I feel like the iPad Pro would be too big to use comfortably as a trackpad on most desks. If you lay it flat, it takes up too much space. If you use it standing up, you have the "gorilla arm" problem.
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what does ipad/ios need to make it a full computer replacement?
- Thread starter mrklaw
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I feel like the iPad Pro would be too big to use comfortably as a trackpad on most desks. If you lay it flat, it takes up too much space. If you use it standing up, you have the "gorilla arm" problem.
Just saw this, great article...
http://www.speirs.org/blog/2015/11/30/can-the-macbook-pro-replace-your-ipad
http://www.speirs.org/blog/2015/11/30/can-the-macbook-pro-replace-your-ipad
Let's not kid ourselves here and ask ourselves the hard questions...
1. Can the Apple Watch replace your Mac Pro?
2. Can the Apple Watch replace your iMac?
3. Can the Apple Watch replace your Macbook Pro?
4. Can the Apple Watch replace your iPad?
The best OS of any kind is always debatable as we all have our favorites. I personally prefer Android on tablets as it offers many of the features that I require for work. File managment is a lot better than iOS, A LOT BETTER, I can access my firms server with Open ID, I can run apps in the background and not just a few GPS and music apps as is the case with iOS, when I connect a monitor not only is the resolution, aspect rato supported but I can also select a custom DPI to reflect that of a normal desktop UI and can even extend the desktop not just mirror it. I have mouse support which is really needed when a keyboard is connected and when the tablet is connected to a monitor, something frankly that really bothers me about my iPad Pro. I have every single app that I require and they all support the resolution (only about 20% or so of the apps installed on my iPad Pro actually support it's resolution), including a Citrix client, MS Office Mobile, Terminal, even a LAMP server running under a Chroot, etc. I have dual app view, although Im using a Pixel C which means the display is only 10.2, not worth it, especially when I can just run apps in windows now as I'm running Remix OS, a fantastic Android version by the way. I've even installed Arch Linux in a dual boot, with native GPU drivers I can utilize my custom CUDA applications which absolutely fly on the Nvidia X1 with 256 CUDA cores. Example, I can encode a video 10x faster than most laptops can using their CPU's. I'm also editing videos using Blender very comfortably, as in no lag of any kind, with effects. This last part of course has nothing to do with Android I just thought it cool to add.
why does the ipad have to replace the laptop. Why cant the ipad be happy for the media consumption device that it is. It was designed as a supplement device to your computer not a replacement. People need to stop forcing it into something it was never designed to do. if you want a surface device buy a surface.
i think there's a draw to be iPad-only because of the price. If you could survive spending 400-500 on a device, you might try it.
It has already replaced a laptop for a lot of these people as threads in this forum demonstrate. Personally I have no interest in replacing my MacBook Pro with the iPad. I use the iPad as both a productivity and content consumption device, but I still love OS X and have no interest in giving it up unless forced to by Apple giving up on it. I love enjoying the best of both worlds too much.
I've chosen to essentially replace my laptop (2011-era 11" MacBook Air) with my iPad Pro.
• Lighter
• Far better battery life
• Nicer screen
• Integrates better with my workplace's IT infrastructure (iOS is supported on our exchange server but personal laptops are not)
• Much better as an e-reader (PDFs, etc.)
• Apple Pencil plus apps like GoodNotes are killer
There are some things I can't do on my iPad, but to do them I'd require a much heavier dual-boot (Mac/Win) MacBook Pro or Windows laptop with seriously expensive software (i.e., $20,000 per license medical software). So for 85-90% of what I do on a laptop, my iPad Pro is more than sufficient -- and in fact does a few things my MacBook Air cannot.
• Lighter
• Far better battery life
• Nicer screen
• Integrates better with my workplace's IT infrastructure (iOS is supported on our exchange server but personal laptops are not)
• Much better as an e-reader (PDFs, etc.)
• Apple Pencil plus apps like GoodNotes are killer
There are some things I can't do on my iPad, but to do them I'd require a much heavier dual-boot (Mac/Win) MacBook Pro or Windows laptop with seriously expensive software (i.e., $20,000 per license medical software). So for 85-90% of what I do on a laptop, my iPad Pro is more than sufficient -- and in fact does a few things my MacBook Air cannot.
Tim Cook did say: “Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones,”
And IMO, he's not wrong. It's just that there are also many people who still have tasks that are not doable on iOS/iPad.
I mean, strictly speaking, "many many" means a big number, but it doesn't even have to be a majority. Even 10% of computer users would be "many many" in terms of absolute numbers.
My wife has a Bluetooth keyboard case and now does 90% of her tasks on her iPad Air 2. However, there are still times, where a computer (Windows) is a must.
It's sucks, because everything I need iOS to have to replace my computer, Android already has, but the iPad just has much better apps. Apple is so close to replacing my laptop, but maybe that's the point. I'll continue to buy MacBooks as long as Apple withholds these features from iOS, so Apple will continue to sell two devices to me instead of just one.
Which features, specifically? I imagine one of them is file management, but anything else? And are you sure some of them won't be added in iOS 10?
Mouse support and installing apps from other sources without crappy workarounds. Side loading apps will probably never be added to iOS, and I don't have much hope for mouse support, either.
And obviously, a user-accessible file system.
I agree, it's so close it's frustrating and like you I'd jump to Android in heartbeat if the apps were as good - I already use and prefer android on my phone.
As for the Macbook...I've jumped off that bandwagon and I'm the better for it in many ways. When I need heavy lifting these days, I use Linux.
Same here. Android phone and iOS tablet is the perfect combination, IMO.
To those of you who worry that the iPad can't replace your computer because of lack of a proper filesystem, a process that works for me is to use my OneDrive as a middleman between my desktop and my iPad.
I just upload documents and photos to my OneDrive, then offload them to my desktop's 2 TB hard drive. And I'm willing to bet that anyone handy with a BASH terminal or PowerShell could write a script that automatically and periodically pulls down the contents of a OneDrive directory.
Not the most elegant system in the world, definitely, but it certainly works for me.
I just upload documents and photos to my OneDrive, then offload them to my desktop's 2 TB hard drive. And I'm willing to bet that anyone handy with a BASH terminal or PowerShell could write a script that automatically and periodically pulls down the contents of a OneDrive directory.
Not the most elegant system in the world, definitely, but it certainly works for me.
"Maybe I’ll put [the iPad Pro] on the wall and make some cool screen savers for it — on my MacBook.”
That's so sad.
Is what it is. the market that helped iOS grow strong is the same market that limits it. I hate adobe. New camera made me go back after years of being off it. Said screw this as I hated my return to it. Dug deep, settled on a new option after testing. this new option base application, 2 add ons was about 200, on sale from 300 iirc. Moral to this story for my needs, photography in this case, yes I will throw down 200 and not care. Thousands in bodies and glass...good software just a thing. It has to perform ofc...if it does that a "killer" application I know needs money to pay devs and such.
that doesn't work with iOS so well. majority may not throw down 200-300. Hell many I know think $20 for an app is steep. these are the apps they won't come over. And some of us need them. does an iOS do it even if kind of sort of way, maybe? As good? rarely. And for some well it will do okay doesn't cut it. works for them that's fine. I personally have no issues firing up my MBP. Mini 4 does me fine for real basic stuff away from that. Performance has a price...weight/size a mild one to me.
But to each their own...if Ipad (pro) works...enjoy it.
For the iPad in general I think they just need to continue to make desktop class apps. There are a few but they need to make more. I think the iPad is already a laptop/desktop replacement for a lot of people. For a lot of people computing consists of web browsing, sending and replying to emails, watching/listening media, online shopping and banking, social media, reading the news etc. All of these tasks can be done on an iPad with ease. These are all things that people used to do on their computers but have now moved over to touchscreen devices like tablets and smart phones. Personally I have a MacBook Air but about 95% of the things I do can be done on my iPad. Even the remaining 5% of things that I use my mac for I could probably live without doing or adapt in another way that would be amenable to using my iPad. There are plenty of people who no longer have a computer at home anymore, they just have a tablet and they are perfectly fine. I remember back in 2012 I met someone who did not own a laptop and only an iPad. At the time I balked at the idea, thinking I could not possibly be without a computer. Today I feel differently.
Where computers are still needed are for things such as photo and video editing, word processing, creating spreadsheets and data bases etc. However even these tasks can be done at a pinch on an iPad. If you are only going to need to do these things occasionally then you can get away with doing them on your iPad. Even extensive word processing you can do if you buy an external keyboard. If you are running a business or are doing photo/video editing on a professional scale then you are better off using a computer. Additionally there are also some specific types of software used in certain fields that will only run on a computer.
I think if app developers continue to make more desktop class apps for the iPad then even more people can use the iPad as their only/main computer. In the short term Apple could put Mac OS X on the iPad pro and it would be an instant computer replacement.
Where computers are still needed are for things such as photo and video editing, word processing, creating spreadsheets and data bases etc. However even these tasks can be done at a pinch on an iPad. If you are only going to need to do these things occasionally then you can get away with doing them on your iPad. Even extensive word processing you can do if you buy an external keyboard. If you are running a business or are doing photo/video editing on a professional scale then you are better off using a computer. Additionally there are also some specific types of software used in certain fields that will only run on a computer.
I think if app developers continue to make more desktop class apps for the iPad then even more people can use the iPad as their only/main computer. In the short term Apple could put Mac OS X on the iPad pro and it would be an instant computer replacement.
The entitlement to free or 99 cent apps is a major limiting factor indeed. The iPad could very well be the vision of the future of consumers weren't so stingy with their money. I can't understand people sometimes... They're willing to shell out 500$+ for a brand new tablet, but 20$ or more for an app is too much to ask?
It's people like this that are responsible for the freemium cancer that has killed mobile gaming and software. I would gladly pay 10$ a month if Adobe ported CC over to iOS, and would probably even consider the iPad Pro then.
But that could stop developers from creating iOS versions of their apps. For instance, see this article:
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/29/scrivener-could-be-coming-soon-to-ios/
I bet that developer will happily stop trying to make an iOS version if Apple released an OS X tablet.
Problem with apps above $10 is no trial period. If I'm going to drop $20 on an app, I need to make sure it works. If I have to buy 5 $20 apps to find one that works for me, that's $100 I have to spend. Sure, there are in-app purchases and subscriptions, and sometimes that has helped me decide whether an app works for me, but half the time, I'm still left with having to pay before I know if a particular IAP feature is worth the price or not. So this one is on Apple. They really should have
How many desktop apps costing many $ have a try/return policy? If an app provides significant functionality on a device like the IPP and is well supported, what is the top end price? I'm not advocating one way or another, just asking as it's something I've wondered for some time. A phone is one device I wouldn't pay much for an app on, but for an IPP that replaces my laptop can I really expect high-end apps for two or three dollars?