iPad Pro iPad Pro: Very Disappointing

[dannyyankou]

If you go into it thinking of it as a MacBook Air replacement, it's fine. I love my iPad Pro, I use it more often than my MacBook Pro. Is the iPad Air a better deal? Probably, for most people it is. But I had to consider the iPad pro had a higher base storage, Face ID, a better refresh rate, and better colors.

 

[dgdosen]

I use github, you can access visual studio in safari with github.dev, and github spaces is free for 30-60 hours a month to execute or validate code. I use mostly Python and C++, with occasional swift or C. All my code is synced and triggered with github/CICD actions. Its pretty easy to sync between my MBP/Linux workstation or if i boot to windows on my linux workstation. I use free Termius on Ipad pro for terminal, which is amazing considering I can maintain all my commands/activity accross Linux and MBP in single place. My MBP and Linux Workstation pretty much run on Max load, Here is sample snapshot from my MBP working on a 300GB Data set, and taxing 80% CPU and 80% GPU. I have Jupyter environment setup for inference or testing, which I pretty much use with my iPad Pro in bed. I had a severe car accident an year ago, with head and neck injuries. iPad Pro is more portable, and top heavy, which fits my ergonomic needs. View attachment 2364960

Like I said, I didnt try to convert ipad Pro in to laptop, but leverage its advantages. As some one who pushes all my devices ot max, I dont think iPad pro can ever run Mac OS in compact form, unless it has bigger area to dissipate heat. My iPad Pro gets warm. If You need a full fledged computer buy one, iPad is not for every one. Its funny when people say you cant use ipad Professionally. It has become my goto device to trigger, monitor my pipelines, in cloud, local and other day I setup a Cluster of Apache Spark to process over 3 TB Data per day using an iPad.

Did you ever try Blink (shell)?

 

[TechnoMonk]

Did you ever try Blink (shell)?

Yes, Great tool, lot of features. I like Termius because of simplicity and free version is pretty good. If I need more, its on top of my list.

 

[iPadified]

Nobody is "mad". I just find it interesting that Apple has hit a dead end on iPad Pro and they just keep digging.

Rumour has it that Apple has ordered 8.5 million OLED screens for that dead end. Just try to get it: iPads are not for the specialist* but for the generalists.

*there are exceptions such as artists.

 

[Alameda]

I use an Anker USB-C hub to do exactly that - I put my camera card in it and attach a Samsung SSD to copy to. Both devices are visible in Files (though I usually use FileBrowser Pro as my favored file mgr). As noted, the keyboard port is power only so the hub is connected to the iPad. I use a Logitech MX Master 3 mouse that works great with LR (I have difficulties with the sliders with my fingers at times as I have essential tremors). I interface with the attached SSD in LR. It all works great (M1 12.9 + Magic Keyboard).

Thank you for your helpful advice.
I am on the road, but I’ll be able to test that when I return. I have one of those Anker hubs, but it’s not useful in this instance, because my camera uses CFExpress cards, not SD. Although I could copy my photos from the CF card to an SD card inside the camera, this would be a cumbersome approach. First I’ll test with my Thunderbolt 3 hub (which I use for my MacBook Pro) and if it works out, I‘ll look for a USB-C based USB 3.1 hub and try to attach both of my devices (CF card reader and SSD drive) to the hub. That should solve that problem.

 

[AlexESP]

Exactly, this is the point right here. For the price one pays, the device should be able to do it all, and it can't.

With the Surface Pro 9, one could argue it is the perfect note-taking/artist's laptop that is a pretty sucky tablet. But it is capable of doing it all.

I understand that some people prefer the Surface, but Apple is not in the business of creating something that *can* do something but sucks at it.

The iPad has much more success in the market than the Surface.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Most likely, Apple has an iPad Team and MacBook Team. There isn’t an over-arching leader who is telling the MacBook guys they can’t have a touchscreen nor is anyone telling the iPad Team they can’t run desktop apps.

I think the reality is that the iPad products cannot deliver on the marketed promise of ultra-fast M2 CPU with the screenshots of sophisticated video/photo editors, and it’s because of execution, not because some evil guy is refusing to allow it. The thermal considerations may be a big factor, but it’s reasonable for the consumer to see M2 with 8 GB of RAM and expect it to be comparable to a MacBook with M2 and 8GB of RAM, right? That’s pretty reasonable.

Apple most certainly and obviously has very clear overarching rules and guidelines to ensure that devices don't overlap each other in key areas of functionality, features and pricing.

Even within a line-up there are certain specs the low-end and mid-tier products can never get as offering them at lower prices sharply disincentivize sales of the high-end models.

Like, didn't you ever wonder why Apple always ends up splitting it's hit products into an SE(low-end), mid-tier, and (high-end)Pro model instead of just offering one great model that fits most needs and budgets?

Apple is meticulous and relentless when it comes to its product strategy.

If this wasn't the case then there'd be a much wider range of products and models within each line-up of products, and (more importantly) much more variation in product pricing.

The fact that iPhones Pro, MacBook Air and iPad 12.9" all have hovered around the same $999-$1099 for the base configuration is definitely by choice.

That's not to say that Apple has "evil" intentions behind what it does. None of these strategies serve any other purpose than to generate as much profit as possible.

And Apple most definitely wouldn't have reach a trillion dollars if iPhones or Macs had Apple Pencil support, iPads ran macOS or Mac apps, Apple Watch didn't require an iPhone, cellular iPad models could make cellular calls, MacBooks had touch screen displays, AirPods had full functionality with non-Apple smartphones, no proprietary cables, chargers or dongles, etc.

None of its done to be "evil". It's just what Apple has found generates the most revenue.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Apple won't ever put macOS on iPads, or touch and Pencil support on MacBooks.

This is what generates the most revenue for Apple and thus how it must be. I get that.

What I hope Apple would do is let MacBook Pro owners unlock the ability to "stream & sync" whatever desktop apps they have on their Macs on their iPads Pro if both devices are tied to the same Apple ID and iCloud account.

I'm not talking about simple screen sharing or mirroring, or macOS ported to iPad. But a tool that adjusts and adapts your Mac desktop apps to fit seamlessly into iPadOS, and also lets you open and manipulate any file in any way you want as you would on your Mac.

This might sort of be what we'll get with Vision Pro down the line.

But I never understood why Apple hasn't already done this for those who own both a "Pro" iPad and Mac.

This would let Apple keep forcing consumers to buy both devices but also let us have "macOS on iPad" just even better because it would adapt what you have on your Mac to fit the input and peripherals that you get with iPad.

Final Cut and Logic for iPad should have been a taste of this. But it's just more locked & blocked iPadOS(aka iOS) junk that you won't ever get to use like their macOS counterparts.

 

[Digitalguy]

I would love a do it all tablet that could crush video performace. A Surface Pro, with an Nvidia 4060, 64GB RAM a 2TB would be my dream machine But then it would have battery life of 20 minutes.

It exists, just not by Microsoft but by Asus and there is even a variant with a 4070, 32GB RAM, i9, 165hz and up to 2TB of storage (Rog Z13 Acronym). Costs $2500. Battery life is not 20 minutes but it's in line with gaming laptops (4 hours of productivity, 6.5 hours of video watching, under max load and brightness it's a little less than 1 hour).

 

[theXid]

Where a lot of people go wrong here is in saying the iPad is in between a mac and an iphone. With the iPad, Apple is trying to reinvent computing. The new VisionOS being mostly based on iPadOS proves it.

I had several reasons to buy an iPad Pro in 2018. For one, Macbooks at the time were not worth the price. Also, I like the fun of trying out new things. But fundamentally iPad is a very versatile device that can be used for laptop-style computing as well as reading, writing, note-taking and a bunch of other stuff. Showing others whats on your screen is easier on an iPad than a Macbook, too. Where so many things on Macbooks are browser based (Netflix, Youtube), iPad makes use of millions of apps optimized for its screen. And I always loved the idea of plugging in to a big screen at home or work (but sadly mine has no M1). In many ways, tablet computers have more potential than a traditional laptop and Apple is putting a lot of effort into exploring it.

And it’s working. Just the other day I was at a school meeting where a teacher praised the use of iPads over traditional computers. They wake up instantly and using them is very intuitive, for anyone. The discussions on this platform prove its success: even power users are considering making iPad their main device. Whereas I still hesitate recommending iPads to anyone who doesnt want to spend work time toying around to figure out their devices, slowly but surely, I start seeing people around me consider using an iPad as their computer.

There are problems. “Pro” workflows remain severely limited. And then there’s bugs - so many bugs. But once again, Apple has made a product that makes people use technology in new, productive ways and I remain very excited to see in what direction it will be developed. New functions to improve productivity may not be introduced at the pace many of us would hope to see, but that would not be much like Apple anyways.

But yes, Apple will need to show some confidence and eagerness to make this innovation come true. I remember this whole discussion started with a toggle for mouse support in accessibility settings - not a big show of confidence in the road ahead. And I too believe that Apple’s fear of cannibalizing Mac sales harms product development. The iPad cannot even back-up properly without a computer. A standalone iPad will, in the end, eat into the sales of the Macbook, which is a beautiful, highly successful product and perfect in its current form because no one (well not me) wants to own several $1000+ devices. So I hope our endless discussions on this forum can bring motivation and inspiration to the designers, engineers and to the people who make the decisions.

 

[kave]

iPad OS is not a creators OS, period. Its great for consuming information wether its PDF files in portrait mode or videos in landscape mode. It is total crap for creating anything but very small stuff like sending small emails, texting etc.
A MacBook Air is 100x more productive.
I have an iPad Pro 11" just because it is the best ipad. I got the keyboard with it but sold it after a while, totally unusable. If you intend to walk around with it, taking notes it is better than a phone, but not much better.
The windows Surface Pro devices are horrible as a ipad replacement, no apps whatsoever for offline reding of magazines, offline videos etc.
I hope Apple would bring back a 12" MacBook, I have an old 2017 and it is great except the cpu.

 

[TechnoMonk]

iPad OS is not a creators OS, period. Its great for consuming information wether its PDF files in portrait mode or videos in landscape mode. It is total crap for creating anything but very small stuff like sending small emails, texting etc.
A MacBook Air is 100x more productive.
I have an iPad Pro 11" just because it is the best ipad. I got the keyboard with it but sold it after a while, totally unusable. If you intend to walk around with it, taking notes it is better than a phone, but not much better.
The windows Surface Pro devices are horrible as a ipad replacement, no apps whatsoever for offline reding of magazines, offline videos etc.
I hope Apple would bring back a 12" MacBook, I have an old 2017 and it is great except the cpu.

MBA is a toy for my workflow. iPad Pro is much more productive. It’s funny to hear you can’t create anything on iPad Pro except for artists. It’s a cliche from early days. Stop making an iPad MBA, and realize what it can do.

 

[sparksd]

iPad OS is not a creators OS, period. Its great for consuming information wether its PDF files in portrait mode or videos in landscape mode. It is total crap for creating anything but very small stuff like sending small emails, texting etc.
A MacBook Air is 100x more productive.
I have an iPad Pro 11" just because it is the best ipad. I got the keyboard with it but sold it after a while, totally unusable. If you intend to walk around with it, taking notes it is better than a phone, but not much better.
The windows Surface Pro devices are horrible as a ipad replacement, no apps whatsoever for offline reding of magazines, offline videos etc.
I hope Apple would bring back a 12" MacBook, I have an old 2017 and it is great except the cpu.

May not work for you but it works just great for me processing RAW images and 4K video. And Surface Pros have no apps for offline videos? Never tried anything like VLC or PotPlayer?

 

[TechnoMonk]

Where a lot of people go wrong here is in saying the iPad is in between a mac and an iphone. With the iPad, Apple is trying to reinvent computing. The new VisionOS being mostly based on iPadOS proves it.

I had several reasons to buy an iPad Pro in 2018. For one, Macbooks at the time were not worth the price. Also, I like the fun of trying out new things. But fundamentally iPad is a very versatile device that can be used for laptop-style computing as well as reading, writing, note-taking and a bunch of other stuff. Showing others whats on your screen is easier on an iPad than a Macbook, too. Where so many things on Macbooks are browser based (Netflix, Youtube), iPad makes use of millions of apps optimized for its screen. And I always loved the idea of plugging in to a big screen at home or work (but sadly mine has no M1). In many ways, tablet computers have more potential than a traditional laptop and Apple is putting a lot of effort into exploring it.

And it’s working. Just the other day I was at a school meeting where a teacher praised the use of iPads over traditional computers. They wake up instantly and using them is very intuitive, for anyone. The discussions on this platform prove its success: even power users are considering making iPad their main device. Whereas I still hesitate recommending iPads to anyone who doesnt want to spend work time toying around to figure out their devices, slowly but surely, I start seeing people around me consider using an iPad as their computer.

There are problems. “Pro” workflows remain severely limited. And then there’s bugs - so many bugs. But once again, Apple has made a product that makes people use technology in new, productive ways and I remain very excited to see in what direction it will be developed. New functions to improve productivity may not be introduced at the pace many of us would hope to see, but that would not be much like Apple anyways.

But yes, Apple will need to show some confidence and eagerness to make this innovation come true. I remember this whole discussion started with a toggle for mouse support in accessibility settings - not a big show of confidence in the road ahead. And I too believe that Apple’s fear of cannibalizing Mac sales harms product development. The iPad cannot even back-up properly without a computer. A standalone iPad will, in the end, eat into the sales of the Macbook, which is a beautiful, highly successful product and perfect in its current form because no one (well not me) wants to own several $1000+ devices. So I hope our endless discussions on this forum can bring motivation and inspiration to the designers, engineers and to the people who make the decisions.

Mac’s are a tiny portion of Apple revenue, it’s not that important. If Apple wanted to port Mac OS on iPad Pro in a compact form, it probably would have by now. It’s just too compact for dissipating heat. I know because I can easily make my iPad Pro warm, run same work flow in MBA M2, the MBa gets hot.

 

[Digitalguy]

The windows Surface Pro devices are horrible as a ipad replacement, no apps whatsoever for offline reding of magazines, offline videos etc.

Windows does have apps for reading pdfs, that work well with touch, unless you mean proprietary apps of specifics magazines.. And of course many video players, including ones optimized for touch

I hope Apple would bring back a 12" MacBook, I have an old 2017 and it is great except the cpu.

Same

 

[john123]

The worst part of the OP's post is the end: "I don't see much future for the iPad Pro."

Whether it's for you or not — that's up to you. But to speculate that the entire line is destined for failure because you don't like it for your purposes? That's pretty arrogant. And, given the sales data over a period of years...also wrong.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Apple most certainly and obviously has very clear overarching rules and guidelines to ensure that devices don't overlap each other in key areas of functionality, features and pricing.

Even within a line-up there are certain specs the low-end and mid-tier products can never get as offering them at lower prices sharply disincentivize sales of the high-end models.

Like, didn't you ever wonder why Apple always ends up splitting it's hit products into an SE(low-end), mid-tier, and (high-end)Pro model instead of just offering one great model that fits most needs and budgets?

Apple is meticulous and relentless when it comes to its product strategy.

If this wasn't the case then there'd be a much wider range of products and models within each line-up of products, and (more importantly) much more variation in product pricing.

The fact that iPhones Pro, MacBook Air and iPad 12.9" all have hovered around the same $999-$1099 for the base configuration is definitely by choice.

That's not to say that Apple has "evil" intentions behind what it does. None of these strategies serve any other purpose than to generate as much profit as possible.

And Apple most definitely wouldn't have reach a trillion dollars if iPhones or Macs had Apple Pencil support, iPads ran macOS or Mac apps, Apple Watch didn't require an iPhone, cellular iPad models could make cellular calls, MacBooks had touch screen displays, AirPods had full functionality with non-Apple smartphones, no proprietary cables, chargers or dongles, etc.

None of its done to be "evil". It's just what Apple has found generates the most revenue.

What about an iPhone that can replace an iPod?

 

[contacos]

I only use my iPad to download movies for a trip that I am not even gonna watch and delete after my return 😅 every damn time yet this is my 4th iPad generation to own. What does that say about me 🙈😅

 

[Alameda]

Just trying to help OP. I have Lightroom on iPad Pro. I am not pro by any means but wanted to know actual issue and performance, so I am aware if I run in to it. There is no reason to be emotional, I find solutions to problems. Funny you bring up why find solutions, for all the hate iPad gets about file management, it’s my main file manager in my workflow, validating and moving files between Linux and Mac, and cloud. I just drag and drop from mac to Linux at pretty good speeds. I can run inferences move data models on iPad Pro. I get nothing being emotional, either you solve something or move on. This is my iPad Pro SSH tunnel for files. View attachment 2364993

Can you explain what you’re doing here?
One window is your Mac, the other is a Linux computer, you’ve connected to both with SSH and you have an SSH GUI which lets you remotely send copy commands from one computer to the other?

Cool. I suppose you could log into the Mac or the Linux box and do the same, and if you’re only running terminal emulation, a low cost iPad can do the job, but it’s a cool thing to know about.

 

[Alameda]

Apple won't ever put macOS on iPads, or touch and Pencil support on MacBooks.

I’d like to bookmark this and circle back in two or three years to see how it ages.

 

[Dopestdude2]

The worst part of the OP's post is the end: "I don't see much future for the iPad Pro."

Whether it's for you or not — that's up to you. But to speculate that the entire line is destined for failure because you don't like it for your purposes? That's pretty arrogant. And, given the sales data over a period of years...also wrong.

It’s common with people that are naysayers on something; they have a mindset that their opinion is the only correct opinion and it’s commonly shared.

 

[Alameda]

The worst part of the OP's post is the end: "I don't see much future for the iPad Pro."

Whether it's for you or not — that's up to you. But to speculate that the entire line is destined for failure because you don't like it for your purposes? That's pretty arrogant. And, given the sales data over a period of years...also wrong.

You edited my comment.

 

[nburwell]

I have the same setup as the OP — 128GB though. But I utilize my iPad Pro + MK during the day for content consumption while I’m working. I listen to music, podcasts, stream video, check emails, browse the web, read and send texts. While grossly overpriced, the MK is great for typing out emails and texts. I have my MBP mainly for editing images in LR and PS. Granted, my MBP does not see a ton of work, but it works great for me when I use it.

Once I‘m done work, I take my iPad off the MK and put in the Smart Folio and use it as a tablet that sees the same usage until I put it on the MK the next day. But overall, everyone uses their iPad differently. YMMV.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Can you explain what you’re doing here?
One window is your Mac, the other is a Linux computer, you’ve connected to both with SSH and you have an SSH GUI which lets you remotely send copy commands from one computer to the other?

Cool. I suppose you could log into the Mac or the Linux box and do the same, and if you’re only running terminal emulation, a low cost iPad can do the job, but it’s a cool thing to know about.

I can only dream of using a cheap iPad for my workflow. I would save bunch of money even If a 2018, or 2020 iPad Pro could run. It’s not just about terminal or moving files, I use my iPad Pro to run inferences as my MBP and Linux workstation do their training or processing. Lot of validation, running models, and other tests can easily be done on my M1 iPad. Bottom line is I moved lot of preprocessing, fine tuning parts of my workflow from cloud to locally between my workstation MBP and iPad Pro. My cloud costs weren’t just GPU, but storage, RAM and processor able to handle large data sets. I could have opted for MBA, but it doesn’t do what iPad does with Apple Pencil, great display and multipurpose device.
No one device is perfect, use and buy what works. If you have issues, try solving them.

 

[Dopestdude2]

You edited my comment.

I’m confused, you still said that line about it having no future. Yea they left off the end where you said if they’re going to be large iPhones or however you worded it but nonetheless you still said it had no future.