iPad Pro The iPad PRO is finally PRO.

[ric22]

Considering that the average iPad, bought directly from Apple or at retail, sells for about 30%-60% less (or even lower) than your average Mac, I'd have to assume you are right on this.

Total units of iPads sold has to be way higher even if total revenue is a good bit less than Mac.

Sales of services and apps that fall under Apple's "Services" revenue category must also see way more profits coming from iPad owners and much less from those who only own a Mac, being that Mac owners can run anything they want on their computers whereas iPad owners always have to pay Apple, and can only use what's in Apple's App Store.

But who is using the devices? Isn't the average iPad handed to a child these days? A Mac user is probably an adult entrenched in all the trappings of Apple and all the other devices.

 

[Rogifan]

Neglect iPadOS? So... you telling me Apple hasn't made any improvements to it?

And regarding Jason Snell, he predominately uses a Mac... so, of course he would come to conclusion that the iPad Pro shouldn't exist (due to cost factor). I believe he uses the iPad Air.

I think people get caught up in iPadOS and the Pro moniker... when it's always been about the hardware when it comes to iPad Pro, Apple decided to cater for users who want the best-in-class iPad. It's no different than users wanting the latest iPhone Pro Max or the Apple Watch Ultra.

But what’s the point of the best in class hardware if it uses the exact same software as a $329 iPad? How much software is exclusive to iPad Pro that will take advantage of that powerful hardware?

I am curious about those who want iPad to run macOS when docked to a keyboard…would the touchscreen be disabled? Or are they expecting Apple to update macOS to support touch? Would it only support touch on an iPad? That doesn’t really make sense.

 

[Ludatyk]

But what’s the point of the best in class hardware if it uses the exact same software as a $329 iPad? How much software is exclusive to iPad Pro that will take advantage of that powerful hardware?

Well, what's the software difference between a Mac Mini and the Mac Pro? Better yet... MBA and MBP?

But to answer your question... there are few things a user can do on an iPad Pro than a $329 iPad. For instance... software unlocks external display support, and some apps require the iPad Pro to use them (to take advantage of that powerful hardware). Heck, some apps are optimized to take advantage of the hardware (Procreate allows for more layers).

And there's no doubt about it... iPad Pro users get a better software experience overall.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Well, what's the software difference between a Mac Mini and the Mac Pro? Better yet... MBA and MBP?

But to answer your question... there are few things a user can do on an iPad Pro than a $329 iPad. For instance... software unlocks external display support, and some apps require the iPad Pro to use them (to take advantage of that powerful hardware). Heck, some apps are optimized to take advantage of the hardware (Procreate allows for more layers).

And there's no doubt about it... iPad Pro users get a better software experience overall.

I'll argue that there's a greater software gap within the iPad line than the MacBook line. MacOS is exactly the same on all MacBooks, iPadOS is not.

 

[GuruZac]

This thing will flop hard unless they pull a 180 degrees with the OS for it , this thing has so much horsepower but no utility.

100% agree. I really want to upgrade my M1 12.9 as I’ve never loved the miniLED blooming issues, but have zero complaints of performance and with iPadOS the real bottleneck, I simply can’t justify the $750 difference in my trade-in and the new 13” iPad Pro.

 

[sledgehammer89]

You guys who want iPad to be (more) like MacBook, why don’t you just use MacBook? I mean seriously You guys want it to have keyboard, trackpad and MacOS… isn’t that like… MacBook Air? Perhaps what you really want is MacBook with touchscreen and pencil support. Like form factor of a MacBook Air but like 2in1? Those things seem to be terrible at least on Windows side of things. Maybe PC makers just don’t know how to do it properly but Apple would make good 2in1?

We want to have iPadOS in tablet mode and macOS with keyboard/trackpad connected and all at not all the limitations of iPad. There is even no real Chrome and Firefox, no Terminal App, no Xcode, no custom keyboard shortcuts, and 10000s other little things... how do you look at the mail header in iPads Mail app, if you want to check something? Impossible. As long as iPad runs toyOS, it's just a better Netflix device.

 

[osplo]

Are these OLED screens really, 100% burn-in-proof?

I have two OLED TVs and retentions and burn-in, even being lower than plasma, are still things to prevent.

That would be a show stopper for me.

 

[Apple_Robert]

While the new iPad update is very nice, the biggest thing handicapping such power is the lack of file management aa is available on the Mac. If Apple ever provides such basic and needed ability on the iPad, the awesome new hardware will truly be a game changer for all users, and not just professional musicians, artists and architects etc.

 

[Ludatyk]

I'll argue that there's a greater software gap within the iPad line than the MacBook line. MacOS is exactly the same on all MacBooks, iPadOS is not.

No argument with you there and that's the point I was making.

And it's understandable, the M4 iPad Pro is not for everyone... admittedly it's expensive. That's the point of having a selection of products to choose from. So, folks can decide what works for them. And there's no need for people to upgrade if they are perfectly okay with what they have currently. I don't believe Apple is forcing them to.

I'm just glad after a year of no iPad updates... we get the newest M-Series in the iPad first, not the Mac. Along with arguably the best display Apple has on the market (there's still the Pro XDR Display). But critics are still obsessed with iPadOS being this under-utilized OS, that they miss out on the rest.

 

[bcortens]

I’m going to just quote Jason Snell: “Imagine how much more flexible it would be if it could run macOS, virtualized, when connected to an external keyboard and trackpad. Apple’s first convertible device would be able to becomes a Mac when it needed to—and exit that mode when it doesn’t. Travelers could invest in the iPad Pro and all its accessories—at a price comparable to a MacBook Air, by the way—and know that they’re getting the best of Apple’s tablet experience and its traditional computer experience.”

I’m going to respond as I have elsewhere:

The problem with that response is that it ignores the fact that putting macOS in virtualization wouldn’t actually let you do what he describes here.
If you were running macOS on the iPad you wouldn’t be able to just rip it away and have a great tablet experience. It isn’t as simple as a switch. While data sync will keep your data synchronized across the two systems it doesn’t keep App state synced and even most of Apple’s pro Apps dont use continuity to sync state. Never mind how few other apps do.

The idea that macOS should be killed (implied by the run it when docked part of the comment) is also bad, the only way that macOS virtualized would be any good is if it was allowed to run in both docked and tablet mode. Otherwise it would be too jarring to have your OS launch and die when plugging unplugging and put too many hard edges in place.

Next: What does having macOS virtualized look like?
Now you’re sharing 8GB of memory with two OSs and two sets of Apps. Hungry macOS apps can gobble up a bunch of that memory and leave iPadOS sluggish, or it can be split in two and now each OS has half the memory.

iPadOS is great because of its flexibility, because Apple put the effort in to making sure it worked properly with a pointer and keyboard as well as with touch. macOS has no such affordances.

Let’s also not forget that this “solution” isn’t a solution.

Those of us who actually like iPad OS (and sales suggest there are more of us than there are mac users) don’twant them to use putting macOS on iPads as a get out of jail free card.

I want them to fix the remaining issues on iPadOS.

Whatever entitlements are required to get full Xcode on iPad they should figure out and support.
Fix their buggy iCloud sync system and let me persist my entire iCloud Drive on device if I want to (this helps everyone)
Fix stage manager’s windowing issues and make it a little more intuitive
Fix multi-app audio
Fix long running background tasks (indefinitely Long tasks should be allowed)

These are things they need to fix no matter what (well maybe not the Xcode one) these issues affect many iPad owners who actually like the OS and would make the OS better.

Putting macOS on iPad doesn’t fix the issue of apps being quit while trying to export in the background, it doesn’t Let us control audio output on an app by app basis, it doesn’t solve iCloud sync bugginess, it does’t keep the file hierarchy of iCloud Drive synced on device.

Virtualizing macOS On iPadOS helps a tiny minority of people, its a distraction, an edge case within an edge case.

 

[bcortens]

While the new iPad update is very nice, the biggest thing handicapping such power is the lack of file management aa is available on the Mac. If Apple ever provides such basic and needed ability on the iPad, the awesome new hardware will truly be a game changer for all users, and not just professional musicians, artists and architects etc.

What do you mean by file management?

I can select multiple files and move them around, I can browse the file hierarchy for my apps, I can create and manage folders on device and in iCloud and can browse and open files form the files app.

I think iCloud sync is broken, and the fact that the OS doesn’t keep the whole cloud folder and file hierarchy metadata cached is really dumb but that isn’t the same as not having file management.

 

[macfacts]

While the new iPad update is very nice, the biggest thing handicapping such power is the lack of file management aa is available on the Mac. If Apple ever provides such basic and needed ability on the iPad, the awesome new hardware will truly be a game changer for all users, and not just professional musicians, artists and architects etc.

File management is dirty, for the lower classes. Apple wants apps to take care of file management, take a look at iTunes and music. Apple doesn't want you to drag and drop, apple wants you to use an app.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

If they don’t add a macOS option next month then all hope is lost

I guess all hope is lost then, because they absolutely will not do this. And here is why:

- macOS requires keyboard and mouse input. iPad does not. Optional is not the same thing. There is no elegant way to position this as a product with optional this and optional that. What happens when you disconnect the iPad from the Magic Trackpad while running in macOS? The whole thing just freezes? A special touch mode appears that lets you reboot as your only option? Gross UX. And no, touch would not be enabled in macOS mode.

- iPad Pro would be the worst Mac in the current Mac lineup. It would be the lowest spec'd machine, with the worst thermal performance, and worst battery life. You forget just how much iOS and iPadOS are optimized from the ground up to work on these small batteries and still only get half a day's battery life.

If you need macOS, then you need a Mac. Period. There are several Mac's all designed from the ground up to run macOS. iPad is designed from the ground up to run iPadOS. This oversimplification of "SAME CHIP SAME CHIP" does not mean iPad is ideal hardware to run macOS. You think for a second that Apple is going to be OK with a configuration like that which is not ideal? Absolutely not.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Ok. I'll entertain this notion. I'll say MacOS has no utility. All that horsepower in the M3 Max/M2 Ultra with nothing to show for it.

1. How many pro apps are actually optimized for 64GB+ RAM Apple Silicon
2. Mid file sistem
3. Insane GPU with less than 5 games to show off
4. Insane GPU w/RT, but game devs still prefer UE5 on Windows
5. 16-core Neural Engine w/ 18 TOPs

I can go all day.

Real PROs work with Windows

You have some good points, except that real Pros actually do use Macs, they just use a fraction of the device's potential.
Oh and the GPU is for a shtload more than just games.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I'm just glad after a year of no iPad updates... we get the newest M-Series in the iPad first, not the Mac. Along with arguably the best display Apple has on the market (there's still the Pro XDR Display).

The whole announcement could've just been "it's OLED now!" and Tim would have my money. I'm so happy we're getting so much more than just OLED.

But critics are still obsessed with iPadOS being this under-utilized OS, that they miss out on the rest.

Agreed, they're just unimaginative. If all you can think of using it for is Netflix, then maybe the Pro isn't for you.

 

[ofarlig]

You have some good points, except that real Pros actually do use Macs, they just use a fraction of the device's potential.
Oh and the GPU is for a shtload more than just games.

But that’s the point he is making, iPad Pros have a lot of utility, maybe not for you but someone else can say the same about Macs. For my work an iPad is about as useful as a Mac, I need a Windows machine to be able to do it. And for my personal stuff the iPad has more utility, so for me the iPad Pro has more utility than the 14” MBP I had before.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

But that’s the point he is making, iPad Pros have a lot of utility, maybe not for you but someone else can say the same about Macs. For my work an iPad is about as useful as a Mac, I need a Windows machine to be able to do it. And for my personal stuff the iPad has more utility, so for me the iPad Pro has more utility than the 14” MBP I had before.

All of that makes sense. The only people who don't make any sense at all are those trying to turn iPad into a Mac.

 

[Rogifan]

I’m going to respond as I have elsewhere:

The problem with that response is that it ignores the fact that putting macOS in virtualization wouldn’t actually let you do what he describes here.
If you were running macOS on the iPad you wouldn’t be able to just rip it away and have a great tablet experience. It isn’t as simple as a switch. While data sync will keep your data synchronized across the two systems it doesn’t keep App state synced and even most of Apple’s pro Apps dont use continuity to sync state. Never mind how few other apps do.

The idea that macOS should be killed (implied by the run it when docked part of the comment) is also bad, the only way that macOS virtualized would be any good is if it was allowed to run in both docked and tablet mode. Otherwise it would be too jarring to have your OS launch and die when plugging unplugging and put too many hard edges in place.

Next: What does having macOS virtualized look like?
Now you’re sharing 8GB of memory with two OSs and two sets of Apps. Hungry macOS apps can gobble up a bunch of that memory and leave iPadOS sluggish, or it can be split in two and now each OS has half the memory.

iPadOS is great because of its flexibility, because Apple put the effort in to making sure it worked properly with a pointer and keyboard as well as with touch. macOS has no such affordances.

Let’s also not forget that this “solution” isn’t a solution.

Those of us who actually like iPad OS (and sales suggest there are more of us than there are mac users) don’twant them to use putting macOS on iPads as a get out of jail free card.

I want them to fix the remaining issues on iPadOS.

Whatever entitlements are required to get full Xcode on iPad they should figure out and support.
Fix their buggy iCloud sync system and let me persist my entire iCloud Drive on device if I want to (this helps everyone)
Fix stage manager’s windowing issues and make it a little more intuitive
Fix multi-app audio
Fix long running background tasks (indefinitely Long tasks should be allowed)

These are things they need to fix no matter what (well maybe not the Xcode one) these issues affect many iPad owners who actually like the OS and would make the OS better.

Putting macOS on iPad doesn’t fix the issue of apps being quit while trying to export in the background, it doesn’t Let us control audio output on an app by app basis, it doesn’t solve iCloud sync bugginess, it does’t keep the file hierarchy of iCloud Drive synced on device.

Virtualizing macOS On iPadOS helps a tiny minority of people, it’s a distraction, an edge case within an edge case.

These are all very good points. I turned off stage manager because it wasn’t intuitive and it can’t be used with Split View.

 

[startergo]

I mean seriously

Seriously what is wrong with wanting a laptop with a touch screen? Seriously?

 

[bcortens]

These are all very good points. I turned off stage manager because it wasn’t intuitive and it can’t be used with Split View.

I mostly keep it turned off too. I only turn it on sometimes when I want to work with two apps side by side both in 2/3 width mode.

 

[ofarlig]

All of that makes sense. The only people who don't make any sense at all are those trying to turn iPad into a Mac.

Yeah, I don’t really see a point in running MacOS. I do think and hope that eventually Apple will get to a point where MacOS applications from the AppStore run on iPad, either by convincing developers to do it or if they develop the tools needed to easily make them available easily. So instead of running simplified versions on the iPad Pros we get the full Mac ones.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

Yeah, I don’t really see a point in running MacOS. I do think and hope that eventually Apple will get to a point where MacOS applications from the AppStore run on iPad, either by convincing developers to do it or if they develop the tools needed to easily make them available easily. So instead of running simplified versions on the iPad Pros we get the full Mac ones.

Touch-first is part of the problem, that no one wants to acknowledge. The reason iPad runs baby apps instead of full-fledged "desktop" apps is because that is what is conducive to a Touch UI. Touch is great, but it is baby input. And the apps are designed to match that input method. Having optional keyboard and mouse support on iPad does not make it a keyboard and mouse device. It is still a Touch-first device, and always will be. I don't see Apple allowing apps that require keyboard and mouse support (like they did on Apple TV by allowing games to require a controller).

 

[bcortens]

Touch-first is part of the problem, that no one wants to acknowledge. The reason iPad runs baby apps instead of full-fledged "desktop" apps is because that is what is conducive to a Touch UI. Touch is great, but it is baby input. And the apps are designed to match that input method. Having optional keyboard and mouse support on iPad does not make it a keyboard and mouse device. It is still a Touch-first device, and always will be. I don't see Apple allowing apps that require keyboard and mouse support (like they did on Apple TV by allowing games to require a controller).

This just isn’t true, Affinity makes really really good apps (I haven’t compared recently but the desktop and iPad versions are reaaaaaly close in terms of features) that work with touch first.

Touch first is not the problem. The problem is the Alan Dye school of design where you aren't allowed to have menus, not allowed labels on your controls. The modern flat design seems to mistake visual simplicity for user interface simplicity.

There is no inherent reason you can’t build a touch-first UI which has all of the capabilities of a pointer first UI. You are attributing the error to the wrong part of the process, the input mechanism, when the issue is with the UI design process.

A pointing device allows hover but a good UI shouldn’t rely on hover states.
A pointing device allows greater precision, but for apps that need precision you should have the ability to zoom in and then have pixel/grid snapping at the zoomed in resolution (this also is a good practice for mouse based UIs)

 

[Rogifan]

I use Microsoft Excel a lot. I could never use it on my iPad Pro because it doesn’t support macros or creating pivot tables. Is there a reason for this? Is it an iOS limitation or Microsoft not wanting to put in the effort for feature parity with the desktop version?

 

[darngooddesign]

We want to have iPadOS in tablet mode and macOS with keyboard/trackpad connected and all at not all the limitations of iPad. There is even no real Chrome and Firefox, no Terminal App, no Xcode, no custom keyboard shortcuts, and 10000s other little things... how do you look at the mail header in iPads Mail app, if you want to check something? Impossible. As long as iPad runs toyOS, it's just a better Netflix device.

I don't necessarily disagree with you about MacOS, but what do you want to see in the email header?