iPad Pro [Suggestion]: Don't Buy The M4 iPads

[bcortens]

Everything with the iPad is a compromise, especially with Desktop apps that have been ported to iPadOS. Even Apple's "Pro" apps have been compromised to get them to work on a mobile platform with a touch interface. At least with a desktop OS things just work as they should as it's not a daft blown up version of phone OS.

This is your perspective, I disagree, I believe iPadOS is a pretty good touch OS for productivity. iPadOS is no longer just a blown up phone os and even if it was, that phone os is just a slightly cut down version of macOS at the core.

Next: Apple has been making their UI worse on both Mac and iPad since they put Alan Dye in charge of UI. He doesn't understand UX but this isn't an isolated issue w.r.t. iPadOS. One of Alan Dye's worst moves is the removal of the toolbar labels from everything. This is annoying on Mac and especially galling on iPadOS and iPhoneOS where you don't have hover states. Modern macOS apps suffer too just not as badly from this trend in design.

However! The problems with how Apple brings their desktop apps to iPad is not usually the UI. It is usually the capabilities and the fact that they just can't seem to bring themselves to realize that iPad users want to be able to do all the same things as Mac users. This is not just an Apple problem but an industry wide problem where they think they should remove features on the iPad version.

Like you say, for some people they are happy with this and seemed thrilled to bits at paying extra for a more cumbersome user experience. For everyone else, they are not happy which is why so many people want macOS on their iPad or a proper optimised-for-iPad Operating System that takes full advantage of the amazing hardware. As it stands with iPadOS 17, it just isn't good enough & purposefully restricts what the iPad can and should be capable of.

iPadOS is good enough for plenty of people. You condescending to those of us that we "seemed thrilled to bits at paying extra for a more cumbersome user experience" is just nonsense. The experience isn't cumbersome for so many people. I have to use a Mac for work because they haven't brought full Xcode to iPad yet, but I can still get a lot done on iPadOS. I prefer iPadOS to macOS and use SwiftPlaygrounds to design new UI layouts and then use WorkingCopy with Github to bring those onto the Mac where I integrate them with other big projects. If they gave me Xcode on iPad I wouldn't even need the Mac because I prefer the UI and UX of iPadOS. It isn't cumbersome to me because I am used to it and I understand how it works intuitively now.

If you don't like iPadOS and don't think it works right you really shouldn't buy one, buy a Mac. The iPadOS is a great touch-first OS, sure there are some rough edges (as I have gone over in many places in these forums) but the changes those of us who love iPads want have nothing to do with replacing the UI with the Mac UI.

 

[Ludatyk]

Like you say, for some people they are happy with this and seemed thrilled to bits at paying extra for a more cumbersome user experience. For everyone else, they are not happy which is why so many people want macOS on their iPad or a proper optimised-for-iPad Operating System that takes full advantage of the amazing hardware. As it stands with iPadOS 17, it just isn't good enough & purposefully restricts what the iPad can and should be capable of.

That’s a bitter statement to make… and let’s be real here, not everyone will be happy with Apple’s decision. I no longer use an iPhone… because I want more out of it, do that make me unhappy? Nope… I simple moved on.

macOS is available on the Mac… the operating system is not gone and with the introduction of Apple Silicon it’s even better. And Apple sells a variety of Macs including the Mac Mini, MBA… all the way to the Mac Pro (heck, they have more variations of Macs than iPads).

But yet that’s not enough, they see the iPad… “oh hey, can Apple put macOS on this too?” And if iPadOS 17 is not good enough for you… use a Mac.

 

[ouruniverse06131986]

Don't buy it if it's not right for you but that doesn't apply to others sense of value.

EXACTLY. For example I have the 10gen but I’m buying the 13 inch iPad Air just for the bigger screen and I’m just going to use it to surf the web and YouTube. I’m not buying it with his money it’s my own earned money.

 

[sledgehammer89]

buy a Mac.

I don't like the notch, I don't like the height of MacBook Pro body, I don't like MacBook Air 60hz display, I don't like there is now a fantastic screen for iPad-only, I don't like the way I have to lift my MacBook. I can just pick up the iPad by the screen because the keyboard body is very light.

iPad is the better hardware, macOS is the better OS

 

[bcortens]

macOS is the better OS

For you

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Everything with the iPad is a compromise, especially with Desktop apps that have been ported to iPadOS. Even Apple's "Pro" apps have been compromised to get them to work on a mobile platform with a touch interface. At least with a desktop OS things just work as they should as it's not a daft blown up version of phone OS.

Like you say, for some people they are happy with this and seemed thrilled to bits at paying extra for a more cumbersome user experience. For everyone else, they are not happy which is why so many people want macOS on their iPad or a proper optimised-for-iPad Operating System that takes full advantage of the amazing hardware. As it stands with iPadOS 17, it just isn't good enough & purposefully restricts what the iPad can and should be capable of.

Ever occur to you that a Touch UI is not conducive to being a productivity machine on the level of a Mac? Because that's absolutely 100% true. Touch is perfect for casual computing. It has not, and will not, ever, replace keyboard and mouse input for real productivity. And just because iPad has optional Keyboard and Mouse support ...that is not something that is built in like on a MacBook. So nothing that requires them can be critical to the product's design.

macOS on iPad cannot happen for that reason. It would require keyboard and mouse, and iPad doesn't require keyboard and mouse. That's too half-baked for an Apple product. Not to mention that even if it did, it would be the worst Mac in the lineup. The worst Mac with the lowest specs and lowest thermal performance and worst battery life. Yay, such a win.

As far as a "proper optimised-for-iPad Operating System that takes full advantage of the amazing hardware." .. Apple would argue that's what it has how, and so would I. To simply claim it doesn't is to dismiss everything that it can already do just because it doesn't meet some hypothetical Mac-user work load.

My Mac is my Mac. My iPad is my iPad. I don't need them to be the same, and neither does anyone else. Pick the one that works for your use, and stop trying to force iPad to be a Mac ...we don't need any more of them.

 

[martint235]

The general rule of (not) getting an ipad air is looking at old iPad Pro models instead. Forego the “better chip“ for more actual tablet features. Bet used/refurbed M1 Pros will be found for nicer prices soon.

The one hindrance here is if you place value in the new Pro Pencil which is exclusive to the new Air/Pro. Otherwise, meh.

Offers over £600 for my M2 12.9 256 will be considered.

 

[martint235]

I personally can’t understand choosing an iPP over a MBA or MBP at these price points but YMMV.

I have an IPP and a MBA. They do different things.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I personally can’t understand choosing an iPP over a MBA or MBP at these price points but YMMV.

I just like the iPP more. I like the form factor, I like OLED, I like the accessories. I'm sure there's plenty of people that prefer the MacBook for the same reasons.

It's a preference thing, like choosing a keyboard. Not everyone needs or wants a numpad.

 

[MarkC426]

I personally can’t understand choosing an iPP over a MBA or MBP at these price points but YMMV.

Because I 'personally' have ZERO use for a laptop....

 

[MarkC426]

My 2017 12.9” iPad Pro with A10X/4GB DRAM is surprisingly robust for a 7 year old device. I have no illusions about it getting updated to iOS 18, but if it does, I’ll be very happy.

Yep, mine is stuck on iPad OS 16....

 

[Zdigital2015]

M4 15” MBA or 14” MBP is now my next target acquisition.

 

[SoYoung]

This probably good advice for a lot of people here. DON'T buy a new iPad Pro not understanding what it is, and then come here and endlessly complain about it isn't a Mac.

So that's why iPad sales are on a downfall since a good couple of years now, because like you said, we don't understand what an iPad Pro is...but what it is exactly then? It seems the vast majority of people don"t know what the real expensive iPads are made for.

 

[bcortens]

So that's why iPad sales are on a downfall since a good couple of years now, because like you said, we don't understand what an iPad Pro is...but what it is exactly then? It seems the vast majority of people don"t know what the real expensive iPads are made for.

This is kind of a silly way of looking at it. It’s an incredibly flexible computing device that has a very wide range of capabilities, in some ways the range is narrower than a mac but there are things it can do that macs cannot, such as the tear away from keyboard without disrupting anything, the incredible apple pencil support (If you’re in to drawing or design).

You could also just replace iPad Pro with mac and make the same argument. What is a mac for? Why do people buy them when a Windows PC is more flexible and capable and comes in far more form factors?

Could it be that people actually like iPads and like doing their work on them? It is kind of odd that Mac users can understand the argument that they prefer macOS but can’t bring themselves to understand that iPad users might like the way iPad OS works.

I like iPadOS more than I like macOS so for tasks that I can do on iPad I prefer to do them on iPad. Do I wishI could do more of my tasks on iPadOS, yes, but I don’t want macOS, I just want them to continue to expand the limits of what is possible on iPadOS.

 

[Branaghan]

 

[JapanApple]

I need a new iPad; I don't care what people say. It's my money. long experience with apple products.

 

[RichHI]

I have an old MBA, 1 intel 16" MBP, 1 Silicon 13" MBP, an iPhone Pro Max (VZW and AT&T) an iPhone Mini (UK Vodafone) a 4K Apple TV, an apple watch watch Ultra and a very old iPad Mini 4. They all do certain things better than the others. My ancient iPad still works but is too slow these days for client presentations and so I am replacing with iPad 13" Pro 1TB. I do not understand why so many posters cannot understand the principle of using the right tool for each job and fail to grasp that not everyone has the need states that they do. Apple have delivered exactly what I wanted and it is starting to bug me that so many posters on line are criticizing Apple for not making the iPad Pro a MacBook Pro, let alone that it cannot make espresso! Great job Apple (but your Apple Crush commercial still sucks)

 

[lenningj]

We'll have to wait a couple of years atleast before we see anything close to the screen tech used on the new iPad Pro in a lower price iPad form (13" OLED non-pro 🤞)

I really hope the M4 Mac Mini doesn't have any price increase this year for base model

 

[Hastings101]

But do Samsung combine ChromeOS and Windows into one device? And specifically market it so... as far as I know they sell them separately.

And DeX is not a new operating system... it's more so a different environment (similar to Stage Manager).

That's what I was saying: give iOS a desktop layout.

 

[DMG35]

LOL OP has four total posts in MR and they are all about how terrible Apple and their products are.

 

[Ludatyk]

That's what I was saying: give iOS a desktop layout.

But Stage Manager is Apple’s version of a desktop layout… seems lost on some folks and they reject it because it doesn’t fit into the traditional way a desktop looks like.

Seeing that it allows users the ability to view multiple active apps and resize them.. not sure what more people want? Ultimately, it meets the requirements.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

But Stage Manager is Apple’s version of a desktop layout… seems lost on some folks and they reject it because it doesn’t fit into the traditional way a desktop looks like.

Seeing that it allows users the ability to view multiple active apps and resize them.. not sure what more people want? Ultimately, it meets the requirements.

I’ve told you before. DYNAMICALLY resizable windows. Stage manager has sort of resizable windows. Take the music app, works mostly okay in stage manager. Now do Amazon. Nope just like one size. All apps don’t do all the same sizes.

And all apps work independently of each other in a desktop environment. I can have my now playing MiniPlayer off to the side and always there.

 

[Wags]

View attachment 2376132

For context, that's almost an exact 1.5x CPU performance boost from a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M2, which scored 2,590 single core and 10,019 multi core. Another benchmark for iPad16,6 showed up with a 53,792 metal score for the GPU. That's a more modest improvement from the M2 iPad Pro scoring 46,575.

I wouldn’t call this “nearly identical”

Apple rounded up .95 ram to call 16. Lmfao

 

[Ludatyk]

I’ve told you before. DYNAMICALLY resizable windows. Stage manager has sort of resizable windows. Take the music app, works mostly okay in stage manager. Now do Amazon. Nope just like one size. All apps don’t do all the same sizes.

Umm... tried Amazon. It's capable of doing three sizes and try using Amazon without Stage Manager... now that's one size. But you are correct in that not all apps do the same sizes. But it's entirely up to the devs to support these multitasking features (SlideOver & SplitView). And again, multiple apps actively on screen.

And all apps work independently of each other in a desktop environment. I can have my now playing MiniPlayer off to the side and always there.

All apps work independently of each other? Explain this... not sure what you mean. Oh, I recommend using this app as a MiniPlayer.. off to the side and always there.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I’ve told you before. DYNAMICALLY resizable windows. Stage manager has sort of resizable windows. Take the music app, works mostly okay in stage manager. Now do Amazon. Nope just like one size. All apps don’t do all the same sizes.

This sounds like an issue with those apps rather than one with Stage Manager. Apple could add all the features one could want - developers have to take advantage of them to make a difference.