I wonder whether the 12.9” iPad has a future

Have you considered cellular to ethernet adaptors?


JJW

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Do you use the Pencil, or a keyboard? Draw a lot of equations and diagrams?

oooooooooooooooh. That sounds interesting!

Not a present need of mine. I’m old and retired and all my mobile needs can be met with my iPhone, which of course has a cellular connection. Which, of course, could also provide a mobile hotspot to my Mac if push came to shove.

I was actually trying to demonstrate how little use I have for iPads. :slightly_smiling_face:

I’ll chime in here as it’s a favorite topic. :nerd_face:

I’m using the 13" daily, 10+ hours most days:

  • Website updates and set-up from scratch using Textastic for coding and FTP
  • Document layout and design using Affinity apps: Publisher, Photo, Designer. Newsletters, annual reports, brochures, flyers, etc are all as easily done on the iPad a Mac. The only constraint is the 13" screen being too small just as it would be on a Mac. If Apple releases a 15"+ version I’ll buy it if it fits my budget.
  • Numbers for managing invoices, banking and a client’s mailing list and workshop registrations

Stage Manager has been a big plus for me. In general day-to-day use but especially helpful when using a second screen. With Affinity Publisher it’s great having reference/source materials on the second screen. Or, when doing work with Numbers I’ll often have 2 Numbers documents open along with a website one of my clients uses for managing a mailing list.
I keep the Dock visible but hide the sidebar. Allows for more screen but easy access to the sidebar when needed.

Other often used apps: Files, Mail, Reeder, Mona, iA Writer, Notebooks, Pages and Slack.

Reasons for choosing and remaining with the iPad:

  • Touch screen which I use all the time even if I’m also using a keyboard, trackpad
  • I can disconnect the keyboard
  • Flexible form factor… I use the Moft magnetic snap case. It allows me to use with the Magic Keyboard or the Moft stand that is a kickstand that allows for near infinite positioning. Really nice to used propped up on my lap or on a pillow or desk. No keyboard or with a keyboard nearby.
  • Multitasking, opening apps feels far faster, easier and more fluid on the iPad than the Mac.
  • Easier to manage iPadOS. By comparison macOS feels overly complicated.
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I use the Pencil. Handwritten mathematics is sooooo much easier to do. And diagrams are so quick.

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I love my 12.9 iPad, it is the second one I bought. It is great for reading magazines or pdfs in a chair or on the sofa. Definitely better than a MacBook with the always attached keyboard in the way. It is also my primary device for watching TV. I can carry it around from room to room and watch it anywhere including outside on my deck on a nice day.

It’s true that I can’t do everything I need to do without my MacBook Pro, but it is a great complimentary device for the things I mentioned where a MacBook is not ideal.

It is also the ideal computer for my Dad who used to have a MacBook, but the iPad is much easier for him to use.

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Absolutely not.

In your opinion, and it’s not really backed up by anything here. You are not most people and really shouldn’t be making generalised statements with the voice of people you don’t represent. Most people probably aren’t eyeing up the $1300 version of a device when the $700 version does everything they actuallly want.

Actually i’d suggest that for your stated use cases the $500 iPad 10G is more than adequate unless you specifically want the smaller size of the iPad mini and that feature is worth the extra $100 to you.

It’s neither too big nor too heavy. As a tablet it can be used in a lot of situations were a MacBook Air cannot. I ask you to try standing with no convenient surface nearby and operating your MacBook Air comfortably using only your hands for an extended period. I can and do use my iPad in a number of situations where a laptop would be unweidly, where using a keyboard or touchpad would be a hindrance, and where having a touch interface is an advantage.

I can hold the 12.9" iPad comfortably for hours. I am not Andre the Giant. Your experience is not representative. Don’t project your difficulties on to me and other iPad users. It’s a legitimate concern when choosing a device to use but just because it’s your concern does not mean it’s everyone’s.

The primacy of ‘portability’ is a fallacy. Capability is all that matters. If you don’t have the capability you need then you have the wrong device. If you have too much capability then you’ve made an uneccesary sacrifice for that capability you don’t even want. Your device could be the mostest portablest but if it doesn’t do the job you want it to do as well as you need it done then you’re not going to use it and you’re going to go to a device with the capability you need.

This thread is full of the testimony of people picking the more capable device over the more portable device that was never intended to fit their needs.

This is great for you. When I want to use something that’s like a laptop I use my MacBook. Because it’s an actual laptop and fills that role significantly better. Your use cases are fine - but I don’t think these are representative of iPad Pro users — none of them would use the features of an iPad Pro. An iPad is not a laptop replacement and if your use case works best for a laptop you should buy and use a laptop, not expect this other device that is not a laptop to fulfil the role of a laptop.

It’s infinitely useful that you can attach a keyboard to an iPad and operate it in a method similar to a laptop but if thats the whole of what you want it to be you’re actively ignoring the versatility that makes it such an amazing device. If you buy an iPad and use it exclusively as though it were a laptop you should have just have bought a laptop.

The only people who seem to want an iPad Pro are indeed the people who want it’s specific features for the appropriate use cases? If you don’t want the screen size, the screen quality, the pencil support, and other features specific to that device, then why would you even buy one?

What you’ve stated here is a truism: the people that need a feature are the people that buy the feature.

I would not give up my iPad Pro 12.9 willingly, but then I really value all those features it has that you don’t personally use. I can’t do those things anything close to as well on my MacBook.

The clue is in the “Pro” here. I know that some people just think that the “Pro” means it’s the better version but it actually does mean that it caters for specific use cases that are not ubiquitous. Just like the MacBook Pro is better than a MacBook Air at processing 8k video but it isn’t any better at all at sending emails.

The things you want to do, perhaps. But that suggests to me that you bought the wrong device for the wrong purposes. Your use cases benefit from a Mac, you should probably do them on a Mac


The problem here to my mind is as it often is with these discussions. The natural inclination is to expect that all these devices are for you. When those devices then aren’t the best at the things you’re expecting of them the instinct is to decide that the device must therefore be deficient.

Not all devices are for you. Every time someone asks for an iPad to be more like a Mac, or ‘desktop class’ (an honestly silly request is to ask that a device designed for portability and portable interface modes be made to operate like a device that’s limited to functioning on a desk) they’re falling into this trap. Especially now that the iPad Pro has literally the same hardware as a Mac. What it boils down to is that you should use a Mac.

@MitchWagner I hope I haven’t come across as overly combative but the only argument I’ve seen you make here is that you should buy a MacBook Air. I could make a similar argument asking if the MacBook Air has a future because it can’t even drive four Studio Displays, can’t store two weeks of 8k footage on it’s internal storage, and doesn’t even have an active cooling system. Or if the MacBook Pro has a future because it’s less portable than the Air. Why even have a 16" model when the only people who will buy it are the people who need a 16" screen?

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It did come across as overly combative.

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Perhaps but I appreciated that it was a thoughtful, point-by-point response and agreed with the points made. When I first read the original post I wondered what the point was and found it a bit odd. I mean, I don’t use the Mac Studio because it’s not for me. But it wouldn’t even occur to me to make a post wondering if that device has a future…

I could certainly come up with a few questions about it as a product in the Mac lineup. I really can’t imagine that anyone would want it or find it useful. Almost anyone thinking of buying the Studio would probably be better off with a Mac Mini. The Studio is fairly expensive and way over powered for most people. It seems like only a small number of people would need it, just video editors that want to run FCP or other, similar high end niche software. And it’s not even portable. It’s heavy and needs an external screen. Most people would be better off with a MBP…

In case it’s not obvious, the above paragraph is meant to be a bit silly and it wouldn’t occur to me to make such a post. I trust that those that buy a Mac Studio have their reasons and that it’s the correct purchase for them. It’s a product in Apple’s line-up for those that find it useful. Cool. I’m glad it’s there for them.

@MacBookHipster asked some pointed questions that I often want to ask in discussions about the iPad’s worth but don’t. But in general, you know, use what works for you. No need to call into question the existence of tools/devices that are not for you but which work well for other people. Unfortunately the iPad has become an object of ridicule by Mac users because it’s not something they find useful.

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I love the 12.9" iPad Pro. Admittedly, I am a professional artist and those unique needs did play a big factor in the purchase. But I also spend a lot of time in spreadsheets, and dealing with other non-creative things that sustain the art biz.

I also travel quite a bit for my business, and that was another big factor in the purchase.

Not having to lug around a giant power adapter, not to mention my graphic tablet, and having a place to set it all up, only to head out of a hotel the following morning. Did that for years with my MacBook Pro. I basically never used it due to the amount of hassle and setup I had to do.

Now with the IPad Pro, I literally can just pull it out of the backpack and immediately get actual work done. Zero friction.

I did force myself to work with the iPad as much as possible when I got it, and my old MacBook Pro only has a 15" screen. So I didn’t lose a ton of real estate there. But I am completely sold on the utter portability of the device.

I can take it anywhere I go and do any sort of work that needs to be done. Have had no major issues with iCloud file sync for the rare occasions when I do work from the MBP.

As the apps improve, I’ve been able to detach myself from a need for the desktop apps for 99% of the tasks I do regularly. There are some automations I still run via the Mac and Hazel, but many of those might be replaceable with Shortcuts and some more education.

I’ve reconfigured all my workflows around the iPad Pro, and do not find much of anything to be a sacrifice. In fact, I can’t really immediately think of anything that is lacking by working from the iPad Pro.

That said, dealing with files and folders is probably the task that sticks out the most as being far more efficient on a desktop computer. Maybe that has improved in iOS 16, haven’t yet updated. But the file system gets better and better every iOS version.

And I am with the earlier reply from the person who said they’d buy an even larger one if available and the price was reasonable.

I’ll be upgrading my 2018 to probably the next revision, and to get the most RAM will be buying one of the higher-end ones. Don’t really need the storage, but the added RAM will be a big plus in graphics apps.

I hope the iPad Pro never goes away, and while I still plan on having a desktop computer for certain tasks, I’m pretty much able to run my entire business from the iPad Pro, anywhere I am, with very little hassle. It’s a huge plus for me.

I was skeptical at first, but it has entirely revolutionized how I work and run my business.

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I would have never considered using the 12.9" iPad Pro as my primary machine, but I sold off my 13" M1 MBP last year when my business practically stalled. I felt I’d be fine with just an iPad and a 2017 iMac for a while, at least until the business recovers (I went through two years of the pandemic just fine and then all clients cancelled within a month or two for their various business reasons which caught me off-guard a bit). The idea was to buy another MBP down the line when needed.

So I’ve been doing 95% of my work on the 12.9" iPad Pro (with Logitech Combo Touch) for about a year now, waiting until I get back home or remoting into the iMac when needed using Jump Desktop. And raising a few eyebrows along the way as people consider me a power user, so a choice of an iPad instead of a laptop presumably goes against that perception.

I can do everything I do for a living on the iPad Pro (I am a communications consultant, so essentially, I’m in PR). I wrote lots of text, did invoices, managed finances, made presentations and won clients just fine. I’ve edited photos, sent press releases, downsampled videos, managed social media, had Teams calls and transferred gigabytes (possibly even terabytes) to/from various cloud services.

Some things annoy me occasionally, and you have to jump through hoops here and there (looking at you, iPadOS), but at the end of the day, I’m just fine on the iPad alone. I appreciate the added focus when working on the iPad. There’s, for some reason, less temptation to switch apps, play around and waste time on distractions.

Now that the business has recovered somewhat, I’ve had the 14" M1 MBP first and now the M2 in my basket on Amazon since December and for some reason, I’ve still not pulled the trigger. I enjoy working on the iPad Pro much more than I thought I would.

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Welcome. I prefer the 11" iPP but feel much the same about iPads as you do. These days my Mac just runs backup.

If Apple keeps improving the non-pro iPads they may soon be the equal of my 2020 iPP, and I probably won’t need a Pro to replace it. But iPads are currently 8% of Apple’s revenue so I don’t see them going away.

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There do seem to be new features added to make the iPP stand apart, most recently with Pencil hover. I assume this will continue as long as possible.

My Mac is mostly a backup device to my iOS devices, but I do use some of the software at times. Some spreadsheets really bog down the iPad, and some of my art files just need to be worked on in desktop apps due to features I just can’t replicate in the iOS apps I use.

But it’s getting more and more rare. I’m betting a newer iPad Pro would probably handle complex spreadsheets better than my 2018 model. But I think a larger screen would also be useful.

I plan on getting an iMac when they are refreshed.

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I did not find your comments overly combative. I enjoyed reading your perspective.

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Thanks. I proof read it like 3 times and still wasn’t sure I should post it. I’m relieved!

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This topic shows in a perfect way that your own way of using Macs or iPads and what you do with them is often quite different from what others do.

I could not live without my 12.9’ iPad. For me, it is sheet music and music scores. The 12.9’ iPad has transformed the way how I am conducting (just a brass band) and playing music (bass guitar, horn, piano/organ). Everything with me all the time. And interacting with those PDFs is just great. Smaller iPads are not sufficient for that use case, especially with big Music scores (display too small on other models).

And if somebody is into drawing or mostly working with a pencil… :slight_smile:

Yes, the 12.9’ iPad has a future. For sure. :slight_smile:

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I’ve just put (a lot) of money where my mouth is. Five year old 12.9" iPad Pro died yesterday evening after showing odd hardware-looking glitches for months. Ordered a replacement this morning. (Very) painful price, but it’s something I use more than any other device and I was struggling for workarounds for some of the things I do every day.

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My spouse is legally blind and now an independent artist, and the 12.9in iPad is her favorite piece of tech ever! Since the beginning of college 7ish years ago, she has burned through 3 of them. She uses it full brightness all day every day. It’s her sketchbook, TV, Bible, photo editor, sheet music, and so much more. She got a Remarkable 2 a few months ago to cut down on eye strain and really loves that for task management and ideas, but the iPad Pro is still her main machine. She doesn’t even have a keyboard for it!

I think we’re collectively are just a bunch of nerds arguing about the “future of computing” and while I love that, it’s important to think about the “normal” people just using these tools to live their lives and make them better.

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How’s she finding the Remarkable 2? I considered getting one to replace my paper notebook but I’m not sure it would scratch the same itch, y’know?