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jsmith1

macrumors 6502a
Jun 6, 2010
683
594
In one word.....no....4gb of ram gets you and overpriced tablet not a replacement for anything
 

bnmcj1

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2014
398
180
Unfortunately I need mouse support for work if necessary sometimes from home and simple document editing, which is way too clumsy on an iPad.

As long as you have to own three devices (phone, iPad, laptop) for me iPad will just be a toy. Basically, for me, there is no difference between iPad gen 1 and our iPad Pro 10.5 save for screen and speed for our purposes. There is still no real efficient multitasking or work capabilities. Still just as toy.

Surface Pro or Surface Book it will be next time. I am done with these obsolete products that are not 2 in 1s.
 
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secretk

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2018
1,494
1,229
secretk - I am NOW only using my iPad Pro as my only computer. I am a power user. Like you - I would have 3 windows of chrome open with 20 tabs each. Right now I have 8 tabs open. I am having to rethink how I do everything....

The thing for you I guess is that you are OK with having to rethink how you do things. For me it's not OK. I don't want to rethink things. As long as I have device that allows me to do things the way I want (laptop) I would not change my ways. Now granted maybe in 10 years I would not be able to do my workflow on any device that exists and then I will have to change. For now though there are enough options for me to do it.

I do like you want - put everything I want in a different folder. I did preorder the new 12.9” with 1 TB so that I can store everything on my iPad. I do have things in a variety of places, which can get confusing. I have been a long time windows user and I had a very detailed files organization- folders in folders etc. That is driving me a bit crazy, but I am figuring out how to do it on an iPad. I am very impressed with the numbers coming in showing how fast this new iPad is.... I do have the 2015 12.9”. I have made it stutter and slow down or stop.... So I am power using it. Most of the time, when that happens, I just go in and close all the apps I am not using at the time (which may be over 20 apps). I rarely restart this thing - did yesterday for the new update LOL.

One thing I wonder is why people want 1 TB SSD. In my opinion storing movies and images on SSD does not make sense. You pay a lot for storage, but there is no gain. SSD makes sense for doing operational work - like having your software there. For example I am Software Developer. I put my source code on my SSD, but I don't store my photos there. I store them on my HDD. Now years in the future when SSD gets as cheap as HDD then I would see it making sense. As of now I don't. However there is also something else. Just for long term perspective I prefer to keep my software and my files (photos, movies, documents) physically separated. This way if one drive gets bad the other one would not be affected.

So yeah for me 1 TB SSD on one device (especially such device that does not allow easy replacement of said SSD) is not a good option in the long term. And this is why I have laptop that has both SSD and HDD and I can replace them whenever I want without affecting the motherboard. That for me is better in the long term.

Granted people circumvent this by using the cloud, but I don't want to use the cloud. I want to have access to my files without Internet. That in itself means that even if I store files on the cloud (which I don't want to in general as my files are my business and no one else's) I still have to store them physically on the device.

I do agree with you - Geekbench shows that the new iPads are quite powerful. However I do not think that with the current apps selection and iOS itself someone can use this potential. Maybe once Photoshop is available, this could happen. iOS itself does not allow multitasking in the way we can do it in our computers. So no matter how powerful this thing is, I know that I can't use more then two apps in the same time (3 if you count overlay, but that's almost unusable for me). And for me this is what matters. I don't care how many apps can stay open in the background because I don't use them. I care about how much apps I can use simultaneously in the same time easily and efficiently.

Right now, I have post it notes on my desk telling me which app to use to do certain things. I have 4 files apps - or more when you consider the ones for external drives and cloud.... `1 or 2 of them let you add folders. I am finding that I can do anything I did on my computer. Some of it can be a bit complicated, but I am use to doing things on a windows PC - so learning new apps and new ways of doing things. I can’t wait to see Photoshop on the iPad..... I DO like Affinity Photo though. I can do pretty much the same things. I have just been using PS for a long time now. Well I will be using Photo for quite awhil, before PS comes out. I am sure I will get more efficient on it as time goes by. At least they (affinity) has a lot of tutorials online!!!

The thing is you want to do it. I mean you want to use only your iPad so you need to change your workflow to fit in the iPad. I don't see the point. I don't want to change my workflow for a device, I want the device to allow me to implement my workflow. I want to be asked where to download files, I want to be able to open the same file in different apps, I want to be asked in which apps to open them etc. And I don't want to use more than one app for a specific purpose. That in itself is too complex for me.

I have had to do a lot of googling on apps to use. Sometimes I have to change how I word things. Or even get more specific on “how” I want an app to work. Sometimes it is so overwhelming - the amount of apps that are out there. I wish Apple had the try for free, for 15 minutes or whatever it is on the play store. That would make it so much easier to find the app that you want to use. Unless it is free, I do a lot of reading about apps before I purchase them, to see if it would fit my needs.

I go through this too. It's really difficult for me to find good iOS apps that fit in my needs. There are lot of apps, but they are paid and I cannot try them properly before deciding if it works for me or not. This is why I wondered if there is such thread in the forum here because it might be helpful for people like you and me to read about other's impressions on apps that we consider using.
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Unfortunately I need mouse support for work if necessary sometimes from home and simple document editing, which is way too clumsy on an iPad.

As long as you have to own three devices (phone, iPad, laptop) for me iPad will just be a toy. Basically, for me, there is no difference between iPad gen 1 and our iPad Pro 10.5 save for screen and speed for our purposes. There is still no real efficient multitasking or work capabilities. Still just as toy.

Surface Pro or Surface Book it will be next time. I am done with these obsolete products that are not 2 in 1s.

I have been eyeing Surface line devices for some time too. I went with the cheap 2018 (6th gen) iPad this time around because I already had a laptop that bought last year. Plus this is my first tablet. I have never used a tablet before so I wanted to check if I will find a purpose for it. In the long run it does make sense to go with Surface laptop. Yes you pay more, but it's both tablet and laptop and I can hook up external monitor. If I consider the money I paid for my laptop plus the iPad and the pencil, the price difference is not that much you know. And I am not an artist anyway so for me the fact that the Apple pencil might be better than the Surface Pen is not that much of a deal.

Of course for others it is and the things change a lot. It definitely depends on what we want from those devices and how we use them.
 
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gman901

macrumors 6502a
Sep 1, 2007
607
14
Houston, TX
I'm thinking about ditching my laptops too and going just with the iPad 11". Seems like they new iPad is much more powerful than my early 2018 laptop. So my question is which iPad dock is best with USB C? I plan on using my office 360 subscription with the new iPad and get work and play done! Also, will the dock work with my 512gb Samsung T5?
 
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TrueBlou

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2014
4,531
3,619
Scotland
I ditched my 2016 MBP TB only a few months after buying it and went all in on iPad Pro.


Let’s not kid ourselves, there are serious compromises or workarounds involved, depending on your workload.


Xcode for instance requires that I either use Remote Desktop software, or write code in a text editor to be added into Xcode later.


I’ve found Remote Desktop to be surprisingly better than I thought it would be. Though to be fair I hadn’t used it much for years before the switch.


I’m never out of WiFi or cellular coverage anymore, so using a Remote Desktop connection isn’t an issue.


Everything else I do can be accomplished quite easily on iPad Pro. For my writing, there’s many a good app, though I tend to stick to Pages mostly.


For image editing and creating artwork, I use Pixelmator and Procreate. My vector work gets done in Graphic.

I’m quite looking forward to the release of “proper” Photoshop which could be a definite boon.


Video editing I find rather easy on iPad Pro. Naturally it doesn’t have the flexibility of Final Cut Pro, but I can export work to be used on desktop.


At the end of the day I think it boils down to the type of work you do. If I had to spend 12 hours a day using Xcode via Remote Desktop on a 12.9” screen it would drive me batty - but I don’t. For what it’s worth, even the 15” MacBook Pro had the same effect with me. I’m just too used to a huge high resolution screen for that now.


Art/video/writing/photo editing and a few other tasks I genuinely have no issue using the iPad Pro. Well, clearly, I’ve been using it a couple of years now.


I think going forward, things are only going to get better. For now it really does depend on your workload and if you’re willing to compromise. Or more accurately, find some sort of workaround - because there usually is one.


It’s a severe shock to the system to begin with, of that there’s no doubt. But if you persevere you do adapt to it and rather quickly.


Actually, I’ll rephrase that. I adapted to it quickly, to the point where my MacBook Pro was superfluous. I preferred having peripherals such as the Pencil to a Touch Bar. So my theory is if I can, then a good deal of other people can too.


But it’s a very personal choice. And without doubt, it will not be an option for some people until Apple make further, huge changes. I think they will, they’re heading in the right direction. It’s just a matter of when now, rather than if.



...... I think most of that’s coherent. Sorry it’s a bit wordy, bloody morphine you know :D
 
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Momof9

macrumors 6502
Aug 22, 2018
499
193
secretK - so I am using my iPad Pro 12.9” as my computer not necessarily by choice. I did want to see how it would work after I read about people doing it. But I kept resisting the idea as well. My windows desktop was having serious issues (better after reinstall), but I just got fed up with windows (been a long time coming, switched to linux quite a few times over the years, then would get a new computer). I have had my iPP for several years and last fall an apple watch and iphone X joined the mix. In all of this, I kept wondering what it would be like to have a mac....

So I started researching mac products. With my desk setup and considering ergonomics - I was not so sure about a laptop. The $$$$ was a big factor too - especially if I used an external keyboard and mouse and added another monitor. Just seemed like a lot of money to not use it like it is intended. I have realized I could change my desk setup a bit to accomodate something like this. So then, I started waiting for the “New” macs to come out.... I have had an older macbook pro (much older than I was led to believe) and a 21” iMac not working properly that I returned both. I know that for a desktop, I need an i7 with 16gb ram minimum.

I am really going to give the new iPP a good workout over the next few weeks to make sure it can do what I want. If not, I will return it and get an MBP.... I hope I don’t end up back with a Windows machine.... ugh. But after reading the geekbench test on the iPPs. I think I will be very happy. Now I will be using my 2015 12.9” as well as my new one. The old one will be for emails and browsing the web and for browsing thru my files. The new one will be for designing. So it will be my heavy hitter. At least that is the plan for now.

About files - I have multi backups. Have been doing that for years. But one problem I am facing, is being able to view my images from either the cloud or even a hard drive.... if they are very large, I only see an icon. So to view them, I need to download it. So with the 1 TB I can have all the files I use on my iPP.

Yes we do need a thread etc for apps. I will check it out. A lot of times they keep moving things to this thread. I will check the other iPad forums here....

gman901 - yes a dock would be great, but since these new iPPs are a redesign, we will have to wait and see. There is a logitech dock, but it is a charging stand. I am not sure if the usbc docs will work with this. I sure hope so, there is one I have been eyeing if I was to buy a MBP - if it works, that would be fantastic.
 

secretk

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2018
1,494
1,229
secretK - so I am using my iPad Pro 12.9” as my computer not necessarily by choice. I did want to see how it would work after I read about people doing it. But I kept resisting the idea as well. My windows desktop was having serious issues (better after reinstall), but I just got fed up with windows (been a long time coming, switched to linux quite a few times over the years, then would get a new computer). I have had my iPP for several years and last fall an apple watch and iphone X joined the mix. In all of this, I kept wondering what it would be like to have a mac....

What kind of issues did you have with your Windows machine? I have been Windows user all my life. I do have to say - I so prefer Windows over iOS. iOS is just not for me. I don't like how things are organized, I don't like the gestures, the settings menu, the app store and the way it's organized, the lack of files system, the fact that the system decides to do things for me without asking me.

So I started researching mac products. With my desk setup and considering ergonomics - I was not so sure about a laptop. The $$$$ was a big factor too - especially if I used an external keyboard and mouse and added another monitor. Just seemed like a lot of money to not use it like it is intended. I have realized I could change my desk setup a bit to accomodate something like this. So then, I started waiting for the “New” macs to come out.... I have had an older macbook pro (much older than I was led to believe) and a 21” iMac not working properly that I returned both. I know that for a desktop, I need an i7 with 16gb ram minimum.

I assume you need 16 GB ram because of the design stuff? One reason I don't want to rely on thin portable device for heavy lifting is the thermals. Even if the device has good CPU and enough RAM it can't handle the continuous work at top speed - it would overheat. Such small devices do not have good and efficient ventilation.

One of the biggest issue now is that we have expensive ultra thin devices with powerful CPUs and a lot of RAM that never get used to their top potential. The CPUs get under-clocked because they can't handle this type of usage. As consumers we end up paying a lot of specs that we would never use.

I am really going to give the new iPP a good workout over the next few weeks to make sure it can do what I want. If not, I will return it and get an MBP.... I hope I don’t end up back with a Windows machine.... ugh. But after reading the geekbench test on the iPPs. I think I will be very happy. Now I will be using my 2015 12.9” as well as my new one. The old one will be for emails and browsing the web and for browsing thru my files. The new one will be for designing. So it will be my heavy hitter. At least that is the plan for now.

I hope that it works out for you. I don't trust Geekbench results to be honest. I have seen a lot of good numbers for devices but when I start using them I see glitches. It heavily depends on one's usage. One thing I could say is that even my 2018 iPad has no issues with CPU. I have checked. The CPU is not even used reasonably - it's up to 30 %. RAM however is heavily used. And this is what I think is an issue here. I am not sure that they have good balance between CPU and RAM. It seems that the CPUs are a lot more powerful and can take a lot of apps, but you won't have enough RAM to handle that.

About files - I have multi backups. Have been doing that for years. But one problem I am facing, is being able to view my images from either the cloud or even a hard drive.... if they are very large, I only see an icon. So to view them, I need to download it. So with the 1 TB I can have all the files I use on my iPP.

Makes sense.

Yes we do need a thread etc for apps. I will check it out. A lot of times they keep moving things to this thread. I will check the other iPad forums here....

Yeah makes sense to check there as well. Maybe also the iOS threads.
 
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bluecoast

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2017
2,256
2,673
I definitely love some of the hardware in the new iPad, no question. The A12X has already outpaced Intel dual cores in many ways. Other things could be improved. RAM is supposedly only 4GB. The screen isn't really much better than previous iterations. To me, the keyboard case is ridiculously priced for its utility at over 2x the price of the Bluetooth Magic Keyboard.

But I'm most disappointed by the software. Some implementation of a file system is essential if the iPad will ever really replace a computer, and I think it will happen at some point, but even with this nice hardware and USB-C (capable of providing enough power for a 2.5" hard drive if needed), this really holds back certain applications. That hardware is just thirsty for real pro apps, like FCPx, logic and others, which Apple didn't deliver on at all.

iMovie as a great example of iPad software being a letdown, is neutered compared to the already basic Mac version. Trying to edit on the iPad, I can't even download mp3s from a free music archive, or a video that I want to incorporate bits from, not even to iCloud. A DJ can't connect a hard drive or flash drive of their collection of music. The frustrating thing is that apps like iMovie in terms of performance, are smooth and very fast to export.

Certain other features are half-baked, like display connectivity. How do you control an extended display, given that their is no mouse? They say it's app specific, but why is there nothing at the OS level? They could have built in a basic level of this, say, the ability to throw up an app playing video or Spotify (or Apple music I guess) on the secondary display.

Like someone else on this forum said, the iPad takes baby steps; takes forever getting there.

Personally I don't have a problem with higher prices, but they do need to come with some form of added value, benefit or utility. Fundamentally, these iPads don't do anything more than the last ones, yet we've seen the price increases on all their products this year.

Great post!

At this point, it really does seem that iOS is holding the iPad back.

I’m not going to say that this is all easy to do, but iOS on iPad needs to now start becoming more powerful and get closer to the Mac - and move away from iOS on the iPhone way more than it has done.

I’d like to see a lot more multi-tasking, better window control & multiple work spaces.

Apple needs to resolve the issue of how apps work with the cloud and a regular filesysystem (this is a mess on macOS and iCloud too).

Above all, we need trackpad and mouse support.

The (potential) good news is that I suspect that we’ll get this for next year.

What I’ve outlined is now an obvious next step for the iPad and I expect that apple are already working on it as part of the marzipan project.

As a side note, I expect that from next year, the Mac and iPad are going to start to overlap quite a bit. But that’s ok as it frees up the Mac to be the machine for pros and scientists etc whilst the iPad becomes ‘the computer for the rest of us’.

Perhaps also that the a13x is going to be the one where multi core multitasking really rips along.

Until then, I’m going to be interested in the iPad but I still won’t buy one.

For me, we need all of those things I’ve mentioned above for it to be a true pc replacement.

And I’m confident that I’ll finally be buying an iPad next year...
 

TrueBlou

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2014
4,531
3,619
Scotland
Great post!


At this point, it really does seem that iOS is holding the iPad back.


I’m not going to say that this is all easy to do, but iOS on iPad needs to now start becoming more powerful and get closer to the Mac - and move away from iOS on the iPhone way more than it has done.


I’d like to see a lot more multi-tasking, better window control & multiple work spaces.


Apple needs to resolve the issue of how apps work with the cloud and a regular filesysystem (this is a mess on macOS and iCloud too).


Above all, we need trackpad and mouse support.


The (potential) good news is that I suspect that we’ll get this for next year.


What I’ve outlined is now an obvious next step for the iPad and I expect that apple are already working on it as part of the marzipan project.


As a side note, I expect that from next year, the Mac and iPad are going to start to overlap quite a bit. But that’s ok as it frees up the Mac to be the machine for pros and scientists etc whilst the iPad becomes ‘the computer for the rest of us’.


Perhaps also that the a13x is going to be the one where multi core multitasking really rips along.


Until then, I’m going to be interested in the iPad but I still won’t buy one.


For me, we need all of those things I’ve mentioned above for it to be a true pc replacement.


And I’m confident that I’ll finally be buying an iPad next year...


I do see where you’re coming from and I definitely agree with you. Although I’ve adapted to iPad over the years, albeit it took the iPad Pro 12.9” before I actually got productive with the things.


If Apple really do want the iPad to be the future of mobile computing, they need to get serious about the capabilities of iOS.


It’s not a matter of want, it’s need and that’ll be different for everyone.

For me, just giving us a version of Xcode for iOS would make the iPad Pro damn near perfect. For everything else I’ve found apps, Procreate, Graphic, Pages, Numbers and so on that allow me to work away happily.


A more flexible file system would be a boon, there’s no doubt about it. Certainly the sandbox nature of the current system makes it easier to control the security and safety of the system. But I’m sure they could come up with a centralised storage system which is just as secure.


In the meantime I work around it with a MobileLite, which at least gives me a bit more flexibility in where my files are stored, what they are stored on and of course the ability to easily import files from Windows users, using a flash drive/SD Card, or hard drive.


There’s a lot that could and probably should be done to expand the iPad into an even more serious work device. Thankfully it would seem Apple are beginning to realise that. So I’m very hopeful for the future.


The hardware is there, it’s already powerful enough and given the opportunity, flexible enough. So it’s all down to what they do with iOS. I’m looking forward to next year and iOS 13 to see what’s in store.
 

Mahasamatman

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2017
100
82
In one word.....no....4gb of ram gets you and overpriced tablet not a replacement for anything
Well that’s me told. Looks like I need to go out and buy another MBP to replace one I gave my son because I’ve had an IPad Pro for a year and not used the MBP since.

Thanks for helping out with such a well-reasoned and succinct summary.
 

Aluminum213

macrumors 68040
Mar 16, 2012
3,600
4,764
Why do you even own one?

Because the iPad is fantastic for what it’s good at, media consumption and simple tasks like web browsing and email. And having all day battery life. If I’m going on a flight and don’t need to do work I’ll take the iPad easily over my 15” MBP
 

load97

macrumors regular
Feb 29, 2012
146
139
Washington
All about the compromises. Bottom line. ios is a phone software. iPads need a better software at or close to desktop level to make it something worthwhile.
 
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TrueBlou

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2014
4,531
3,619
Scotland
Microsoft Word on the iPad is a laughably cumbersome compared to the desktop version using a mouse

I'll grant you, these days I avoid using Word when I can, I've never really gelled with it quite the same since they switched to the ribbon interface for some reason, so I started to move away from it around it's first introduction.
While that particular bugbear (of mine) is always improving, frankly I cant be bothered wasting hours of my time customising it to make it the way I'd want it. Or for that matter spending the time to re-learn it now when there's other options which better suit my needs.

When I do have to use it (and I do more often than I'd like, because my wife prefers it) I use it across macOS, Windows and iOS (iPad, never iPhone, god can you imagine.) I've never tried the Android version, it could be miles better for all I know, I'm not going to charge up my Android tablet just to check it out right now.

While I would agree that it's probably easier, for an experienced Word user, to get to more things on the desktop versions quickly because it's all right there in front of you - crammed into that damn ribbon :p
I just don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's laughably cumbersome on iPad by comparison, that's really rather an insult to the hard working developers at Microsoft.

I actually find the iPad version fairly quick and straightforward to get around, for the important things at the very least. I'd never say that it's as good as the desktop version on either Windows or macOS, they've a ways to go before they get to that. But I think I'd be more inclined to say it's functional, rather than laughably cumbersome.

But then that's probably different if you're a full-time desktop Word user who's got everything memorised, back-to-front and blindfolded. Whereas a particularly infrequent user of it such as myself, wastes more time staring back and forth across the top of the screen trying to figure out where they've put the particular item I'm looking for, only to find out 3 minutes later it's not there at all, it's buried in a bloody menu :rolleyes:
 

Cape Dave

macrumors 68020
Nov 16, 2012
2,389
1,699
Northeast
What kind of issues did you have with your Windows machine? I have been Windows user all my life. I do have to say - I so prefer Windows over iOS. iOS is just not for me. I don't like how things are organized, I don't like the gestures, the settings menu, the app store and the way it's organized, the lack of files system, the fact that the system decides to do things for me without asking me.



I assume you need 16 GB ram because of the design stuff? One reason I don't want to rely on thin portable device for heavy lifting is the thermals. Even if the device has good CPU and enough RAM it can't handle the continuous work at top speed - it would overheat. Such small devices do not have good and efficient ventilation.

One of the biggest issue now is that we have expensive ultra thin devices with powerful CPUs and a lot of RAM that never get used to their top potential. The CPUs get under-clocked because they can't handle this type of usage. As consumers we end up paying a lot of specs that we would never use.



I hope that it works out for you. I don't trust Geekbench results to be honest. I have seen a lot of good numbers for devices but when I start using them I see glitches. It heavily depends on one's usage. One thing I could say is that even my 2018 iPad has no issues with CPU. I have checked. The CPU is not even used reasonably - it's up to 30 %. RAM however is heavily used. And this is what I think is an issue here. I am not sure that they have good balance between CPU and RAM. It seems that the CPUs are a lot more powerful and can take a lot of apps, but you won't have enough RAM to handle that.



Makes sense.



Yeah makes sense to check there as well. Maybe also the iOS threads.
I agree. I like Win 10 way better than dated MacOS. For the precise reasons you mentioned :)
 
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linkgx1

macrumors 68000
Oct 12, 2011
1,772
462
So this review from the Verge (I linked to the part where he specifically talks about this) is excellent and it spells out why the iPad still isn't a laptop replacement. The issue is that you have to know too much about iOS's limitations in order to have it work with a large amount of work flows. If you're just going on the internet, it's fine. But when you have complicated workflow that's when the entire system breaks down and is no longer "pro".
 

Momof9

macrumors 6502
Aug 22, 2018
499
193
right now, I am in a place where I want to simplify things. If Photoshop or Affinity Photo was on Linux, I would have switched and stayed a long time ago....

In April, I had the Windows update that created a lot of problems - at least I was one of the “lucky” ones. My 2.5y Asus desktop - i7, 16gb ram was crashing multiple times a day. It finally helped when I did a complete reinstall and moved it from my hybrid drive, to the SSD. But it still was not great. My son was wanting a gaming PC, he did a bunch of work for me this summer, so I gave it to him. I was just fed up with it.... Oh yea, I am the one who everyone comes to, to fix their computers.... trying to get my daughter’s laptop working faster (it has the 100% disk usage problem, even if her 1TB is less than half full)....

I have had some adjustments going to iOS. But I think I like iOS better than OS. Yes, I only used the iMac for 1 week and it had some serious issues - was running super slow no matter what I did. It was a 21” from Best Buy - 3.5 ghz, 8 gb ram and 1 TB fusion. I did need to upgrade to SSD and at least 16gb ram. But then I decided to wait to see what happened in Oct.... well no iMac’s and I was not impressed with the Mac mini or the Airs. One thing I did know, I wanted a new iPP - mine is the 12.9 from 2015.... I have not used it a lot, or as much as I want since buying it. I have wanted to use it more for drawing etc (sort of dabbled in it before). I also have an older waccom tablet that would be needing an update if I get a computer. But I think the iPP beats it hands down....

So I am trying to get my moneys worth out of the iPad - I also know that I will have to spend a lot of money to get what I need (I would be future proofing as well), ie 2018 MBP 15” etc. So if the iPP can do for me, what I need it to do - then I win at about $1000 less than final cost of MBP.

I am totally impressed with the iPP and the Photoshop using the 3gb file. On my PC, I would struggle sometimes with 300 mb files. Most of my files were about 150mb. So 3gb just boggles my mind. That file was also 12,000x12,000 pixels. Mine are usually 3600x3600 (300 ppi) at the max. This thing should be zooming fast.

I actually really like the email program on iOS. I have 6 email accounts - with a unified inbox. I can use shortcuts on my logitech (3 divice) bluetooth keyboard - arrow down or up (next message), back (delete email), space (scroll down message), I think space + shift (scrolls up message). You can use space and arrow keys in chrome as well. Cmd + tab will cycle thru open apps (in most apps - some won’t let you do that). I am sure there are a lot more shortcuts that you can use - I am just learning the ones I use all the time.
 

secretk

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2018
1,494
1,229
right now, I am in a place where I want to simplify things. If Photoshop or Affinity Photo was on Linux, I would have switched and stayed a long time ago....

I see. I actually don't find Linux simple. I know it's weird as I am Software Developer, but for me Linux is still a lot of work. I don't want to spend that much time in finding drivers for what I need.

In April, I had the Windows update that created a lot of problems - at least I was one of the “lucky” ones. My 2.5y Asus desktop - i7, 16gb ram was crashing multiple times a day. It finally helped when I did a complete reinstall and moved it from my hybrid drive, to the SSD. But it still was not great. My son was wanting a gaming PC, he did a bunch of work for me this summer, so I gave it to him. I was just fed up with it.... Oh yea, I am the one who everyone comes to, to fix their computers.... trying to get my daughter’s laptop working faster (it has the 100% disk usage problem, even if her 1TB is less than half full)....

Ah this sucks. What Asus laptop did you have?

I have had some adjustments going to iOS. But I think I like iOS better than OS. Yes, I only used the iMac for 1 week and it had some serious issues - was running super slow no matter what I did. It was a 21” from Best Buy - 3.5 ghz, 8 gb ram and 1 TB fusion. I did need to upgrade to SSD and at least 16gb ram. But then I decided to wait to see what happened in Oct.... well no iMac’s and I was not impressed with the Mac mini or the Airs. One thing I did know, I wanted a new iPP - mine is the 12.9 from 2015.... I have not used it a lot, or as much as I want since buying it. I have wanted to use it more for drawing etc (sort of dabbled in it before). I also have an older waccom tablet that would be needing an update if I get a computer. But I think the iPP beats it hands down....

It all comes to down to liking or not iOS. That's true. For me it's a mobile OS and it just works as a mobile OS which is not what I need.

So I am trying to get my moneys worth out of the iPad - I also know that I will have to spend a lot of money to get what I need (I would be future proofing as well), ie 2018 MBP 15” etc. So if the iPP can do for me, what I need it to do - then I win at about $1000 less than final cost of MBP.

Interesting that it will be still cheaper than the MBP.

I am totally impressed with the iPP and the Photoshop using the 3gb file. On my PC, I would struggle sometimes with 300 mb files. Most of my files were about 150mb. So 3gb just boggles my mind. That file was also 12,000x12,000 pixels. Mine are usually 3600x3600 (300 ppi) at the max. This thing should be zooming fast.

I can't comment on that as I don't use Photoshop. I do agree that such rendering requires powerful machine. I hope that this new iPad is what you need. I still have my doubts about the thermals and the RAM, but that's me. Plus my serious work consists of coding and starting up servers and that's still something the iPad can't do so I am in different category than you. For you I think that the iPad is even better because of the pencil support.

I actually really like the email program on iOS. I have 6 email accounts - with a unified inbox. I can use shortcuts on my logitech (3 divice) bluetooth keyboard - arrow down or up (next message), back (delete email), space (scroll down message), I think space + shift (scrolls up message). You can use space and arrow keys in chrome as well. Cmd + tab will cycle thru open apps (in most apps - some won’t let you do that). I am sure there are a lot more shortcuts that you can use - I am just learning the ones I use all the time.

Bluetooth keyboards do not work for me. So much lag. It is always slower than what I type. I type, I know I have made mistake, but I can't see it on the screen. I start deleting and it deletes all of my word because well it's just slow.

Overall I would say the following. The iPad I have has the same Geekbench and Antutu results as my phone, but my phone feels smoother, faster and overall offers better user experience. Granted I don't use ibis paint x on my phone, but I open without issues 25 tabs in my Chrome browser there and I have no reloading and no issues with it in general. So Geekbench results for me are not the whole story and I don't trust them. It's all matter of how you feel when using something. And it definitely matters what is your use case and whether a device can handle that.

Like I am pretty sure that handling 3 GB file in Photoshop is amazing and this new iPad can do that, but that's not my workflow. My workflow is research and for this I open a lot of tabs and I don't want them to be reloaded. It's something small but when you encounter this every day, it's all you think about.

This is why I believe for some those iPads are laptop replacements while for some of us they are not.
 
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