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Hmmm not sure. Apple have kinda killed that idea too with the introduction of the keyboard add-on.
I'm sure as the device (both Surface and pro) evolves that type of keyboard will get much better and more like a current or traditional laptop keyboard with real feedback.
 
Hmmm not sure. Apple have kinda killed that idea too with the introduction of the keyboard add-on.
I'm sure as the device (both Surface and pro) evolves that type of keyboard will get much better and more like a current or traditional laptop keyboard with real feedback.
Kids aged 5 - 11 probably aren't using an iPad Pro with an ASK. They're touch typing, just like they do on their phone.
 
Maybe, but those workflows are lite.. not everyone uses the devices the same. if you are just playing games or watching youtube you might not even use the glass keyboard either

Sending a text is fine on the phone/ipad - writing a tech doc, or report for work, is not really doable in an efficient way.
The answer doesn't need to be one device, else why not just add the phone part to the pro too and have a 3 in 1?
 
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pretty much why i switched to windows tablets for work. iOS software is to limiting and the ipad hardware is also to limited for my workflows. wintabs are the best both worlds. Tablet form factor, faster PC hardware, stylus, touch, and a real OS
 
I think just as the Physical Keyboard came to iPad eventually, the mouse support would also sooner or later come to the iPad.
 
Interesting review. As I mentioned elsewhere in this sub forum, I bought the 12.9 iPP knowing it would not replace my iMac.

I use it for the reasons I bought it: drawing and writing in conjunction with my iMac.

Everyone's usage case is different, whatever works best for you.
 
I generally agree with this review. I edit video for a living, and it's literally impossible to do any real editing work besides a basic edit on an iPad. It's not that the hardware isn't powerful, it's that the lack of a mouse kind of kills you (never mind storage options).

Some history:

I used to own a Mac Pro, MacBook Pro (retina 15"), an iPhone Plus (6/7), and an iPad.

I found I was never using the MacBook Pro (except to offload footage) because it was, at the time, too slow for 4K video editing. I used my iPad (9.7) and iPhone for regular computing - light spreadsheets, notes, documents, and the like.

I sold the laptop and small iPad and then went to an iPad Pro 12" as my primary machine for all but video editing. And this worked... sorta. In the end I found it was too heavy and too big, and am selling it once I got the 10.5" iPad which feels "large enough".

My current complement consists of an IPad Pro 10.5" cellular, an iPhone 7 Plus, and a maxed out late 2016 15 MBP TouchBar laptop (with tons of external storage and a dell 5K screen when at home). The MBP these days is incredibly powerful AND light and is easy to carry around much of the day in a backpack or satchel.

It's strange. I really tried to use the 12" IPP as a laptop, with the SK and all. But the lack of a mouse and a proper windowing OS kills it. You just cannot get the precision in the UI designed for touch for some intricate apps. The lack of a true file system similar to HFS exposed to the user also greatly limits you (iOS11 addresses a lot of this).

But the killer thing is lack of mouse and window support - and real, desktop level apps (there are some on iOS but not many) on top of that.

So why have an iPad?

What I do on the IPad is primarily consume media, draw/annotate, edit photos, write text/emails/documents. It's really great at all of that "productive" stuff. Putting aside video editing (and any kind of instense design, like page layout, web design, even complex Keynote presentations) for a moment, something that the MBP 15" TB model does fantastically well (even in 4K now)... I can actually accomplish much of what I need to do on the iPad. If it's light, admin work, photo editing, or drawing.

The iPad Pro is a fantastically powerful handheld computer that is large enough to be a workable canvas, and small enough to easily cart around. It's got killer power and battery life, is perfect for consuming and creating SOME media and so on. It's a wonderful device, especially with iOS 11, and I am sure good enough to be someone's primary computer.

But as a real laptop replacement for real, intensive work? The touch interface and iOS still get in the way, which relegate it to a super powerful, but still limited, companion device to a Mac and iPhone.

It is still precisely what Steve Jobs envisioned, just with more functionality within that "middle" space.
 
If it's a topic that keeps coming up they should add this as a sticky. I do think there is value in the conversation. Like I can't replace my laptop because of x and someone else has a different way of doing things that works for them.

I also really think it has a lot to do with your other devices like do you have a desktop? If you have a desktop then an iPad with no laptop makes a lot of sense and I'd lean more to 12.9", no desktop then a laptop makes more sense with a 10.5". I really don't need a desktop so the latter seems to be the way I'm going and it covers my usage well.
 
Again, a thread debating the endless “Can an iPad replace a laptop” topic.....
If Godwin's law is the genus, these forums seem to have developed a very nice species of it!
In a thread about iPads every new post raises the probability closer to 1 of it turning to a yes-no discussion about laptop replacement.
 
(and any kind of instense design, like page layout, web design,

I find that Graphic by Autodesk and Affinity photo are actually decent apps to complete these tasks unless you're talking about the coding side. For visual design these apps are getting really close to getting the job done.
 
instant flop for me is that you still cannot simply download any file within safari and have said file be placed into the files app. thats the most basic computer functionality

i would go crazy writing a thesis and researching for it on my iPad. too much flipping between apps and finding the most recent file that may sit in whatever app u used last with its own local version
 
I generally agree with this review. I edit video for a living, and it's literally impossible to do any real editing work besides a basic edit on an iPad. It's not that the hardware isn't powerful, it's that the lack of a mouse kind of kills you (never mind storage options).

Some history:

I used to own a Mac Pro, MacBook Pro (retina 15"), an iPhone Plus (6/7), and an iPad.

I found I was never using the MacBook Pro (except to offload footage) because it was, at the time, too slow for 4K video editing. I used my iPad (9.7) and iPhone for regular computing - light spreadsheets, notes, documents, and the like.

I sold the laptop and small iPad and then went to an iPad Pro 12" as my primary machine for all but video editing. And this worked... sorta. In the end I found it was too heavy and too big, and am selling it once I got the 10.5" iPad which feels "large enough".

My current complement consists of an IPad Pro 10.5" cellular, an iPhone 7 Plus, and a maxed out late 2016 15 MBP TouchBar laptop (with tons of external storage and a dell 5K screen when at home). The MBP these days is incredibly powerful AND light and is easy to carry around much of the day in a backpack or satchel.

It's strange. I really tried to use the 12" IPP as a laptop, with the SK and all. But the lack of a mouse and a proper windowing OS kills it. You just cannot get the precision in the UI designed for touch for some intricate apps. The lack of a true file system similar to HFS exposed to the user also greatly limits you (iOS11 addresses a lot of this).

But the killer thing is lack of mouse and window support - and real, desktop level apps (there are some on iOS but not many) on top of that.

So why have an iPad?

What I do on the IPad is primarily consume media, draw/annotate, edit photos, write text/emails/documents. It's really great at all of that "productive" stuff. Putting aside video editing (and any kind of instense design, like page layout, web design, even complex Keynote presentations) for a moment, something that the MBP 15" TB model does fantastically well (even in 4K now)... I can actually accomplish much of what I need to do on the iPad. If it's light, admin work, photo editing, or drawing.

The iPad Pro is a fantastically powerful handheld computer that is large enough to be a workable canvas, and small enough to easily cart around. It's got killer power and battery life, is perfect for consuming and creating SOME media and so on. It's a wonderful device, especially with iOS 11, and I am sure good enough to be someone's primary computer.

But as a real laptop replacement for real, intensive work? The touch interface and iOS still get in the way, which relegate it to a super powerful, but still limited, companion device to a Mac and iPhone.

It is still precisely what Steve Jobs envisioned, just with more functionality within that "middle" space.

I agree totally with what you are saying and have a similar setup. I think the Apple way is that all models overlap in some way but you can also find a use for everything. Hence the iPad Pro will be fine as the only computer for some, but not others with heavier usage [like us], and more like a complimentary device.

In a day I will use my iMac, MBP 13", iPad 12" [soon to be replaced with a 10.5], iPhone and Apple Watch. Not once do I think I don't need one of these things as they all serve a purpose to my use and create efficiencies in my workflows. They are all business related. I will note that the maxed out iMac gets the most use by far as is my main machine, for obvious reasons.

However, I could totally see myself with only an iPad if I was retired.
 
Well, back went the 10.5 and got replaced with the new Surface Pro. Works much better for my use case!

I picked one up recently as well. Really enjoying using it so far.

I have pre-ordered the new Pen, so still using the one from SP4.

As of now, the Apple Pencil is quite better in comparison..

The new pen is quite a bit more pleasant to use than the old one. I originally had one of the SP4 pens they sold to me with the unit, but the new ones came in shortly afterward and they exchanged it. It doesn't come with the nib pack that the older one had, but I don't find you need it with the improvements. They are there if you want them though. I do like that the MS pen has an "eraser" on the end and that both that button and the side button can be used to launch programed apps. Click it once and I launch One Note, twice DocuSign, etc.
 
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I picked one up recently as well. Really enjoying using it so far.



The new pen is quite a bit more pleasant to use than the old one. I originally had one of the SP4 pens they sold to me with the unit, but the new ones came in shortly afterward and they exchanged it. It doesn't come with the nib pack that the older one had, but I don't find you need it with the improvements. They are there if you want them though. I do like that the MS pen has an "eraser" on the end and that both that button and the side button can be used to launch programed apps. Click it once and I launch One Note, twice DocuSign, etc.

Hmm..I’m gonna try and find that new pen tonight ..really miss the tilt feature!

Been using the new SP all day and it is quite an upgrade from SP4! The only downsides are face recognition login keeps failing and Chrome freezes when using it with the pen.
 
I think there are lots of people that need a laptop because their work demands that they produce large and complex documents while away from home or office. I also put college students in this category.

However, there are also a large number of people that don't need to buy a laptop to create complex documents while on the go. They might have jobs that allow them to work primarily from home or office, so they can use a Mac desktop. Or, they might have employer provided laptops.

The iPad is a great solution for individuals that do light productivity and routine computing tasks on the go. Frankly, my recently purchased $300 base 2017 iPad seems to be working just fine for these kinds of tasks:
  • Emails & messaging
  • Calendar, Reminders and Time Management Apps
  • Small document creation (Pages & Keynote) and some large document editing
  • Simple spreadsheet creation (Numbers) and some complex spreadsheet editing
  • PDF review and markups
  • Note taking
  • Document Scanning
  • File Management (iCloud Drive & File App)
  • eBooks
  • Personal Finance, Banking and Investment Tracking
  • Photo & Video organization and simple photo editing
  • Media consumption, research & web browsing
For more complicated stuff, I would use a Mac. However, for me, the items listed above represent the vast majority of what I do, so an iPad is my primary computing device. It is just so convenient to carry around on travel, at coffee shop, etc ......much better than lugging around a 3lbs laptop......and much less expensive than a MacBook.

It is definitely not for everyone. If you fit into the category of folks I mentioned at the beginning of this post, stick with a laptop. If not, you might want to explore using an iPad as your primary device.
 
Hmm..I’m gonna try and find that new pen tonight ..really miss the tilt feature!

Been using the new SP all day and it is quite an upgrade from SP4! The only downsides are face recognition login keeps failing and Chrome freezes when using it with the pen.

I picked mine up at the Park Meadows store. Only color they have in the new one is silver, but I actually preferred that. Its the most unobscured color when viewing from the back, blends in more, rather than standing out. Boring perhaps, but I didn't need to match the cobalt keyboard cover :)

I have had better success with the face recognition login after doing the retraining outside in the bright sun. It still fails outside once in awhile and I have to use the PIN, but a much better success rate now.

I haven't played with Chrome at all, just sticking to Edge and the new Opera so far.
 
I picked mine up at the Park Meadows store. Only color they have in the new one is silver, but I actually preferred that. Its the most unobscured color when viewing from the back, blends in more, rather than standing out. Boring perhaps, but I didn't need to match the cobalt keyboard cover :)

I have had better success with the face recognition login after doing the retraining outside in the bright sun. It still fails outside once in awhile and I have to use the PIN, but a much better success rate now.

I haven't played with Chrome at all, just sticking to Edge and the new Opera so far.

I'm picking the pen (Silver, only color out right now..although that burgundy looks sharp!! )tomorrow from the Flat Irons Mall.. As for the keyboard, I'm sticking with the old one from SP4
 
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instant flop for me is that you still cannot simply download any file within safari and have said file be placed into the files app. thats the most basic computer functionality

I do this all the time in iOS 10 to pass files from Safari to 3rd party apps or save to iCloud Drive.

If you want a full download manager, iCab is a great app that does this.
 
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I've got a question. Why do people think or want just a single compromised device?
[...]
I'm not saying any one mode is better than the other for everything, they all work - but for different things...!
But the laptop is the best hybrid car/boat/copter i can think of right now if i have to pick a single workflow.

Maybe the best post I've seen on this beat-to-death topic. I certainly think an iPad CAN replace a mac for many people, but that's not the right question... the right question is SHOULD it replace a mac, i.e. would your overall experience be better with a single device? Mine certainly wouldn't be. Each device I have is my device of choice is certain situations and not others. Giving up any one of them would lead to a worse user experience at least some of the time.
 
I generally like his videos but this whole question of can the iPad Pro replace your laptop has multiple answers depending on what you really mean. If you mean can it replace my laptop assuming your laptop is your only computer then absolutely not for me. However I already have an iMac as the primary computer and was using a MacBook as a secondary computer. For that usage, yes the iPad Pro can replace it for 99% of the time (with iOS 11). For the rest I can mostly work around it. And as a mobile system it has lots of advantages to a laptop like integrated LTE, pencil, and usability while standing. The drone on this forum from those insisting it can’t replace a laptop is starting to sound like “real men don’t use toy GUIs” back when the Mac was new.
 
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