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What do you still need your laptop for?

Everything.

I dont like how webpages render on an iPad. A true toy experience which I just dont like.

Decided to go iPhone + laptop only again after having several new iPad models through the years including Pro.

Everything just takes too long on an iPad and there are no great infinity angle solution like for example Surface. But normal laptop is the way to go.
 
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bnmcj1 said:
Everything.

I dont like how webpages render on an iPad. A true toy experience which I just dont like.

Decided to go iPhone + laptop only again after having several new iPad models through the years including Pro.

Everything just takes too long on an iPad and there are no great infinity angle solution like for example Surface. But normal laptop is the way to go.
Click to expand...
I hear you on that. I'm finding that my 11" Macbook Air + iPad Mini 4 to be a better combo on the road than the 12.9 Pro solo.
 
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Not laptop but iMac, everything except drawing. So that's writing long form articles, screenplays, proofing those in grammarly, video rips and conversions, image work, blogging etc.

I love my iPad Pro for drawing and watching movies when I do not want to fire up the DVD player. I would love a Mini Pro for these as well.
 
sracer said:
The iPad will never have support for removable media like SD cards. Nor will it ever have extensive support for USB devices.
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You should not say "never". After all, Jobs said the iPad would never have a stylus device. We don't know what the future holds.
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BWhaler said:
iWork.
Apple makes the bloody app, and instead of making it an icon for why using the iPad in the office, it doesn't even have basic features like editing master slides or spacing objects automataly.
Click to expand...
I agree that the iWork apps on iPad and web have many limitations you can set up Keynote template or Pages styles on a Mac and utilize them on the iOS versions. But is an anoying work around. For reasons like that, I agree with many that the iPad is fantastic and capable of productivity, but not a replacement for a desktop computer.
 
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CrystalQuest76 said:
You should not say "never". After all, Jobs said the iPad would never have a stylus device. We don't know what the future holds.
Click to expand...
You misquoted/misinterpreted what Jobs actually said. No worries. A lot of people do.

There are some things that are an absolute certainty in life... one is death. The other is "the iPad will never have an SD card slot". :p
 
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Well, I have been using a base iPad (5th Gen) as my primary computer for about 6 weeks, and it has worked out pretty well. Frankly, I have been pleasantly surprised. As I have posted earlier, it's been a bit of an experiment.

That said, I find myself picking up my trusty 2014 MBA from time to time, not so much because I absolutely need it to create a document or update a spreadsheet, but because I kind of miss the user experience. Understand, I really enjoy the iPad user experience too. But, sometimes I just feel like using the MacBook. My MBA is better at some things than the iPad, and the iPad is better at other things than the MBA. It is fun to use these devices in tandem in certain situations.

Perhaps, one device can do it all, but it will probably require some compromises....which is ok. On the other hand, a MacBook plus an iPad can also be a very nice combination. With iCloud, there is very little disadvantage to having two devices, since everything is pretty much synced accross devices. What about cost? You can buy a new MBA on sale for $800 and base iPad for $300....so, $1,100. This is about the cost of an iPad Pro plus accessories (pencil + ASK). So, folks should just pick what they want and enjoy.
 
i use a laptop for all the things that an iPad is not practical for doing. While the iPad does a lot of productivity tasks, they often are not as smoothly or as quickly done. Including advanced word processing using custom styles, advanced spreadsheets including conditional formatting. Advanced photo and video editing that can be saved to my local drive.

Increased privacy, saving personal documents and being able to backup to a local hard drive and not have the documents floating on the cloud somewhere.
 
I could just like the above and be done with it, but I felt the need to expound upon my reasoning. If it's of value to anyone, click on the "thumbs up". If not, no worries. My fingers got exercise.

Up front, I want to specify that this is a personal preference. As with all things, YMMV.

The largest iPad Pro is SO CLOSE to being able to replace my MacBook Pro for the reason I purchased it... music production via Garageband, and Logic Pro X down the road.

I can now connect my bus-powered USB 2.0 Behringer UMC204HD audio interface to my iPad Air via the Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter (MK0W2AM/A). This means I can record anything through my iPad (vocals, mic'ed up acoustic guitar, direct guitar/bass input, mic'ed up combo amp from my guitar/bass, MIDI keyboard)

So what's holding me back?
Recording is one thing, and the iPad can do this and do this well. Editing/mixing is another matter entirely. The precision in selecting and editing with touch on a small screen vs. trackpad/mouse on a larger screen makes me go to my MacBook Pro all the time (it is the only Mac I have, by the way).

Finger precision on a 2048-by-1536 Retina display (on the iPad Air) is nice, but I oddly find trackpad precision on a 1280x800 non-Retina display works better for me, at least for audio selection/editing. I'm certain it is mostly a screen size issue. On my MBP, when I need more display than that, I can connect a bigger display for greater precision without a loss of latency. AirPlay just doesn't cut it when time matters.

On a 12.9" iPad Pro, editing/mixing would certainly be an improvement over the iPad Air, which is why I say it is close, for me, to being able to replace my laptop for music production purposes. One thing an iPad currently can't do... run Logic Pro X, which is my next step.

I see mixed-use iPad and Mac for me in my future, at least in the near-term.

Having a machine that runs all my old gaming consoles for nostalgia and 8-bit enjoyment doesn't hurt the MacBook Pro's case, either.
 
HippyRabbitFish said:
I could just like the above and be done with it, but I felt the need to expound upon my reasoning. If it's of value to anyone, click on the "thumbs up". If not, no worries. My fingers got exercise.

Up front, I want to specify that this is a personal preference. As with all things, YMMV.

The largest iPad Pro is SO CLOSE to being able to replace my MacBook Pro for the reason I purchased it... music production via Garageband, and Logic Pro X down the road.

I can now connect my bus-powered USB 2.0 Behringer UMC204HD audio interface to my iPad Air via the Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter (MK0W2AM/A). This means I can record anything through my iPad (vocals, mic'ed up acoustic guitar, direct guitar/bass input, mic'ed up combo amp from my guitar/bass, MIDI keyboard)

So what's holding me back?
Recording is one thing, and the iPad can do this and do this well. Editing/mixing is another matter entirely. The precision in selecting and editing with touch on a small screen vs. trackpad/mouse on a larger screen makes me go to my MacBook Pro all the time (it is the only Mac I have, by the way).

Finger precision on a 2048-by-1536 Retina display (on the iPad Air) is nice, but I oddly find trackpad precision on a 1280x800 non-Retina display works better for me, at least for audio selection/editing. I'm certain it is mostly a screen size issue. On my MBP, when I need more display than that, I can connect a bigger display for greater precision without a loss of latency. AirPlay just doesn't cut it when time matters.

On a 12.9" iPad Pro, editing/mixing would certainly be an improvement over the iPad Air, which is why I say it is close, for me, to being able to replace my laptop for music production purposes. One thing an iPad currently can't do... run Logic Pro X, which is my next step.

I see mixed-use iPad and Mac for me in my future, at least in the near-term.

Having a machine that runs all my old gaming consoles for nostalgia and 8-bit enjoyment doesn't hurt the MacBook Pro's case, either.
Click to expand...

Auria Pro is better for mixing. Obviously still not Logic Pro/PC DAW level, but it's pretty good for on the go, and much better than Garage Band.
 
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HippyRabbitFish said:
I could just like the above and be done with it, but I felt the need to expound upon my reasoning. If it's of value to anyone, click on the "thumbs up". If not, no worries. My fingers got exercise.

Up front, I want to specify that this is a personal preference. As with all things, YMMV.

The largest iPad Pro is SO CLOSE to being able to replace my MacBook Pro for the reason I purchased it... music production via Garageband, and Logic Pro X down the road.

I can now connect my bus-powered USB 2.0 Behringer UMC204HD audio interface to my iPad Air via the Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter (MK0W2AM/A). This means I can record anything through my iPad (vocals, mic'ed up acoustic guitar, direct guitar/bass input, mic'ed up combo amp from my guitar/bass, MIDI keyboard)

So what's holding me back?
Recording is one thing, and the iPad can do this and do this well. Editing/mixing is another matter entirely. The precision in selecting and editing with touch on a small screen vs. trackpad/mouse on a larger screen makes me go to my MacBook Pro all the time (it is the only Mac I have, by the way).

Finger precision on a 2048-by-1536 Retina display (on the iPad Air) is nice, but I oddly find trackpad precision on a 1280x800 non-Retina display works better for me, at least for audio selection/editing. I'm certain it is mostly a screen size issue. On my MBP, when I need more display than that, I can connect a bigger display for greater precision without a loss of latency. AirPlay just doesn't cut it when time matters.

On a 12.9" iPad Pro, editing/mixing would certainly be an improvement over the iPad Air, which is why I say it is close, for me, to being able to replace my laptop for music production purposes. One thing an iPad currently can't do... run Logic Pro X, which is my next step.

I see mixed-use iPad and Mac for me in my future, at least in the near-term.

Having a machine that runs all my old gaming consoles for nostalgia and 8-bit enjoyment doesn't hurt the MacBook Pro's case, either.
Click to expand...
Excellent point!!

I find myself recording on the iPad only to transfer the files to my MBP for editing/mixing.
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David58117 said:
Auria Pro is better for mixing. Obviously still not Logic Pro/PC DAW level, but it's pretty good for on the go, and much better than Garage Band.
Click to expand...

I either bought this or thought about buying it.

Garage Band for the iPad does absolutely nothing for me. In the past I have used Cubasis.

I'm not a big Steinberg fan but Cubasis isn't a bad app.
 
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Rhonindk said:
Trying based on past threads once again to see what I can do with an iPad Pro 12 LTE, Smart Keyboard and Pencil. If it doesn't work out this become the "family" iPad.

Biggest challenges I have yet to find a way around;
  • Full Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Project, Sharepoint, One Note, etc...) - used for work and clients
  • Full pdf functionality (like Adobe Acrobat Pro XI)
  • Some of my financial sites will not load the full desktop view even with "Request Desktop Site"
  • Visual Studio
  • SAP (development, abap, etc...)
  • Large data sets
  • Peripherals - not everything comes via the cloud
  • Multiple monitors
  • Collaboration sessions
  • Encrypted iDevice backups via iTunes
  • File Management
  • Cloud use - I have Dropbox, Google, Box, iCloud - have found iCloud is the least dependable of the bunch :(

I will say the use of my rMB dropped significantly. However the use of my Thinkpad, iPad Mini4, and iPhone 7 has not changed.

I can do about 30% of my day to day work on my iPad Pro. I can accomplish about 90% of my personal consumptive on the iPad Pro.

It is not as portable as my rMB but the use of touch is an off set.
No, it is not as good as my Surface Pro. They behave totally different at this point. :(

Still, I am looking at alternate way that allow me to accomplish my daily tasks without making it more complex or requiring a work-around that adds risk. I am running this trial till month end. ;)
Click to expand...

Above was my original post when I looked at trying out the iPad Pro 12.9 v2 as my daily use laptop.
After most of the month of August, it is not to be.

Couple of items first...
The Apple Pencil I found to be a bit useless for most tasks. Would like to see more apps integrate its use.
The Smart Keyboard was a good buy. It took three to get one that would sit flat.

Now for the iPad itself.
Biggest two issues: (1)kept running into sites that just did not work well even if opened in desktop mode; (2)the lack of a pointer/mouse style interface. The finger and pencil does not make up for this.
A third close issue was the lack of functionality to share data between apps easily. I have not tried iOS 11 however it looks like an improvement but not a solution.

At this time, all of my "Biggest Challenges" listed above are still, a challenge and remain unsolved. This iPad Pro did come closest to replacing my rMB. Came close.

So this becomes the family open use / common access device. Maybe someday Apple. For now, for my case, this is not a "Professional" level device that can be used as a laptop replacement nor everyday "work" use..
 
Final cut pro X, mainly, and Lightroom. Also to have local backups of my iDevices and local storage for my photo library.

Everything else can be replaced with iPad if I wanted to, but sometimes having a laptop is more convenient when you just want a firm keyboard on your lap. I do think I can now start editing photos on my iPad, though not as quick compared to desktop lightroom. My iPad definitely becomes the on-the-go "computer" more and more.
 
Excel I need to edit excel files at work. I bought the ipad pro 12.9 but now I wish I had gotten a laptop. Maybe I just don't know enough about how to use the ipad. I find it cumbersome.
 
patricem said:
Excel I need to edit excel files at work. I bought the ipad pro 12.9 but now I wish I had gotten a laptop. Maybe I just don't know enough about how to use the ipad. I find it cumbersome.
Click to expand...
Excel is not as good on iOS as it is on desktop. Good for viewing and minor edits but not for heavy editing.
 
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MacDevil7334 said:
All that being said, I will say that the iPad has now come far enough with iOS 11 that I am ok with it being my only mobile option. My work is such now that I don’t travel often. For the times that I do, the iPad is good enough that I’m fine traveling with just it and not a laptop. It’s not ideal sometimes, and I have to wait until I get home to process any photos I’ve taken. But it works and is a very lightweight solution. And it has allowed me to switch from a MacBook to an iMac for my serious computing needs, where I get a much bigger screen and faster hardware. So, while the iPad has not eliminated my need for a serious computer, it has affected the hardware I’ve decided to own. I’m already considering switching from my 9.7” Pro to a 12.9” in the future for the extra screen real estate.
Click to expand...
I second this. A 15" Retina MacBook Pro used to be my main computer, and I would lug it's 4.5lbs around when I needed to work away from home.
But the 12.9" iPad Pro (which, with the Smart Keyboard attached, is just slightly over half the weight of the MBP) has covered the majority of my mobile computing needs (and this is even before iOS 11). So, I was finally able to sell the MBP and get the 5K iMac I had been lusting after.
Working on such a big, beautiful screen really transforms the experience of using a Mac, and since I can leave the iMac running when I'm mobile, I can remote into it (via Parallels Access) for those few occasions I need MacOS on the go.
 
Of course, there is functional overlap, so this is my primary usage by device:

Macbook Air
  • Large/Complex Document* Creation
  • Media Creation & Editing
  • Large File Storage
  • Document Management
  • Personal Finance
iPad
  • Email
  • Calendar & Reminders
  • Routine Document* Review/Editing
  • Note Taking
  • Photo and Video Sharing
  • Web Browsing & Research
  • TV and Movie Streaming
  • eBooks

* Documents = Word Processing, Presentations, Spreadsheets, and PDFs
 
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