We’re continuing our streak of Apple news, diving into the only review of the iPad Pro that really matters: the one from AnandTech.
Overall, the iPad Pro is an incredibly good tablet. I’ve always liked the idea of a tablet, but for the most part I’ve been deeply dissatisfied with the implementations of tablets. With the iPad Air 2 review I really emphasized how a proper keyboard and a good stylus would really make the user experience much more compelling, and with the iPad Pro we’re finally starting to see movement towards the tablet that I’ve always wanted. The iPad Pro is arguably the first tablet that I personally want to even consider buying. It isn’t perfect by any means, and there is still a lot of work to be done – seemingly fitting for a first-generation Apple device – but for the first time in a long time it feels like the broader tablet market is advancing once again. If you want a proper tablet that can replace pencil and paper with a keyboard for extended typing sessions, I have no problem recommending the iPad Pro. If you’re hoping for a laptop that can also double as a tablet, I suspect that the Surface Pro 4 will remain the right choice for you.
In the end, the success of the iPad pro is pretty much a given. It’s a bigger iPad, and there are enough people in the world who’d love a bigger version of their Netflix machine. However, whether or not the iPad Pro lives up to its moniker – i.e., it becomes a tool tons of people rely on for their work – remains to be seen. After the first few days or maybe even a few weeks of excitement, I remain convinced artists will go back to their Cintiqs and Photoshops, journalists writing “can it replace a laptop?”-articles will go back to their MacBook Airs, and everybody else didn’t even look up from their smartphone.
Before an iPad can become the work horse in professional life, iOS needs a serious uplift. iOS has too many restrictions to make it a general computing OS.
Some examples:
It is virtually impossible to reply to an e-mail with a locally stored attachment (word, excel, pdf file)
All local files are stored per app, and cannot be opened by another app (images are the exception). This can only be achieved via the cloud.
Zipping files and them emailing the compressed zip files, is another show stopper.
Cloud solutions for iOS don’t sync the files locally due to the lack of a decent local file management solution (on PC’s and Macs, cloud files are always accessible, even when the device is offline). An iPad is lost when it has no Internet connection, which happen frequently for wifi only iPads.
iPads have no user management, which a very limiting factor in a corporate environment.
These iOS restrictions are fine for an iPhone, but unacceptable for a general computing device.
Edited 2016-01-28 11:44 UTC
They (mostly Apple bloggers) keep marketing the iPad Pro as a creative tool. Frankly, I haven’t encountered many creative types field that seems to find any use out of it, and I work in a commercial photography/advertising company in a building full of photographers, painters, designers, etc types of folk.
You still can’t color manage iOS (afaik) so it’s a no-go for any group that requires anything remotely colour critical in their workflow. There’s no (not yet, at least) equivalent for desktop Adobe and Corel suites – meaning applications that take care of all steps from proofing to printing/publishing – so I can’t see many photographers and designers using an iPad Pro exclusively without forwarding their work to a Mac or Windows machine. Audio professionals don’t get any ports for their interfaces either. From what I’ve read online, the only group of professionals that have taken to the iPad Pro seem to be illustrators. A lot of good reviews from those folk using an app called Procreate, though I don’t know how they actually print their work, so maybe they’d still need to forward to a desktop. Not saying there aren’t more out there that get use from an iPad Pro – as a sole device without the need for a PC/Mac, at least – but I’ve yet to see any in the wild.
Also, everyone seems to be going on about how the Apple Pencil is so much better than a Wacom stylus, but they’re all comparing it to the stock stylus you get in the box with Intous or Cintiq models. Has anyone ever compared the Pencil to one the art or airbrush pens that Wacom sell separately? I know from experience that those things are absolute WMDs with apps like Corel Painter, and nothing I’ve experienced from the Apple Pencil (albeit from just a few short demos) convinces me that it’ll cut the mustard for many of the specialized inputs a lot of my colleagues perform on a daily basis.
Edited 2016-01-28 13:34 UTC
I own an iPad Pro ( also an iPad Mini ) and I have to say it’s in use almost all the time.
This is partially because I enjoy using it for reading, watching movies, playing games or drawing diagrams – bigger is that much better and also the pencil makes diagrams much MUCH easier then using a trackpad on a laptop – but also because of an application called ‘duet’. This app allows me to use the iPad Pro as a second monitor to my Mac Book Pro. I just prop my iPad Pro on a stand and I have full portable dual monitor setup.
I will say, however, that until Apple adds support for a pointer device ( magic trackpad in my case) I really can’t recommend it for ‘work’. It’s just too much of a hassle to do basic text editing, even with a keyboard.
I do carry around an iPad to deal with any emergencies but I actually find the iPad mini much easier to use as an emergency ssh terminal because it’s easier to use the onscreen keyboard and it’s just that much more portable.
Overall I am really pleased with the iPad Pro although, to reiterate, it would be that much more useful – and potentially be a laptop replacement in many cases – if I could use it with a bluetooth trackpad.
The second monitor feature is what I want from a tablet. I just want it to stay a second monitor when I take it with me, interacting with whatever application I use on my desktop. Tablets are great for browsing information, decent for tapping buttons and switches for basic input, and terrible for all complex interaction.
I work at a library, but what I want is something I think would be useful at any storage facility: the ability to search a number of items on my desktop, drag them over to my tablet, and read them while browsing the physical shelves, preferably with the ability to do changes to the holdings record, mark items as missing or whatever.
And no, the Surface isn’t the solution either: I need it to work with a 27″ screen.
Did I just say I want Windows 10 with a dumb terminal mode?
use remote desktop! Microsoft remote desktop chromecast and an otg cable or bluetooth works wonders. Google remote desktop is great for walking off the desk and taking it with you. i am using google remote desktop to type this on from my phone.
There’s a well known tech podcast/live streaming network that have a show dedicated to Apple products.
They gushed about getting hold of their iPad Pros, and when they got them after a couple of shows they came to the conclusion it was a big iPad, Oooh!
Then they gushed about the arrival of the Pencil, then they got their Pencil but after playing around with it over a couple of weeks the magic disappeared – because like most people they had little artistic ability and little practical use for a $100 accessory.
It’s a big tablet, it’s an expensive tablet, it has a stylus that might(?) be useful if you’re an artist … so what?
This is not an interesting product and Apple just aren’t an interesting company beyond being absurdly rich – which they owe to branding rather than merit.
iPads purchased bulk for education will have new multi-user features in the OS. more than likely after 1 version for education only, apple will open up this feature to the masses.
i generally agree with the other takes here – a bigger, faster iPad is good but not a game changer. same for stylus. but i think with split screen, custom keyboards, better file handling, and user account support the iOS is growing into a real platform.
as i’ve stated before – a large percentage of workers still can’t sit in front of a laptop while they do their days work. for those types, it’s hard to beat an iPad, or a clipboard, or an iPad on a clipboard as they do their days tasks.
Agreed. File handling’s still far from where it needs to be, and split screen needs to be able to handle two windows of the same app, however we are getting closer. I already use my iPad for work far more than I use my laptop in any case, as it’s just more convenient. I wouldn’t have been able to do this two major versions ago.