect the iPad to grow much given how little iPadOS improved. There may be a push in the 2nd quarter thanks to M1 iPads, but $2000+ AS Macs should increase revenues quite a bit, as should the redesigned Air

 

[MonsterBryton]

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.

They used the iPhone to take away the iPod (almost with exception of iPod touch). I think eventually they will do it, not adding touch to Macs and MacBooks is going to start hurting when every single laptop/desktop has this feature.... Apple needs to adapt. Touch will one day come to Mac and with that iPad OS can blend with Mac OS all they have to do is call it Mac and iPad OS.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Who cares about unit sales! iPads start at $329, of course they will sell more than Macs that start at over double that....

Unit sales are “How many millions are interested in and purchasing the devices.” Far more people are interested in buying iPads at the price they’re being offered for. Think of it like this, if there are 20 million new people each year buying a Mac, and 10 million new people EACH QUARTER buying iPads, with the services and software that go along with those, where do YOU think Apple’s primary focus is going to be? And, when you consider that Apple sometimes sells in excess of 25 million iPads in a quarter, that’s a huge number of people that want what the iPad offers.

You are the only one introducing confusion here, revenues was the subject...

“By the way, for those that think that Apple is leaving money on the tablet, that iPads could outsell Macs, it's not going to happen. Even now Macs outsell iPads”

See, “outsell” means “sell or be sold in greater quantities than”. So, if someone says the MacBook is outselling the Mac Pro, that doesn’t mean that the REVENUE of the MacBook is greater than the Mac Pro, that means the unit sales of the MacBook is greater than that of the Mac Pro. Now, if someone meant to say “For those that think that iPads could pull in a greater share of revenue than Macs”, one would rightly figure that’s the way they would have worded it.

 

[Digitalguy]

Unit sales are “How many millions are interested in and purchasing the devices.” Far more people are interested in buying iPads at the price they’re being offered for. Think of it like this, if there are 20 million new people each year buying a Mac, and 10 million new people EACH QUARTER buying iPads, with the services and software that go along with those, where do YOU think Apple’s primary focus is going to be? And, when you consider that Apple sometimes sells in excess of 25 million iPads in a quarter, that’s a huge number of people that want what the iPad offers.


“By the way, for those that think that Apple is leaving money on the tablet, that iPads could outsell Macs, it's not going to happen. Even now Macs outsell iPads”

See, “outsell” means “sell or be sold in greater quantities than”. So, if someone says the MacBook is outselling the Mac Pro, that doesn’t mean that the REVENUE of the MacBook is greater than the Mac Pro, that means the unit sales of the MacBook is greater than that of the Mac Pro. Now, if someone meant to say “For those that think that iPads could pull in a greater share of revenue than Macs”, one would rightly figure that’s the way they would have worded it.

Look I teach finance at university so I think I have a good idea of financial terminology. When you talk about a company's sales you talk about their revenues, not the number of units sold. Anyway this is not the main problem with what you say.
If companies should base their focus on units sold, then Apple should start selling cheap phones, tablets and laptops (under $200 in each case), they would sell a ton. Apple is focused on margins, that's why while selling only a fractions of the number of Android phones sold, they make the vast majority of the earnings in this business.

 

[Homme]

Look I teach finance at university so I think I have a good idea of financial terminology. When you talk about a company's sales you talk about their revenues, not the number of units sold. Anyway this is not the main problem with what you say.
If companies should base their focus on units sold, then Apple should start selling cheap phones, tablets and laptops (under $200 in each case), they would sell a ton. Apple is focused on margins, that's why while selling only a fractions of the number of Android phones sold, they make the vast majority of the earnings in this business.

I don’t have knowledge of finance but your talking about ASP since that is what Apple usually focuses on right. High ASP ( I like to say Apple Service Price for some odd reason lol), Is part of the reason why they’re devices ( especially iPhones) are expensive, though for some iPhones ( and I mean SE 2016 and SE 2020) they sacrificed some of ASP for sales which isn’t surprising given that SE 2020 was the second best smartphone sold for 2021??.

 

[Jaekae]

The iPad Pro hardware has evolved to become so advanced that it has to question its very existence. Why did Apple create such a versatile and powerful product but refuse to come anywhere close to fulfilling the iPad Pros potential?

Seems most people blame apple for it even its the 3rd party developers that make 99,9 % of the apps.
But also there is some ”pro” apps already. Lumafusion, affinity photo, photoshop, lightroom, procreate. And some 3d cad software, cubasis for pro audio, adobe fresco, pro writing tools like ulyesseus and probably more i dont know about

 

[ChromeCloud]

Seems most people blame apple for it even its the 3rd party developers that make 99,9 % of the apps.
But also there is some ”pro” apps already. Lumafusion, affinity photo, photoshop, lightroom, procreate. And some 3d cad software, cubasis for pro audio, adobe fresco, pro writing tools like ulyesseus and probably more i dont know about

Speaking of pro/powerful apps, I think it's worth asking the question: are they better than their respective counterparts on the Mac? Because if they aren't, why would you choose an iPad over a Mac anyway?

Just having the same app on iPad is not enough to justify using an iPad in my opinion. The iPad version must be significantly better than the Mac counterpart. Which I don't think it can be true except for a very limited set of workflows that are better with touch/pencil.

 

[Digitalguy]

I don’t have knowledge of finance but your talking about ASP since that is what Apple usually focuses on right. High ASP ( I like to say Apple Service Price for some odd reason lol), Is part of the reason why they’re devices ( especially iPhones) are expensive, though for some iPhones ( and I mean SE 2016 and SE 2020) they sacrificed some of ASP for sales which isn’t surprising given that SE 2020 was the second best smartphone sold for 2021??.

The SE 2020 might be the second most sold smartphone, but in terms of revenues it’s much less than other iPhones, actually half of the mini (which was considered a failure). So again, people tend to focus on units sold, financial analysts (and Apple) consider revenues a much more important metric. Sacrificing revenues with the SE was a choice to expand the client base and the service revenues, but even the SE, just like the base iPad is not a budget phone/tablet. They are more “mid-ranger”. Apple leaves the low margin budget to competitors and that’s a winning strategy for them…

Anyway, regardless, the original point was that Apple Silicon Macs are just at the beginning and they will continue to grow and the gap in revenue share compared to iPads will only grow over the next couple of years.