iPad Pro My personal thoughts regarding the iPad Pro

[ciarals]

Or just as a thought you could get an Air 2 and use the 500 or so to stash away and eventually replace your mb with a MacBook Air or entry level 13" rMBP. Could go the refurb route as well.

I'm sorry, what do you mean for "the 500 or so" ? You mean the money I could save?

 

[placidity44]

Right. My apologies. You could get an Air 2 refurbished which from Apple is the exact same as brand new and you save money getting the same return policy and use the money saved to stash away and eventually upgrade your Mac. Just a different train of thought that I thought I'd bring up.

 

[ciarals]

Right. My apologies. You could get an Air 2 refurbished which from Apple is the exact same as brand new and you save money getting the same return policy and use the money saved to stash away and eventually upgrade your Mac. Just a different train of thought that I thought I'd bring up.

Yes, it was one of my thoughts, but I think it would be pretty much "useless" (as much as a MacBook Air could be useless ) I'm buying the iPad Air/Pro to replace for 80-85% the Mac, I don't want to spend money for a new Mac: I know, maybe it's not the "right" way, but in my mind it is

 

[placidity44]

Nope I was just bringing up an option in case you didn't think of it to make an informed choice. The pro is more powerful than 80% of laptops sold in the last year and it's huge. Steve Jobs said it best: tablets will be like cars and macs like trucks: some people will still need trucks but a lot will be fine with cars. Enjoy your pro when you get it I'm envious!

 

[RockSpider]

However, "run" and "optimized for" are vastly different things, and Windows teaches that lesson well. The Surface Pro 3 also shows that trying to be several devices in one leads to all incarnations to be very mediocre. The SP3 isn't very usable as a tablet (low battery life, not silent, gets hot, not a lot of tablet-designed software) and only average as a laptop. I don't find the SP3 to be very "pro", either.It's not so different from many other multi-function devices. I'd rather have a separate coffee maker, toaster, and stove than all three in one device.

Personally, I'd rather have different operating systems for different devices if that yields me software that makes full and optimal use of the device it is designed for. What I do value is connectivity and ease of data exchange, and that is where I feel iOS could improve a lot still.

Microsoft also seems to be moving into the direction of a subscription model for the OS itself. That's a dealbreaker for me and the reason I'm slowly moving away from Windows.

Where has anyone said that it's going to be subscription based, I don't think anyone knows how it's going to play out. Even if it is sub based Office 365 is only $10'per month or less, less than Apple Music.
There are plenty of Professionals around very happy with the Pro 3, I couldn't see any of those going to a large iPad.
That Tim Cook analogy is ridiculous especially with low power CPUs becoming more powerful by the day. Tim Cook will eat his words in the not too distant future.

 

[EmaDaCuz]

However, "run" and "optimized for" are vastly different things, and Windows teaches that lesson well. The Surface Pro 3 also shows that trying to be several devices in one leads to all incarnations to be very mediocre. The SP3 isn't very usable as a tablet (low battery life, not silent, gets hot, not a lot of tablet-designed software) and only average as a laptop. I don't find the SP3 to be very "pro", either.It's not so different from many other multi-function devices. I'd rather have a separate coffee maker, toaster, and stove than all three in one device.

Personally, I'd rather have different operating systems for different devices if that yields me software that makes full and optimal use of the device it is designed for. What I do value is connectivity and ease of data exchange, and that is where I feel iOS could improve a lot still.

Allow me to go off topic and reply to your post. I think the SP3 (but I would say the Surface Pro in any of its incarnations) is indeed optimized for being used as a laptop and a tablet. Battery life is absolutely adequate in tablet mode, easily do 9-10 hours, but of course it drops to 4-5 hours if you use it as a laptop with CPU intensive software. It is a great all in one product. Perfect? No, for sure. But it is a great all around machine. I jumped on board with the SP2 and I still love it, my dad's SP3 is indeed great. Have great hopes for SP4.

As for the apps, yes, I agree that something is missing. However, you also have to consider the "audience" the SP is dedicated to. Productivity apps are all there, and this is what Microsoft cares about. Social apps and games are on the ugly side, but again, who buys a SP probably doesn't care about them.

The same applies to the iPad Pro, however. Plenty of cool apps which probably won't suit a "professional" who buys such a machine. I'd rather have a great office suite or a video editor, or a statistics software rather then "Cut the Rope" or "Fruit Ninja". And this, to me, it is the great misunderstanding with the iPad Pro. It is not a Pro machine, it is just a bigger, more powerful iPad, with limited "pro Apps" availability and a touch oriented interface whereas it may benefit of some conventional input (mouse support, for example). Great if you want to play or watch movies, but poor for all other purposes. And even for watching movies, I would rather get a TV and a Roku, or a Chromecast and a cheapo Android phone to cast Netflix and co.

 

[mattoligy]

But the thing I can't do for now with an iPad is streaming a non-iTunes file to the Apple TV.

Infuse Pro by FireCore https://appsto.re/gb/xJEp1.i

This app is absolutely incredible for what it can do on iOS! Getting said files on the iPad in the first place is another question but Infuse can play anything you chuck at it and it can AirPlay said content directly to an Apple TV without converting it on the fly! Just amazing, and take it from me, it performs silky smooth on an iPad 3rd gen so anything newer will be a breeze!

As mentioned above, it can play local files (as well as from external [wireless] HDDs etc) but only from another apps open in sheet due to the lack of file system access! This app is a prime example of an app that would take excellent advantage of access to a real file system!

As for downloading files on to iOS major pain in the ass. You can't connect a USB HDD, and as for apps which download from various online sources, well they will never get past Apples lock and key due to the closed nature of iOS. You obviously can't rip a bluray disk on to iOS using an iPad so that leaves you with.... You guessed it ITUNES. Funny that.

For 95% of the time, iPad will cut it. The other 5%, you'll really be itching for a computer.

This pretty much sums up iOS and it really frustrates me the fact one would have to buy an expensive laptop on top of their 95% capable iPad and lug around two devices just to fill that 5% gap where iOS fails. And a lot of this is down to how tight Apples leash is on iOS apps, how restrictive there APIs are and the fact they STILL haven't allowed users basic access to the file system with a corresponding Finder app and new 3rd party APIs.

 

[Mivo]

Battery life is absolutely adequate in tablet mode, easily do 9-10 hours,

Pretty much all serious reviews from credible sources cite a battery life of 2.5 to 4 hours for a brand-new SP3 under medium load (mixed usage scenarios). To me, that is not sufficient for a tablet, even if there were many Windows programs that are optimized for touch devices.

 

[EmaDaCuz]

Pretty much all serious reviews from credible sources cite a battery life of 2.5 to 4 hours for a brand-new SP3 under medium load (mixed usage scenarios). To me, that is not sufficient for a tablet, even if there were many Windows programs that are optimized for touch devices.

That's for sure in desktop mode and I agree with that. Tablet mode, no. Even my used and abused SP2 goes on for 7-8 hours of "app usage", while it goes up to 10-11 watching movies. Watching 4 hours of movie brings down the battery to 70-75%. On the other hand, playing a 2D platform on Steam gives me no more than 3.5-4 hours. And funny enough, if you play the same game but in its "app" version, battery lasts twice as much.

 

[ciarals]

Infuse Pro by FireCore https://appsto.re/gb/xJEp1.i

This app is absolutely incredible for what it can do on iOS! Getting said files on the iPad in the first place is another question but Infuse can play anything you chuck at it and it can AirPlay said content directly to an Apple TV without converting it on the fly! Just amazing, and take it from me, it performs silky smooth on an iPad 3rd gen so anything newer will be a breeze!

As mentioned above, it can play local files (as well as from external [wireless] HDDs etc) but only from another apps open in sheet due to the lack of file system access! This app is a prime example of an app that would take excellent advantage of access to a real file system!

As for downloading files on to iOS major pain in the ass. You can't connect a USB HDD, and as for apps which download from various online sources, well they will never get past Apples lock and key due to the closed nature of iOS. You obviously can't rip a bluray disk on to iOS using an iPad so that leaves you with.... You guessed it ITUNES. Funny that.



This pretty much sums up iOS and it really frustrates me the fact one would have to buy an expensive laptop on top of their 95% capable iPad and lug around two devices just to fill that 5% gap where iOS fails. And a lot of this is down to how tight Apples leash is on iOS apps, how restrictive there APIs are and the fact they STILL haven't allowed users basic access to the file system with a corresponding Finder app and new 3rd party APIs.

Woa, didn't know of Infuse! Thank you! My % of iPad Pro usage is now 97%! Very very nice app, I instantly paid for it without thinking...

This, with the addtion of the Readdle apps will really bring my iPad usage to great levels

 

[Supermallet]

As for the apps, yes, I agree that something is missing. However, you also have to consider the "audience" the SP is dedicated to. Productivity apps are all there, and this is what Microsoft cares about. Social apps and games are on the ugly side, but again, who buys a SP probably doesn't care about them.

The same applies to the iPad Pro, however. Plenty of cool apps which probably won't suit a "professional" who buys such a machine. I'd rather have a great office suite or a video editor, or a statistics software rather then "Cut the Rope" or "Fruit Ninja". And this, to me, it is the great misunderstanding with the iPad Pro. It is not a Pro machine, it is just a bigger, more powerful iPad, with limited "pro Apps" availability and a touch oriented interface whereas it may benefit of some conventional input (mouse support, for example). Great if you want to play or watch movies, but poor for all other purposes. And even for watching movies, I would rather get a TV and a Roku, or a Chromecast and a cheapo Android phone to cast Netflix and co.

That's not entirely fair. The SP line has been out in multiple versions now, so it's clear what it's app package looks like. The iPad Pro on the other hand is the first iPad really geared towards professionals, so we have no clue ultimately what the professional application situation will look like. The Pro only looks like a bigger iPad right now because the defining apps haven't been built for it yet.

If there's one thing you can bet on with iOS, it's app support. There will be enough interest in the Pro that we'll likely see some very advanced apps for it in addition to Fruit Ninja and Facebook.

 

[rkuo]

I think you are overly optimistic of what the iPad Pro is going to be able to do right now. A large screen monitor with keyboard and mouse is still vastly superior for web surfing and general purpose computer usage ... not just FCPX. The iPad is convenient, but not efficient or flexible.

 

[EmaDaCuz]

That's not entirely fair. The SP line has been out in multiple versions now, so it's clear what it's app package looks like. The iPad Pro on the other hand is the first iPad really geared towards professionals, so we have no clue ultimately what the professional application situation will look like. The Pro only looks like a bigger iPad right now because the defining apps haven't been built for it yet.

If there's one thing you can bet on with iOS, it's app support. There will be enough interest in the Pro that we'll likely see some very advanced apps for it in addition to Fruit Ninja and Facebook.

I sincerely hope so, but I am afraid it won't be convenient for the developers to build for a third platform... best thing would be to re-code the Pro Apps (Logic and Final Cut, to start with) to run on the iPadPro. Developing pro apps from scratch for a device that is (probably) not going to sell like an iPad will take time and energy. Plus, they have to find a way to make those apps touch friendly, and most of them are not at the moment.
Long way to go, let's see if the devs can come up with something creative.