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Obscene iPad Pro pricing
- Thread starter martyhimself
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I've seen tons of your posts. I am really happy that the iPad works for you and that you've integrated it so well into your system. But at times don't you think it's too much "finessing" to do what are pretty much basic tasks? What you describe a cheap laptop can do.
again, super impressed with how you've made it work... but curious to hear your view of utilizing the iPad when more efficient options are readily available.
Please review my other comments. The issue is far more nuanced than this. How, exactly, would having text selection tools that are not buggy, or being able to have two programs side by side, or having a File management system that was consistent system-wide be a problem on iOS?
Yeah, while Apple has tried to re-invent the file management system - which frankly is somewhat confusing on a traditional computer system until you are familiar with it - at this point what they’ve come up with for iOS is so convoluted and messy that I’m not sure how they are going to fix it without just scrapping it altogether and starting over.
I like to update because I'm a retired tech weenie, relatively well off, and tech toys is my one vice. I was interested in the 11" but when I priced out the update to an equivalent to my 256GB 10.5 LTE and accessories that I have, it came out to $1700. Not sure where the knee in the cost curve is for me, but this is certainly beyond it so no update.
Initially it was a little frustrating when it came to certain tasks, but that feeling all changed once I changed my workflows a bit. Now I rely on my NAS and a limited set of apps to handle everything that I need. It’s been consistent, without issue, for about 3 years now. Since the change, I’ve streamlined what I need to do for work and feel more efficient than I did before. Performance, zero upkeep, regular updates, lower app and service costs, portability, and the flexibility of apps make it worth it for me. Plus, I see it as a growing platform for the future and I’d rather learn it early. I could do a lot of it on a cheap laptop, but it would be a crappy experience. The iPad is really enjoyable to use, it doesn’t feel like work anymore.
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I wouldn’t say the Files app is without issue, but I wouldn’t call it convoluted and messy. I have all of my files in different folders that I created, I click on a file and it opens in the designated app. I don’t really see why it needs to be more complicated than this. I get there will be certain tasks that aren’t ideal in this set up and hopefully that changes over time, but nothing needs to be scrapped.
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The price isn’t higher than it should be. We are not entitled to this item, it’s not a utility like gas or electricity. It is completely legal and moral for Apple to charge whatever they like. If you don’t like the price, don’t buy it.
I wish Apple would create and release a true hybrid OS for the iPad. Not a phone OS with a few extra, minor additions.
That is totally true but if enough people thinking that way Apple will get in big trouble.....
It’ll never not be iOS, but I’m sure they’ll continue to differentiate it. A home screen redesign to take advantage of the space will go a long way. I’m expecting solid improvements for iOS 13.
The problem is that it only works consistently if you constrain your entire workflow to iCloud. That’s just not possible in most office or collaborative environments where there are many different services in use - Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, OneDrive. Just to name a few of the better supported ones. Once you leave iCloud nothing works consistently any longer. And even with iCloud, you are forced to leave it for another app if you need to say, zip up a few files to send via email or share with colleagues.
Because of this, each one of these products needs to have their app updated regularly to remain compatible. Every app that you might ever want to use needs to build in compatibility for every single possible cloud service. If they don’t, often the only option is to ‘Copy to’ via the Share sheet, and then the mess really begins. We are stuck in this situation with one of the main cloud providers our clients use, which has a crummy iOS app that is rarely updated. It’s basically not supported in the vast majority of programs. The fact that Apple has out-sourced File management compatibility to the app developers is the problem. There is NO consistency, no guarantee of compatibility in how any of these systems work.
I use an app called Documents to manage all my cloud services for work. Dropbox and OneDrive. You can unzip files from it, although I never need to. My team shares files for projects using OneDrive. It works well and it’s easy. I use Documents and the Files app for all my file management. Safari for analytics dashboards. Mail for email. FaceTime for team meetings. PowerPoint for presentations. Word for drafting proposals. If you find a few good apps or a few good developers, you can manage a lot and constantly be supported. Updates for functionality on these apps haven’t been necessary, but they come often and go unnoticed. There has been zero upkeep for years now and it all works. I know this doesn’t work for a lot of people, but it can be done if you eliminate what you don’t need from a workflow.
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Fair enough. I just don’t see a reason for it as they already have complete control. They can do whatever they want with the OS, but still keep the benefits of what they’ve built up for years with iOS.
It’s obscene. Regardless of how you feel about the iPad.. what can you honestly do on the Pro over the regular iPad at this point? I even purchased a pro.. and I am struggling to find what I can do on the iPad Pro over just the regular 9.7.
I’ve tried Documents. It has all the same issues as Files with some improvements and some negatives. The big negative is that most files do not just open in the external programs like they do in Files. And the lesser-supported cloud app I mentioned above is not compatible at all with Documents (because Readdle has to specifically add every cloud provider - there is no standard API for them to draw on.) Thus, my impression of Documents is that it largely adds to the confusion rather than fixing it.
I felt the same way to be honest. I pretty much knew almost right away that Files app does not work for me. I read about this Documents app and I installed it. However I honestly did not see the benefits of using it. I did not see it as that much of an improvement over the Files app.
What I said was an opinion, nothing more. Not sure what legal or moral issues have to do with an opinion that the iPad is priced high, and I have already bought two, thanks though boss.
Apple devices have always been overpriced. With Apple you pay the logo tag price. They have great marketing and trust me that is taken into account of the end price as well. This is nothing new. It has always been the case.
That being said there are few reasons for me on why I would not buy iPad Pro (even the 2017 models):
1. iOS. It's not a secret that I don't like it. It's tolerable for the price of the regular iPad 2018 model that I have, but to pay such premium price for a device that has OS that just does not work for me on a concept level is not a good decision. I will end up being pissed every day and asking myself why did I spend so much on something I dislike.
2. Lack of iOS apps to take advantage of the power of the device. I will pay a premium price for quite powerful device that I will end up using like my regular one because honestly it's not the power that holds me back (except the RAM but I have no way of choosing iPad that has the same specs as the regular one but with 4 GB RAM).
3. The price of the new iPad Pro in my country starts at 1040 $ (this is for 64 GB WIFI 11 inch model). I use the pencil so I will have to get the new one which is 175 $ in my country. I will need a keyboard which will be another 239 $. Now if I add this app it is 1454 $. This is actually roughly the price I paid for my laptop around this time last year. Let's see what my laptop has to offer in comparison the iPad - i7-7700HQ 2.8 Ghz CPU (4 cores, 8 logical processors), 8 GB RAM (though it has additional port so it supports up to 16 GB in both, in other words I can put 32 GB RAM), 1 TB HDD, 500 GB SSD, two video cards (Intel one plus additional Nvidia discreet video card). It also has HDMI and Thunderbolt ports so I can hook up external monitors. And I can swap and change my SSD whenever I want as it's not soldered to the mainboard. So it's future proof as far as RAM and SSD goes. In other words I have sufficiently powerful laptop for the same money. Yes the laptop has lower benchmarks results compared to the iPad Pro but that is not relevant to me. The laptop has the means to have the software I need to do my work and my pleasure and the power to handle it. The iPad Pro has more power that I cannot use so basically the more power means nothing to me.
And ultimately the third factor is what makes me not buy it. Not because I am not willing to pay that price. I am. I obviously did it for my laptop and I have no regrets. I love my laptop and not only I use it for work, it's my main media consumption device too. It's about the fact that in the end of the day a person makes choice and decides for themselves if it is worth it paying that price.
Some people get a lot of their iPad Pros. They either see it as their main device or they use this device in at least 80/90 % of their time. I know I am willing to pay such price for my main device so I am betting that those people are like me.
Now if you will pay that much for a laptop, phone and then on top of it iPad Pro and you plan to use each one of them at 30 % then I would say there is something wrong here. You pay a lot for premium device that you would just not use to its full potential.
In a nutshell I don't believe that this Apple device is overpriced more than the other Apple devices. They all are equal in this regard. What matters is one's usage and whether it justifies paying such a price. And yeah if you want to have all the best and new iPad Pro, iPhone and Macbook Pro it will cost you a lot. The question is do you really need to have all three of them?
That being said there are few reasons for me on why I would not buy iPad Pro (even the 2017 models):
1. iOS. It's not a secret that I don't like it. It's tolerable for the price of the regular iPad 2018 model that I have, but to pay such premium price for a device that has OS that just does not work for me on a concept level is not a good decision. I will end up being pissed every day and asking myself why did I spend so much on something I dislike.
2. Lack of iOS apps to take advantage of the power of the device. I will pay a premium price for quite powerful device that I will end up using like my regular one because honestly it's not the power that holds me back (except the RAM but I have no way of choosing iPad that has the same specs as the regular one but with 4 GB RAM).
3. The price of the new iPad Pro in my country starts at 1040 $ (this is for 64 GB WIFI 11 inch model). I use the pencil so I will have to get the new one which is 175 $ in my country. I will need a keyboard which will be another 239 $. Now if I add this app it is 1454 $. This is actually roughly the price I paid for my laptop around this time last year. Let's see what my laptop has to offer in comparison the iPad - i7-7700HQ 2.8 Ghz CPU (4 cores, 8 logical processors), 8 GB RAM (though it has additional port so it supports up to 16 GB in both, in other words I can put 32 GB RAM), 1 TB HDD, 500 GB SSD, two video cards (Intel one plus additional Nvidia discreet video card). It also has HDMI and Thunderbolt ports so I can hook up external monitors. And I can swap and change my SSD whenever I want as it's not soldered to the mainboard. So it's future proof as far as RAM and SSD goes. In other words I have sufficiently powerful laptop for the same money. Yes the laptop has lower benchmarks results compared to the iPad Pro but that is not relevant to me. The laptop has the means to have the software I need to do my work and my pleasure and the power to handle it. The iPad Pro has more power that I cannot use so basically the more power means nothing to me.
And ultimately the third factor is what makes me not buy it. Not because I am not willing to pay that price. I am. I obviously did it for my laptop and I have no regrets. I love my laptop and not only I use it for work, it's my main media consumption device too. It's about the fact that in the end of the day a person makes choice and decides for themselves if it is worth it paying that price.
Some people get a lot of their iPad Pros. They either see it as their main device or they use this device in at least 80/90 % of their time. I know I am willing to pay such price for my main device so I am betting that those people are like me.
Now if you will pay that much for a laptop, phone and then on top of it iPad Pro and you plan to use each one of them at 30 % then I would say there is something wrong here. You pay a lot for premium device that you would just not use to its full potential.
In a nutshell I don't believe that this Apple device is overpriced more than the other Apple devices. They all are equal in this regard. What matters is one's usage and whether it justifies paying such a price. And yeah if you want to have all the best and new iPad Pro, iPhone and Macbook Pro it will cost you a lot. The question is do you really need to have all three of them?
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As the iPad becomes more and more a computer, upgrading devices every year or every other year is really not feasible money wise.
The best equation is similar to a laptop: upgrade every 3-4 years. This way a $1500-1600 setup will cost you $400-500 per year. If you can deduct the expense bc you use it for work, you can certainly upgrade every 2-3 years.
When people are paying $1200-1400 for iPhones (phone+case+airpods), it's easy to see why Apple thinks it can charge this much for iPads...
+1
Also use Documents to manage my files and zip/unzip archives. Mostly iCloud and Dropbox with some Onedrive. Not an user of Google drive.
To each their own I guess. I haven't had any issues with it over the last few years and haven't found it confusing at all. The move to iPad only has been fairly straightforward for me. You do need to adjust workflows a bit, but once you do - the benefits outweigh any negatives. In the end, I am happy to be on a platform with a bright future that should only improve over time.
Honest question - how is it not confusing that you have a ‘file manager’ where you can only view many file types as a preview? If you actually want to open, say a Word file in Word, you have no way to do that from Documents. You either need to go to Excel directly, or your cloud storage app directly. In that case, what’s the point of Documents?
I don't do a ton of it, so I don't find it too confusing. If my team is working on a presentation and I need to view it, I'll just do it through Documents or Files. If I need to make edits, I'll either open it within the app or I'll drag it into iCloud drive. I'll use Documents as a download manager, to zip/unzip where needed, or to grab/view a file my team is working on. Similar tasks between the two apps so I guess I can see where confusion can come from, but after you use it a couple times - it's really not difficult. I’ll likely be able to just use the Files app come iOS 13.
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