iPad Pro iPad Pro vs computer?

[DNichter]

My 10.5 is my only computer (besides my iPhone) and I have no issues rendering websites.

 

[sracer]

I’ve been giving my 12.9” iPad Pro an honest effort lately to see how it compares to my MacBook Pro for most tasks. Video editing is something that I only do in MacOS, but aside from that I can do most things on my IPP...but it’s not quite the same.

Some things I’ve noticed that annoy me are webpages with dead links, keyboard lag, and multitasking issues, especially since I listen to music a lot in the background.

I use keyboard shortcuts often, which is one reason the touch bar on the MBP is 99% worthless to me despite giving it a chance. It’s just faster to use keyboard shortcuts. I type around 110 wpm, or so, but on that butterfly thing I can’t even get over 95 and have errors. On the IPP I use the Magic Keyboard and find that there is lag when I try to tab between apps and open stuff with spotlight (or whatever it’s called on the IPP). I can still get stuff done it just takes some getting used to.

What I really like about the IPP is having a Safari window and YouTube or music in a window next to it so I can browse the MR forums and listen to my synthwave. What I don’t like is switching to another app and the music stops on YouTube. What is more maddening is having music stop when I open some page with videos. Maybe there’s a way to avoid that and I don’t know about it.

It’s not the same experience for me but I can still make it work. In short my opinion of the 12.9” IPP is that I love it. Sure, I can’t use my 6 spaces like in MacOS and fly around them like I’m used to, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s a different tool and I’ll adapt to using it differently.

I love the pencil and use it to write at meetings and sketch out ideas for sets or scenes, or whatever I need.

I’ve submitted some of the quirks and feature suggestions to Apple and I’d suggest if you have any to do the same since they do actually read that stuff.

Excellent observations. I bolded the part that I think is important for others to note. If the iPad Pro doesn't do an overall better job than a notebook, then using an iPad for the sake of using an iPad is counterproductive. There is no greater virtue in using an iPad compared to using a notebook.

It sounds like you did indeed "think different" for some of your tasks and took a different approach that was more compatible with the iPad. Depending upon one's use cases (and the subsequent re-thinking of the tasks), it is very possible for the iPad Pro to be a BETTER solution than a notebook.

 

[DNichter]

Excellent observations. I bolded the part that I think is important for others to note. If the iPad Pro doesn't do an overall better job than a notebook, then using an iPad for the sake of using an iPad is counterproductive. There is no greater virtue in using an iPad compared to using a notebook.

It sounds like you did indeed "think different" for some of your tasks and took a different approach that was more compatible with the iPad. Depending upon one's use cases (and the subsequent re-thinking of the tasks), it is very possible for the iPad Pro to be a BETTER solution than a notebook.

I am not sure I agree. Some tasks on an iPad may take some adjustment to the user to make work, but it is the users call to say whether or not they value everything else the iPad brings to the table over those specific tasks. For example, updating my servers firmware on my NAS takes a few extra steps on my iPad, but I still want to have 1 do it all device.

 

[MarkB786]

Hello all. Thinking about buying my first iPad. I currently don’t have a computer and I don’t really need a lot of features a computer offers. I was thinking about getting an iPad Pro for fun also some productivity. I was just wondering how we’ll desktop sites run on the iPad Pro. That is the main thing I need from a computer itself is full websites. Otherwise I just want it for fun/the pencil for messing around. Would you guys recommend an iPad Pro for someone like me? Thanks guys.

Mixed bag on that sort of compatibility. The iPad and its direct competitor, the Samsung Tab S3, are great for general on-the-go usage, or for web site browsing and media consumption, but a bit unpredictable for web site rendition and productivity. On average, owning both, I have to say the Samsung Tab does a little better and has some features that generally make it easier to use. But both are excellent products that can supplement your desktop/laptop. If you own a Mac or iPhone, the iPad is the best bet. If you are OS-neutral, then the Tab S3 is overall better in my humble, but experienced, opinion.

 

[sparksd]

Excellent observations. I bolded the part that I think is important for others to note. If the iPad Pro doesn't do an overall better job than a notebook, then using an iPad for the sake of using an iPad is counterproductive. There is no greater virtue in using an iPad compared to using a notebook.

It sounds like you did indeed "think different" for some of your tasks and took a different approach that was more compatible with the iPad. Depending upon one's use cases (and the subsequent re-thinking of the tasks), it is very possible for the iPad Pro to be a BETTER solution than a notebook.

I agree. I view my devices as a toolkit from which I can pick and choose the best tool for the task at hand. I personally don't feel any driving need for a single Swiss Army Knife device but I can see where others would - personal preferences at play.

 

[sracer]

I am not sure I agree. Some tasks on an iPad may take some adjustment to the user to make work, but it is the users call to say whether or not they value everything else the iPad brings to the table over those specific tasks. For example, updating my servers firmware on my NAS takes a few extra steps on my iPad, but I still want to have 1 do it all device.

User's call? I thought that was a given in my comments. "Overall better job" is generic and subjective to the person making the assessment, not some attempt at defining a global standard of measure.

In the totality of how one uses their devices, some tasks may be easier, others more difficult but taking the sum total of it all, one device will come out to be preferred over the other. But I understand that not everyone will agree with that.

 

[Eric5273]

Excellent observations. I bolded the part that I think is important for others to note. If the iPad Pro doesn't do an overall better job than a notebook, then using an iPad for the sake of using an iPad is counterproductive. There is no greater virtue in using an iPad compared to using a notebook.

It sounds like you did indeed "think different" for some of your tasks and took a different approach that was more compatible with the iPad. Depending upon one's use cases (and the subsequent re-thinking of the tasks), it is very possible for the iPad Pro to be a BETTER solution than a notebook.

It all depends on one’s situation. Each device costs money and a certain amount of time in maintaining each extra device that you own. While certain tasks I do could be a little easier on a MacBook, overall the extra cost of purchasing a MacBook does not make it worth it to me. Plus, there is something to be said for having one single device that can do everything — it saves time, space, and makes life easier in certain respects.

For simplicity (and budget), I wanted one single device to do everything. So my decision was between getting a new MacBook to replace my old MacBook or getting an iPad Pro. The advantages of the iPad were the smaller and more portable size, the available built-in LTE modem, the better security and simplity of iOS, and the lower price. The advantages of the MacBook was more overall capability. After weighing my options, I chose the iPad Pro.

 

[kazmac]

I agree it all depends on the individual's situation.

I use my iPad mainly for creative things, but am reading / marking up PDFs now too and ran into a huge snag last week with the pdf I created in Notability: my iPad Pro was actually lagging behind rendering a few of the pages in the particular pdf. I felt like I was on a dialup internet (and I am only using 36gb on a 256gb 12.9" 2nd gen.)

I hope this doesn't continue, I understand Safari sometimes renders some website pages into huge files, so I suspect that was the issue (a lot of the sites I have to refer to no longer offer a print option which was decrease the sizes.)

Me, I am stuck on my Mac. While I appreciate having the iPad Pro for drawing and reading comics etc., my heavy lifting is done on my iMac. I would prefer not to have a phone, and just go Mac and iPad frankly (I barely use my iPhone 7+), but that's me.

 

[Traverse]

I’ve been giving my 12.9” iPad Pro an honest effort lately to see how it compares to my MacBook Pro for most tasks. Video editing is something that I only do in MacOS, but aside from that I can do most things on my IPP...but it’s not quite the same.

Some things I’ve noticed that annoy me are webpages with dead links, keyboard lag, and multitasking issues, especially since I listen to music a lot in the background.

I use keyboard shortcuts often, which is one reason the touch bar on the MBP is 99% worthless to me despite giving it a chance. It’s just faster to use keyboard shortcuts. I type around 110 wpm, or so, but on that butterfly thing I can’t even get over 95 and have errors. On the IPP I use the Magic Keyboard and find that there is lag when I try to tab between apps and open stuff with spotlight (or whatever it’s called on the IPP). I can still get stuff done it just takes some getting used to.

What I really like about the IPP is having a Safari window and YouTube or music in a window next to it so I can browse the MR forums and listen to my synthwave. What I don’t like is switching to another app and the music stops on YouTube. What is more maddening is having music stop when I open some page with videos. Maybe there’s a way to avoid that and I don’t know about it.

It’s not the same experience for me but I can still make it work. In short my opinion of the 12.9” IPP is that I love it. Sure, I can’t use my 6 spaces like in MacOS and fly around them like I’m used to, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s a different tool and I’ll adapt to using it differently.

I love the pencil and use it to write at meetings and sketch out ideas for sets or scenes, or whatever I need.

I’ve submitted some of the quirks and feature suggestions to Apple and I’d suggest if you have any to do the same since they do actually read that stuff.

YouTube removed the ability to listen in the background.

I use dolphins browser solely for YouTube. When you close it the music stops but you can start it back from control center and it keeps playing.

 

[ducatisteve]

I've only had my iPad Pro 10.5 for a few weeks, but as I've gotten to know it (my first iPad since the 2 or 3), I've been finding myself able to replace what I use my late 2016 13" MBP for. Of course things like web browsing, YouTube, reddit, etc are all pretty simple to transition into, but with the pencil and smart keyboard, finding apps for video editing (LumaFusion), photo editing (Affinity), website work/updating (official Wordpress app, Blink) have made it so the iPad can more than cover my personal needs. And I don't mean that I have to contort my workflow to get it to work. I have computers that I can use, but I am finding real pleasure in working on the iPad.

The last hurdle for me was for work. I'm a Sys Admin for a big company and I figured I would need to keep my laptop around for when I'm working remotely, as the iPad does not have mouse support, and using touch would be contorting myself unnecessarily for the sake of the iPad. Fortunately, Citrix makes a mouse that has support for their iOS app, and it works flawlessly. Really the only gripe I have is the lack of an Esc key on the smart keyboard. Changing my muscle memory to Cmd-\ or whatever for vim is really annoying.

I'm going to keep my laptop around for a few months to see if I find any needs that I can't use my iPad for, but with iOS 11 it's looking pretty good.
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YouTube removed the ability to listen in the background.

I use dolphins browser solely for YouTube. When you close it the music stops but you can start it back from control center and it keeps playing.

If you subscribe to YouTube Red or YouTube TV it will play in the background.