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

[Chaparral02]

If I could do a redo on my iPad past purchases it would look something like this

• 2011 iPad 2 32GB instead of 16GB
• 2017 iPad 5th Gen 32GB
• 2023 iPad 10th Gen 64GB

Think if i could redo it

Macbook pro 14" or 16"...instead of my 2021 12.9 M1 pro 512GB & Magic keyboard
& 128GB 11" M1 Pro...instead of my 2021 512GB 11" M1 Pro

But then again you can't buy a Cellular Macbook and to me a Macbook or an ipad without an internet connection is totally useless

 

[Shirasaki]

I am a gamer, and iPhone gaming SUCKS outside of occasional login/very light gaming. iPad Pro suits my iOS gaming need very well, and it was (and prolly still is) the only device powerful enough to run genshin impact.
I also use Mac but “using” it is more like shoehorning my workflow into a Mac to pair it with my PC. Sometimes macOS is better and sometimes windows is better, that sort of thing.
With that being said though, my iPad almost replaces my iPhone except phone call and SMS. I rarely bring my iPhone with me outside anymore lol and only carry iPad Pro with keyboard case. I wish there was a higher storage model for iPad Air but oh well, and M1 is good enough imo.

 

[Warped9]

Interesting.

I have an older iPad Pro 10.5 I’m contemplating replacing with either a 9th gen iPad 10.2 or an iPad Air 10.9. I think the Pro 11 or 12.9 are just way overkill for my uses.

 

[GMShadow]

It’s fine if the iPad isn’t for you.

I just wish people would stop trying to make it something it’s not, insisting that if Apple doesn’t make it a crippled PC it’s worthless.

I use both my iPads regularly, especially the 12.9 with the Magic Keyboard. They do what I want - which isn’t to serve as a Mac replacement.

 

[rui no onna]

With that being said though, my iPad almost replaces my iPhone except phone call and SMS. I rarely bring my iPhone with me outside anymore lol and only carry iPad Pro with keyboard case. I wish there was a higher storage model for iPad Air but oh well, and M1 is good enough imo.

With Wi-Fi calling and SMS forwarding plus AirPods, I actually use the iPad for those functions while the iPhone is more often than not on the charging dock.

 

[Joniz]

Now, this will depend on the individual use case but I want to share my experience.

As soon as I read “use case,” I disregard all words that follow.

The word is “use.” Everyone please stop pretending to be engineers.

 

[code-m]

I've said it many times, but the iPad Pro line has really run out of rope IMHO. I don't see how Apple continues it since the 2021 iPP is already so over specced for anything possible on an iPad.

Perhaps Universal Control was just the start though and we'll start to see a richer iPad + Mac picture that makes it a more compelling package.

iPadOS has stalled to the point that it seems Apple is making the same mistake as it did the first around. iPad hardware sales were decreasing due to lack of functionality and usability features within the OS. Apple recognized the mistake and came out with iPadOS which gave it a much needed boost in hardware sales. Time goes by since then and the promise to make iPadOS into something wonderful is still a promise not delivered on. Oddly enough since the most recent earning call, iPad sales have been slowing and decreasing which puts it once again at risk to repeat its history.

Apple really needs to prioritize and divert iPadOS from iOS, keep the basics the same with every upgrade and expand it more which at present does not add much value. There is no Apple calculator, weather, etc app on the iPad but exists on iPhone after so many year. How long does basic apps take to code? I am so a modified port from iOS is possible. This thing also does not have a child usage mode or even multi account for example owner and guest.

 

[Night Spring]

My eyes start hurting after sometime on the iPad which is not the case for the kindle.

Oh wow! the iPad Pro is the perfect device for you from what you wrote. I'll check that file browser app

Yes, it all depends on the use case, and also on a person's physical traits. For example, I find that reading e-ink gives me a headache. I know that more people find e-ink more comfortable than LCD, but there's a significant minority that find e-ink uncomfortable.

I ended up giving it to my mum and bought an MBP 16

She loves it and uses then pencil all the time. The massive screen is great for her bad eyesight

Honestly I am amazed how good it is for her. She loves it and really uses it

But it’s not for pros - not devs anyway. Buy a Mac

Yes, the bigger iPads are great for people with bad eyesight, and also for people who have problems with fine motor control. But I agree that if you are a dev, you need a Mac. And I wouldn't mind having an iPad that could dual-boot into MacOS when a keyboard is attached. Or for MacOS and iPad OS to converge more.

 

[igauravarora]

I am a gamer, and iPhone gaming SUCKS outside of occasional login/very light gaming. iPad Pro suits my iOS gaming need very well, and it was (and prolly still is) the only device powerful enough to run genshin impact.
I also use Mac but “using” it is more like shoehorning my workflow into a Mac to pair it with my PC. Sometimes macOS is better and sometimes windows is better, that sort of thing.
With that being said though, my iPad almost replaces my iPhone except phone call and SMS. I rarely bring my iPhone with me outside anymore lol and only carry iPad Pro with keyboard case. I wish there was a higher storage model for iPad Air but oh well, and M1 is good enough imo.

I think the more devices one gets, the things you do gets divided amongst the devices. If I hadn't had a kindle I could have been reading on my iPad even if it wasn't good for my eyes. I rarely use my phone as well, most of the video consumption and YouTube happens on my MacBook. Weirdly, for me, the iPhone has just become what it was initially to begin with, an iPod, a Phone and an internet communicator.

It’s fine if the iPad isn’t for you.

I just wish people would stop trying to make it something it’s not, insisting that if Apple doesn’t make it a crippled PC it’s worthless.

I use both my iPads regularly, especially the 12.9 with the Magic Keyboard. They do what I want - which isn’t to serve as a Mac replacement.

It's just that it could be much more than it is already and I am happy you enjoy your iPads

 

[igauravarora]

Yes, it all depends on the use case, and also on a person's physical traits. For example, I find that reading e-ink gives me a headache. I know that more people find e-ink more comfortable than LCD, but there's a significant minority that find e-ink uncomfortable.


Yes, the bigger iPads are great for people with bad eyesight, and also for people who have problems with fine motor control. But I agree that if you are a dev, you need a Mac. And I wouldn't mind having an iPad that could dual-boot into MacOS when a keyboard is attached. Or for MacOS and iPad OS to converge more.

Oh I didn't know that it could give headaches. I personally prefer the actual books but e-ink comes close to the physical books and between the wastage of paper and the storage of the physical books, it made me switch to the e-ink

 

[Night Spring]

Oh I didn't know that it could give headaches. I personally prefer the actual books but e-ink comes close to the physical books and between the wastage of paper and the storage of the physical books, it made me switch to the e-ink

That's the thing. To me, e-ink feels nothing like a physical book. The Books app on the iPad in sepia mode feels a lot closer. And I love that with ebooks, I can carry my entire books collection with me all the time. Physical books do have some advantages, for instance if you want to go back and forth among several books for reference. But if I'm just reading a single book, I much prefer ebooks. Oh, and you can also adjust font size. I love that since my eye sight was never that good.

 

[Analog Kid]

I bought iPad Pro 12.9 M1 6 months ago, I had the Air 2 previously. Initially I used to use it as a multimedia/Youtube device and was so impressed by the display and speakers. But as I bought the MacBook Pro 16, the use case of iPad Pro has completely diminished for me.

I feel like the title of this thread should be “I bought a new toy and lost interest in my old toy.”

 

[FranApple]

That's the thing. To me, e-ink feels nothing like a physical book. The Books app on the iPad in sepia mode feels a lot closer. And I love that with ebooks, I can carry my entire books collection with me all the time. Physical books do have some advantages, for instance if you want to go back and forth among several books for reference. But if I'm just reading a single book, I much prefer ebooks. Oh, and you can also adjust font size. I love that since my eye sight was never that good.

Yeah, completely agree. I've never been sold on e-ink. Books app for me all the way too.

 

[prospervic]

Now, this will depend on the individual use case but I want to share my experience.

I bought iPad Pro 12.9 M1 6 months ago, I had the Air 2 previously. Initially I used to use it as a multimedia/Youtube device and was so impressed by the display and speakers. But as I bought the MacBook Pro 16, the use case of iPad Pro has completely diminished for me.

I mostly use my laptop and don't even pick up my iPad Pro anymore. I knew beforehand that iPad was severely limited in software. I don't know why this even exists anymore. Even the baseline MacBook Air has good value and could do heck more than the iPad.

Most of my gripes are with the software, it just cannot do much. It doesn't even have a good video player where I can watch local dolby vision content, the ones on the App Store are unnecessarily expensive. On my MacBook I can use Subler to convert an mkv DV file with 4-5 clicks and watch it on the QuickTime player. Everything is unnecessarily complicated on the iPad.

The files app is a hot mess as well on iPadOS 14. I haven't upgraded to the 15 as I have read posts about the battery life gone down to the *******. There isn't even the progress bar for copying/pasting files to and from the iPad and It sometimes fails when doing that. Every time I use the files app, I fold my hand and pray for it to go smoothly. The widgets on the iPadOS 15 has messed up the spacing on the home screen as well. Instead of adding some features the update has been an annoyance for the users. ymmv.

I am not an artist or a gamer. I did thought about picking up the Apple Pencil for the heck of it but I read forum posts about how it doesn't jive well with screen protectors so I just gave up on that idea.

Then I thought I could use it to read books but this damn thing is not that easy to hold or read on without getting fatigued eyes and hands.

It's a shame that such a good hardware is just completely hampered by the bad software experience.

For me, this has been the most regretful purchase I have ever made in my life. I am thinking about selling it but I don't know if it will fetch any good value where I live. I wished I had purchased a Mac mini or the Air instead of the iPad. Another Mac could have actually helped me in web development or other hobbies that I like exploring from time to time.

Seems like you should have gone for the 11 inch Pro as it's more usable as a tablet, which apparently that's all you need now.
As for selling it, Swappa.com is a very good site. (Hopefully you still have the box so you can get a better price.)

 

[DFP1989]

I bought my 2018 iPad Pro 11 inch on launch day, and I’ve been absolutely thrilled with it. I may sometimes go weeks between uses, but in 3.5 years it has been absolutely brilliant for media consumption and the occasional email and messaging. Great for reading PDFs and documents as well, especially as a pseudo second screen when working on my main machine when travelling and without my multi monitor setup.

Terrific display, excellent speakers, long battery life and enduring performance have made it a solid purchase for me, and I honestly can’t think what they could do at this stage to convince me to upgrade to a newer model, they just nailed it with this one.

As for screen replacements, I honestly don’t know why somebody would buy something like this without Apple care plus.

Apple completely replaced my unit about a year ago because I dropped it over a year earlier and dented the corner, didn’t damage the display or affect the function in anyway but figured I had the coverage and might as well use it. $60 for a replacement unit with a fresh battery felt like a bargain! Still covered thanks to the monthly Apple care plan for I think $10 per month.

 

[smoking monkey]

If I didn't use an iPad for work, I wouldn't use one at all. I think you definitely need to have a specific use case for an iPad OR not have a laptop. OF course some don't fit into this broad statement, but I think it's fairly accurate. Even the wife who has constantly said she prefers to use an iPad over a computer is now so much happier with a M1 Air.

 

[iHorseHead]

Thank you so much for that post.
I've had only iPad mini 2 and I've been thinking about getting a new iPad, since the mini 2 is slow.
I purchased mine in 2014 and I mostly used it for school (Office, Pages) for some years and watching movies while I'm travelling etc.
I also played some games and then I didn't use my iPads for some years. Back in 2018-2020 I didn't use it at all, but I charged it sometimes.
Then last month I downloaded San Andreas and Vice City and finished both games and while I've been doing some web surfing I've noticed how slow it actually is and safari lags on it a lot. That got me thinking about buying a new iPad, but My brain tells me not to, because I didn't even use mine for some years and I don't know if I'll use my new one in the future.
My heart says I need it though… Especially when I read about the universal control etc…

 

[iamMacPerson]

I have said this before, to each their own. When I bought my M1 iPad I thought it was overkill and I had wasted my money. But you know what, it has become the device I use the most every day. I wake up in the morning, unplug, use it for my morning workout. After that's done, while making and eating breakfast I'm watching YouTube. After that I settle into my first class where I occasionally use it for either notes in the Magic Keyboard or it sits waiting. My next class I make handwritten notes with the pencil which is invaluable for that course. Once that is done, it's homework time where I use it to conduct research and look things up. Dinner time, I launch YouTube. After dinner I wrap up homework where it does the same function as earlier. Night time rolls around, I remove it from the keyboard and launch YouTube to unwind for the night. It is actually the device I use the most. It's certainly overkill, and it's not really a *need*, but having it makes my life easier. I was one of the first people to complain that iPadOS 15 did nothing that I would have liked, but at the same time I have come to like the iPad as it is and I enjoy it every day.

 

[Malus120]

I think the central thesis of this thread is that the iPad, as it exists today, is very much a YMMV experience. It works well for some people (albeit even then with some compromises) but for a lot of people it's just become redundant.

When the iPad was introduced, Steve Jobs talked about how the iPad (and by extension any other device seeking to exist between smart phones and laptops) needed to be "far better at doing some key tasks, some really important things" than laptops or smart phones. At that time, and at various points in the iPads history I think you could reasonably argue it WAS better (or at least far easier/simpler to use) for many of the day to day tasks than either a laptop or a smart phone. Heck at one point Apple was touting it as the future of personal computing (suggesting tablets would replace laptops and even desktops.)

The problem is that's no longer really true today as the iPad never really managed to define exactly what it was that it could sustainably do better than smart phones or laptops, and thus never escaped that position as an "in-between" device. Therefore, as those devices have continued to improve, they've eaten away at the total addressable market for tablets. I think the best evidence for this is the almost complete death of Android (and other mobile OS vendor) tablets. If the market was viable, and truly offered something obvious over the alternatives everyone would be trying to get a piece of the pie, but aside from Apple, everyone else has given up.

For the iPad Pro in particular, many of the improvements the iPad software stack desperately needs have been pretty obvious for years, but Apple is clearly wary of the iPad Pro becoming a touchscreen Mac in all but name. At the same time, I also feel they're slowly killing the iPad with bad pricing on the most attractive models (Air, Mini) and base models that aren't compelling for anyone outside educational institutions buying at scale.

Anyway, just my two cents as someone who used to enjoy iPads but hasn't owned one in years...

 

[Night Spring]

but Apple is clearly wary of the iPad Pro becoming a touchscreen Mac in all but name.

I thought that's where they were headed, when they announced the iPad with an M1 chip. Now I'm not quite sure.

As I said, the iPad works well for me as it is, but I do think it has the potential to do more. I'd love a device that can be a full tablet when it's stand alone, but can be a full desktop when connected to keyboard/mouse/external monitor. With the M1 chip, the hardware seems to be there, but the software, for whatever reason, isn't here yet.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Now, this will depend on the individual use case but I want to share my experience.

I bought iPad Pro 12.9 M1 6 months ago, I had the Air 2 previously. Initially I used to use it as a multimedia/Youtube device and was so impressed by the display and speakers. But as I bought the MacBook Pro 16, the use case of iPad Pro has completely diminished for me.

I mostly use my laptop and don't even pick up my iPad Pro anymore. I knew beforehand that iPad was severely limited in software. I don't know why this even exists anymore. Even the baseline MacBook Air has good value and could do heck more than the iPad.

Most of my gripes are with the software, it just cannot do much. It doesn't even have a good video player where I can watch local dolby vision content, the ones on the App Store are unnecessarily expensive. On my MacBook I can use Subler to convert an mkv DV file with 4-5 clicks and watch it on the QuickTime player. Everything is unnecessarily complicated on the iPad.

The files app is a hot mess as well on iPadOS 14. I haven't upgraded to the 15 as I have read posts about the battery life gone down to the *******. There isn't even the progress bar for copying/pasting files to and from the iPad and It sometimes fails when doing that. Every time I use the files app, I fold my hand and pray for it to go smoothly. The widgets on the iPadOS 15 has messed up the spacing on the home screen as well. Instead of adding some features the update has been an annoyance for the users. ymmv.

I am not an artist or a gamer. I did thought about picking up the Apple Pencil for the heck of it but I read forum posts about how it doesn't jive well with screen protectors so I just gave up on that idea.

Then I thought I could use it to read books but this damn thing is not that easy to hold or read on without getting fatigued eyes and hands.

It's a shame that such a good hardware is just completely hampered by the bad software experience.

For me, this has been the most regretful purchase I have ever made in my life. I am thinking about selling it but I don't know if it will fetch any good value where I live. I wished I had purchased a Mac mini or the Air instead of the iPad. Another Mac could have actually helped me in web development or other hobbies that I like exploring from time to time.

So what. Get another one.

 

[Freeangel1]

I only use my 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 as an MP3 Media Player It is the 1 TB version.

And being a DJ I have a HUGE collection of music.

My iPad Pro has become my new iPod for music management

Nothing else.

 

[MonsterBryton]

It’s fine if the iPad isn’t for you.

I just wish people would stop trying to make it something it’s not, insisting that if Apple doesn’t make it a crippled PC it’s worthless.

I use both my iPads regularly, especially the 12.9 with the Magic Keyboard. They do what I want - which isn’t to serve as a Mac replacement.

I agree with you. Also the iPad was come so far. I think people want it to be a MacBook, but it won’t happen. iPad OS now compared to 5 years ago. We’ve come far.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

MacBook is definitely the way to go if you have very specific software needs.

My 12.9 Pro is at times a replacement for things I used to do on a laptop - and at other times a complement to my laptop.

If I need a fully featured OS then I either use Jump Desktop on my iPad to access the laptop, or I use the laptop directly and use the iPad as a second display. 95% of the time I work on the iPad alone.

I would hate to go laptop only, as the iPad’s touch interface, versatility and Pencil compatibility are key things for me.

 

[eicca]

I bought an iPad 9.7 in 2018, for the purpose of light document editing and browsing. Back in iOS 12 it was quite nice. But the updates introduced bugs in the text input and selection that make it infuriating to use, and the RAM management has gotten really bad. I too never touch the thing anymore and am contemplating selling it.

For me it was the increased complexity that ruined its usability.