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my list of tasks for which physical pointing device is better than either touch or keyboard is extremely short. Only thing I can think of is precision graphics / design work, which I don't do.

-os file management
-os set up (tool bars etc)
-large spreadsheets
-complex menu selections
-3d graphics
- almost any cut and paste scenario
 
-os file management
-os set up (tool bars etc)
-large spreadsheets
-complex menu selections
-3d graphics
- almost any cut and paste scenario

This can all be done on a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro; all of your needs would be taken care of. Copy and paste is very easy on the iPad especially with the Apple pencil or my finger. I don't have a issue with copy and paste.
 
-os file management
-os set up (tool bars etc)
-large spreadsheets
-complex menu selections
-3d graphics
- almost any cut and paste scenario

Er, OS setup? menu selection? We can do that with touch. Why would mouse be better than touch for that?

File management and cut and paste, keyboard is good.

Large spreadsheets, I don't have experience with, but nobody's told me that there is a spreadsheet operation that can only be done with a mouse. Only that mouse is better.

Again, that leaves graphics as the only task that really, really needs a mouse.

Yes, I inderstand that many people *prefer* using a mouse for above tasks. But we are discussing whether it is possible that in the future, the mouse could go the way of floppy disks. And to me, it seems very possible that in ten years or so, most general purpose computing will be done by touch and keyboard, and only a few people with specialized tasks will need a mouse.
 
ITT: "I prefer a laptop and I don't like the iPad and just wanted to let you know"
 
But then aren't you forcing all iOS apps to have a desktop interface?

I'd rather have the iPad be the input device as well as the brains of a computer when connected to an external display. I.e. A adaptive input device.

Not necessarily, if someone opened a iOS app it could open in full screen mode regardless of what "mode" it's in. I like your idea of it turning into a computer when connected to a display, however my main machine has always been a laptop, and being on the go all the time it wouldn't work if it could ONLY turn into a computer when connected to a external display.
 
I still need more versatile external mic support for recording and editing. There are apps out there that do some of the things I need to do, but none of them do all of the things I need to do. I have searched for and tried a zillion of them and they all have at least one deal breaker that keeps my iPad from being my fully portable studio. It's actually not the fault of the apps--the deficiencies they have are all because of iOS level limitations that have no workaround. In the end, if I'm recording on the go, I need my MacBook Pro.

Also, iOS doesn't play my Steam library or my Blizzard library. I'm not about to abandon years worth of back catalog on either of those services. Need the Mac for those too.

I am getting closer to the point where my day job is fully do-able on an iPad, and my company is super iOS friendly, so that's a huge plus for the iPad. For example, the other day I had to get my car repaired and was able to work from my iPad while waiting for it to be done. No laptop needed.

So in some ways, iOS has a long way to go. In others, it's already there.
 
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Er, OS setup? menu selection? We can do that with touch. Why would mouse be better than touch for that?

File management and cut and paste, keyboard is good.

Large spreadsheets, I don't have experience with, but nobody's told me that there is a spreadsheet operation that can only be done with a mouse. Only that mouse is better.

Again, that leaves graphics as the only task that really, really needs a mouse.

Yes, I inderstand that many people *prefer* using a mouse for above tasks. But we are discussing whether it is possible that in the future, the mouse could go the way of floppy disks. And to me, it seems very possible that in ten years or so, most general purpose computing will be done by touch and keyboard, and only a few people with specialized tasks will need a mouse.


Please take a look at this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/excel-keyboard-commands-for-ipad-pro.1948337/

Thanks
 
Those are pretty much mine.

1. Trackpad support, even if it was limited to something similar to how the apple TV remote works. Just need something to move around quickly in text files, and swap apps without having to touch the screen.

2. File system - I take wedding videos on an external drive - I want to be able to edit those in iMovie without having to go through some convoluted process to get them into the photos app then into iMovie. Also I do software development, which usually means lots of files in a single project and many different apps used to edit those files. So I need a way to have a folder of files in a single spot that shares between apps, not making endless copies.

3. Drag/Drop between apps. Would obviously need a new API, but supporting it on iPhone would increase adoption quickly.

4. Mission control style multitasking - the app switcher absolutely sucks on the iPad Pro. And the slide over switcher sucks even more.

Split screen and PIP are great, I wish my mac could do PIP for video content the way iOS does.
 
Those are pretty much mine.

1. Trackpad support, even if it was limited to something similar to how the apple TV remote works. Just need something to move around quickly in text files, and swap apps without having to touch the screen.

.
Wonder how they could implement this as this would be my top wanted feature by far. Maybe a new smart keyboard that has a way to sense your fingers over the keyboard (like how the software keyboard does with two fingers) or maybe we could set our iPhones down next to the iPad pro and use it as a mouse. I do this with the app remote mouse with my Mac when it's hooked up to my tv
 
Wonder how they could implement this as this would be my top wanted feature by far. Maybe a new smart keyboard that has a way to sense your fingers over the keyboard

Something similar to the Blackberry Passport keyboard would have been ideal (skip to 1:45). I don't miss the mouse most of the time, but if I prop the iPad up on the keyboard to browse for a while, scrolling through webpages becomes tiresome and I miss my MacBook.

 
Something similar to the Blackberry Passport keyboard would have been ideal (skip to 1:45). I don't miss the mouse most of the time, but if I prop the iPad up on the keyboard to browse for a while, scrolling through webpages becomes tiresome and I miss my MacBook.

Wow. That's pretty damn cool. I wonder thought the design compromises that would have to be made for something like that. On the blackberry the keyboard is completely flat and all the keys are stuck together without any gaps. On the smart keyboard I'm typing on right now, there is a lot of spacing between the keys so scrolling would be uncomfortable. For one long scroll, my fingers would be dragging up and down off the keys a lot.

I can't see a better implementation that would value portability better though. If Apple allowed a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad, that would work pretty well but it wouldn't feel as portable and easy as just putting your fingers on the keyboard lightly and scrolling around.
 
can't see a better implementation that would value portability better though. If Apple allowed a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad, that would work pretty well but it wouldn't feel as portable and easy as just putting your fingers on the keyboard lightly and scrolling around.

I can't test this right now, as I don't have my Bluetooth keyboard with me, but doesn't ctrl+arrow move the cursor up and down a page at a time?

Also, I know there is a keyboard shortcut for bringing up the app switcher, can't remember if you could switch apps without touching the screen -- I think you can, but again, I can't test this right now.
 
I can't test this right now, as I don't have my Bluetooth keyboard with me, but doesn't ctrl+arrow move the cursor up and down a page at a time?

Also, I know there is a keyboard shortcut for bringing up the app switcher, can't remember if you could switch apps without touching the screen -- I think you can, but again, I can't test this right now.
Yes! I use keyboard shortcuts for most anything I used to use a mouse for. You can ctl+arrow to go up and down pages, but it goes up and down too far for my liking. It positions the page all weird and doesn't seem to go down evenly. So I just tap the arrows to go up or down little by little. And you can use cmd+tab to switch apps. Cmd+space to spotlight search easily. If Apple wants to add even more system level shortcuts in their next updates, I'm all for it. I'm finding myself having to tap the screen less and less now
 
Yes! I use keyboard shortcuts for most anything I used to use a mouse for. You can ctl+arrow to go up and down pages, but it goes up and down too far for my liking. It positions the page all weird and doesn't seem to go down evenly. So I just tap the arrows to go up or down little by little. And you can use cmd+tab to switch apps. Cmd+space to spotlight search easily. If Apple wants to add even more system level shortcuts in their next updates, I'm all for it. I'm finding myself having to tap the screen less and less now

What happens if you just hold down an arrow key? That's what I do on desktop systems when I want to scroll fast but not move so far as to scroll a page.

And I love the system level keyboard shortcuts that were added in iOS 9. Before, using a Bluetooth keyboard with an iPad was a pain, now, I hardly ever have to touch the screen. To me, this feels like Apple being innovative by going retro. People are clamoring for mouse / trackpad support, and Apple is giving us keyboard shortcuts instead.
 
If I had an easy way to download torrents and transfer wirelessly to an external hard drive, I would sell my MacBook Pro in an instant.
 
I don't know how well NAS would work for your needs. I would probably keep some kind of desktop solution at home. Maybe something hooked up to your tv with network capabilities that is also attached to some external storage to store all your crap.

The Mac mini server option was great until Apple stopped selling them. Right now though, I love the Mac mini hooked up to my tv with external hard drives attached. I can remote into my Mac via splash top 2 from anywhere with my iPad pro and access whatever I want. Best of both worlds right there
 
I don't know how well NAS would work for your needs. I would probably keep some kind of desktop solution at home. Maybe something hooked up to your tv with network capabilities that is also attached to some external storage to store all your crap.

The Mac mini server option was great until Apple stopped selling them. Right now though, I love the Mac mini hooked up to my tv with external hard drives attached. I can remote into my Mac via splash top 2 from anywhere with my iPad pro and access whatever I want. Best of both worlds right there

Yea I have heard about some NAS solutions that have an iPad app where you can initiate downloads and save them to the NAS. Right now I either remote in to my Macbbook Pro or use Bitport and Documents 5. I guess I'll keep my Mac until I can figure something better out. Thanks for the input though.
 
It has to be a macbook pro retina 15" in a iPad pro form factor including mouse and bluetooth key board support.
 
i would need full photoshop , zbrush, modo support to make an ipad my main device. obviously this will never happen on an ipad. besides the competition already does all that. ipad fills a nice niche for me: extreme portablility. i do like mine for sketching/illustration. best in class for those needs. all bugs aside.
 
It will never be my main computer, my MBP is iPad has a portion of use for me in the size of the iPad air with pencil so it easy to carry around and the pencil is my mouse and hand righting
 
- vmware (can't do my job without it)
- USB interface that can connect devices to vmware guest OSs
- FCPX (why hasn't Apple released this to prove that this is a "pro" device???)
- I'd really like a real file system, although I can live with the workarounds
 
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I'm in my 20's and cannot for the life of me use a trackpad with any type of speed, so I am okay with the iPad not having one. My work laptop has a trackpad and if it's not docked I have to carry a mouse with me if I want to do work and it not take all day. I am way too slow on a trackpad.

For me I can live without a mouse on my iPad as I find touch can be a lot quicker for a lot of things for me and my uses. My Pro has replaced my home computer. I haven't run across anything I can't do on my Pro that I would need a computer for. I've been living iPad only since mid-November and so far so good.
 
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