I’m into this. I’m not getting one of the new ones but I have the previous 12.9. Challenge accepted!
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I’m hoping to pick up a new iPad on Wednesday. 
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I’ve been trying to avoid reading about them on the web
In addition to picking up a new iPad tomorrow (assuming the store has one!), I got my new Apple Watch today. Christmas before December. 
I fit into the iPad Only category. I’m a long haul trucker and my computing needs are not as “sophisticated” as they once were. Come tax time I’ll be going ALL-OUT and purchasing the 12.9, 1T drive, smart keyboard, new pencil, and cellular. Lots of money to be spent, but I’ve been using my original 12.9 iPad Pro for a while. The only real problem for me is that I like tagging my files and iOS does not do a good job of that. You can do it, but it’s cumbersome!
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In response to another post, I wrote the following, which I thought appropriate for this topic:
I honestly thought it was a ridiculous article. He obviously did not take the time to use the iPad properly or efficiently. I am on day seven of a 30 day trial of using iPad exclusively. What I’m finding is that I can do far more on the iPad than I originally thought and I can do it more often than not by never touching the screen. There are a host of keyboard shortcuts for most nearly every app. Changing from a MacBook to an iPad requires learning new skills and workflows, including new keyboard shortcuts.
Many, by no means all, of those who claim they tried using the iPad Pro as a MacBook replacement did not give it enough time or are unwilling to learn new ways of doing things. One should not expect in a few days to master a new workflow and habits and “unlearn” workflows and habits that have developed over many years using a desktop or laptop computer. That said, not every application has as robust a set of Shortcuts nor performs as well as other applications. This is equally true of applications on a laptop or desktop. I am finding, however, that I can do all of my work on the iPad. I have yet to find any significant work that I cannot do with the exception of manipulating sub folders in the Apple Notes app and managing email groups. Those are not showstoppers but it is frustrating. I am hoping these small issues will be resolved in an iOS update.
I will add that I am not a programmer nor a developer. My needs are oriented towards more of a CEO type of role. Lots of notes, lots of meetings, lots of project management across multiple departments, as well as lots of communication, presentations, and writing. Obviously, the work that one does will make a big difference in how well the iPad Pro can meet one’s needs. All of that said, the author of the article never gave the iPad a genuine test. I find a lot of business Insider articles to be click bait. My current thinking is that the iPad and similar devices are the future of computing. I might as well start learning a new way of doing things now.
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My girlfriend had entirely moved to an iPad Pro last year with a 10.5. Sold off her MacBook Air and now looking to upgrade to an 11" iPad Pro.
This year, I’m also ditching my MacBook Pro for an iPad Pro 12.9 (upgrading from last year’s 12.9). My MacBook Pro is being utilized less since getting an iPad Pro. It’s better for me to sell it now than wait for a few months furthering eroding its value. We’ll see hopefully in a few weeks when the iPad becomes available here.
For me, the limitation of iOS works out. I like the workflow better and because I suffer from RSI, I find the touchscreen + Pencil approach easier on my hands than using a mouse and a trackpad. I rarely get pain when using the iPad Pro for an extended period compared when I’m using a MacBook Pro. I still have a MacBook Pro supplied at work so if I need to use a Mac; I still have the option.
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I guess this is really the most salient point though: how much should a person really change how they do things in order to accommodate the equipment they are using before it becomes an impediment?
Some processes go faster on Mac because there are fewer steps or there’s a bit software out there that I can use like keyboard maestro where I can put together my own bindings to perform functions, which sadly in iPad may still require a bunch of copy-paste type functions, app-switching and then a few taps to complete the same task.
My only point is that, yes, there can be learning curve and ultimately most people can learn to live with this limitations and work around them, but if you are an established Mac user with highly developed use-cases, it may not be worth moving over until iOS becomes more like macOS.
Aaron, I certainly agree. I was referring more to some tech. writers who after 24 hours return the iPad, without, IMO, really testing the options. For me, and I consider myself a strong/power user of the Mac, I’d like to see if I can have one device to “rule them all.” I like the idea of one workflow for everything, one GUI, one set of applications, 10 hour battery life, portability, and the ability to use the pencil to take notes or mind map when needed or switch to typing when that is the right form factor. As I said in the post, the ability to use the iPad as one’s sole computing device depends a great deal on one’s job responsibilities. Because my role is the private school equivalent to a CEO, most of my work revolves around meetings, presentations, writing, project management, marketing, and leading my Senior Leadership Team. I don’t program, podcast, nor create video. In short, one has to select the right tool for the job and the role one fills. As my US Air Force father was fond of saying, “if the tool isn’t right, the mechanic isn’t bright.”
I am merely testing to see if the iPad is the right exclusively tool for me.
Again, my response above was related to tech writers who never gave the iPad a serious extended test nor tried to master the keyboard shortcuts and workflows of the iPad. If they had and then rejected it as an option, that would be fine. A 24 hour test is not a true test.
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In order to create a new experience, it is sometimes necessary to break with tradition and the current ways of doing things. The iPad does this, and it comes at the price of initial inconvenience and the need to re-learn.
The alternative is to keep everything as-is and run the risk of total lock-in. Case in point, the QWERTY keyboards we all use are intentionally designed to slow down typing. Type too fast and the individual character “arms” on your typewriter will jam. I really wish some company had the courage to change this a long time ago.
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I think this is different for a journalist who is going to write an article declaring, “The iPad Pro is not a laptop replacement”, than it is for an individual user. An individual user can decide what level of change is too much of an impediment. A journalist writing an article should either carry the process all the way through, using the device long enough and making the adaptations they need to accomplish their workflows, then write an article saying, “These are the compromises I had to make to get my work done on an iPad Pro”, or write an article saying, “I personally can’t use an iPad Pro as a laptop replacement because I’m not willing to make these compromises". Categorically declaring that an iPad Pro can’t be used as a laptop replacement after a few days and no effort to find a way around any roadblocks is crappy journalism.
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@airwhale I believe that Matt Mullenweg (founding developer of Wordpress) is an advocate of the DVORAK keyboard. It is supposed to be much faster, and you can switch OSX to it.
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Ah gotcha, sorry I missed that earlier
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Agreed. I think the clickbaity framing we’ve seen from so many articles is unfortunate and really does a disservice to readers. A much more helpful approach would be to encourage and help readers to evaluate needs and ask questions of workflows. Then perhaps offer comparisons of different computing devices and platforms. Really, more of a how-to approach than a review. There is no one size fits all with this stuff.
Something else I see happening that is a direct result of the short time frame of reviews is ignorance of the app ecosystem and often features of the operating system. Of course it is perhaps an impossible task because the app ecosystem is huge. When reviewers say “well I can’t edit video in a professional manner because iMovie is not Final Cut Pro” they may be ignorant of the advanced alternatives such as LumaFusion. The problem is they write as though they are aware of all possibilities and make declarations without acknowledging that there may well be solutions available. I think a better approach would simply to be our workflow is x - y - z and this is what we think is missing.
To put it simply, I think the evaluation of tech should be more open ended with more questions about possibilities and fewer statements of “fact”. Computers, operating systems, apps, users, and work are too fluid. The knowledge of any one user, even an “expert” reviewer, of possible variables is far too limited for the kinds of pronouncements made in headlines. It just makes the reviewer look silly.
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It’s interesting too how much human interaction these days has been turned into a kind of battle or argument with other people’s choices being seen as a threat to one’s own choices. Rather than a celebration of all the amazing possibilities created by the hard work of engineers too much time is spent in negative take-down’s that are often not actually accurate. I guess it’s easy to get defensive and emotionally agitated even when it’s not needed. Perhaps it’s become some sort of cultural habit?
I think the world would be a better place if we all spent more time rooting each other on and enjoying the possibilities for creative interaction, learning and exploring. I think humans are at their best when they’re learning, cooperating and exploring together. #Saganinspiredquote 
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In the off-chance that you haven’t already seen it, I really liked Matt Gemmell’s post on The Big iPad. He does a very good job describing how he switched from his Mac to an iPad Pro, and what he does (and doesn’t do) with it.
Don’t just read my highlights, but here are some “teaser” quotes:
This isn’t a review, and it’s entirely about me. If you discover that we’re similar, then this’ll be useful to you. Otherwise, it’ll be more of a curiosity. That’s fine. Any review is ultimately like that; I’m just not going to pretend otherwise.
…
Also, be extremely skeptical of anyone who makes a judgement about switching to an iPad when they haven’t actually done it themselves (this goes for most judgements about most things throughout life). This group includes the apparent majority of tech journalists, most of whom seem to have an annual ritual of spending one week with the newest iPad, and then saying it’s not a laptop replacement yet in some general sense. How would you even know? I certainly didn’t until six months or so in.
Be wary. Be rational and critical. Don’t invite someone’s opinion into your brain without making them earn it. That goes for my words here too.
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There’s a “Can the iPad Pro Replace Your Laptop?” article on Laptop where the author actually went out an talked to pro users who are actually using the iPad Pro to get their work done (including Relay’s Mike Hurley).
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This was a good article, straight forward.
Bravo @ChrisUpchurch! This should be on a post-it on the monitor (iPad cover) of every journalist who dares to write an article for the iPad-Can/Cannot-Replace-Laptop genre. It shocks me how many journalists go into these articles with the intention of “destroying” Apple’s claims that an iPad can replace some other form of computer. The articles typically lack the kind of objectivity that you are championing.
They also lack the attention to the fun factor. People pick a computing platform that they like. My computing tasks are far more demanding then my wife’s. She tried an iPad for a while (in the pre-Pro days) and didn’t love the experience. She vastly prefers using her MacBook Air–she loves that computer.
Regardless of what you can or cannot do with an iPad today, those of us (like me) who really cherish this iPad and its promise look forward to the day when there are no compromises regarding what you can accomplish (and how easily you can accomplish that thing) between a “traditional computer” and an iPad. Those of us who want to be iPad only – for whatever reason – are not looking to survive on a dumbed-down experience, but want a robust platform that enables us to do everything we used to do and things we never thought we could do.
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