I've ditched every iPad I've ever owned within six months.

[AliMacs]

So basically, I like new things too much.

I got my first gen iPad in the same week it launched in 2010. It seemed so great to be able to do everything I did on my iPod touch on a bigger screen and it was! But it felt kinda bulky and I ended up buying a MacBook Air 11" which could do a lot more.

Skipped the 2, got the New iPad (3rd gen) on launch day in 2012. I was still using an iPod touch back then and according to my records I had a Mac Mini this time around. Was hoping to, again, use it for school purposes but after a few months it just felt unnecessary. I did, however, read the Steve Jobs biography on it on vacation which was great.

Skipped the New New iPad, got the Air in 2013. Wow, this thing was thin and light! Still, after a few months the thing wasn't moving as much as I'd hoped. Honestly, I thought it would be great for everything school and portable and I really was trying to get it to work. Sold it within 6 months.

At this point I knew that the iPad would never work for me, no matter what other devices I had or what features the iPad could get.

2015: 12.9 freaking inch iPad PRO with PENCIL!

As a student Industrial Product Design (second year), the iPad Pro seemed like just the device for me. Imagine sketching wherever you are on a digital canvas, being able to use it as a drawing tablet with AstroPad and just use it instead of my 15" rMBP for all light computer needs on-the-go! Perfect!

Following my incredibly predictable pattern, I bought it on launch day and I'm trying to get rid of it just shy of 6 months later (what's up with the 6 months?!).

I need a phone, so I have an iPhone 6 Plus. I need a powerful computer that's portable, so I have the 15" MacBook Pro. I need to draw every now and then... But not that much and not for 1200$. It's just not justifiable.

I ended up bringing my 15" MBP with me every day of the week to school because it runs Illustrator, Photoshop and even SolidWorks. An iPad would just be too much of a compromise, like it's always been for me. It cannot replace my laptop or my phone, but it needs to for it to become more than just a gadget.

That's it, I'm done. Anyone recognizes the iPad ending up in a drawer every time? No? Okay. Am I overthinking this? If I had lots of money, then yes, definitely.

You sound just like a friend of mine who caught an STD from his girlfriend. He knew the girlfriend was a piece of dung but yet he still went back and back again. Multiple STDs later, the guy still doesn't know why he has STDs.

Perhaps you should avoid the STD and move on. The iPad isn't for you

 

[sunapple]

You sound just like a friend of mine who caught an STD from his girlfriend. He knew the girlfriend was a piece of dung but yet he still went back and back again. Multiple STDs later, the guy still doesn't know why he has STDs.

Perhaps you should avoid the STD and move on. The iPad isn't for you

Well, to be fair every time I bought an iPad my situation was different. Either I had a desktop or a laptop, an iPod touch or iPhone... And the iPad Pro brought a whole new set of features. My school situation changed a lot too. Many different use cases, none of which worked for me.

But yeah, you're right, I should probably stop buying iPad at this point. That is until my situation changes again, or Apple makes a universal OS (which is not going to happen anytime soon).

macOS all the way!

 

[AliMacs]

Well, to be fair every time I bought an iPad my situation was different. Either I had a desktop or a laptop, an iPod touch or iPhone... And the iPad Pro brought a whole new set of features. My school situation changed a lot too. Many different use cases, none of which worked for me.

But yeah, you're right, I should probably stop buying iPad at this point. That is until my situation changes again, or Apple makes a universal OS (which is not going to happen anytime soon).

macOS all the way!

Trust me - or don't - iOS 9 has already made the iPad Pro (12.9" in my case) a really awesome iPad. iOS 10 will bring more awesomeness. Apple does one thing right - that is they are slow to advance but when they do advance they are a force to be reckon with. you can be first to feature this and that but it's not about always having the ability to do this and that just like in macOS or in Windows. It's about security, stability, and how well it performs.

At the moment I agree with you sometimes the iPad feels like a toy but more so than not it is a really great computer. That's why I have no problems owning a desktop, laptop, and iPads. I don't think the iPad will ever be a true replacement; just like the laptop can't do grunt processing like a desktop can; and a desktop can't be taken everywhere you go like an iPad can. There's a tool for every application. Just don't think too much into it and if you can have multiple platforms go for it.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Well I think that might be the problem you're having. Seeing the iPad as a laptop replacement. If you see it as a consumption device going in you won't be disappointed and you may even find that it does more than you expected.

You're definitely shortchanging iPad by classifying it as a consumption device, and I haven't seen anything in the OPs posts that suggests consumption is even on the table. His focus is clearly on getting stuff done.

It's far more than a consumption device for me, and for many others. I'm a writer and photographer. Writing-wise, I carry a Bluetooth keyboard, and with it, iPad is certainly all the "typewriter" I need. For research, I have all the browsing capability I need. If I could upgrade that first-generation iPad beyond iOS 5.1.1, I'd do preliminary editing of my photos before returning to my more-capable tools in the office. I have a PDF of every one of my company's in-print books to show at sales meetings and such, I no longer have to shlep a pile of fat music "fake" books when I bring my guitar to parties... All of this is a lot more than passive consumption. I also use my iPad for consumption, but if I did have to carry a laptop, I'd do my consumption on the laptop - no point carrying both the iPad and laptop.

It could be more than a consumption device for the OP as well, if he felt it was worth carrying iPad for sketching in addition to carrying the laptop. He doesn't. I know of others that do - just a matter of priorities.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You're definitely shortchanging iPad by classifying it as a consumption device, and I haven't seen anything in the OPs posts that suggests consumption is even on the table. His focus is clearly on getting stuff done.

It's far more than a consumption device for me, and for many others. I'm a writer and photographer. Writing-wise, I carry a Bluetooth keyboard, and with it, iPad is certainly all the "typewriter" I need. For research, I have all the browsing capability I need. If I could upgrade that first-generation iPad beyond iOS 5.1.1, I'd do preliminary editing of my photos before returning to my more-capable tools in the office. I have a PDF of every one of my company's in-print books to show at sales meetings and such, I no longer have to shlep a pile of fat music "fake" books when I bring my guitar to parties... All of this is a lot more than passive consumption. I also use my iPad for consumption, but if I did have to carry a laptop, I'd do my consumption on the laptop - no point carrying both the iPad and laptop.

It could be more than a consumption device for the OP as well, if he felt it was worth carrying iPad for sketching in addition to carrying the laptop. He doesn't. I know of others that do - just a matter of priorities.

Well it sounds like on many occasions the OP binned the iPad because he felt that his computer/laptop did more or was more useful. All I'm saying is that if you go in thinking that it's going to replace your laptop and it doesn't then you will be disappointed. However if you go in with lower expectations it's then easier for it to exceed your expectations as you find that you are using it more for productivity than you initially thought.

 

[AliMacs]

I think we all can agree the IPad no matter which iteration still will not replace any real PC/macOS. There is just way too many people accustomed to the typical PC/MAC workflow. You use a mouse,you use a keyboard. You have access to much more system access than in iOS. There's just too much compromise for a typical PC/macOS user. It's not hard to see how much disappointment iOS can be on an iPad because there is way too much limitation vs a PC/macOS system.

BUT just like being accustomed to using a mouse, we now use our finger for everything. Much like we love to type, we use our voice to dictate things rather than to physically type anything out. Again we have voice assistance such as Siri/Google now that is of tremendous help vs traditional typing this, clicking that to get to/turning on a setting (at least Google allows more access than Siri).

With the iPad there is a bit of a learning curve in which you will have to use multiple apps to do the simplest thing you are accustomed to on a PC/macOS system. You don't have file system access limitations as you do in iOS. BUT there are much benefits to this as well - sandboxed security. There are numerous other compromises as well but the biggest one probably is the fact you're trying to shoehorn your typical PC/macOS workflow into this iPad. You just need to rethink how you do things differently on an iPad and it can be a very compelling device. I too do a lot of my daily work using an iPad and I have the luxury of owning several computers that can be used to do grunt processing and run specific applications not available on the iPad.

It's just at the moment in iOS 9.3 - there are still limitations but those limits you just have to know how to overcome by using specific apps. Sure you have to buy some of them and adjust your workflow to accommodate the iPad but you cannot discount the fact the iPad with the right apps can do almost the same things you can do with your desktop/laptop sans heavy cpu processing and legacy desktop software support.

Whoever is currently using an IPad to do work - those people know exactly what I mean. The iPad (Pro 12.9" in my case) is such a sweet device I just ignore most people who tell me it's a toy - back in iOS pre-8.0 days sure it was) but nowadays it's become a real computing platform. those that still don't believe it are the ones who just don't have the app knowledge and can't think outside the box. If you are arguing about it being much to work on a laptop and is a much better alternative then you are probably right- but you discount the iPad too quickly before learning how to deal with the iPad's workflow.

There is that 5% of the time I'd want to use my laptop/desktop - the 95-99% of the time I'm on my iPad Pro. I just hope iOS 10 will open up more system functionality to the iPad and allow for more device integrations. Oh last but not least you can rock so hard with audio in an iPad - from creating music to playing music it is so bad ass to use an iPad to do it. Just the form factor alone is awesome when you can move your music studio around!

 

[mikezmac]

I think we all can agree the IPad no matter which iteration still will not replace any real PC/macOS. There is just way too many people accustomed to the typical PC/MAC workflow. You use a mouse,you use a keyboard. You have access to much more system access than in iOS. There's just too much compromise for a typical PC/macOS user. It's not hard to see how much disappointment iOS can be on an iPad because there is way too much limitation vs a PC/macOS system.

BUT just like being accustomed to using a mouse, we now use our finger for everything. Much like we love to type, we use our voice to dictate things rather than to physically type anything out. Again we have voice assistance such as Siri/Google now that is of tremendous help vs traditional typing this, clicking that to get to/turning on a setting (at least Google allows more access than Siri).

With the iPad there is a bit of a learning curve in which you will have to use multiple apps to do the simplest thing you are accustomed to on a PC/macOS system. You don't have file system access limitations as you do in iOS. BUT there are much benefits to this as well - sandboxed security. There are numerous other compromises as well but the biggest one probably is the fact you're trying to shoehorn your typical PC/macOS workflow into this iPad. You just need to rethink how you do things differently on an iPad and it can be a very compelling device. I too do a lot of my daily work using an iPad and I have the luxury of owning several computers that can be used to do grunt processing and run specific applications not available on the iPad.

It's just at the moment in iOS 9.3 - there are still limitations but those limits you just have to know how to overcome by using specific apps. Sure you have to buy some of them and adjust your workflow to accommodate the iPad but you cannot discount the fact the iPad with the right apps can do almost the same things you can do with your desktop/laptop sans heavy cpu processing and legacy desktop software support.

Whoever is currently using an IPad to do work - those people know exactly what I mean. The iPad (Pro 12.9" in my case) is such a sweet device I just ignore most people who tell me it's a toy - back in iOS pre-8.0 days sure it was) but nowadays it's become a real computing platform. those that still don't believe it are the ones who just don't have the app knowledge and can't think outside the box. If you are arguing about it being much to work on a laptop and is a much better alternative then you are probably right- but you discount the iPad too quickly before learning how to deal with the iPad's workflow.

There is that 5% of the time I'd want to use my laptop/desktop - the 95-99% of the time I'm on my iPad Pro. I just hope iOS 10 will open up more system functionality to the iPad and allow for more device integrations. Oh last but not least you can rock so hard with audio in an iPad - from creating music to playing music it is so bad ass to use an iPad to do it. Just the form factor alone is awesome when you can move your music studio around!

Tablets were never meant to replace computers. Not yet at least

 

[phillyboy82]

Your purchases pretty much mirror my product lifecycles too

I think I like trying the "new shiny" too much, or tinkering with old Mac Pro computers.

 

[spiderman0616]

Oh last but not least you can rock so hard with audio in an iPad - from creating music to playing music it is so bad ass to use an iPad to do it. Just the form factor alone is awesome when you can move your music studio around!

This is the part I'm most looking forward to with my iPad Pro. I've already been testing out new workflows with my mini. I'm going to be doing all my podcasting and music editing on iPad from now on.

 

[Channan]

If I had to choose between my MacBook Pro and iPad Air 2, I'd keep the iPad.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Tablets were never meant to replace computers. Not yet at least

If you meant, "...never meant to replace all computers" I can agree with you. But, regardless of marketing spin over the years, tablets are computers. They do all sorts of computing tasks, and can do all the computing tasks many computer users would ask of them.

I remember the days when "professional computer users" used to say that PCs were toys. "Real computers" were made by companies like Sun, DEC, Silicon Graphics... They were users of mainframes and minis (not to be confused with the Mac Mini). For some, I suspect that having a computer/computer access had been a status symbol around their workplace, and now everybody was getting one. Even though PCs were not yet up to the work those individuals were doing, that wasn't the point. Affordable computing for the masses means all sorts of people could apply computing power to their daily lives for the first time. New uses, new users.

Tablets (and smart phones, of course) are making daily computer users out of legions for whom a PC was a hard-to-use (for them) intimidating machine, or seemed totally irrelevant to their lives (which is why they're not marketed as "computers"). None the less, plenty of computer users have been using tablets professionally, for years - their (our) particular type of professional use has simply been compatible with tablets' capabilities.

User interfaces and user interface devices are not computers, they are simply the portals through which people use computers. And Apple, as one of the foremost proponents of user interface design, is constantly seeking new ways to put computers in the hands of the masses - especially those for whom existing interfaces/metaphors are hard to fathom. That's what has been happening, that's what will continue to happen.

iPad "Pro" is simply the latest step in an inexorable process. Computing equipment becomes less expensive and more powerful. More professional users than previously will find a tablet is all the computer they need. More developers will find a reason to bring their full-strength apps to the platform. It's not the beginning or end of a story, it's just milestone on the journey.

 

[sunapple]

I.. I bought another iPad (11” Pro). This time I’m really going to use it for sketching, a lot, I swear! We’ll see in 6 months.

 

[akash.nu]

Good luck with that. Also, resurrecting a 3 years old thread just to mention that is a bit weird, unless you’re having some issues with the new iPad.

 

[sunapple]

Good luck with that. Also, resurrecting a 3 years old thread just to mention that is a bit weird, unless you’re having some issues with the new iPad.

Why? It’s my own thread!

 

[mrex]

i dont understand this that everytime some has ”resurrected” the old thread, some other says it was wrong. why? do we need millions of threads about the same thing?

 

[akash.nu]

Why? It’s my own thread!

i dont understand this that everytime some has ”resurrected” the old thread, some other says it was wrong. why? do we need millions of threads about the same thing?

It’s just beating a dead horse.

 

[sunapple]

It’s just beating a dead horse.

What I posted is a relevant update to my story which can also still be considered to be relevant. Debating the use of iPad is still a thing. I find your comment more unnecessary than my update.

 

[sracer]

I.. I bought another iPad (11” Pro). This time I’m really going to use it for sketching, a lot, I swear! We’ll see in 6 months.

I hope that this will be the iPad that will serve you longer... though I have to say, your choice of iPads in the past (particularly the iPad 3 and the iPad Air 1) were the ones NOT to buy, IMO. Looks like you "zig" when you should "zag". (I hope that colloquialism translates well)

Regarding thread resurrection: I don't have a problem at all with an original poster updating a thread they started. I do this myself. I DO have a problem with people who register with MR and on the same day resurrect a post that was 5 years old suggesting something that was probably long resolved years earlier.

 

[sunapple]

I hope that this will be the iPad that will serve you longer... though I have to say, your choice of iPads in the past (particularly the iPad 3 and the iPad Air 1) were the ones NOT to buy, IMO. Looks like you "zig" when you should "zag". (I hope that colloquialism translates well)

Regarding thread resurrection: I don't have a problem at all with an original poster updating a thread they started. I do this myself. I DO have a problem with people who register with MR and on the same day resurrect a post that was 5 years old suggesting something that was probably long resolved years earlier.

Oh but I never had any problems with the hardware itself, to me those were great models because they had actual new features. The Retina display was gorgeous and the Air was so thin! The Air 2 did hold up much better over time, we have one in the living room which is still awesome. Kind of the same debate as getting the s-cycle iPhone or not.

 

[ericwn]

Good luck with that. Also, resurrecting a 3 years old thread just to mention that is a bit weird, unless you’re having some issues with the new iPad.

There’s no age restrictions to discussions in my opinion, as long as the issue is still valid - why not?

 

[DNichter]

Neato

 

[Shanghaichica]

Good luck with that. Also, resurrecting a 3 years old thread just to mention that is a bit weird, unless you’re having some issues with the new iPad.

I couldn't even remember posting on this thread

 

[PhoneI]

Hurray, someone recognizes my views! I can't really switch to Windows (and I don't really want to) but the Surface deals with most problems I have with iPad.

Good point about iPad + Keyboard ergonomics. I was planning on using mine with keyboard too but never bought a decent case (couldn't find one that wasn't over 80$ and still looked nice). You start to realize how great a true laptop is when your iPad is laying flat on a table.

Really? The Surface deals with your iPad problems? Boy, are you in for a bit of a letdown after you use the Surface Pro. Basically it is a mediocre laptop and an awful tablet.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Still going strong?

 

[Josieb1]

I have a 2015 Mac and an iPhone 6S+. I still count the iPad as my most important device. I use it more than either of the others, and for the last five years it was a Mini 4. It’s only now i’m moving to a bigger screen.