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

[Deanster]

Guy buys iPad that uses the exact same OS and software as his existing iPad, then is upset that the software and workflow isn't up to snuff.

Whose fault is this?

I love my 12.9 M1 iPad Pro, and it's my most-used machine, but it's also a companion to an 16" MBP, which is what I use whenever I'm trying to bring items together from multiple apps, which is where iOS/iPadOS are just painful, even with the Magic case with keyboard and trackpad.

iPadOS simply isn't appropriate to be my only OS, but it covers more than half my needs in a beautifully streamlined way. I'm lucky enough to be in a position to buy both options (and a mini too), but IMHO to use iPadOS as your primary machine requires very simple workflows and needs. iPadOS does what it does beautifully, but beyond its strengths it's very challenging.

 

[Rafterman]

The SP8 went up in price but it did improve quite a bit compared to the SP7. It got a bigger battery (but also additional weight), a larger screen, Thunderbolt 4, removable SSD, way better speakers (finally getting close to iPad pro). Sure reliability is always a question mark. Again, I'll skip it. However I am very interested in Windows on Arm, so if Qualcomm/Nuvia really manages to (kind of) match Apple Silicon as they claim, I might try a future pro x or whatever it's called.... Given me a tablet that runs cool, fanless, it's light, reasonably powerful and with good battery life, with Windows on it and I am in.

Plus 120Hz screen and 32GB option.

 

[Digitalguy]

Plus 120Hz screen and 32GB option.

Absolutely, forgot that. Those are 2 big points, especially RAM as far as I am concerned. Over the last 10 years I have been avoiding laptops with less than 16GB RAM (unless RAM is upgradable, which is rare) and I am very glad I did since now I am using around 12GB on average (10 years ago I didn't even use 8 most of the time) and sometimes more. Now I am starting to begin to move to the next step, that is 32GB RAM, since 16GB is still ok, but no longer "comfortable". That's way I skipped the M1 Macbook (I got a Mac Mini but I'll replace it at some point I am already over 16GB when I use parallels). I want my next Macbook to be 32GB, hopefully M2 will have that option, since I want a very light device, not a MacBook pro.

 

[Gaven]

Having an issue with my 2018 version iPad, just suddenly the screen went black and cannot power on (battery was 100%). Yesterday the iPad was awake again and then suddenly today not responding again. Tried all the hard restart and not responding. Already out of warranty, any peeps might have face with this issue too? Could this be a battery problem

 

[Rafterman]

Absolutely, forgot that. Those are 2 big points, especially RAM as far as I am concerned. Over the last 10 years I have been avoiding laptops with less than 16GB RAM (unless RAM is upgradable, which is rare) and I am very glad I did since now I am using around 12GB on average (10 years ago I didn't even use 8 most of the time) and sometimes more. Now I am starting to begin to move to the next step, that is 32GB RAM, since 16GB is still ok, but no longer "comfortable". That's way I skipped the M1 Macbook (I got a Mac Mini but I'll replace it at some point I am already over 16GB when I use parallels). I want my next Macbook to be 32GB, hopefully M2 will have that option, since I want a very light device, not a MacBook pro.

When I got my 16 inch Macbook Pro in 2019, I got 64GB/8TB. Ishould be good for 5-6 years.

 

[Ludatyk]

Love those colors! How did you get that black dock?

Appreciate it! Wallpaper I created off of Affinity Designer…

 

[Abazigal]

I think some miss the point of the Surface. It's not just about lightness, it's the fact that it is a true "tablet" - you can remove the keyboard as use it as a flat piece of glass. I never cared for those 2-in-1's that you flip around. I don't like that how when you hold it in the back, you are "mashing keys" (even though I know the KB is deactivated in that mode). For 2-in-1s, I wish they would go back to that design where you swivel the screen around, then fold it back down- no mashing keys.

Basically, I got a quad core i7, 1TB storage and 32GB RAM (I finally found the 32GB RAM model in stock - thanks, B&H Photo) in a device with the size and form factor of an iPad 12.9. The Surface Pro 8 is so thin, it just feels like premium hardware, like an iPad.

I find the windows tablet experience to be pretty horrible though. Touch targets are generally too small to use properly without a stylus, and the reason why I am on an 11" iPad Pro is because anything larger, I find to be too heavy and unwieldy for me. ?

 

[Rafterman]

I find the windows tablet experience to be pretty horrible though. Touch targets are generally too small to use properly without a stylus, and the reason why I am on an 11" iPad Pro is because anything larger, I find to be too heavy and unwieldy for me. ?

I crank scaling up to 300 percent, and everything is nice and big, without sacrificing too much screen real estate. Windows 11 is a lot better at it.

 

[Abazigal]

I crank scaling up to 300 percent, and everything is nice and big, without sacrificing too much screen real estate. Windows 11 is a lot better at it.

Hmm, my laptop caps at 200% scaling, though I generally switch between 150% and 100% scaling.

 

[sparksd]

Hmm, my laptop caps at 200% scaling, though I generally switch between 150% and 100% scaling.

I put my SP7 at 200%. Max it shows is 350%.

 

[Rafterman]

I put my SP7 at 200%. Max it shows is 350%.

My SP8 shows 300 percent max.

 

[Rafterman]

Hmm, my laptop caps at 200% scaling, though I generally switch between 150% and 100% scaling.

I guess it is based on the resolution of the laptop.

 

[sparksd]

I guess it is based on the resolution of the laptop.

I doublechecked - 350% is available when my SP7 is connected to a 4K monitor, 300% is top when not.

 

[DeepSix]

Yes, the surface line has been one of the most unreliable hardware-wise. My surface pro 3 lost USB 3.0 (USB 2.0 devices work fine, but USB 3.0 don't work unless I plug them through a USB 2.0 adapter). Crazy. They keyboard connector is almost dead, connects once in 10 times. My surface book 2 is still fine but I have treated it with extreme care (always stays at home, never shake it to avoid the top disconnecting etc.), but it suffers from ghosting since day 1, and I have heard pretty scary stuff about issues with it. My surface 3 (non pro) had the battery swelling and I broke the screen while trying to replace it.
Meantime my HP (surface pro clone) has replaceable battery and SSD (replaced both), and Thunderbolt + UBS A. The pro 8 is a nice device, but I am done with surface.

I’ve experienced just about all the issues with Surfaces except the exploding battery or the slowly expanding battery that bends the screen. Dead pixels, stuck pixels. wobbly kickstands, dents, dings from brand new out of the box units, dust under the screen, fingerprints under the screen, hot spots on the screen, bad backlight bleed, power cords that fray and break at the connector, white lines on the screen, ghosting, and the latest hardware issue…my touch randomly crapping out, I’ve seen it all. I’ve probably used about 20 surface units, I’ve gone through so many.

I just sold my Pro 7 today, I finally got a good offer from someone who checked it out first. For a touchscreen not working, it’s the most I would get for it, I’m happy but I sure had to be very patient selling it. Compared to what I would get for a perfectly working unit, I probably only lost about $250cdn. I won’t miss it because when I had it at the tech shop for 2 weeks for them to take it apart and look at it, I did not miss it at all.

So that was a sign that I should sell it when I got it back. And that was before I got a new iPad. Now that I have an iPad to replace it, it will definitely not be missed. That’s another reason why I sold it, in case my motherboard dies completely or other issues form, then I’m basically stuck with a paperweight that will be worth nothing. Since the touch went, it just felt like a ticking time bomb for me. So get what I can now while it’s still working and worth something. Goodbye Surface you will not be missed. If down the road I have a need for a 2lb laptop again, it will for sure be a 12 or 13” ultra book.

 

[DeepSix]

The SP8 went up in price but it did improve quite a bit compared to the SP7. It got a bigger battery (but also additional weight), a larger screen, Thunderbolt 4, removable SSD, way better speakers (finally getting close to iPad pro). Sure reliability is always a question mark. Again, I'll skip it. However I am very interested in Windows on Arm, so if Qualcomm/Nuvia really manages to (kind of) match Apple Silicon as they claim, I might try a future pro x or whatever it's called.... Given me a tablet that runs cool, fanless, it's light, reasonably powerful and with good battery life, with Windows on it and I am in.

I played around with a Pro 8 last month in the store and I wasn’t impressed. It’s what the Pro 7 should have been with the slim bezels. There’s a reason why MS always has heavy sales on new Surfaces Literally weeks after they come out. Cause they’re never worth the full MSRP. I’ve always waited for them to go on sale before buying them. I’d never pay full price for any surface even before the price hike on Pro 8.

I see no point in paying for the higher end models because all that power inside just gets heavily throttled anyways, so it’s a waste of money. It’s much smarter to pay more for more power in a gaming laptop because they don’t throttle near as much (or if all since you can undervolt and over clock them) and parts are replaceable.

 

[igauravarora]

Guy buys iPad that uses the exact same OS and software as his existing iPad, then is upset that the software and workflow isn't up to snuff.

Whose fault is this?

I love my 12.9 M1 iPad Pro, and it's my most-used machine, but it's also a companion to an 16" MBP, which is what I use whenever I'm trying to bring items together from multiple apps, which is where iOS/iPadOS are just painful, even with the Magic case with keyboard and trackpad.

iPadOS simply isn't appropriate to be my only OS, but it covers more than half my needs in a beautifully streamlined way. I'm lucky enough to be in a position to buy both options (and a mini too), but IMHO to use iPadOS as your primary machine requires very simple workflows and needs. iPadOS does what it does beautifully, but beyond its strengths it's very challenging.

Ah man I am so upset that I expected Pro software from a Pro device, only if I had talked with you first I wouldn't have posted anything. It's all so perfect with the iPadOS that I cannot even express my joy of using it. It's so beautifully streamlined in a way that every-time I use iPadOS I dream of rainbows and butterflies. I am at fault here at expressing my views. I have sinned and I am sure I am gonna get excommunicated by the iPad gods...

 

[Digitalguy]

When I got my 16 inch Macbook Pro in 2019, I got 64GB/8TB. Ishould be good for 5-6 years.

You probably have different needs from mine if 64GB RAM is good for 5-6 years only.
When I buy a laptop I buy with the intent of being able to use it for at least 10 years, possibly 15 (this was not possible 15 years ago, but started to become possible around 10 years ago)
Some people laugh when the hear this, but they people generally have 1 laptop for everything.
I have several, since I re-purpose older devices to specific uses.

I'll give you an example.
My 14in 2012 ultrabook was bought as a companion to my 17in desktop replacement (which stayed at home). Since late 2014 it shared the role of the device to take out of the house with a surface pro 3 (surface pro 3 for small things, ultrabook with ton of ports, larger screen etc for presentations etc.).
Mid-2017 it was replaced by the much lighter Samsung Notebook 9.
It was then re-purposed as my Outlook device connected to a monitor (I have several email accounts since I have several businesses, and the only way to make sure I never miss a message is to have outlook always visible from a dedicated device). It also does some more things in the background like keeping some of my cloud accounts in sync.
This laptop came with Windows 7 in 2012, was upgraded to 10 in 2015 and will be over 13 year old in 2025 (end of 10). If I cannot upgrade it to Windows 11, I will still be using it probably another 5-7 years (which will make 20 years of use), since I don't browse or open e-mail from it.

In general even after end of support older devices can be used with linux (or now chomeos flex) as long as they are powerful enough to browse and especially have enough RAM for that (and RAM requirements for browsing increase with time as the Internet becomes more complex)

 

[Rafterman]

Ah man I am so upset that I expected Pro software from a Pro device, only if I had talked with you first I wouldn't have posted anything. It's all so perfect with the iPadOS that I cannot even express my joy of using it. It's so beautifully streamlined in a way that every-time I use iPadOS I dream of rainbows and butterflies. I am at fault here at expressing my views. I have sinned and I am sure I am gonna get excommunicated by the iPad gods...

Yeah, but the quoted poster's comment stands. We know what we get if one is a previous iPad user. So why the shock and anger when it is exactly like the last iPad? Don't buy an iPad until they up the OS game on it.

 

[prospervic]

Appreciate it! Wallpaper I created off of Affinity Designer…

Impressive!

 

[Rafterman]

You probably have different needs from mine if 64GB RAM is good for 5-6 years only.
When I buy a laptop I buy with the intent of being able to use it for at least 10 years, possibly 15 (this was not possible 15 years ago, but started to become possible around 10 years ago)
Some people laugh when the hear this, but they people generally have 1 laptop for everything.
I have several, since I re-purpose older devices to specific uses.

I'll give you an example.
My 14in 2012 ultrabook was bought as a companion to my 17in desktop replacement (which stayed at home). Since late 2014 it shared the role of the device to take out of the house with a surface pro 3 (surface pro 3 for small things, ultrabook with ton of ports, larger screen etc for presentations etc.).
Mid-2017 it was replaced by the much lighter Samsung Notebook 9.
It was then re-purposed as my Outlook device connected to a monitor (I have several email accounts since I have several businesses, and the only way to make sure I never miss a message is to have outlook always visible from a dedicated device). It also does some more things in the background like keeping some of my cloud accounts in sync.
This laptop came with Windows 7 in 2012, was upgraded to 10 in 2015 and will be over 13 year old in 2025 (end of 10). If I cannot upgrade it to Windows 11, I will still be using it probably another 5-7 years (which will make 20 years of use), since I don't browse or open e-mail from it.

In general even after end of support older devices can be used with linux (or now chomeos flex) as long as they are powerful enough to browse and especially have enough RAM for that (and RAM requirements for browsing increase with time as the Internet becomes more complex)

I guess I am similar that I have role machines. I have my Macbook Pro as my main driver, my HP Omen as my desktop bound gaming laptiop and media server for Apple TV (8 cores, 64GB RAM, 2TB+8TB SSDs - I love how the Omen can be uograded internally), an iPad Mini 6 for media consumption and a Surface Pro 8 for portable/large tablet use (the Omen is powerful, but its battery life is literally 2 hours, at best - not practical for laptop use). My work also gave me a Macbook Pro 16 - 16GB/512GB that I have as a backup/test machine.

 

[Rafterman]

I played around with a Pro 8 last month in the store and I wasn’t impressed. It’s what the Pro 7 should have been with the slim bezels. There’s a reason why MS always has heavy sales on new Surfaces Literally weeks after they come out. Cause they’re never worth the full MSRP. I’ve always waited for them to go on sale before buying them. I’d never pay full price for any surface even before the price hike on Pro 8.

I see no point in paying for the higher end models because all that power inside just gets heavily throttled anyways, so it’s a waste of money. It’s much smarter to pay more for more power in a gaming laptop because they don’t throttle near as much (or if all since you can undervolt and over clock them) and parts are replaceable.

I'm not sure how they are throttling Surfaces.

 

[Rafterman]

I’ve experienced just about all the issues with Surfaces except the exploding battery or the slowly expanding battery that bends the screen. Dead pixels, stuck pixels. wobbly kickstands, dents, dings from brand new out of the box units, dust under the screen, fingerprints under the screen, hot spots on the screen, bad backlight bleed, power cords that fray and break at the connector, white lines on the screen, ghosting, and the latest hardware issue…my touch randomly crapping out, I’ve seen it all. I’ve probably used about 20 surface units, I’ve gone through so many.

I just sold my Pro 7 today, I finally got a good offer from someone who checked it out first. For a touchscreen not working, it’s the most I would get for it, I’m happy but I sure had to be very patient selling it. Compared to what I would get for a perfectly working unit, I probably only lost about $250cdn. I won’t miss it because when I had it at the tech shop for 2 weeks for them to take it apart and look at it, I did not miss it at all.

So that was a sign that I should sell it when I got it back. And that was before I got a new iPad. Now that I have an iPad to replace it, it will definitely not be missed. That’s another reason why I sold it, in case my motherboard dies completely or other issues form, then I’m basically stuck with a paperweight that will be worth nothing. Since the touch went, it just felt like a ticking time bomb for me. So get what I can now while it’s still working and worth something. Goodbye Surface you will not be missed. If down the road I have a need for a 2lb laptop again, it will for sure be a 12 or 13” ultra book.

I have had a few Surfaces over he years - 3, 6, 7, 8 - and never experienced any things like that. Minor little niggles, but no failures or bad out of the box stuff. The 8 has been really solid.

 

[Digitalguy]

I'm not sure how they are throttling Surfaces.

This was true for past models of Surface pro, including the 7, to varying degrees depending on the model. Surface pro 8 does not throttle at all. All model have a fan, and they can all sustain the performance, including the i7.

 

[Rafterman]

This was true for past models of Surface pro, including the 7, to varying degrees depending on the model. Surface pro 8 does not throttle at all. All model have a fan, and they can all sustain the performance, including the i7.

The i5 and lower models were fanless from SP7 and prior, so maybe for them they were throttled. But the i7s in all previous models had fans, so I don't think they would have had a reason to throttle.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Guy buys iPad that uses the exact same OS and software as his existing iPad, then is upset that the software and workflow isn't up to snuff.

Whose fault is this?

I love my 12.9 M1 iPad Pro, and it's my most-used machine, but it's also a companion to an 16" MBP, which is what I use whenever I'm trying to bring items together from multiple apps, which is where iOS/iPadOS are just painful, even with the Magic case with keyboard and trackpad.

iPadOS simply isn't appropriate to be my only OS, but it covers more than half my needs in a beautifully streamlined way. I'm lucky enough to be in a position to buy both options (and a mini too), but IMHO to use iPadOS as your primary machine requires very simple workflows and needs. iPadOS does what it does beautifully, but beyond its strengths it's very challenging.

Indeed. Since the 2018 iPad Pro 11 form factor came out, it has been my most used Apple device period. My consumption of the written word has gone up exponentially among moving a LOT of my computing to the iPad. I use it with a 4K external monitor when I want to, or right now, in a lab with an external mouse and keyboard as if it was a laptop. Reading on this thing is unparalleled - with an iCarez matte screen protector. I have tried to replace this iPad with a MBP, a mini, and no iPad - I keep coming back to my iPad - it is my most used device. Does it do everything? No. Does it do almost everything I need? Yep.

Like you - I have a mini, a MBP, and my much loved iPad Pro 11. It’s going to be this way for some time. Everyone’s needs are different so what works for me may not work well for others - that’s fine. Keeps life interesting. Would I love a 1 device fits all scenario? Absolutely. But life isn’t perfect. But as a techie (someone who knows how to program - I use Parallels with Windows 11 (visual studio 2022)) - I absolutely love my iPad - it is my most used device (not counting work).