iPad Pro What is the purpose of iPad Pro?

[schneeland]

My main reason to get the 12.9" Pro (I have the 2020 model) was that it is nicer for reading and annotating full-size A4/letter articles and books (14" would be even better, but we'll have to see if that ever materializes), and that it's a lot nicer for even my amateurish sketching efforts. It's certainly a bit overbuilt for this purpose, but I don't regret the purchase.

 

[ruddyman]

Very anecdotal and somewhat niche use case, but as a performing musician and educator, the iPad 12.9 is the best way to digitize and carry around not just music/charts/setlists, etc, but also all teaching materials/books. I know that for many, many musicians, the iPad 12.9 is the best option for screen resolution & size, ease of use for notes/markings when paired with the 2nd gen pencil and an app like ForScore, storage for their "sheet" music needs, and the quad speakers are also a huge help when trying to play a metronome or other accompanying sounds with my students or even in rehearsals with small ensembles. A lot of this work doesn't require the chainsaw processing power of the newer iPads - I'm still using my 12.9 Pro from Sept 2020 and have not felt any need whatsoever for the M chips, but, again, niche use case here.

Yes, 12.9 Pro for sheet music and reading from a stand.

 

[JamesMay82]

I use LR on my M1 12.9 primarily when I'm traveling and want to get some quick reviewing and some processing of my Canon RAW images; I really prefer to do most of the work at home with access to my main storage media & LR library. For iPad storage, I use a 1TB SSD. For me, the Pro benefits are the larger 12.9 display and benefits of a more powerful CPU for 4K video processing with LumaFusion; not sure that the RAW image processing gains enough to be really noticeable but again, I like the larger display for LR.

What do you mean you use a 1TB SSD, I didn’t think LR on iPad can download the full res images? I thought it only downloaded the thumbnails to edit?

 

[sparksd]

What do you mean you use a 1TB SSD, I didn’t think LR on iPad can download the full res images? I thought it only downloaded the thumbnails to edit?

I copy or move my RAW images from my camera's SD card to the SSD using a USB-C hub connected to the iPad. Those RAW images are imported as RAW images into LR and after processing, I export the JPEG to the SSD. All full resolution.

 

[HiVolt]

iPadOS is, and has always been the limiting factor. All the iPads suffer from these limitations no matter the entry level or the pro.

 

[oasantos1]

Personally, I use primarily use it as media consumption device.
The screen, speakers, and 120hz display when navigating the UI are what drove to buy another 11 Pro.

I tried to use it for work, but stage manager and iPad OS suck.

 

[sparksd]

iPadOS is, and has always been the limiting factor. All the iPads suffer from these limitations no matter the entry level or the pro.

Really depends on what you want/need to do with it. Works great for me for media consumption, RAW image processing, 4K video processing, email, light Word & Excel work.

 

[JamesMay82]

I copy or move my RAW images from my camera's SD card to the SSD using a USB-C hub connected to the iPad. Those RAW images are imported as RAW images into LR and after processing, I export the JPEG to the SSD. All full resolution.

Cool - so your raws just live in the cloud and you just back up high res jpeg to local/external?

 

[sparksd]

Cool - so your raws just live in the cloud and you just back up high res jpeg to local/external?

I don't use the cloud at all - I use attached storage (SSDs). I also have my main libraries and storage offline on a NAS (about 70K images). I like the iPad for processing when traveling.

 

[HiVolt]

Really depends on what you want/need to do with it. Works great for me for media consumption, RAW image processing, 4K video processing, email, light Word & Excel work.

It does, like my mom for example is 100% iPad, she stopped using a computer 5 years ago when I bought her a 12.9" iPad Pro (2017) - purely for the screen size.

But I feel the M1/M2 iPad Pro's power is wasted by limitations in iPadOS because the software is limited vs desktops. A lot of it is because of the touch input requirements and the mouse/trackpad support is stilil very poor in iPadOS. like why can't we have the precision of an arrow?

 

[JamesMay82]

I don't use the cloud at all - I use attached storage (SSDs). I also have my main libraries and storage offline on a NAS (about 70K images). I like the iPad for processing when traveling.

Sorry, I’m hijacking the thread. But when you do that with lr on iPad doesn’t it automatically load to cloud?

 

[Ludatyk]

But I feel the M1/M2 iPad Pro's power is wasted by limitations in iPadOS because the software is limited vs desktops.

I'm curious... what limitations are you referring to?

A lot of it is because of the touch input requirements and the mouse/trackpad support is stilil very poor in iPadOS. like why can't we have the precision of an arrow?

Umm... Apple Pencil support? That doesn't count as precision?

 

[sparksd]

Sorry, I’m hijacking the thread. But when you do that with lr on iPad doesn’t it automatically load to cloud?

I keep sync on the iPad paused.

 

[Wizec]

it’s a very fast, no compromise tablet computer.

 

[Alameda]

I think the pros are not meant for people who do basic tasks like streaming and web browsing. People like me.

I guess it’s for people who want to do more intensive tasks like photo and video editing or have a special use case for the pencil.

Having said all of that I still own a pro, mostly because of the quad speakers. At the time I bought it there were other advantages such the new design, larger display, ability to use the Magic Keyboard. However, these can all be had on the air now.

That’s what I meant to ask — Is there something you can do with the Pro that you can’t do with other models?

It seems that with the higher dynamic range of the screens and the fast CPU’s, RAW image editing and video editing could be the target uses of the Pro. But I’m not so familiar with the detailed differences between the various models of iPad.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Still not a fan of the sleep/wake TouchID on the iPad mini 6. None of my left-hand fingers would work on it.

It's OK when I'm using the mini in portrait mode and my right index finger isn't covered in grease. Any other orientation or if I'm snacking and it's a PITA.

Would definitely prefer Face ID.

 

[histeachn81]

I don’t own one yet, but the main reason I’m looking at the Pro is future proofing through CPU but mainly RAM. Next year when the new Pro/Air/base come out, the refurbished M1 Pro and Air will go down in price. The base Pro will still be cheaper than the M1 Air (I don’t want the 64 GB option), so I’ll likely get the M1 Pro when in stock. There is the extremely unlikely chance that the base iPad 11 could further inherit the guts of the Air like it’s been doing and get the M1 treatment, but I doubt it. That just leaves the refurbished M1 Pro. For my work use cases, I’ll be set for a long while.

 

[Miha_v]

- for drawing in combination with Apple pencil 2 (Procreate / other painting apps)
- for 3d sculpting apps (combo of pencil and high performance is crucial here)
- for gaming
- for media (120Hz refresh rate makes everything smooth, great display)

You can do all these things on smaller / cheaper versions of ipads, but there are some differences (non-laminated screen on basic iPad not as great for drawing as the laminated one on Pro, less memory limits the number of layers you can use in Procreate for example, screen with a bit less contrast and brightness, lower refresh rate, etc).

 

[Anthony_DBoss]

The only difference imo that you will see is besides the Face ID and nicer Retina display is if you decide to play some 3D games on it like a First Person Shooter.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

Has nobody mentioned that the pro moniker also just makes certain people feel more pro? 😜

I have a 2018 64 GB 12.9” pro - for me it’s the size and that’s about it. Pro motion I really don’t care about. Animations look smoother, yes, but it has no benefit for me personally and I turned it off to extend battery life.

Funnily enough, the iPad Air’s roughly 11” are a more comfortable size to hold for me and I consider it the ideal size.
12.9” is nicer for working on photos and for typing long text if you have the Magic Keyboard, however, because the 11” one is a little cramped for some keys.

 

[iPadified]

That’s what I meant to ask — Is there something you can do with the Pro that you can’t do with other models?

Just like Mac and iPhone, the Pro label means better although better is subjective. I expect larger SoC differences between the Air and the Pro lines in the spring releases.

 

[GuruZac]

My iPad Pro is the 12.9 M1 model and I use with the pencil and Magic Keyboard. I used it a lot in medical school for note taking and bought the Pro for the larger screen size, but I honestly only use it now for the very occasional signing of documents and primarily as a consumption device. As I begin residency I will replace my M1 MacBook Air for most likely the M3 15" MacBook Air for the larger display, and just keep my M1 12.9 iPad Pro for consumption device, and replace it with probably the 11" model. I like the Pro models mostly for the better display, better speakers, FaceID.

 

[cmcbhi]

FWIW, listening to any device in a public environment with out earbuds/headphone disturbs those around you and in rude, so the quality of the speakers is less important. If you do use your iPad to demonstrate your projects that may not apply.

 

[sparksd]

FWIW, listening to any device in a public environment with out earbuds/headphone disturbs those around you and in rude, so the quality of the speakers is less important. If you do use your iPad to demonstrate your projects that may not apply.

The people who mentioned speakers talked about home use, not public, and speaker quality is important to them.

 

[floral]

Mainly meant for people who take on heavy creative work, for stuff like personal or work projects.

For example: say your boss wants you to make a complex and intricate logo for their company to hook in people. Any other iPad would do the job fine, but the Pro version has pencil hover, better performance, more RAM, etc, so it can handle a large canvas easier than other ones.