iPad Pro iPad Pro: Very Disappointing

[bondr006]

I think the main issue that people have been having in these threads (myself included) is not listening to the other side enough in the sense that it really does come down to one's ability to be able to change workflows to iPad-compliant ones. If one is self-employed or similar, then it is easy to do what @Technerd108 does. If one is on the other extreme, and locked into various desktop only apps due to corporate or other limitations, then it honestly may not work.

And both situations are what they are. It would be great if both sides could just acknowledge (with as much gusto as they do their side) the other side and really understand how frustrating it can be to attempt to change one's workflows as just have it not really be possible/end it a good place.

For me, this is an acknowledgement that @bondr006's situation is just as valid as my situation where I just couldn't make it work. It's still an awesome companion device, but for me that is all it is. And that is okay.

And I agree with this wholeheartedly. What is hard to take, is people that just make blanket statements according to their own experience, and either say that no real work can be done, or that the iPad is nothing but a big iPhone. I have had an iPad since the original and know quite well what its limitations are. I also know that those limitations have been reduced quite a bit since the original, in both hardware and software.

I have no trouble acknowledging that the iPad cannot be everyone's work machine, but at the same time I have little patience with those who claim no real work can be done with any iPad....period. I've been here long enough to know that is not true for me and many others. And then there are those of shades and experiences that fall in between the two extremes that use and love both their iPad and Macs or PC's.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

And I agree with this wholeheartedly. What is hard to take, is people that just make blanket statements according to their own experience, and either say that no real work can be done, or that the iPad is nothing but a big iPhone. I have had an iPad since the original and know quite well what its limitations are. I also know that those limitations have been reduced quite a bit since the original, in both hardware and software.

I have no trouble acknowledging that the iPad cannot be everyone's work machine, but at the same time I have little patience with those who claim no real work can be done with any iPad....period. I've been here long enough to know that is not true for me and many others here. And then there are those of shades and experiences that fall in between the two extremes that use and love both their iPad and Macs.

This is a good point, we are getting there--even for my workflows. If I could attach a few peripherals, and just one or two iPad apps would get just a bit more functionality, it might just work. But today is not that day...maybe this year it will finally happen for me.

I am happy that it has worked for you.

 

[TechnoMonk]

One more question. And as a background, I've tried and wanted to use an iPad Pro as a 'thin' front end for container based remote dev, and it wasn't a great solution. Maybe Microsoft is helping Apple by making GH/Codespaces more attractive for remote development. I haven't tried it since iPadOS allowed for a non-mirrored external monitor.

My question is - why is the air a toy for your workflow? Couldn't it perform any task you're currently using your iPad for? Sure the iPad can use a pencil - but to do any of that remote dev work, I'd need a keyboard and mouse - and that magic keyboard case is not a good option (IMO).

Depends on your setup, and preferences. I treated iPad Pro as separate device than MBA when I was deciding to buy. I evaluated MBA M1 and M1 12.9 ipad Pro at that time. My main driver is still my 64GB M1 Max, more so in past one year after Apple got it together with more library support for GPU.
MBA will not replace my MBP nor my Linux workstation, and basically came down to tying it all together for pre processing, testing, and validation. My code is pretty modular, with most patterns, data structures and services for reuse. iPad Pro did all that and more compared to my MBA. Sure I had to get Apps and also tinker my environment with CICD pipelines to sync code, and deploy it in cloud, Work station or my MBP. My coding is mostly in python and C++, and a bit of react node.js. If I need a full fledge IDE for building microservices on spring boot containers, iPad Pro won’t make much sense.
I was recovering from a neck/head injury last year, and got one of these zero gravity Beds next to my desk, to support neck and spine. I just put my Pad pro below my knees and with top heavy the angle stays flat and easy on my neck. iPad Pro is more comfortable when I am on recliner.

My work station is in my basement, makes too much noise and heat. So I just grab my iPad Pro when I need to be near my workstation. When I travel, it’s lot easier to work with iPad Pro in hotels than MBP. I just wish I could use it better in my client meetings when I am on the road.
If you are going to try to cram iPad Pro as one to one replacement, you will run in to issues. I setup an Apache spark cluster recently in cloud using my iPad Pro lounging on the recliner. Would an iPad Pro replace my MBP/Workstation in my setup? no. But it has bigger role than a MBA.

 

[Alameda]

And I agree with this wholeheartedly. What is hard to take, is people that just make blanket statements according to their own experience, and either say that no real work can be done, or that the iPad is nothing but a big iPhone. I have had an iPad since the original and know quite well what its limitations are. I also know that those limitations have been reduced quite a bit since the original, in both hardware and software.

I have no trouble acknowledging that the iPad cannot be everyone's work machine, but at the same time I have little patience with those who claim no real work can be done with any iPad....period. I've been here long enough to know that is not true for me and many others here. And then there are those of shades and experiences that fall in between the two extremes that use and love both their iPad and Macs.

I know, it’s wrong to tell people who like their iPads that the iPad is a poor product. You’re right; I definitely should have written “it’s my opinion.”

I’ve been using mine a lot for the past week (I’m on the road), and there is a lot to like about it. It’s a LOT lighter than my MacBook Pro and it can do a lot of the same things. It is equal if not better at consuming content.

But — and I’ll be careful to say this is my opinion — I still think it doesn’t do as well as it should for content creation. I’ve used computers for many decades, and I don’t think this product is very good at basic text editing with the keyboard. I can type fast enough, but cursor selection is sluggish (my Mac SE was faster at letting me select a block of text for Cut/Copy). I don’t expect it to be fully equal to my MacBook Pro, any more than I expect my MBP to be equally good in my lap as it is on my desk.

I’m going to keep plugging away at it but… one observation I have (my opinion, again) is that Apple’s trackpads have long been the absolute strongest feature of MacBooks. Every time I’ve ever used a Windows laptop, the trackpad just drives me nuts. They’re always terrible. And I think it’s really a shame that I can’t get a MacBook quality trackpad experience on my iPad Pro. It may seem like a little thing, but I think it’s a huge thing.

 

[bondr006]

I know, it’s wrong to tell people who like their iPads that the iPad is a poor product. You’re right; I definitely should have written “it’s my opinion.”

I’ve been using mine a lot for the past week (I’m on the road), and there is a lot to like about it. It’s a LOT lighter than my MacBook Pro and it can do a lot of the same things. It is equal if not better at consuming content.

But — and I’ll be careful to say this is my opinion — I still think it doesn’t do as well as it should for content creation. I’ve used computers for many decades, and I don’t think this product is very good at basic text editing with the keyboard. I can type fast enough, but cursor selection is sluggish (my Mac SE was faster at letting me select a block of text for Cut/Copy). I don’t expect it to be fully equal to my MacBook Pro, any more than I expect my MBP to be equally good in my lap as it is on my desk.

I’m going to keep plugging away at it but… one observation I have (my opinion, again) is that Apple’s trackpads have long been the absolute strongest feature of MacBooks. Every time I’ve ever used a Windows laptop, the trackpad just drives me nuts. They’re always terrible. And I think it’s really a shame that I can’t get a MacBook quality trackpad experience on my iPad Pro. It may seem like a little thing, but I think it’s a huge thing.

You are good my friend. I wasn't referring to anything you said. I did understand that what you related was your personal experience. I hope your iPad experience gets better for you.

 

[bondr006]

well word processing in general is significantly more comprehensive and efficient on a computer but i see you have some niche uses for the ipad that make it useful like drawing.

i hope it can recover from my scathing reductionism and please extend my dearest apologies to your ipad

Ok, you made me laugh. You and I are good. My ipad on the other hand is going to need some sweet talk though. Its ego is pretty deflated.

 

[RLRabb]

I know, it’s wrong to tell people who like their iPads that the iPad is a poor product. You’re right; I definitely should have written “it’s my opinion.”

I’ve been using mine a lot for the past week (I’m on the road), and there is a lot to like about it. It’s a LOT lighter than my MacBook Pro and it can do a lot of the same things. It is equal if not better at consuming content.

But — and I’ll be careful to say this is my opinion — I still think it doesn’t do as well as it should for content creation. I’ve used computers for many decades, and I don’t think this product is very good at basic text editing with the keyboard. I can type fast enough, but cursor selection is sluggish (my Mac SE was faster at letting me select a block of text for Cut/Copy). I don’t expect it to be fully equal to my MacBook Pro, any more than I expect my MBP to be equally good in my lap as it is on my desk.

I’m going to keep plugging away at it but… one observation I have (my opinion, again) is that Apple’s trackpads have long been the absolute strongest feature of MacBooks. Every time I’ve ever used a Windows laptop, the trackpad just drives me nuts. They’re always terrible. And I think it’s really a shame that I can’t get a MacBook quality trackpad experience on my iPad Pro. It may seem like a little thing, but I think it’s a huge thing.

I have seen many comments in the past few years that Apple's bluetooth Magic Trackpad works great with the iPad. I haven't tried it myself, because I've been content with the trackpad on the Magic Keyboard. But something to consider.

 

[sparksd]

I have seen many comments in the past few years that Apple's bluetooth Magic Trackpad works great with the iPad. I haven't tried it myself, because I've been content with the trackpad on the Magic Keyboard. But something to consider.

I can confirm that it works very well with the iPad.

 

[bondr006]

I have seen many comments in the past few years that Apple's bluetooth Magic Trackpad works great with the iPad. I haven't tried it myself, because I've been content with the trackpad on the Magic Keyboard. But something to consider.

I can confirm that it works very well with the iPad.

I can also. Just seems so natural to control a touch device with a touch device.

My iPad Desktop Setup

 

[TechnoMonk]

L

I can also. Just seems so natural to control a touch device with a touch device.

My iPad Desktop Setup
View attachment 2365353

What is the stand for iPad?

 

[bondr006]

What is the stand for iPad?

Wasn't expensive, but works really great. Very adjustable. Folds up and is portable also. Got it from Amazon.

Anozer Tablet Stand Foldable & Adjustable, Portable Monitor Stand 5.55 * 3.94" Wide, Fit for iPad Holder Stand Compatible with iPad Pro 11, 12.9/for iPad 10.9; Surface Pro; Portable Monitor 4.7-15.6"

Anozer Foldable & Adjustable Tablet Stand provides you a flexible using experience with its good design, free your hands and easy your life or work. This tablet phone stand for desk is collapsible that can be fully folded into a pocket size by only taking up little space when storage, easy t...

www.amazon.com

 

[bondr006]

I can also. Just seems so natural to control a touch device with a touch device.

My iPad Desktop Setup
View attachment 2365353

This mobile setup with the Logitech Combo Touch is what I use most for my real estate work though.

 

[Rafterman]

This mobile setup with the Logitech Combo Touch is what I use most for my real estate work though.

View attachment 2365371

I use the Apple Magic Keyboard, due to its power plug in the base that turns it into a convenient magnetic iPad dock. But the Logitech Combo Touch is excellent, very Microsoft Surface Pro-like. That Surface Pro style stand in convenient, when removing the keyboard.

 

[DSTOFEL]

I know, it’s wrong to tell people who like their iPads that the iPad is a poor product. You’re right; I definitely should have written “it’s my opinion.”

I’ve been using mine a lot for the past week (I’m on the road), and there is a lot to like about it. It’s a LOT lighter than my MacBook Pro and it can do a lot of the same things. It is equal if not better at consuming content.

But — and I’ll be careful to say this is my opinion — I still think it doesn’t do as well as it should for content creation. I’ve used computers for many decades, and I don’t think this product is very good at basic text editing with the keyboard. I can type fast enough, but cursor selection is sluggish (my Mac SE was faster at letting me select a block of text for Cut/Copy). I don’t expect it to be fully equal to my MacBook Pro, any more than I expect my MBP to be equally good in my lap as it is on my desk.

I’m going to keep plugging away at it but… one observation I have (my opinion, again) is that Apple’s trackpads have long been the absolute strongest feature of MacBooks. Every time I’ve ever used a Windows laptop, the trackpad just drives me nuts. They’re always terrible. And I think it’s really a shame that I can’t get a MacBook quality trackpad experience on my iPad Pro. It may seem like a little thing, but I think it’s a huge thing.

I agree with you. I’ve had many iterations of the iPad starting from Gen 1. My current is the 11 inch M1 iPad Pro. In my opinion (😊) the ipad is a bit of a Swiss army Knife for in that it’s very versatile. It excels as a content consumption device and while it can be used as a content creation device, it’s always been a bit crippled in my opinion (😊) by limitations in IOS and iPad apps in general. The magic keyboard folio was transformative in my opinion (😊) with its excellent trackpad navigation…..but, I wouldn’t consider the iPad as a laptop replacement. Perhaps Apple wants to keep this differentiation so as to not cannibalize sales off Macbooks? Still though…it’s my #1 used Apple device by a wide margin. I just accept it for what it is.

 

[iPadified]

Op sounds genuinely frustrated, heck I would be too if I had that experience and those issues. But I do see same folks jumping with old cliches, with out any interest in helping OP.

Sell the iPad and buy a Mac is not a cliche. Help in form of demanding Apple should have dual boot iPad is not a help but only a dream that may of may not come true (likely not in my opinion). Help number two: buy the device that solves your needs now and do not hedge on future capabilities of a device. I think the Mac Pro people have learned that the hard way as well.

Buying the wrong device is likely not the end of the world and we all do it from time to time. Learn and move on.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I’ve had my 11” iPad Pro since December — about four months now. Now that I’ve put it through its paces, I think I can say confidently that this is a very disappointing product.

I bought it with 512 GB of storage, the M2 processor, 8 GB of RAM, the cellular radio and the Magic Keyboard. For a product at this price point, it is a terrible laptop. I can definitely see the value of a $300 or $400 iPad as an entertainment toy. It’s great at downloading movies for playback while on long flights. But at the price of the iPad Pro, it’s well into laptop territory, as is the hardware capabilities… but it badly disappoints.

I’m not sure where to begin, but the Safari browser is very weak, and so is text selection and editing. Select/copy/paste works so-so on the iPhone, but on a platform like iPad Pro, I should have no difficulty selecting text for copy/paste. But it doesn’t work well on this platform. I downloaded Microsoft Office, and found its performance is fairly slow. I tried brining in RAW photos from my camera for editing with Adobe Lightroom, and it was close to unusable, especially compared to using my MacBook Pro. I tried using it as a slideshow player for my digital photos, and that hasn’t worked out too well. I tried using it with my Magic Mouse, but the scrolling feature of the mouse doesn’t work; I can’t slide my finger on top of the mouse to scroll a window.

I think this system needs to be MacOS with touchscreen support, instead of iPhone OS with keyboard support. As I said, i can see the attraction at the $300-$400 level, but in a $1,000-ish product, I should be able to get at least the same productivity as a laptop. MS Windows has plenty of touchscreen laptops; it’s basically Windows with a touchscreen mouse. Personally, I don’t see much future for the iPad Pro if they’re only going to be large screen iPhones.

You say "it is a terrible laptop." then proceed to whine about the terrible laptop that is not a laptop, it is a tablet. IMO you simply fail to grasp the differences among products. Just my personal $0.02 of course.

 

[iPadified]

So I shouldn't have been happily using my M1 iPad Pro 11 to run my real estate and property management business? You're saying all this time I should have been "watching videos or doing elementary level work" instead of creating and filling contracts, creating pdf's and Word documents, taking notes, drawing property and house dimensions, taking and editing photos for listing in the MLS, entering and maintaing listings in the local MLS Paragon web app, intense communication with clients, creating and maintaining Excel worksheets to keep track of clients and expenses, and sooo much more?

Whew! I thought I was happy that I could easily do all those things to take care of my business, while having fun at the same time, but I guess I was wrong. From now on I will just "watch videos and do elementary level work".

"Real work" according to some: coding, video editing Hollywood grade Movies, developing huge AI models, managing computer clusters. In my definition high end computer users (few but vocal crowd resembling the Mac Pro crowd).

Even if I use a computer device (Mac/winPC/iPad) about 50-70% of my time, I also do "no real" (computer) work according to some: teaching university classes, research management, reading papers, writing scientific papers, applications, note taking at meetings, e-mail, videos conferences with research groups in Europe. Mundane tasks which iPads do just fine.

What is surprising and ironic is that so many (it seems) of the high end users, misunderstood the iPad Pro for a one to one Mac replacement. It is very tiresome to hear the extrapolation from their own conclusions that iPads cannot be used for work.

 

[iPadified]

I can also. Just seems so natural to control a touch device with a touch device.

My iPad Desktop Setup
View attachment 2365353

I need to test that at some point but need a Mx iPad.

 

[Surf760]

It’s not unreasonable for OP and reasonably similar people to think that an iPad Pro can be used as a possible replacement to an “almost laptop” but then be disappointed. Nonetheless, unless their Desktop OS use case is multimedia editing heavy, I suspect they’d be far happier with an iPad if they just got the entry level 10th gen with keyboard, or iPad Air with keyboard. The biggest problem for most like OP, is over buying into the high iPad Pro entry price point.

For a while there, Apple was really pushing Stage Manager in combo with the Magic Keyboard and new files app as being nearly a laptop like experience. Of course, the only iPad at the time that could do it at the time was the M1 iPad Pro - now that’s not the case.

For example, as someone who had then an iMac (and now a 16” MBP) + lives in MS Office and Acrobat Pro, I was hopeful then that the M1 Pro could be my at home light work device. I figured I could use it for work at home and also have it serve as my travel entertainment companion. I too frankly was highly disappointed. To the extent I try to use it in that manner today, generally I remain so.

To this day, if I try to take a night Zoom call from home with my iPad, it never quite allows me to change the screen arrangement as easily or as desired. It also constantly struggles with managing mic/video input outputs with my webcam connected through my external monitor. If I want to do some MS Office work, I constantly run into obstacles. Whether it’s the device, or the 3rd party software designed to work with the device, it’s just not smooth.

None of that is to infer the iPad doesn’t have use cases that it excels at. I still prefer to handwrite notes and the iPad along with GoodNotes is my go to “yellow pad.” There are certain apps for my job like Trial Pad that are excellent for my work needs. I love to read books on the device and it’s a perfect airplane entertainment machine.

The problem (or positive if you look at it another way), is that for all the things an iPad does really well for me, I could now do everything I need with an entry level 10th gen iPad or iPad Air. You simply don’t need an iPad Pro if your use case is normal office type work and side entertainment.

I’d be willing to bet that if people were closer to the $500 price point all in with keyboard attachment (around 10th gen on sale with keyboard accessory), they’d be far less disappointed in a somewhat compromised laptop that can also do a lot of other things very well.

 

[Torty]

Many many work for a company and use their computers and mostly those are windows machines.

Apple devices are used at home for many many people, after work.
No need for MS office, Apple pages and numbers are fine. No need for adobe products, photos and iMovie are fine.
No need for a permanent keyboard for browsing the web and reading on the couch.

Photos are taken with iPhone and most are not edited at all before sharing with others or with social media. Some are edited with filters quickly done with iOS/macOS apps.

Browsing social media like X telegram etc are quickly done via iOS/iPad apps.

BTW anyone know sales numbers iPad vs Mac?

If the iPad is so bad it would be hard to sell.

 

[johnmacward]

It really boils down to a matter of preference of the individual in terms of the workflow to do any particular task that the user is interested in doing. That you're disappointed in the product speaks more towards you being desktop OS centric in your preferred workflows than it does towards the weaknesses of the iPad itself.

I'm not trying to defend the iPad - I too have limited use for the iPads that I own simply because I too am more desktop OS centric in my preferred workflows. At the end of the day the best tool for the job is one that supports the workflow that works best for each of us.

Or maybe iPadOS is just not very good. Which is my opinion. A stunted OS compared to macOS with few redeeming features that the touchscreen element brings, certainly for Pros. And I've used them for years. It really isn't a question of "preference" of workflow - iPadOS is just not very well defined or thought through. iPads that aren't pro are more justifiable as a device than iPad Pros that want to be MacBook Pros in power and features but just with a detachable keyboard (that is horrifically overpriced). And the iPad Pro will do everything the MBP will do, just 20% worse. It's only redeeming feature is its pencil support.

 

[chmania]

I can also. Just seems so natural to control a touch device with a touch device.

My iPad Desktop Setup
View attachment 2365353

Nice looking setup.
If the iPad can run the same macOS, it would be even better. Or even better, if the iPad can work as the keyboard as Samsung tabs can do.

A side question. Why do you use Word and Excel, when Pages and Numbers are freely available with the device?

 

[iPadified]

The problem (or positive if you look at it another way), is that for all the things an iPad does really well for me, I could now do everything I need with an entry level 10th gen iPad or iPad Air. You simply don’t need an iPad Pro if your use case is normal office type work and side entertainment.

I think we hear the same arguments for MBA vs MBP. I think that the future 12.9 inch Air will replace some iPad Pro sales because of this.

BTW anyone know sales numbers iPad vs Mac?

I seen some number of 60 million iPads/year and 30 million Macs. Not unreasonable as the average price of Macs are likely much higher than iPads and the revenue is very similar.

 

[Macalicious2011]

This mobile setup with the Logitech Combo Touch is what I use most for my real estate work though.

View attachment 2365371

What I like about the iPad with a Combo Touch is that it's way more durable and portable than an MacBook. I can close the iPad and leave it on a side table, side of the touch or on the kitchen counter amongst books.

My 13 inch MacBook Pro is more fragile and I always have to put it far away from the kids which requires more effort in terms of fetching it and putting it away. However the iPad is fully protected, smaller, lighter and can therefore be used in way more different circumstances.

 

[RichHI]

As others have said, I believe that the issue is people make statements from only their personal viewpoint. iPad Pro users vary from Non technical folks. who want a light and easy to transport device (to browse, watch videos, do emails and value the simplicity of use for their tasks and the bullet proof reliability which offerings like Microsoft Surface do not have); to advanced technical users who want selective boot options and the features of a MacBook Pro in a smaller format. So Apple treads the middle road. Apple has always been a brand for everyone who likes cool looking, easy to use products. The MacBook Pro's do offer excellent performance but they are aimed firmly at experienced users, though not necessarily technical. From what I oversee here I believe it is a marketing issue. IT folks see the word Pro and assume that means suitable for technical use as would be the case with MacBook pro. Professional though can equally apply to data analysts, creative content authors, sales and marketing professionals etc etc etc.

Perhaps the solution to these complaints would be to call the new iPad Pro 13" , the iPad Ultra? I am looking forward to upgrading as I only have an ancient mini. I have an Intel MBA, a late model Intel MBP i9 64gb Ram 2TB SSD (which I keep as some software doesn't not like Silicon and you have to run on emulation which removes the benefit) and a 13" MBP high spec'd Pro with Silicon, which I bought before the horrid notch/island stuff. So for my iPad uses in, making conference zoom calls and Skype calls, watching videos in flight, presenting to clients and doing emails (creation, data mining etc done on Mac's) the issue with the Pro is does it still offer a good viewing experience and any notch or island will be a deal breaker for me. So I would probably way up 12" Air or if that has antioch or island a current 12.9" Pro at hopefully a reduced price.

So my suggestion is iPad Ultra