iPad Pro New iPad Pro 11" M2 owner: first-world struggles lol

[1BadManVan]

Nice share of your thoughts and use cases.

I am a techie, and I really want to love and use this gorgeous iPad Pro; but I may well return it, feeling like overkill for my needs - especially with a brand new MacBook on deck for me soon, and an iPhone upgrade later in the year.

I still have my iPad 6, as a nice light-duty versatile device and a good secondary for Apple MFA; perhaps I'll just upgrade it to another base iPad once it is no longer supported.

I get where you're coming from. I love my 11" M1 Pro but after I got my first MacBook this past summer, I barely touch my iPad now. Usually just to use to stream shows when im in the kitchen cooking, or as webcam for video calls. But its fully paid for so I just keep it around for travelling as its a cellular model and I do love having that convenience

 

[olimerkido2]

Just picked up a like-new open box 11" 2022 iPad Pro over the weekend, at 256GB storage for the price of a 128GB - so a decent deal.

I graduated from just over four happy years with an iPad 6, and an original iPad Air for 5 years prior to that.

Frankly, I'm struggling for real use cases for my new Pro, other than being a glorified bigger screen to chill with at coffee shops and couch-surf - especially having an iPhone 11 Pro Max that feels much more agile for my daily use.

I do manage family documents in the cloud, and even give a little occasional IT support via screen share for others in my family/friends; so the bigger screen will be helpful; but still....

My goal for a new iPad was to get one with an M-chip & Apple Pencil 2 support; and that meant at least a 5th gen Air (256GB for a $650 deal) - which is already pretty close in price to the Pro - so I just splurged for the Pro and for the good advice of having ProMotion on a bigger screen.

My plans are to still get an upcoming M3-based MacBook Air to replace my ragged ol' 2011 MacBook Pro. I have over a terabyte of data that I've been storing on a computer from over the years; so I've been hesitating to get a keyboard case for my new iPad Pro - because then I'd want it to be my "real" computer - and I'd just try to fool myself into thinking that I could do without a real laptop.

Don't get me wrong - I have always enjoyed having an iPad, and I'm excited about the perceived longevity of my first M-based iPad; but I just didn't quite expect myself to have such mixed-emotions about an $800 device - and Apple frustrates me for not giving Pencil 2 support to its more reasonably-priced devices, especially the $449 10th Gen iPad.

Ahh well.

I use my iPad Pro as my primary laptop, editing in Photoshop, Illustrator, DaVinci Resolve, etc. works great

 

[iAFC]

Looks like you didn't read any reviews before buying it. It may cost $800, but it still runs iPadOS.

 

[StageMomma]

Nice share of your thoughts and use cases.

I am a techie, and I really want to love and use this gorgeous iPad Pro; but I may well return it, feeling like overkill for my needs - especially with a brand new MacBook on deck for me soon, and an iPhone upgrade later in the year.

I still have my iPad 6, as a nice light-duty versatile device and a good secondary for Apple MFA; perhaps I'll just upgrade it to another base iPad once it is no longer supported.

I sold my pro and bought a 9th gen iPad because the pro was overkill for me. I just didn’t use it much and found myself feeling bad for spending so much on a device that didn’t get much use. The 9th gen was on sale and I use it occasionally now but for the price, it’s a casual device that I’m glad I have for when I need it. Since you’re getting a MacBook soon, the iPad will likely collect dust in a corner after you Mac makes an appearance. Good luck!

 

[olimerkido2]

Looks like you didn't read any reviews before buying it. It may cost $800, but it still runs iPadOS.

I have a 2018 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard and a 16 inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, the MBP is mostly for gaming like RE village at 4K 60fps all max settings with upscaling turned off and my iPad Pro makes much easier to use Photoshop, Illustrator and I draw with Adobe Fresco (slightly better than pro create with better animation tool) and I prefer to edit with full DaVinci Resolve on my iPad Pro (used keyboard shortcut to unlock other 5 tabs hidden by default) over my MacBook Pro for any of those things. If I had to choose one or the other I’d just use iPad Pro, but I like having a MacBook Pro mostly for gaming.

 

[arkitect]

My parents are both now in their mid 80s.

They both have an iPhone and an iPad. Macs and MacBooks ditched.

Paired my Dad's with a nice pair of bluetooth headphones as he loves his music, and my Mom with a keyboard so she can type and gossip and overshare with her friends. 😄
They are happy as anything.

It does everything they need to do — and I've got iCloud set up for them with me as admin so everything syncs nicely and I can keep an eye on things.

Myself?
MacBook, Mac Mini, iPhone and that's it!

I have tried liking and finding a use for the iPad but it just never clicks for me. Every few years I try and then iPadOS lets me down.

 

[1BadManVan]

My parents are both now in their mid 80s.

They both have an iPhone and an iPad. Macs and MacBooks ditched.

Paired my Dad's with a nice pair of bluetooth headphones as he loves his music, and my Mom with a keyboard so she can type and gossip and overshare with her friends. 😄
They are happy as anything.

It does everything they need to do — and I've got iCloud set up for them with me as admin so everything syncs nicely and I can keep an eye on things.

Myself?
MacBook, Mac Mini, iPhone and that's it!

I have tried liking and finding a use for the iPad but it just never clicks for me. Every few years I try and then iPadOS lets me down.

That’s my mom, hasn’t used a computer in years. Got her an iPad years ago and last year got her the 9th Gen for an upgrade. She just has her iPhone and iPad, and perfectly content with that combo.

 

[phillytim]

My aging mom runs on an iPhone & iPad combo, also!

Dad used Quicken on the computer for the bills, and Mom hated both the computer and Quicken; after he passed away, I made it so she could manage the house with her iPad - and its working perfect for her.

One of my use-cases for this iPad Pro is to screenshare on FaceTime with her, so I could help her with any issues that come up on her iPad or help her navigate websites or such - but that should still be able to happen if I had a newer MacBook Air, right?

 

[BigMcGuire]

My aging mom runs on an iPhone & iPad combo, also!

Dad used Quicken on the computer for the bills, and Mom hated both the computer and Quicken; after he passed away, I made it so she could manage the house with her iPad - and its working perfect for her.

One of my use-cases for this iPad Pro is to screenshare on FaceTime with her, so I could help her with any issues that come up on her iPad or help her navigate websites or such - but that should still be able to happen if I had a newer MacBook Air, right?

Yep. I prefer to FaceTime on my Mac because I don’t have to hold something up and I can do other things while talking. Mac also takes less of a battery hit FaceTiming.

 

[4743913]

Frankly, I'm struggling for real use cases for my new Pro, other than being a glorified bigger screen to chill with at coffee shops and couch-surf - especially having an iPhone 11 Pro Max that feels much more agile for my daily use.

the one truth is that no matter what Apple calls it, "pro" "ultra" "max", at the end of the day an iPad is still just an iPad. It runs phone apps on a bigger screen. It is not a computer despite all the websters gymnastics attempted by the iPad first crew. I would never recommend that a friend purchase an M2 iPad over an M2 Air.

 

[outlawarth]

the one truth is that no matter what Apple calls it, "pro" "ultra" "max", at the end of the day an iPad is still just an iPad. It runs phone apps on a bigger screen. It is not a computer despite all the websters gymnastics attempted by the iPad first crew.

And it doesn’t need to be anything else but an iPad. It does everything I need to in a much more accessible, agile and fun way that any so called “computer” would.

 

[Baja63]

I found that the stage of life one is in makes a big difference in the devices that meet one’s needs. I was a software engineer and had a Mac desktop, MBP, and iPad. The iPad got used rarely. I was either working from home on my desktop or working from the office or traveling for work with my MBP. I retired and find my iPad Pro is my most used device. It sits in my living room where I’m on it all the time as a consumption device. I use my Mac Studio second most for doing any real work. I rarely use my laptop anymore even for travel. I take my M1 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard and find it a great travel device for communication, consumption, and doing basic photo or video work while traveling.

 

[Ctrlos]

You can buy a perfectly good Pencil for the iPad 10 from Amazon for $20 that charges over USB-C or a Magsafe one for $30. I have a USB-C one I have used across an iPad 8, 9 and Pro models and its just as good as the original which I took back.

 

[4743913]

And it doesn’t need to be anything else but an iPad. It does everything I need to in a much more accessible, agile and fun way that any so called “computer” would.

correct. as long as people understand its limitations. I love my iPad for reading comics, mags, books, watching a show, etc. Would I ever do anything "important" on it? nope

 

[4743913]

You can buy a perfectly good Pencil for the iPad 10 from Amazon for $20 that charges over USB-C or a Magsafe one for $30. I have a USB-C one I have used across an iPad 8, 9 and Pro models and its just as good as the original which I took back.

wow thanks for this. I did not know there were decent alternatives.

 

[outlawarth]

correct. as long as people understand its limitations. I love my iPad for reading comics, mags, books, watching a show, etc. Would I ever do anything "important" on it? nope

And who defines what is important? I run a business off of mine so there’s that.

 

[swandy]

I just found this discussion and find it fascinating. I have loved my various iPads - but primarily for reading, browsing, etc. I have recently gotten more involved in iPhone Photography and most people do their processing on their iPhones. I have the iPhone 14 (soon to be upgraded when the iPhone 15 PRO is released) but for me the screen is just too small for photo post processing - unless you just love to hit AUTO in the Photos app LOL. So I decided to trade in my iPad mini 6 and get the 11.9" iPad pro. Yes the screen is beautiful, the processor is fast and it had more storage than I set up my iPad mini with. But to me it is noticeably heavier and I feel the size of the iPad mini is perfect for the iBooks and Kindle apps. (And to be perfectly honest I do most of my post processing of photos on my iMac and even though there are some very interesting apps that have been released for iOS, I don't see myself moving from my iMac for the majority of my processing.) So back went the iPad Pro (and the lovely blue folio) and I am back on the iPad mini 6.

 

[Hyloba]

-double, can’t delete

 

[Hyloba]

I have similar issues. I want to love the ipad, really. Ever since it first came out I think I have tried it nearly every two generations, always hoping it could replace my laptop or make my life better. In my head it always does. It feels so much fun to interact with a big beautiful screen. But it is extremely inefficient, mostly due to the lacking software.
The best use it has for me is reading books and annotating pdfs. But I can’t justify spending $1000 on an ereader, and a netflix device in bed. It would also be useful for traveling but again, I can’t justify spending that much for an occasional use case. I know I can get the cheaper ipad, but I don’t want to get a worse screen (size) and refresh rate, and speakers and everything really.

I can justify spending $1000 on a phone I use every day and greatly benefits my life. After 4 years that is an investment of $20 a month, which is worth it. Same with a macbook of $2000 if I use it for 8 years.

But with ipad I don’t use it every day, so I don’t like spending $20 a month for something that is less useful than my phone, which costs as much.

If the ipad pro was $300 I would get it, but it would still feel bad not using it to its potential.

 

[WoodTableFromIkea]

Just picked up a like-new open box 11" 2022 iPad Pro over the weekend, at 256GB storage for the price of a 128GB - so a decent deal.

I graduated from just over four happy years with an iPad 6, and an original iPad Air for 5 years prior to that.

Frankly, I'm struggling for real use cases for my new Pro, other than being a glorified bigger screen to chill with at coffee shops and couch-surf - especially having an iPhone 11 Pro Max that feels much more agile for my daily use.

I do manage family documents in the cloud, and even give a little occasional IT support via screen share for others in my family/friends; so the bigger screen will be helpful; but still....

My goal for a new iPad was to get one with an M-chip & Apple Pencil 2 support; and that meant at least a 5th gen Air (256GB for a $650 deal) - which is already pretty close in price to the Pro - so I just splurged for the Pro and for the good advice of having ProMotion on a bigger screen.

My plans are to still get an upcoming M3-based MacBook Air to replace my ragged ol' 2011 MacBook Pro. I have over a terabyte of data that I've been storing on a computer from over the years; so I've been hesitating to get a keyboard case for my new iPad Pro - because then I'd want it to be my "real" computer - and I'd just try to fool myself into thinking that I could do without a real laptop.

Don't get me wrong - I have always enjoyed having an iPad, and I'm excited about the perceived longevity of my first M-based iPad; but I just didn't quite expect myself to have such mixed-emotions about an $800 device - and Apple frustrates me for not giving Pencil 2 support to its more reasonably-priced devices, especially the $449 10th Gen iPad.

Ahh well.

Welcome to the club. I've upgraded my 6th gen iPad 9.7" for an M1 iPad Pro and this is just too overkill for my tasks 😅.

I'm also in the market for a laptop and I've been eyeing an M2 Air (16/512 or 24/1TB, still undecided).

 

[MisterSavage]

Personally I love BOTH my 2018 IPP and M1 MBP. For me the iPad is more for fun: games, YouTube, social media. The MBP is for getting work done.

 

[JamesMay82]

What’s weird for me about the iPad is how I’m not convinced by it but i weird;y keep buying accessories for it in the hopes it will become better! I just bought the pencil which was fun for a day and now it’s a source of arguments with my wife “ I told you, you wouldn’t use it” 😏

 

[darngooddesign]

My plans are to still get an upcoming M3-based MacBook Air to replace my ragged ol' 2011 MacBook Pro. I have over a terabyte of data that I've been storing on a computer from over the years; so I've been hesitating to get a keyboard case for my new iPad Pro - because then I'd want it to be my "real" computer - and I'd just try to fool myself into thinking that I could do without a real laptop.

The iPad with keyboard doesn't have to replace your computer to be useful, its just has to let you do more than without the keyboard.

Don't get me wrong - I have always enjoyed having an iPad, and I'm excited about the perceived longevity of my first M-based iPad; but I just didn't quite expect myself to have such mixed-emotions about an $800 device - and Apple frustrates me for not giving Pencil 2 support to its more reasonably-priced devices, especially the $449 10th Gen iPad.

Apple couldn't support the Pencil-2 on the iPad-10, because the magnet/charger is right where the landscape camera is. I guarantee that the iPad Pros wont get a landscape camera until the Pencil 3 is released.

Of course you could have bought a refurbished A14 (last one before the M1) iPad Air for $469, and that supports the Pencil 2.

 

[muzzy996]

Invariably many of these discussions about how useful an iPad is compared to a computer end up being clouded by differences in opinions based upon personal experience and needs. Often times people will take offense to comments made by the other camp despite the fact that their own preferred workflows may not be satisfactory to others. Neither side is wrong, sometimes things just are what they are.

I feel you OP. I have lost count of how many times I've put a newer Ipad Pro into a virtual cart as an upgrade to my 2017 iPP 12.9 only to not go through with the purchase. At the end of the day for me the answer is always the same - I'll end up with a shiny new iPP that is snappier but other than that my worfklows will remain largely unchanged and I won't be able to truly justify the expense.

 

[4743913]

And who defines what is important? I run a business off of mine so there’s that.

notice I said "Would I" not "Would you"