iPad Pro The new iPad Pro looks amazing, but what will it still *not* do for you?

[Mt44]

I'm excited to snag a new Pro on Friday. But there are things that still frustrate me that I don't know will be addressed:

• The Zoom app. It won't let you manage breakout rooms, and chat is plastered over the top instead of off to the side. Ridiculous.
• The Squarespace web site, despite being specifically cited by Apple at WWDC as a site that will work "just as it does on the Mac," does not, in fact, work as it does on the Mac. Can't post without going to a Mac.
• And a couple of obvious ones: true monitor support, and Home Screen widgets (which are allegedly coming).

What about you? Anything you're still hesitant about with the new Pro?

 

[sparksd]

I'm excited to snag a new Pro on Friday. But there are things that still frustrate me that I don't know will be addressed:

• The Zoom app. It won't let you manage breakout rooms, and chat is plastered over the top instead of off to the side. Ridiculous.
• The Squarespace web site, despite being specifically cited by Apple at WWDC as a site that will work "just as it does on the Mac," does not, in fact, work as it does on the Mac. Can't post without going to a Mac.
• And a couple of obvious ones: true monitor support, and Home Screen widgets (which are allegedly coming).

What about you? Anything you're still hesitant about with the new Pro?

Price. For 16GB RAM, you'll need to buy at least 1TB storage model. Base price for WiFi-only 12.9" configured as such is $1799.

 

[sracer]

The iPad hardware stopped being a limiting factor for me with the introduction of the 1st gen 12.9 iPad Pro. Since then, the limitation was, and continues to be software, and iOS/iPadOS in particular.

The inherent design of iPadOS continues to impede certain workflows. At its core it remains an app-centric phone OS with limited support for peripherals. I don't say that to be inflammatory but it is how my experience over the years has been.

But having said that, I know that there are many who have been able to do everything they want and need with the iPad so my comments are not intended to contradict their experiences.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

This one is easy:

Some websites still don't work well one iOS. Office apps are watered down versions of the desktop apps. Too much app siloing which makes saving and moving files unnecessarily cumbersome. Can't sync all of my iCloud files on my iPad on the device like I can on MacOS. Multitasking doesn't work well in many apps (like Zoom mentioned above). Can't format an SD card. Can't password protect an SD card or any file natively like on MacOS.

The hardware is truly amazing. But who cares if you have to battle the software every time you use it. I would love more than anything to go just iPad only because of how great the hardware is. But, Apple just won't let go all the way with the software. And because of that I have no interest in buying another iPad. Every single iPad I've purchased has been either returned or sold and I'm not buying another one until the software fully meets my needs.

Apple, if you're listening, your grand plan to get people to buy both a Mac and an iPad is not going to work long term.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Can’t write micro/SD cards for my raspberry Pi or my Ender 3D printer. Also can’t program/update my arduino device.

Can’t convert Music purchased from Apple from .m4a to .mp3 for a piece of musical hardware that is very important to me. Can’t even see this device when connected to an iPad Pro. Also can’t convert to/from lossless formats like FLAC.

Can’t backup any of my iDevices to it.

 

[limesmoothie]

Lack of proper monitor support is the annoyance for me. My work is all productivity based/MS Office suite and these work well, but docking to a monitor without big side bars would be perfection.

 

[rui no onna]

As of right now, the limitations on the 2021 iPad Pro are the same as they've been before. The powerful hardware doesn't really change anything by itself. We'll have to wait until WWDC to learn if and what new tricks the iPad can do.

As for me:

1. full Firefox/Chrome with plugins, not all websites work on Safari/webkit

2. Calibre

3. techie stuff: imaging microSDs for RPi 4, Jailbreaking Kindles, ripping Blu-rays, automatic versioned backups, etc


For me, #1 is critical so I can ditch the laptop when going on long overseas trips. I've often needed to access government and banking websites while traveling and even now, "desktop Safari" on iPadOS 14 doesn't always play nice with those.

 

[fwmireault]

I'm excited to snag a new Pro on Friday. But there are things that still frustrate me that I don't know will be addressed:

• The Zoom app. It won't let you manage breakout rooms, and chat is plastered over the top instead of off to the side. Ridiculous.
• The Squarespace web site, despite being specifically cited by Apple at WWDC as a site that will work "just as it does on the Mac," does not, in fact, work as it does on the Mac. Can't post without going to a Mac.
• And a couple of obvious ones: true monitor support, and Home Screen widgets (which are allegedly coming).

What about you? Anything you're still hesitant about with the new Pro?

It’s a pretty good list. Also, the fact that I can’t use Zoom in background or in split mode without shutting my camera down is a bummer.

I’d like an iPad Pro with a front camera on landscape orientation. This is probably the only hardware issue that I can think of.

But Apple needs to give a solid iPadOS upgrade with multitasking and external monitor support. Without that, I can hardly qualify the iPad as a laptop replacement

And I want an App Library for iPad.

 

[007p]

Compile an iOS app ?

 

[jimmy_uk]

True multitasking.
Floating windows.

 

[Snapperjw]

Lack of proper monitor support is the annoyance for me. My work is all productivity based/MS Office suite and these work well, but docking to a monitor without big side bars would be perfection.

I completely agree with this. I find it ridiculous that Apple does not allow the ipad to fully work with an external monitor. The black side bars are frustrating.

But.. If Apple did allow fully monitor support it would be another reason not to buy both an iPad and a Mac.

 

[jmgregory1]

The biggest issue I have with the iPad Pro 2021 is that it doesn’t last more than 10 hours on a charge. I can work around all the other shortcomings, including the pseudo-multitasking, but having to plan around plugging in at some point in the day will remain a limiting factor.

I thought it would be enough to drive me to an M1 MacBook Air, but I really do love the dual functionality of the iPad Pro, where I can work on it all day as what is effectively a laptop and then in off hours use it as a tablet for entertainment or family / home related stuff.

 

[AHDuke99]

The fact it only runs iOS. You can have all the power in the world, but so long as the OS is held back, it makes me wonder if upgrading my 2017 Pro is even worth it.

 

[Phil A.]

I love my 2020 iPad Pro, but I don''t see the benefit for me of having one with an M1 processor in it - I've never once thought "This iPad could do with more power" because the limiting factor is iPad OS, not the raw power of the device: I can edit documents and photos with no lag at all, taking notes is buttery smooth and browsing websites is blazing fast.

If they allowed you to run MacOS (or even just MacOS apps) on it, then I'd be all over it, but until that time it will continue to be a companion device (as a software developer I, unfortunately, can't do my "day job" on an iPad)

 

[awdodson24]

It's going to be interesting to see what iPadOS 15 does for these new ipads...

 

[Porco]

I just wish it had a headphone jack.

 

[Itsedstech]

Lack of proper monitor support is the annoyance for me. My work is all productivity based/MS Office suite and these work well, but docking to a monitor without big side bars would be perfection.

Maybe it can be updated on a per app basis? In the keynote they showed the iPad docked to a monitor with the monitor on full screen

 

[Mt44]

So many good responses already.

• @Wesd1234 - multitasking with Zoom. Ugh. Forgot about that.
• Totally agree with @Phil A. - we never needed an M1 iPad. But I have wondered what iPad could do with Mac-parity RAM.
• Floating windows would be great, @jimmy_uk
• I think we may get that full monitor support, @Snapperjw
• Browser extensions would be great, @rui no onna

 

[sparksd]

Maybe it can be updated on a per app basis? In the keynote they showed the iPad docked to a monitor with the monitor on full screen

That was LumaFusion which supports full monitor display of video under edit - much like other video players support full monitor display.

 

[thisismyusername]

It won't do any of the things I can't currently do on the 2018/2020 iPad Pros. iPad Pro has never had a hardware issue. The issue has always been the crippled OS and poor app support within that ecosystem. I'm hoping that will change with this year's WWDC but I'm prepared for pointless updates that don't really make the platform any more productive or usable than before.

 

[willpowern]

What time on Friday will it be available for me to buy?

 

[PBG4 Dude]

What time on Friday will it be available for me to buy?

If it’s the same as last week, 5AM PST.

 

[p8blr]

I'm not expecting the iPad to run MacOS anytime soon, but I'd like to see it have the ability to run some Mac Apps if the developer allows it. Fusion360, Slic3r, and VueScan, are a few apps that make me still need a Mac/PC. I'd also like to see the Apple Photos app allow for separate libraries on external media, especially now that we've got thunderbolt in an iPad it seems very doable.

 

[billk711]

This one is easy:

Some websites still don't work well one iOS. Office apps are watered down versions of the desktop apps. Too much app siloing which makes saving and moving files unnecessarily cumbersome. Can't sync all of my iCloud files on my iPad on the device like I can on MacOS. Multitasking doesn't work well in many apps (like Zoom mentioned above). Can't format an SD card. Can't password protect an SD card or any file natively like on MacOS.

The hardware is truly amazing. But who cares if you have to battle the software every time you use it. I would love more than anything to go just iPad only because of how great the hardware is. But, Apple just won't let go all the way with the software. And because of that I have no interest in buying another iPad. Every single iPad I've purchased has been either returned or sold and I'm not buying another one until the software fully meets my needs.

Apple, if you're listening, your grand plan to get people to buy both a Mac and an iPad is not going to work long term.

Please give an example

 

[billk711]

This one is easy:

Some websites still don't work well one iOS. Office apps are watered down versions of the desktop apps. Too much app siloing which makes saving and moving files unnecessarily cumbersome. Can't sync all of my iCloud files on my iPad on the device like I can on MacOS. Multitasking doesn't work well in many apps (like Zoom mentioned above). Can't format an SD card. Can't password protect an SD card or any file natively like on MacOS.

The hardware is truly amazing. But who cares if you have to battle the software every time you use it. I would love more than anything to go just iPad only because of how great the hardware is. But, Apple just won't let go all the way with the software. And because of that I have no interest in buying another iPad. Every single iPad I've purchased has been either returned or sold and I'm not buying another one until the software fully meets my needs.

Apple, if you're listening, your grand plan to get people to buy both a Mac and an iPad is not going to work long term.

Think apple is getting away from the sdcard,
Think it's just the headphone jack people the still use sd cards. Hey apple if your listening ignore people like harmonious