iPad Pro iPad has become quite useless and I regret purchasing it

[prospervic]

That’s fair. It’s just that there’s something of a Venn Diagram of things an iPad can do and things a MacBook can do, and there’s a pretty big overlapping area. I’d even argue that the section of the diagram of things an iPad can do that a MacBook can’t is larger than the section of the diagram of things a MacBook can do that an iPad can’t, especially if you add the qualifiers “easily” and “while maintaining portability”. For example, you could attach a graphics tablet to a MacBook Pro, but you’ve just added a lot of weight and bulk to your bag. With an iPad, you just need the Apple Pencil.

Much of the blame for the “iPad as laptop replacement” mental model can be laid at Apple’s feet. When I bought my first iPad (iPad 2) I saw it merely as Steve Jobs described it: a middle ground device between an iPhone and a Mac. It was only when Apple released the iPad Pro and Tim Cook was running around giving interviews asking “Why would you ever buy a PC?” that I began to think this could be a thinner, lighter MacBook Pro. Lots of people were fired-up by this idea but were disillusioned when Apple did not cross that final bridge by releasing pro Mac apps for the iPad Pro as was rumored for last year’s WWDC.

That splash of cold water awakened us to the hard reality that Apple always intended for iPads to be complimentary to Macs, and that you should buy both. The recent M1 Pro and M1 Max MBPs to me have reduced the overlap section the hypothetical Venn Diagram. These laptops have far more power and (surprisingly) better battery life than iPad Pros, which ironically have reached MacBook Pro price levels.

Given the above, perhaps it’s the dedicated iOS aficionado (example: Podcaster Frederico Vittici) who Apple is aiming at with its top-end iPad Pros. For this customer, the IPP isn’t a replacement for a MacBook because he/she wasn’t interested in buying one to begin with.

 

[igauravarora]

The potential has been there since A12X/Z. The Mac mini DTK came with A12Z + 16GB RAM so one could even consider that as the "M0". I guess for me, I always saw the M1 as the Macs getting an evolved version of the iPad Pro chipset rather than the iPad Pro getting a Mac chipset.

I've got a bunch of Kindle Paperwhites but they really suck for comics and A4/letter-size PDF.

I've been using iPads since 2011 and have become very familiar with Apple's limitations on iPads. I'm actually (pleasantly) surprised when they add features like Files and mouse support. I buy iPads because it's the form factor I like best (when I'm not slaving away at my work desktop) and the OS/apps work just fine 90% of the time for my personal use. If new useful features are introduced, then great. However, I don't buy them based on their future potential or with any expectation of Apple porting over MacOS apps. I don't use Final Cut, Logic or Xcode anyway. What I most are alternative web browsers that don't use WebKit.

Yes, the potential keep on increasing since the A12Z chip but the software is more or less the same, I might even go as far as it being stagnant in some way. All they did with iPadOS 15 was to add widgets on the homescreen which iOS got on iOS 14. I am still bummed out about the spacing on the homescreen, the icons seems a bit weird to me in regards to spacing. I was using Air 2 before this one and I was always in the awe that it ran the latest iPadOS though sluggishly and slowly. I never on that tablet thought of connecting a thumb drive to it as it had lightning, though possible, it was just too much of a hassle. My expectations for the Air 2 weren't high. It's the new iPad Pro where I start to find the flaws. Although much newer and faster than Air 2, I quickly realised that it isn't that different from what my previous Air 2 can do. With years of hardware updates from A8X to M1, the software still has more or less the same capabilities.

Oh yes, kindles suck for reading comics, I mostly read the e-books on that purchased from the kindle store. It is really convenient for me. The amount of reading I do on my kindle has increased so much. I think I read more in last two months on kindle than I did in the last two years.

I think your use-case fits well with the iPad which is good to hear.

 

[827538]

As a 14" MacBook Pro user I've always looked at high end iPad Pro's as a solution in search of a problem. They are inferior productivity devices to Macs, awkward to use for productivity as you need a folding keyboard, stylus etc for full functionality, so why not get a MacBook that can be easily worked on from anyway.

I think iPads are great content consumption devices and definitely have some great niche uses. I've had professors use them for presentations, seen them used in construction. My wife uses a regular iPad for drawing. But for most I think a MacBook Air is far superior.

Between my iPhone and MacBook, I don't see the need for anything else. My iPhone with its incredible display and portability makes it great for content consumption on the move and my MacBook for when I'm at home or working.

I also think they are overpriced. If you gave the regular iPad Air the 120Hz display it would pretty much make the iPad Pro redundant. At least with the high end MacBook Pro's you get a ton of extra horsepower that you can actually put to use, plus extra ports along with the amazing display. Having an ultra powerful iPad doesn't really do much as the software and form factor limits what it can do.

I can code, write, edit video and documents, do 3D modeling all far easier on my MacBook than an iPad.

 

[kc9hzn]

As a 14" MacBook Pro user I've always looked at high end iPad Pro's as a solution in search of a problem. They are inferior productivity devices to Macs, awkward to use for productivity as you need a folding keyboard, stylus etc for full functionality, so why not get a MacBook that can be easily worked on from anyway.

I think iPads are great content consumption devices and definitely have some great niche uses. I've had professors use them for presentations, seen them used in construction. My wife uses a regular iPad for drawing. But for most I think a MacBook Air is far superior.

Between my iPhone and MacBook, I don't see the need for anything else. My iPhone with its incredible display and portability makes it great for content consumption on the move and my MacBook for when I'm at home or working.

I also think they are overpriced. If you gave the regular iPad Air the 120Hz display it would pretty much make the iPad Pro redundant. At least with the high end MacBook Pro's you get a ton of extra horsepower that you can actually put to use, plus extra ports along with the amazing display. Having an ultra powerful iPad doesn't really do much as the software and form factor limits what it can do.

I can code, write, edit video and documents, do 3D modeling all far easier on my MacBook than an iPad.

You don’t need a stylus for the iPad Pro unless you want to do handwriting recognition or drawing (a lot of iPad Pro users happen to want to, happen to prefer an iPad over carrying a laptop and a graphics tablet). It’s no more necessary than a graphics tablet on your MacBook Pro. As for folding keyboard, I honestly found the smart folio keyboard perfectly adequate for typing (and it doubles as a stand and screen protector). And, for light typing, you could certainly get away with just typing on the screen and using a Smart Cover, if even the keyboard cover is too bulky. And there’s just a lot to be said for having a larger display for videos and having better speakers. I find that my phone is a little cramp for videos with lots of text slides.

 

[RevTEG]

From office, to plane, to field work And the classroom, the 12.9 iPad Pro is my main device. Having unlimited, always connected data was a game changer for my work. I haven’t upgraded my MBP since early 2015. I understand it’s use case basis but in my small company, we only had one employee request a MBP over an iPad. My 3 kids have never owned a laptop. Their workflow habits were developed using iPads. Obviously, everyone’s learned/preferred workflow is different. Which is why Apple doesn’t just make iPads.

 

[827538]

From office, to plane, to field work And the classroom, the 12.9 iPad Pro is my main device. Having unlimited, always connected data was a game changer for my work. I haven’t upgraded my MBP since early 2015. I understand it’s use case basis but in my small company, we only had one employee request a MBP over an iPad. My 3 kids have never owned a laptop. Their workflow habits were developed using iPads. Obviously, everyone’s learned/preferred workflow is different. Which is why Apple doesn’t just make iPads.

I bet when Apple releases their in-house modem they will start including it on their MacBooks too.

 

[jdb8167]

Agreed that if you can add complexity without making things complicated for people who don't need that extra function, that would be ideal. But the problem is when you can't, or don't. I can't think of a specific example right now, but there's been many times when a new os or software update dropped, and I used it and winced as I anticipated that I would need to talk my less tech-savvy friends and relatives through understanding the changes.

Finding an example on the iPad is easy. When Apple introduced the multitasking UI with iOS 9, I was ecstatic. Finally a real iPad only feature. Then I tried to use it. What a bad UI. No discoverability for the gestures. Hard to remember what each gesture did. Sometimes an unintended gesture puts you into state that is hard to get out of. It was a mess. It took until iPadOS 15 to finally fix iPad multitasking with a discoverable menu that gives access to all of the iPadOS multitasking features.

I actually like iPadOS multitasking now just in time for me to switch from an iPad Pro to an iPad mini because I stopped trying to make my iPad Pro a productivity device with the purchase of an M1 MacBook Air.

 

[Night Spring]

I have to agree , my iPads are great for browsing the web , very basic emails and messaging , for anything even vaguely approaching actual work , forget it . Thank goodness I’ve still got a mac !

Oh, I wouldn't say "forget it." I've gotten a fair amount of work done on my iPad, things like typing the first draft of a paper, simple spreadsheets and presentations. I do agree that trying to work on larger spreadsheet would be maddening.

"Files app has been extremely robust for me", your words, now, idk if you meant it was flawless or not but it's far from robust which I can say for certainty.

The other poster said "for me." Whether something is robust or not is a subjective judgement. It can be robust enough for them, but not robust enough for you. But in any case, saying something is robust in no way implies that it is flawless.

 

[igauravarora]

The other poster said "for me." Whether something is robust or not is a subjective judgement. It can be robust enough for them, but not robust enough for you. But in any case, saying something is robust in no way implies that it is flawless.

Just for some context this was the full comment of theirs, you can check if you go back 2 pages.

"I am not misconstruing your argument, nor are you bad at writing. The Files app has been extremely robust in my experience; whar’s your basis for saying it’s unreliable? ‘Making it better‘ - from your comments, the way you’ve discussed it previously makes it sound like you do want it to be more like macOS. I have no problem with you wanting Apple to bring more apps to the platform, I just think you have an uphill battle in that regard. As I said elsewhere, the people posting to this forum are a niche - Apple’s tablets and phones appear to be made for a much more general audience."


Now, I replied to them on the basis of my opinion as well. Where the files app is concerned, if anyone who has used it thoroughly knows that it's a bit messy, there are many reddit posts on this matter as well, however, I digress.

They said some things that were wrong (or misconstruing) in my opinion which made me very defensive in replying to them, things like I wanted it the iPadOS to be like macOS or the people in this forum are a niche etc.

and I don't want to start anything again with them, I shouldn't have name-called him at one point and should have just stuck with my points which is my bad.

 

[igauravarora]

I shall certainly be trying it out next week when I go to the Apple store. I haven't owned an Apple device with a 120HZ screen before.
I plan to buy a new Mac at some point, it think I'll get a desktop. So it makes sense for me to replace my old iPad Pro as iOS will do what I need it for, I want to try out 3D drawing too with the Apple Pencil. Tempted by a cellular model but it is expensive.

I am excited for the rumoured iMac with mini-led display. It would be amazing if the screens are as good as the MacBook Pro 16.

If you can get good value out of the cellular iPad plus the pencil then I think it's worth the investment in the long run.

 

[Mackilroy]

They said some things that were wrong (or misconstruing) in my opinion which made me very defensive in replying to them, things like I wanted it the iPadOS to be like macOS or the people in this forum are a niche etc.

To set the record straight, my opinion is that based on what you asked for, you were at the core asking for iPadOS to be more like macOS (which is entirely possible without you ever once intending to say that). Part of the frustration here may lie with your noting that you write English as a second language, and thus communicating things you did not intend to. As for people on this forum being a niche, yes. There are over 1 billion active iPhones worldwide (and over 1.65 billion Apple devices total). I can't find current numbers, but Wikipedia says that as of 2015, the forum had about one million users. Making a very rough estimate, and assuming each MR user has only one iPhone, which is a reasonable assumption, that means MR users are one tenth of one percent of everyone who uses Apple products. You can double that, or quadruple it, and MR forumgoers are still a niche. As you say otherwise, what's your criteria for determining that MacRumors isn't a niche? I'm legitimately curious.

 

[Night Spring]

They said some things that were wrong (or misconstruing) in my opinion which made me very defensive in replying to them, things like I wanted it the iPadOS to be like macOS or the people in this forum are a niche etc.

What I don't understand is why that bothers you. Wanting iPadOS to be more like MacOS isn't a bad thing. If that wasn't what you meant, then sure, explain that, but there's no need to feel defensive that someone thought you said that.

As for people in this forum being niche, again, it's true that people who post here are a very minuscule portion of all people who use Apple devices, and there's no guarantee that we are a representative sample of all Apple users. It's not necessarily a personal insult to point that out.

 

[igauravarora]

To set the record straight, my opinion is that based on what you asked for, you were at the core asking for iPadOS to be more like macOS (which is entirely possible without you ever once intending to say that). Part of the frustration here may lie with your noting that you write English as a second language, and thus communicating things you did not intend to. As for people on this forum being a niche, yes. There are over 1 billion active iPhones worldwide (and over 1.65 billion Apple devices total). I can't find current numbers, but Wikipedia says that as of 2015, the forum had about one million users. Making a very rough estimate, and assuming each MR user has only one iPhone, which is a reasonable assumption, that means MR users are one tenth of one percent of everyone who uses Apple products. You can double that, or quadruple it, and MR forumgoers are still a niche. As you say otherwise, what's your criteria for determining that MacRumors isn't a niche? I'm legitimately curious.

Again for the zillionth time, I wasn't asking for the iPadOS to be like macOS. If what I say in so far results in the iPadOS becoming more like macOS then maybe you could say that. But who judges that iPadOS is like macOS?

You can make an argument that iPadOS is actually like macOS in the current state (the dock for example) and also make an argument of the opposite but it depends on who judges in what way.

The crux of the situation was that I wasn't asking for iPadOS to become like macOS.

People posting in this forum might be low in numbers however there's no way of knowing that if their opinions are in niche or not that was what I wanted to say. Not without making an opinion poll for the iPad users in general. There's a possibility that more that half the iPad users share the same point of view with me but doesn't have means/time/motivation of voicing their opinions or it could be the opposite and they very well could side with you but it's hard to know so, no, I will not say that people on macrumors are in the niche.

Apple often hands out surveys via email to users asking them for feedback and even if 50% of their consumers take that survey, the other 50% is still a mystery in regards to what they think about the product/software.

 

[igauravarora]

What I don't understand is why that bothers you. Wanting iPadOS to be more like MacOS isn't a bad thing. If that wasn't what you meant, then sure, explain that, but there's no need to feel defensive that someone thought you said that.

As for people in this forum being niche, again, it's true that people who post here are a very minuscule portion of all people who use Apple devices, and there's no guarantee that we are a representative sample of all Apple users. It's not necessarily a personal insult to point that out.

I tell you why it bothered me. It bothered me because I wasn't asking for ipadOS to become like macOS. That's a false representation what I actually said. It could very well be a good thing but it isn't what I said.

I expanded on that in post above. And there are other things which they were eluding to which wasn't what I said.

 

[Mackilroy]

Again for the zillionth time, I wasn't asking for the iPadOS to be like macOS. If what I say in so far results in the iPadOS becoming more like macOS then maybe you could say that. But who judges that iPadOS is like macOS?

You can make an argument that iPadOS is actually like macOS in the current state (the dock for example) and also make an argument of the opposite but it depends on who judges in what way.

The crux of the situation was that I wasn't asking for iPadOS to become like macOS

Yes, that's what you keep telling me. I believe that you aren't intending to say that.

People posting in this forum might be low in numbers however there's no way of knowing that if their opinions are in niche or not that was what I wanted to say. Not without making an opinion poll for the iPad users in general. There's a possibility that more that half the iPad users share the same point of view with me but doesn't have means/time/motivation of voicing their opinions or it could be the opposite and they very well could side with you but it's hard to know so, no, I will not say that people on macrumors are in the niche.

You've complained frequently about me misconstruing you, but you do it to me over and over with nary a regret. I am not, nor have I ever, been saying that opinions expressed on MR are a niche. However, the total number of people here is a niche. People deeply interested in a subject, enough to post about it somewhere, are invariably a small fraction of society.

This won't go anywhere productive, so I'll stop responding to you here. Feel free to have the last word.

 

[igauravarora]

Yes, that's what you keep telling me. I believe that you aren't intending to say that.


You've complained frequently about me misconstruing you, but you do it to me over and over with nary a regret. I am not, nor have I ever, been saying that opinions expressed on MR are a niche. However, the total number of people here is a niche. People deeply interested in a subject, enough to post about it somewhere, are invariably a small fraction of society.

This won't go anywhere productive, so I'll stop responding to you here. Feel free to have the last word.

I never miscontrued you. I have backed up everything I have said here with my own personal experiences and I have tried my best to understand your opinions and represent the opposite side to it in a clear way possible to my capacity. If you feel like I misconstrued you then do understand that it wasn't deliberate.

"As I said elsewhere, the people posting to this forum are a niche - Apple’s tablets and phones appear to be made for a much more general audience." Your words.

Now, you only explained the "niche" you were referring to the number of people at post #261, we were talking about the opinions and I still stand by my comment that there's no way of knowing that people are in the niche here and I am talking about the opinions represented by them. If expanded on a broader scale the opinions of each iPad user could lean either your way or my way or it very well could be something totally different.

On the last line, I agree, wholeheartedly.

 

[Night Spring]

I tell you why it bothered me. It bothered me because I wasn't asking for ipadOS to become like macOS. That's a false representation what I actually said. It could very well be a good thing but it isn't what I said.

I expanded on that in post above. And there are other things which they were eluding to which wasn't what I said.

I don't have time to go back over everything that was said in this thread, it's gotten quite long. But in your original post, you said you regretted buying the iPad Pro, and you "wished I had purchased a Mac mini or the Air instead of the iPad. Another Mac could have actually helped me in web development."

Now, I'm not sure if by "Air" you mean iPad Air or MacBook Air. But you clearly do say that a Mac would have been more useful to you. So that first impression can influence how people interpret everything you say. When you say you are dissatisfied with the iPadOS File app, it's easy to assume you mean you want it to be more like FileFinder on the Mac, even if that's not what you actually say. Inadvertent misunderstandings do happen.

I think both you and @Mackilroy have interesting things to say, and you are both quite articulate. So I'm not sure why you're not able to talk to each other without getting into an argument about who s misconstruing who.

Getting back on topic, do you have any ideas about how the File app could be improved to fit your needs? If you have posted such ideas before in this thread, could you point out which posts? As I've said before, this thread has gotten too long to reread everything!

 

[jdb8167]

Getting back on topic, do you have any ideas about how the File app could be improved to fit your needs? If you have posted such ideas before in this thread, could you point out which posts? As I've said before, this thread has gotten too long to reread everything!

• No way to format an external drive
• No eject so no way to force a drive update before removing the drive
• Performance is a fraction of macOS with the same hardware
• Copy status is abysmal compared to the macOS Finder
• For most file types you need the QuickLook then share before you can open in an alternate app
• There is no information on remaining space on external drives
• External drive copies get corrupted frequently
• Etc.

 

[igauravarora]

I don't have time to go back over everything that was said in this thread, it's gotten quite long. But in your original post, you said you regretted buying the iPad Pro, and you "wished I had purchased a Mac mini or the Air instead of the iPad. Another Mac could have actually helped me in web development."

Now, I'm not sure if by "Air" you mean iPad Air or MacBook Air. But you clearly do say that a Mac would have been more useful to you. So that first impression can influence how people interpret everything you say. When you say you are dissatisfied with the iPadOS File app, it's easy to assume you mean you want it to be more like FileFinder on the Mac, even if that's not what you actually say. Inadvertent misunderstandings do happen.

I think both you and @Mackilroy have interesting things to say, and you are both quite articulate. So I'm not sure why you're not able to talk to each other without getting into an argument about who s misconstruing who.

Getting back on topic, do you have any ideas about how the File app could be improved to fit your needs? If you have posted such ideas before in this thread, could you point out which posts? As I've said before, this thread has gotten too long to reread everything!

I meant the Macbook Air. I said that because the software is very limiting on the iPad where I couldn't do much on it. In theory iPad with Pro apps could very well make it more useful without it being fully converted into a macOS. I won't go into detail now, I have expressed everything I feel wrong with software in previous posts.

As far as the Files app is concerned, I touched on it in post #221.

I can add to it or write it again. An eject button would be quite useful as yanking a harddrive without ejecting makes me very uneasy. The copy, pasting for me at least is very hit and miss. I have sometimes experienced hanging and crashing in files app while copying/pasting. Then I think there should be an "Open with" button for data/media files. Isn't it odd that opening a file in a particular app is located in the Share Sheet?

Another thing which I think would be quite useful although isn't as important is for Files app to gain the functionality of restoring/updating iPhone via ipsw.

 

[igauravarora]

• No way to format an external drive
• No eject so no way to force a drive update before removing the drive
• Performance is a fraction of macOS with the same hardware
• Copy status is abysmal compared to the macOS Finder
• For most file types you need the QuickLook then share before you can open in an alternate app
• There is no information on remaining space on external drives
• External drive copies get corrupted frequently
• Etc.

This is much more clearly stated here. Thanks for chiming in

 

[TiggrToo]

iPad sales have already been on the decline the past 3-5 years and it's only going to get worse

Wishful thinking doesn’t equal facts.

Facts are that Apple’s managed to do rather well with this aging form factor and their Q4 2021 figures were far better than the overall market would have otherwise allowed for.

Apple's iPad marketshare growing in declining tablet market | AppleInsider

Tablet shipments declined in Q4 2021 for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, though Apple's iPad actually grew its share of the market in the quarter.

appleinsider.com

Apple iPad market share worldwide 2012-2024 | Statista

Apple’s iPad had a share of almost 36 percent in the global tablet market in the second quarter of 2024.

www.statista.com

It would be so nice if folk would validate their assertions rather than create a fantasy world of their own making. We get you like Android - you don’t need to go around making up nonsense in an attempt to justify that - especially when you can be fact checked so gosh darned easily…

 

[TiggrToo]

However, the total number of people here is a niche.

And ain’t that the truth. It’s staggering the number of folk I’ve seen here calling for another “-gate” issue (oh, how I despise that suffix) just because 22 people posted about it on Mac Rumors - meanwhile the rest of the world is largely silent - aside from “there have been a number of posts on sites such as MacRumors”

It all comes over as very self fulfilling.

Not saying that everyone who posts here with problems is overblowing an issue, but my oh my, some folk certainly do.

 

[sparksd]

And ain’t that the truth. It’s staggering the number of folk I’ve seen here calling for another “-gate” issue (oh, how I despise that suffix) just because 22 people posted about it on Mac Rumors - meanwhile the rest of the world is largely silent - aside from “there have been a number of posts on sites such as MacRumors”

It all comes over as very self fulfilling.

Not saying that everyone who posts here with problems is overblowing an issue, but my oh my, some folk certainly do.

Product forums are always packed with "enthusiasts", some quite extreme. The first product forums I participated in were photography-related and they were much the same, including ecosystem wars - see "Canon vs. Nikon" as the twin to "Android vs. Apple".

 

[kc9hzn]

Product forums are always packed with "enthusiasts", some quite extreme. The first product forums I participated in were photography-related and they were much the same, including ecosystem wars - see "Canon vs. Nikon" as the twin to "Android vs. Apple".

And there’s a certain audience base of MacRumors that has an axe to grind. Pro or anti-Apple, pro or anti-Intel, pro or anti-laptops, pro or anti-Android, pro or anti-Google, pro or anti-Facebook, pro or anti-VR, pro or anti-Epic, pro or anti-China, pro or anti-crypto, pro or anti-iPad, pro or anti-Tim Cook (with strong emphasis on the anti- camp for every one of those examples). We live in an era where people use the things they’re against as a shortcut for making a community and an identity and parrot the views (right or wrong, or wrong on face but right in a nuanced way but ignoring the nuance) of their community.

 

[ignatius345]

So sad, because the iPad Pro looks to be one of the best pieces of hardware Apple has ever made. But iPadOS still feels like a branch of a mobile phone operating system and doesn't seem to approach the power and flexibility of MacOS. Maybe I'm just set in my ways, but any time I've tried to do much on iPadOS, I've gotten frustrated with how many more steps it takes than on a Mac, and how much harder those steps are to discover. Multitasking, for instance, is just baffling on an iPad. Can you figure it out and make it work? Sure, but it's kludgy and awkward, requiring some special swipe or pinch to do correctly. I guess it's not a fair comparison, because cursor-based interfaces have a several decade head start.