iPad Pro The 12.9 IPad Pro was returned after 40 days of testing

[Scott6666]

Returned my 12.9 IPP yesterday. Here are my thoughts after owning for about 40 days.

* It was on the borderline of being too big but never really crossed over into that space. Not too heavy and not too large, all compared to a 10.5" IPP. Noticeable and sometimes I thought it was but ultimately no. Overall I liked the larger size.

* It did not bend. It did not even feel fragile. Compared to the 10.5 it was noticeably thicker and in some ways felt like a tank. It did seem large enough that if you held it only by one end and let it lay cantilever like I felt like it could bend over time. But after a month of general usage was still completely flat.

* I did like the FaceID much better than the Touch ID. Worked well even in low light.

* The on screen keyboard in landscape row had an extra row of number keys. This was the main thing I miss about it.

So why return it? Bottom line is that it didn't do anything to justify a $1700 price tag (IPP plus keyboard case). And this was a work paid purchase so it's not like it was costing me personally money. I felt guilty charging off the company a device that wasn't really a work product.

* Couldn't find apps that generally worked differently because of the large screen. Couldn't find any.

* Tried to come up use cases where I did split screen. I would use a browser and email. Or twitter. Or messages. All worked well but it didn't ever feel like I needed to do this. I did like splitting a browser into one on each side but it was rarely necessary. It was nice reading a tech book on Kindle and browsing terms and technologies simultaneously. But none of this made it worth the price.

* Didn't display much more on a page than the 10.5. A little bit but typically only an extra half paragraph or so. Type wasn't considerably bigger for my poor aged eyes.

So until something special comes along there was no reason to spend this amount in favor of my 10.5" iPad Pro. If it cost the $900 or so that I have typically paid for an iPad maybe I would have kept it. if it had any new features at all I probably would have kept it. If there was any holiday discount I might have kept it. But Apple can't double the price and try to sell something that has so little magic to it.

You could say "but the apps are coming". Maybe so but if they come I can purchase again. No reason to keep it for now.

As an aside, I also picked up a Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with keypad. Now that I liked! Was a real work computer. Can even load Ubuntu box on it and do some real programming. i5. No fans. Kickstand is good. Got $300 off to $999 over Christmas. I bought and kept 2 of those (one for me and one for a colleague).

I've had every iPad except the Air 1 and the 12" iPad Pros. I should have been an easy mark.

 

[Ralfi]

Good. Asking price, across the board, is getting silly. Well done for sending that message.

 

[glhiii]

The 2017 ipp 12.9 is on sale in a lot of places and is as good as the new machine. Actually weighs less with the smart kbd than the 2018 with its smt kbd. I got one, saved a lot and am very happy. Also did not have to buy a new pencil.

 

[mightyjabba]

The new iPad is actually slightly thinner than the 10.5 model, but maybe you’re talking about with the keyboard case? I’m not sure about how that compares.

I think it’s interesting that you basically can’t say anything bad about the new iPad except that it’s too expensive, which is a legitimate complaint. But it seems like you could have spent less than $1700 on it, especially since you didn’t mention any use cases that would require so much storage.

 

[dsampley]

I do agree that the price increases seem a bit much for this new iPad. I did end up buying one but it was not an automatic decision like in the past. If the iPad had some additional capabilities such as better file management, then I think it would be easier to justify the iPad as a laptop replacement.

 

[DNichter]

Yea I would never pay that much, and my Pro is my main work computer. Seems like a fair review of it, just not for you and your profession.

 

[Scott6666]

The new iPad is actually slightly thinner than the 10.5 model, but maybe you’re talking about with the keyboard case? I’m not sure about how that compares.

I think it’s interesting that you basically can’t say anything bad about the new iPad except that it’s too expensive, which is a legitimate complaint. But it seems like you could have spent less than $1700 on it, especially since you didn’t mention any use cases that would require so much storage.

I have 512 in my 10.5 IPP. Somehow I have 500Gb of photos and videos now. Never thought to go backwards. And I always get cellular.

I had the Apple non keyboard case on it all the time. Really nice case. I have my 10.5 in a plastic iPhone like case. The 12.9 sure felt thicker than my 10. Surprised to hear you say it’s thinner.

I don’t have anything bad to say about it except that it’s really no better than the 10.5 I have now. I could do a yearly update cycle when it was $800-1000 but not at $1700.

I do like iPads but I was hoping a “pro” might be more than a consumption device. its nowhere close to a laptop replacement.

BTW after AppleCare and a keyboard case and a plain case and a pencil it was really like $2254 with tax. So I was cutting the comparison some slack at $1700.

 

[RevTEG]

Seems like the main complaints has to do with price and software not the actual iPad Pro. As I’m sure you’re aware, Apple is very slow with huge software changes. I personally like Apple’s sandbox in most areas. My experience with Microsoft surface haven’t been bad but I didn’t like it as a tablet. I prefer the iPad in that regard. I just personally love Apple’s ecosystem, as in how my phone, tablet and laptop all stay in sync. So the surface, although good, just wasn’t the best for me. Price wise, Apple really has gone overboard in my opinion.

 

[Scott6666]

Seems like the main complaints has to do with price and software not the actual iPad Pro. As I’m sure you’re aware, Apple is very slow with huge software changes. I personally like Apple’s sandbox in most areas. My experience with Microsoft surface haven’t been bad but I didn’t like it as a tablet. I prefer the iPad in that regard. I just personally love Apple’s ecosystem, as in how my phone, tablet and laptop all stay in sync. So the surface, although good, just wasn’t the best for me. Price wise, Apple really has gone overboard in my opinion.

I totally agree. The Surface Pro is actually a pretty bad consumption tablet. Doesn’t even have Amazon Prime Video app nor Xfinity Stream app. Let’s face it at this point the Surface is a laptop in a thin case. If that’s a tablet well ok but it’s not a very good one.

I suppose if Apple had not been trying to convince me that I wanted a pro tablet I wouldn’t have considered a surface pro.

 

[weeesss]

For myself as others here, the iPad is the better tablet and the SP6 is the better computer. I got the $799 Costco deal for my SP6 and just got a iPP 11" 64gb for $699, so I have all my needs covered and all for the price of a Macbook Pro.

 

[mightyjabba]

I have 512 in my 10.5 IPP. Somehow I have 500Gb of photos and videos now. Never thought to go backwards. And I always get cellular.

That seems like a lot to have for just photos and videos, but maybe we use our machines differently. My Mac is my base station where I have all of the originals of my photos and videos, so I don’t feel the need to have all of that on my iPad all the time. And with iCloud Photo Library, Apple Music and streamable iTunes Store movies, I pretty much stream all of my entertainment other than games, unless I know I will be needing to go on an airplane or something. I still got the 256gb model just to have some breathing room.

One thing I definitely agree about is the idea that these machines aren’t really worth MacBook Pro-tier prices. My new iPad Pro is an amazing piece of technology, but in the end it is largely unnecessary. I still enjoy it and have no intention of returning it, but if I had to choose between it and literally any Mac, the Mac would always win.

 

[rowspaxe]

Returned my 12.9 IPP yesterday. Here are my thoughts after owning for about 40 days.

wow, what a hero

 

[sosumi99]

As an aside, I also picked up a Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with keypad. Now that I liked! Was a real work computer. Can even load Ubuntu box on it and do some real programming. i5. No fans. Kickstand is good. Got $300 off to $999 over Christmas. I bought and kept 2 of those (one for me and one for a colleague).

I've had every iPad except the Air 1 and the 12" iPad Pros. I should have been an easy mark.

I'm in a similar situation. I really wish I liked the iPad Pros more than I do. It just cannot accomplish most of my workflows effectively than a Macbook.

If it weren't for the Apple Pencil, I don't think I would keep the iPad Pro I have. Marking up PDFs is the one thing I do for work that the iPad does better than anything else. I suppose I could have gotten the 2018 iPad for that and saved myself a little money, but I got the Pro on a good discount so I don't regret it.

I really hope Apple does something drastic to change the situation with iOS 13. The problem isn't with the hardware, but the software. In some ways I think they've painted themselves into a corner. All the features about iOS that make it such a good phone OS (especially the sandboxing and security-related features) are limiting Apple's ability to really unlock the potential of an iPad.

 

[sparksd]

I totally agree. The Surface Pro is actually a pretty bad consumption tablet. Doesn’t even have Amazon Prime Video app nor Xfinity Stream app. Let’s face it at this point the Surface is a laptop in a thin case. If that’s a tablet well ok but it’s not a very good one.

I suppose if Apple had not been trying to convince me that I wanted a pro tablet I wouldn’t have considered a surface pro.

I'm curious - why is absence of apps for Amazon Prime Video and Xfinity Stream an issue? Both have browser interfaces that work well. Xfinity Stream on the iPad is an irritation to me as it does not allow streaming to a TV over HDMI because it's a mobile device (it does stream over HDMI from the browser from my laptop ). And you can't purchase through the Amazon Prime Video app on the iPad - you have to use the browser interface.

 

[Scott6666]

That seems like a lot to have for just photos and videos, but maybe we use our machines differently. My Mac is my base station where I have all of the originals of my photos

Same here using the Mac as the base station although as the size got so large now iCloud really is the base station. I have no idea why it’s so large, this is just what iCloud says. Would be nice to have some better tools to reduce it. All I did was have an iPhone and **** pics / vids of the family. I think the resolution of the latest phones makes every picture pretty large.
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I'm curious - why is absence of apps for Amazon Prime Video and Xfinity Stream an issue? Both have browser interfaces that work well. Xfinity Stream on the iPad is an irritation to me as it does not allow streaming to a TV over HDMI because it's a mobile device (it does stream over HDMI from the browser from my laptop ). And you can't purchase through the Amazon Prime Video app on the iPad - you have to use the browser interface.

That’s good to know. My first instinct was to do what I do on the iPad, look for an app in the store. Still being forced to use browsers does kind of show how not a tablet the device is. Had the Windows Phone gained any traction I bet the app situation would be much different. Microsoft only having a portion of the ecosystem does affect their products quite a bit.

 

[PennyThought]

I totally agree. The Surface Pro is actually a pretty bad consumption tablet. Doesn’t even have Amazon Prime Video app nor Xfinity Stream app. Let’s face it at this point the Surface is a laptop in a thin case. If that’s a tablet well ok but it’s not a very good one.

I suppose if Apple had not been trying to convince me that I wanted a pro tablet I wouldn’t have considered a surface pro.

What exactly failed for you in the SP6 as a tablet.

So far, I've loaded Plex for movies and Cover for books and comics - both cover my needs so far. So as a tablet so far, the SP6 is fine.

If the Surface Go gets a nice update in the next 12-18 months and people try that, it may move more interest away from the iPad.

 

[jamesrick80]

I totally agree. The Surface Pro is actually a pretty bad consumption tablet. Doesn’t even have Amazon Prime Video app nor Xfinity Stream app. Let’s face it at this point the Surface is a laptop in a thin case. If that’s a tablet well ok but it’s not a very good one.

I suppose if Apple had not been trying to convince me that I wanted a pro tablet I wouldn’t have considered a surface pro.

The surface pro is a great media consumption device (just like my Galaxy book 12 minus the super amoled display.... as well as a actual laptop replAcement like the Galaxy book 12) because you only need to use Netflix, hulu, prime video etc within the chrome or edge browser...no need for a separate app (you can even make a quick link pseudo app tile if you need icons to think of it as a actual dedicated app because you are not in a walled garden) although Hulu and Netflix do have separate apps in the Microsoft store.

You typically get better resolution and video quality when using the browser versions of these services on most windows devices. Therefore separate apps are not required. Also most video streaming apps on iOS are limited to 1080p unlike on some windows devices, chrome os devices, and android tablets. Plus, it has a file manager for even better storage support for offline media consumption and can play any video codec via VLC and other alternative apps.

 

[Arran]

...I did like splitting a browser into one on each side...

Am I the only one who didn’t know you can drag a safari tab to the side to split-screen it? I’ve only ever done split screen with safari + chrome. (I have an old original 12.9)

This is so much easier. Thanks!