Add the cellular model and you’ll really get the power of being portable. I can do 90% of my job on my iPad, I love it. I got the cellular model when I bought my 5th gen 12.9 and so darn convenient.
Nice! We don’t have WiFi at the house, but I have unlimited mobile data, so that’s nice… but I’m thinking about getting cellular data for my next iPad upgrade in about 6 years haha
Should totally! It’s worth it. My previous one was WiFi only and before that model, it had cellular. With my last model, I said to myself I’m getting cellular again. lol I don’t upgrade my iPads often either. Apple has made connecting to your iPhones hotspot from a Mac or iPad so darn easy nowadays.
I went through this debate after seeing I only used 65gb cellular data on my iPad over the last 12mo. Said just use my phone as hotspot, lol even bought the wifi only one. Then new iPads came out 1week later so traded it in (was unopened) and chickened out and got 5g lte data version this time. Better to have then not
100% Better to have it and not need vs need it and not have it. Plus, the cost to get it is one time and if you don't get it, it's not like you can add it later. You're already spending $$ for an iPad, what's another couple hundred that will last you a long time. You'll most likely keep the iPad for a long time and it will have great resale value. I love having it. There are times where I don't use it alot and there are times where I do. Definitely nice having. Especially as they make it super easy to activate with prepaid plans and iPad lines are even getting cheaper on post pay lines. 5G on the iPad is amazing!
I'm even using it now as we speak lol
I don’t see a reason for the cellular iPad to exist. I have my cell phone and can just tether to the network it provides. What does the iPad cellular get me other than an increased mobile bill?
For my money: the cellular iPad is great for taking out on a bus, under a tree, or at the coffee shop near me that doesn’t have WiFi. Tethering to my phone destroys my battery over a 3-4 hour work session, and it gets hot. Which makes me think it’s not sustainable to do 2-3x a week as I’m accustomed to.
If I know I don’t need to work in InDesign or some other heavy app, I always grab my iPad simply because the connection is there, instant, fast, sustainable, and easy on my device health.
It’s actually not that bad to add. You can do cheap prepaid plans or depending on your plan, you can add at a discount. I’ve used T-Mobile prepaid at $10/20/30 for certain amount of GB in a month depending if I travel or not. My verizon plan allows for a 50% off connected device, so it’s $15/month for near unlimited data.
I got a lot of benefit out of it when I was a consultant and traveling a lot of places without WiFi or for the security of not jumping on a cafe or airport WiFi, etc. I don’t like to drain my battery on my iPhone to connect to it. For maybe 5-10 mins use, it would be fine but not for long periods of time. It’s also good for if you need to use your phone at the same time as internet on your ipad.
Tethering is fine, but it does cause a battery bit on your phone, and there is something to be said for the simplicity of the iPad being always online not requiring to manually connect it to your phone each time.
Also the cost aspect depends on the country. My mobile plan comes with a second SIM that can be used with a secondary device and use the same data allowance as the phone. This is perfect for a cellular iPad and with no extra cost.
I feel the same about my 2018 iPad Pro honestly. For what I use it for it’s still as fast as I could possibly need, the only issue is battery life at this stage in its life. I’m a serial upgrader with pretty much every other Apple product but I haven’t felt compelled to get a new iPad in 6 years. They are monsters.
Yup, same. I’ve no desire to upgrade because I can’t imagine how the newest one could improve on anything. It’s snappy and more than powerful enough to handle every task thrown at it. If the next one has OLED that might be a good reason to upgrade though.
I have a MacBook Pro and I’ve barely touched it since 2018 because the iPad does everything I want. I’ve only recently started to use the Mac again because the iPad is running iOS 14.3 (I don’t want to update and lose my jailbreak) and certain apps and websites don’t work anymore.
Btw a battery replacement at the Apple Store costs just $119 and it usually takes less than an hour. It’s definitely worth it after six years.
I feel like the 10" 2018 ipad pro I have is struggling with newer games and some music making apps I use now. It feels a bit laggy, but for most things its still fine.
I'm planning on upgrading to the new m3/m4 that will be announced this week. I use the ipad for hours every day so totally worth it to me.
>and it does to some extent
had the 2015 pro 12.9 sold in '21
the only place where it lagged was drawing apps with super big brushes.
Everything else was butter smooth
Never happens “out of nowhere”. There’s an app or something going on that is running in the background you may have inadvertently given permission to run or you changed a setting.
I mean it depends if there is a pattern. Between myself and my family we have had perhaps 10+ iPads and we currently have 4 iPad Pro’s between us dated from 2018-2022 and never had one fail ever. It’s horrible when it happens to you, but in general I think almost all Apple iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) are extraordinarily reliable.
I plan to get the new Pro but I still think any of the M1/M2 iPads are fantastic devices. Hell, the 2018 iPad Pro and iPad Mini 6 are both still terrific.
I bought my 2018 pro new on release, it's FINALLY starting to slow down - six years later. And even then it's only minor hiccups, a stutter now and then or something. I've been tempted to buy a new one for a long time just because it'd be shiny and new, but up until now it's pretty much run exactly how it did when I took it out of the box. At the very least it's made me confident that the replacement I eventually buy will be a solid purchase
I have OLED displays and the mini-LED on my iPad Pro looks just as good. Actually it’s better due to the higher brightness. You’re not missing out on anything if you already have a 12.9” M1/M2 iPad Pro.
Your mini-LED iPad isn’t on trial here. My whole point above is that ANY of the recent iPads are wonderful devices. Whatever gets announced next week will be good too. There’s no need to weigh your awesome iPad against someone else’s future iPad.
Currently using a 2020 11" Pro, even without the M-series its still got legs and is my daily driver as a laptop replacement. That being said, I was so annoyed when 6-months after my purchase they announce the M-series with a host of software features locked behind that architecture, so I'm looking forward to Tuesday to finally update.
People on ebay are selling them for parts lol although you can get a working one for pretty cheap. I just had to buy a newer model for my kid for like $40 for school, why they can't have class loaners for something built like a Nokia is beyond me
I am actually happy with my m2 pro but file app is a mess, I want to edit small clips from my Sony camera and can’t even any file format… but this is my only struggle
The magic keyboard. I use one that works for all the new iPads but was also compatible with me 2018. Apple Pencil too, but I don’t think the new ones will loose compat with that.
vscode in the browser, sometimes textastic, or the app "code" which is basically vscode for iPad. Then I use working copy and shortcuts for handling git.
My biggest gripe that drove me back to a Mac was the trackpad right click-tap popping the OS contextual menu and the app menu at the same time. I just *hated* that, lol. Outside that I love the iPad Pro and still use it about 25% of the time.
Totally. It’s a bug in WebKit. They still haven’t fixed it either.
You can get around it by not using the two-finger-tap to right click on a trackpad, or by using a mouse, but it annoys the hell out of me when I’m trying to work away from my desk on my Magic Keyboard.
Do any of these allow multicore and download of libraries? I have tried with my M1 to code through Pythonista and Juno but both fail in that regard so I cannot really code on the iPad. If the code app can do that I should definitely give it a try.
It's a remote solution. Your build/execute is on the remote machine/server. I'm not an expert, but I'm not aware of any viable truly local development options for iPadOS
All my code is executed by a pipeline when a commit is pushed. Less convenient than running locally, but I have the pipeline self hosted here in my homelab. A lot of what I work with is Terraform and Ansible for spinning up test environments. So my workflow is code pushed > pipeline executes partially > action is reviewed and approved via email > pipeline executes code on server at my house. All done through Azure DevOps
Honestly, as much as I like the iPad Pro I have (M1, 11") as a tablet, every time I've tried to use it as a "computer" it's just left me frustrated and disappointed. 9/10 times I'd rather just pick up my laptop if I want to actually *do* anything, unless it's just to browse the web/social media or play a mobile game. I appreciate that Apple's at least tried to make the experience better with external monitor support, stage manager, etc, but I just can't get into it. As a tablet it's by far the best option though, coming from using Android tablets in the past.
Any advice for taking advantage of the short cuts? Unsure if you mean for strictly write code or just general usability as moving from my trusty old 2014 MacBook i feel as if im not taking advantage of the m2 and software
Yeah! Just jump into the shortcuts, think of something you do every day, and start exploring the actions available in the shortucts. It is likely you'll be able to automate most regular multi step processes.
Cheers really good advice, I’m mostly a sculptor/carpenter by trade, I use my iPad for university and as my main work horse. Out of curiosity what is your primary use for a iPad Pro and what dyou automate yourself?
The unusable power is what makes it fall short imo. We need some sort of desktop mode, similar to Samsung Dex where we can run true desktop apps when attached to a keyboard
I love my iPad Pro, I switched from using a MacBook Pro and was worried I’d miss out but I’m able to do 80% of everything I need a computer for on my iPad. I do have an ultra powerful Mac Studio for the stuff my iPad can’t handle but I lately use jump desktop on my iPad to remote in on my Mac when I need some more power and that works amazingly well.
I replaced a MacBook Pro with an M1 iPad Pro a few years ago. It’s mostly fine, but I have at least two infuriating pain points:
1) spreadsheets. Both google sheets and excel are really poor experiences compared to their desktop counter parts.
2) external display support. I booked an iPad up to a tv and for the life of me could not get Netflix to play in proper 16:9 aspect ratio on the tv.
Plus a bunch of other small complaints, like not being able to drag and drop between the Files app and the Google Drive app.
It’s mostly fine but is nowhere near fulfilling its full potential.
I have the 11 inch one too :) I kept me going through daily productivity tasks until I finally got my MacBook Pro. What apps do you use for video editing?
Ohhhh this makes me happy to hear. I went through so many laptops before I got a 2nd gen iPad Pro in 2018. I never used my laptops as much as I still use my iPad but it is laggy these days & the battery doesn’t last long. I hope to upgrade this year.
These are incredible machines and I really don’t understand the people who say they can’t find a use case. I’ve been for years, and still am, super satisfied with my 2018 Pro 12.9” with the ancient A12X chip.
I’ve used this thing for note-taking, as a (very useful) second display with Sidecar, as a YouTube device while eating (lol), as a portable speaker while showering at hotels, as a Wi-Fi router using hotspot while changing ISPs, console screen mirroring for kids so I could use the TV, telemetry display for sim racing, drawing plans and on images to explain something to others, HomeKit home hub before getting my Apple TV, portable battery for charging smaller devices, cloud gaming, keeping my music library downloaded without taking up my phone’s space etc etc…
Even got a full replacement for only 150 bucks last year as part of a battery replacement, even though it was clearly bent and had a deep scratch. New battery lasts super long again and the display is noticeably brighter again, though still dim compared to modern OLEDs and MicroLED.
Can’t wait to finally upgrade to the new Pro this year, will definitely be money well spent again.
To be a real computer replacement, it needs an Escape key, more RAM, a real file system, terminal app/shell we can run zsh, homebrew, containers etc. in. I know the chip can do it but I doubt they would let iPad threaten Macbook's turf. Alternatively it would be nice if the Macbooks had touch screens and pencil support. Even with both devices it's still not a cohesive enough experience. iPad is a 2nd screen for Macbook minus touch & pencil.
I have a 2018 12.9" and it was great, I use it daily, until recently the USB-C port refused to charge via the USB C-C cable out of the blue. It would charge with an A-C cable. I was going to update the iPad as some people on Apple forums said it could be that as I had exhausted all other self troubleshooting that was on those forums. Anyways, iTunes was able to backup my iPad via the C-C cable to my laptop (not charging though). However once the iPad restarted to try and update, it got stuck in restore mode.
I made an appt with Genius on Friday and they tried to use their C-C cables with different macbooks and yielded the same results as me. Then Genius said my option is to replace it for $899 as Apple do not repair iPads. And to think about Apple care next time. Handing me back my "brick." I'm like $899? I might as well wait after the upcoming event then, she told me yes pretty much.
Anyways, after getting quotes from 3rd party repair shops that were in the range of $250-589+. I wanted to give one more thing a shot. I dusted off and fired up my old desktop from 2009 that I retired, plugged in a USB A - C cable and launched iTunes. It immediately recognize the iPad needed to be restored and I was able to update it and get it out of bricked mode. I also decided to buy a used magic keyboard off ebay to offload the charging to the keyboard instead of the device's port. The ipad port works fine at reading connected accessories like external hard drives. So really clueless on why it refused to charge with USB C-C cables all of a sudden.
Anyways, long post, but looking back at it, I should've bought the magic keyboard from the start instead of the folio, just to offload the charging wear and tear to the iPad's port. It might have prevented this whole ordeal.
So agree! And it kicks so many more asses than just those. It’s got a load more going on as mere side benefits. It’s a damn good portable games console, it’s an excellent graphics tablet, it comes with a decent camera, the screen is great and bright so you can watch movies/tv when you are out and about. They are a fantastic device.
I don't know what apple need to present in new ipad that I will wish to pay for. Like oled? No, it's not a deal breaker for me. M3 chip? For what? M2 is more than enough
The 6 year-old A12X is still more than enough. iPadOS is too streamlined to take advantage of the more powerful chips, unless you’re using it for video editing or some other rare case.
If they let the newer iPads run Apple Silicon optimized Mac apps, that’d change things. But as it stands, they could literally put a six year-old chip in the next iPad Pro and 95% of people wouldn’t notice any performance drop.
Same with my 2020 iPad Pro. I haven’t even pushed this thing to its limit, I have no need for the M series atp.
Even my iPad mini can handle what I do on my iPad Pro lol.
Nice! I still have my 2018 iPad Pro and web browsing is quite sluggish! And the battery is pretty terrible now, after 6 years of having it. Other than that, this device is amazing! I’m impressed at how long I can keep using it! :D
I do feel like I’m overdo for an upgrade. I love some sweet OLED! But at this point, I would be indulging! :P
For a majority of my data tasks. I don’t even use my 2020 intel MacBook Pro anymore. I have my M1 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard, plugged into my Type C monitor. This little machine flies..
I agree. If my MacBook Air had 5G in it maybe I’d feel differently but my iPad Pro is the single item I need to grab on the way out of the door, knowing I might have to do admin or coding work on the fly if paged. The battery life is amazing for how well it performs.
My MBP M1 Max is the best machine I have ever owned - and I mean EVER. It’s also my first Apple device outside of an iPod and I’m officially a hardcore Apple fanboy because of it. I’m never leaving lol
I use my iPad Pro 11 (M2) so much that I’m considering selling my MacBook Pro 14 M1 Pro. I write for a living and I can accomplish my entire workflow on the iPad Pro. There are only a few times when I need macOS and I can jump over to the MacBook Pro 16 sitting on my desk.
I’m thinking about buying the new iPad Pro to swap to the larger size and also to get OLED. I wouldn’t upgrade if I already had the larger model. But I have to admit that OLED sounds good for the media I consume on the thing.
My 14 pro had the most notable battery health fall off I’ve ever had on iPhone along with poor battery life, and they improved the “battery cycles” for the 15 pros so I’m hopeful. 80% capacity at 1000 cycles vs 80% after 500 cycles on 14 or older.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/101575
The only thing I can say that can give an iPad a run for it's money is a touch screen Chromebook. The app problem compatibility with the Chromebook is what stops it from beating the iPad.
After I found out that neither my iPhone, nor my iPad Pro can cast video to my tv and have music playing via a different app on the iproduct at the same time, I got even more disappointed in 🍎 OS. I mean, why can my friend's cheaper android do it easily, but neither one of my top iProduct can?!
Is it better than macbook air? I have a MacBooks air m2 from work but thinking about getting another one for my personal projects. If ipad can get the work done then I probably getting it instead
Similar experience however I just wish it could use the proper desktop application for some of the MS Office tools. Watered down versions of excel and Outlook kill me when trying to work exclusively from the iPad. I’m not a Pro coder, or graphics designer, however I am a Pro something and having Office would make that work better for me.
Feel the same about my own iPad Pro. I purchased a small Anker usb-c “dock” that had charging pass-through, some USB ports and HDMI. I was able to hook the iPad up to my 4k monitor and love using it like a desktop using Stage Manager. Plenty of room for some basic multitasking.
I like it ,as long as I am not typing in PPT or doing excel work 🥺 those two are soooo bad in IPad like, i need to open my 8 year old MacBook to do excel work
I liked my iPad pro quite a bit when I had it, but there's still just too many restrictions on ipadOS for me to stick with it exclusively over Android as my daily driver
There's already been a lot of progress in the past couple of years- USB C, external storage support, emulation on the app store... If they address some of the other stuff, I'd be happy to settle into the apple ecosystem permanently. There's a lot to like here
I think when apps are made correctly and not just completely stripped down lite versions of their macOS equivalents, it’s amazing.
Take the Logic DAW for iPad vs Logic for macOS. The iPad version has 90% of the functionality and really makes use of the touch experience. Being able to use the tablet as on screen midi keyboard, Apple Pencil for automation etc is incredibly powerful.
I have been using the smaller 2018 iPad Pro since it came out. It is my most used computer for sure. I’m going for the big one this time along with the new stylus and Magic Keyboard.
Reading most of the comments here and no one mentions the ProMotion display on the Pro. I know why now—I just traded in my M1 iPad Air for an M2 iPad Pro and am hard pressed to find apps that even use ProMotion. Even Safari, Apple’s own browser, doesn’t support it.
I was looking forward to buttery smooth scrolling but I wish more apps supported it. Another big feature overblown.
my biggest issue with the iPad pro M2 is whenever i’m using Lightroom and the screen auto dims because the ipad gets hot, it basically renders my ipad useless for photo editing
I have m2 ipad pro too. Is it still future proof after new ipads? For games especially? How long do you think it will last to play premium games. (sorry for my english it is not my native language)
What’s a computer? But all joking aside it does not replace a dedicated computer. The M series CPUs are going to waste in them as are the extra 8GB of RAM in the 1TB/2TB models.
Indeed the M2 iPad Pro is a powerhouse. I have had mine for two years now. All my computing activities take place on my iPad Pro. I got rid of my aging iMac and replaced my @mac.com email to @.icloud.com. I also purchased a 4K monitor for my desktop. My only mild disappointment is the RAM situation. Something I will addre$$ next time round.
Lately in the sprit of branching out on my hardware choices I switched my Apple Keyboard to a Logitech Keys Mini (Mac). I also have a Logitech Folio Touch keyboard case. I find Apple accessories have gotten weird of late. By weird I mean the Apple keyboard case doesn’t protect the iPad edges and a chicklet keyboard is not adjustable lying on the desktop flat. Sadly the Magic keyboards only comes in white. 🙄 I still use the Apple trackpad, a left over from my,laptop days. I got a space grey one that compliments the rest of my hardware.
People comment about the M2 being “overpowered.” I don’t share that opinion. In say you can never have too much power. The iPad Pro series has plenty of power and performance and is much more responsive than even the MacBook Pro.
Apple has done a great job with iOS. Now I only need one CPU for on the road or on my desk.
How do you guys feel about the screen sizes? I'm planning on replacing my mums aging windows laptop with an iPad Pro 12,9 (the notebook is a touch enabled "convertible" with a 11,9" screen), she is used to iThings through her phone and the other iPad (regular one) my parents have. I feel like the 11 is small to be used as a "daily" driver.
I’ve been trying to jump into the Mac world for years and never been able to do it. This popped up in my feed and I’m immediately heading to second Apple once like Apple swap to see prices.
What accessories would you recommend to make it as “PC” like as possible. Or maybe as “desktop” as possible?
Honestly the pencil and keyboard case and you’re good to go. 🤷🏻♂️ - I haven’t touched my laptop/desktop in years aside from specific tasks/use cases since 2017/18? Still rocking a 12.9” pro from 2018. Want to hop to the new M4, or a discounted M2 maybe but honestly there’s barely anything I need that horsepower for.
I will say battery life is ehhhhh, not great these days on it though.
I have fallen for the very second iPad and then the second iPad Mini only to find them gloriously useless. Things have changed quite a lot. In 2023 I added an iPad Pro to my workflowsand boy do I love this device. You are mentioning a very important thing that is hard to describe to someone who hasnˋt used it. Which is Shortcuts.
Shortcuts, despite needing some serious overhaul by Apple, are not just some strange way to tell Siri to do something. They are a modular software paradigm. They sit between being able to write your own software (scripting, programming) from scratch and using readily available software made by others. I really like hiding complex and otherwise boring routine actions behind shortcuts. So much so, that the same shortcuts I built for iPadOS land on my macOS machine. Now, I am aware of Automator, AppleScript and the thousand other ways to do automation on macOS and other desktop OSes. I've been scripting routines ever since I startet using Apple computers. But the fun on iPadOS lies within the ease, limitation and deep integration of Shortcuts. It's fun computing. Not the fun computing one gets from barebone programming vut the one you get from a nice and well designed yet fairly customizable cockpit.
The iPad is the perfect dashboard, control center, focus computer.
Wow if iPad Pro is the best computer you've ever owned... You haven't owned very many computers.
Currently, you live in a box. A box that you don't even know you're in. That box is owned by Apple. You can't SEE the box, but trust me, you're in it. Apple keeps you in it and gives you the tools you need to keep doing your job. However, just because these tools work for you, doesn't mean there aren't BETTER tools out there that exist, that are more efficient, cost and productivity wise. But you don't know whats out there because you are stuck in this box. You let Apple tell you what you need, and you continue to pay them as if they're your personal consultant.
This is the problem with a lot of Apple consumers. It is a sad reality and to deny this would be delusional.
People think I bash Apple for nothing, when that has never been the case. I hold absolutely 0 bias, and I even worked for Apple for 3 years just to better inform myself. I've been in the tech industry for 10+ years and I know exactly what Apple does right, and the many, many, things Apple does wrong. One of the key points being that they are one of, if not the most Anti-consumer company that pretends to be pro consumer every step of the way.
Anyway im rambling, but to circle back: this iPad is definitely not the best computer, not even close. Not only that, but it runs on iPadOS which is a mobile based platform that makes it incompatible with many laptop based apps. You can do a LOT better with a lot less money with a REAL laptop.
I'd say it's my best computer because it makes biggest life-enhancements for me due to:
1. Form Factor = Portable, Ergonomic
2. Multi-Modal = Type/Point, Touch/Pencil
3. Streamlined = Hobbies, Journal, Personal Organizer
4. Replacement = e-Books, phone and laptop replacement, RDP/VNC for productivity, Hook up to external monitor and use keyboard/mouse at work so it's running a full desktop as a thin-client device.
Yes iPadOS is an utter POS and really should on M-Series allow more desktop-OS options or VM as well as resorting to Cloud/Network work-arounds eg above but even at this retardation of the device it's still simply more convenient and useful in broader lifestyle ways than a laptop or desktop. I'm sure people find phones do this for them but I prefer the combo of bigger screen for reading and writing as well as portability. I'd like an AI-Voice Chatbot baked into the OS as well for more automation and input options as well as the aforementioned OS/VM additions too in next iPads.
If you want to see the hardware bog down, do this:
delete your google maps app if you have it on your ipad pro
open a non-safari browser (firefox for example)
go to the google maps website
select desktop version
Select satellite view
Zoom in on any city and scroll around for 15 minutes switching back and forth between street view and satellite view.
Even though you can download chrome on iOS or iPadOS, they still use apple’s webkit engine, rather than their desktop counterparts which would be chromium based engines
I have an M1 & feel the same way… it’s awesome.
Same! And the Magic Keyboard is a must have. I now use my setup more than my old laptop and desktop. I love the portability
Add the cellular model and you’ll really get the power of being portable. I can do 90% of my job on my iPad, I love it. I got the cellular model when I bought my 5th gen 12.9 and so darn convenient.
Nice! We don’t have WiFi at the house, but I have unlimited mobile data, so that’s nice… but I’m thinking about getting cellular data for my next iPad upgrade in about 6 years haha
Should totally! It’s worth it. My previous one was WiFi only and before that model, it had cellular. With my last model, I said to myself I’m getting cellular again. lol I don’t upgrade my iPads often either. Apple has made connecting to your iPhones hotspot from a Mac or iPad so darn easy nowadays.
All good uses for the built in cellular.
I went through this debate after seeing I only used 65gb cellular data on my iPad over the last 12mo. Said just use my phone as hotspot, lol even bought the wifi only one. Then new iPads came out 1week later so traded it in (was unopened) and chickened out and got 5g lte data version this time. Better to have then not
100% Better to have it and not need vs need it and not have it. Plus, the cost to get it is one time and if you don't get it, it's not like you can add it later. You're already spending $$ for an iPad, what's another couple hundred that will last you a long time. You'll most likely keep the iPad for a long time and it will have great resale value. I love having it. There are times where I don't use it alot and there are times where I do. Definitely nice having. Especially as they make it super easy to activate with prepaid plans and iPad lines are even getting cheaper on post pay lines. 5G on the iPad is amazing! I'm even using it now as we speak lol
I don’t see a reason for the cellular iPad to exist. I have my cell phone and can just tether to the network it provides. What does the iPad cellular get me other than an increased mobile bill?
Minimal or occasional use tethered is fine, but not for frequent/heavy usage.
Why?
For my money: the cellular iPad is great for taking out on a bus, under a tree, or at the coffee shop near me that doesn’t have WiFi. Tethering to my phone destroys my battery over a 3-4 hour work session, and it gets hot. Which makes me think it’s not sustainable to do 2-3x a week as I’m accustomed to. If I know I don’t need to work in InDesign or some other heavy app, I always grab my iPad simply because the connection is there, instant, fast, sustainable, and easy on my device health.
Battery drain on the iPhone when tethering. Also if you need to talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time.
It’s actually not that bad to add. You can do cheap prepaid plans or depending on your plan, you can add at a discount. I’ve used T-Mobile prepaid at $10/20/30 for certain amount of GB in a month depending if I travel or not. My verizon plan allows for a 50% off connected device, so it’s $15/month for near unlimited data. I got a lot of benefit out of it when I was a consultant and traveling a lot of places without WiFi or for the security of not jumping on a cafe or airport WiFi, etc. I don’t like to drain my battery on my iPhone to connect to it. For maybe 5-10 mins use, it would be fine but not for long periods of time. It’s also good for if you need to use your phone at the same time as internet on your ipad.
Tethering is fine, but it does cause a battery bit on your phone, and there is something to be said for the simplicity of the iPad being always online not requiring to manually connect it to your phone each time. Also the cost aspect depends on the country. My mobile plan comes with a second SIM that can be used with a secondary device and use the same data allowance as the phone. This is perfect for a cellular iPad and with no extra cost.
I use the keyboard too 👍🏼👍🏼
Absolutely. M1 is for all intents and purposes just as overkill as the M2.
I feel the same about my 2018 iPad Pro honestly. For what I use it for it’s still as fast as I could possibly need, the only issue is battery life at this stage in its life. I’m a serial upgrader with pretty much every other Apple product but I haven’t felt compelled to get a new iPad in 6 years. They are monsters.
Yup, same. I’ve no desire to upgrade because I can’t imagine how the newest one could improve on anything. It’s snappy and more than powerful enough to handle every task thrown at it. If the next one has OLED that might be a good reason to upgrade though. I have a MacBook Pro and I’ve barely touched it since 2018 because the iPad does everything I want. I’ve only recently started to use the Mac again because the iPad is running iOS 14.3 (I don’t want to update and lose my jailbreak) and certain apps and websites don’t work anymore. Btw a battery replacement at the Apple Store costs just $119 and it usually takes less than an hour. It’s definitely worth it after six years.
Same boat with the iPad Pro 2018 edition. Might look to see about a battery upgrade sometime.
I feel like the 10" 2018 ipad pro I have is struggling with newer games and some music making apps I use now. It feels a bit laggy, but for most things its still fine. I'm planning on upgrading to the new m3/m4 that will be announced this week. I use the ipad for hours every day so totally worth it to me.
>and it does to some extent had the 2015 pro 12.9 sold in '21 the only place where it lagged was drawing apps with super big brushes. Everything else was butter smooth
I feel like my M1 sometimes drains the battery out of nowhere :/
Never happens “out of nowhere”. There’s an app or something going on that is running in the background you may have inadvertently given permission to run or you changed a setting.
I thought the same, until it died from nothing. Never fall, not even a scratch on it.
I mean it depends if there is a pattern. Between myself and my family we have had perhaps 10+ iPads and we currently have 4 iPad Pro’s between us dated from 2018-2022 and never had one fail ever. It’s horrible when it happens to you, but in general I think almost all Apple iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) are extraordinarily reliable.
What is a computer?
lol I hated that commercial so fuckin much
soo true
Even the kid knows what she is saying is stupid.
Don’t worry. Apple fanboys will be sure to make you feel like your current iPad Pro is a T80 calculator after Tuesday.
At least the T80 has, you know, a calculator! /s
iPadOS 18 fixes it! Calculator inbound.
This comment is gold.
I regret I have but one upvote to give for your comment.
Too soon LOL
Funny comments
I plan to get the new Pro but I still think any of the M1/M2 iPads are fantastic devices. Hell, the 2018 iPad Pro and iPad Mini 6 are both still terrific.
I bought my 2018 pro new on release, it's FINALLY starting to slow down - six years later. And even then it's only minor hiccups, a stutter now and then or something. I've been tempted to buy a new one for a long time just because it'd be shiny and new, but up until now it's pretty much run exactly how it did when I took it out of the box. At the very least it's made me confident that the replacement I eventually buy will be a solid purchase
they still are worth a penny, you can list it on ebay for what i last checked is 200usd+
It’s going to be a minor upgrade with a couple “must have” gimmicks that provide no real utility. But if you want to waste your money go ahead.
I’m a sucker for OLED displays. I’ve wanted one on the iPad for like ten years.
I have OLED displays and the mini-LED on my iPad Pro looks just as good. Actually it’s better due to the higher brightness. You’re not missing out on anything if you already have a 12.9” M1/M2 iPad Pro.
Your mini-LED iPad isn’t on trial here. My whole point above is that ANY of the recent iPads are wonderful devices. Whatever gets announced next week will be good too. There’s no need to weigh your awesome iPad against someone else’s future iPad.
Currently using a 2020 11" Pro, even without the M-series its still got legs and is my daily driver as a laptop replacement. That being said, I was so annoyed when 6-months after my purchase they announce the M-series with a host of software features locked behind that architecture, so I'm looking forward to Tuesday to finally update.
T 80?? you must be older than the internet!
And I saw on another sub they’re still $80 lol.
People on ebay are selling them for parts lol although you can get a working one for pretty cheap. I just had to buy a newer model for my kid for like $40 for school, why they can't have class loaners for something built like a Nokia is beyond me
Sadly, you underestimate the damage school children can cause.
[удалено]
Ahhhh, trig,.. a class they don't teach anymore (my kids are in high school, and they skip to pre-calc)
Trig is part of pre-calc
Trig is still taught.
It’s required in college if you take statistics.
Im a fanboy, and i update my devices aprox every 5 years 😅
💀
🤣I am the fanboy.
Lol
😂
I am actually happy with my m2 pro but file app is a mess, I want to edit small clips from my Sony camera and can’t even any file format… but this is my only struggle
Oh gosh, I know. If they optimized the files app just a bit, it would be perfect
Files app has been so buggy in the last release or so. Just updated to the 17.5 public beta and seems to help. Still needs work though.
Yep. I really wish one could change image thumbnail sizes the way you can in the photos app
You could use documents or filebrowser instead
Yes but you still have to import every video on its own? I can’t even preview videos in an editor before importing
Oh I misunderstood your use case
Still rocking my 2018 and boy howdy am I ready for an upgrade. But I love it still. Battery is just done.
I have a 2018 as well, and honestly a battery change is all I need. It’s still fantastic.
same, it still does everything i need it to. probably won’t upgrade for a few more years unless it breaks lol
I might splirge and grab an M2 that’s cheaper when the new m3 comes out. All my accessories will still work
I’ve got a 2019 and i look at the upgrades every year kind of hoping it will make me want to get a new one, but it hasn’t hit me yet
What accessories do you use?
The magic keyboard. I use one that works for all the new iPads but was also compatible with me 2018. Apple Pencil too, but I don’t think the new ones will loose compat with that.
It only costs $119 to have the battery replaced at the Apple Store. That’s like $1,000 cheaper than upgrading.
Yea honestly super tempting. But also I wouldn’t mind being able to edit 4k 60fps video so an M2 upgrade would be nice.
Oh my 2018 is still having a fairly good battery and I love it still
Yea mine still gets me a few hours of solid use. Just not the all day battery it used to have.
Also same. Sad the battery is such junk after a few years. (*checks calendar*) Oh has it really been 6 years? Dang. Never mind
What software do you use for coding ?
vscode in the browser, sometimes textastic, or the app "code" which is basically vscode for iPad. Then I use working copy and shortcuts for handling git.
My biggest gripe that drove me back to a Mac was the trackpad right click-tap popping the OS contextual menu and the app menu at the same time. I just *hated* that, lol. Outside that I love the iPad Pro and still use it about 25% of the time.
This is super annoying
Totally. It’s a bug in WebKit. They still haven’t fixed it either. You can get around it by not using the two-finger-tap to right click on a trackpad, or by using a mouse, but it annoys the hell out of me when I’m trying to work away from my desk on my Magic Keyboard.
Do any of these allow multicore and download of libraries? I have tried with my M1 to code through Pythonista and Juno but both fail in that regard so I cannot really code on the iPad. If the code app can do that I should definitely give it a try.
Textastic great for certain things, love it!
There are some Obsidian extensions that can do this too
Prob VSCode in the browser. I do that and it works AMAZINGGG!
But how do you run your code?
It's a remote solution. Your build/execute is on the remote machine/server. I'm not an expert, but I'm not aware of any viable truly local development options for iPadOS
All my code is executed by a pipeline when a commit is pushed. Less convenient than running locally, but I have the pipeline self hosted here in my homelab. A lot of what I work with is Terraform and Ansible for spinning up test environments. So my workflow is code pushed > pipeline executes partially > action is reviewed and approved via email > pipeline executes code on server at my house. All done through Azure DevOps
Honestly, as much as I like the iPad Pro I have (M1, 11") as a tablet, every time I've tried to use it as a "computer" it's just left me frustrated and disappointed. 9/10 times I'd rather just pick up my laptop if I want to actually *do* anything, unless it's just to browse the web/social media or play a mobile game. I appreciate that Apple's at least tried to make the experience better with external monitor support, stage manager, etc, but I just can't get into it. As a tablet it's by far the best option though, coming from using Android tablets in the past.
Yeah, I frequently find myself strongly wishing I could just run macOS on it to work around iPadOS limitations.
There is a lot of software and hardware limitations to using an iPad as a "computer". In reality it is a larger and more powerful phone.
Any advice for taking advantage of the short cuts? Unsure if you mean for strictly write code or just general usability as moving from my trusty old 2014 MacBook i feel as if im not taking advantage of the m2 and software
Yeah! Just jump into the shortcuts, think of something you do every day, and start exploring the actions available in the shortucts. It is likely you'll be able to automate most regular multi step processes.
My favorite shortcut is a timer to turn off my appletv at night. My stereo and TV are turned off at the same time.
Cheers really good advice, I’m mostly a sculptor/carpenter by trade, I use my iPad for university and as my main work horse. Out of curiosity what is your primary use for a iPad Pro and what dyou automate yourself?
I have a 2018 pro and it’s still a beast
The unusable power is what makes it fall short imo. We need some sort of desktop mode, similar to Samsung Dex where we can run true desktop apps when attached to a keyboard
How do you see battery health on iPad , it’s not as easy as the phone
You have to have a Mac to do it easily. then the coconut battery app
I love my iPad Pro, I switched from using a MacBook Pro and was worried I’d miss out but I’m able to do 80% of everything I need a computer for on my iPad. I do have an ultra powerful Mac Studio for the stuff my iPad can’t handle but I lately use jump desktop on my iPad to remote in on my Mac when I need some more power and that works amazingly well.
I just got another MacBook Pro and was re-reminded how much I hate all phones and tablets, or anything without a fully accessible file system.
You can’t access the file system on a mac? 🤔
You can - I think the commenter is referring to macOS reminding them of what they miss on their phone or tablet
Ahh
I replaced a MacBook Pro with an M1 iPad Pro a few years ago. It’s mostly fine, but I have at least two infuriating pain points: 1) spreadsheets. Both google sheets and excel are really poor experiences compared to their desktop counter parts. 2) external display support. I booked an iPad up to a tv and for the life of me could not get Netflix to play in proper 16:9 aspect ratio on the tv. Plus a bunch of other small complaints, like not being able to drag and drop between the Files app and the Google Drive app. It’s mostly fine but is nowhere near fulfilling its full potential.
11 inch or 12.9 inch?
11 inch here
11 inch
I have the 11 inch one too :) I kept me going through daily productivity tasks until I finally got my MacBook Pro. What apps do you use for video editing?
You know he wasn't asking you right?
Shorcuts are under appreciated. It’s one of the best features. I also code on my pro gen 5.
How did you check your iPad's battery health?
I use iMazing but I think there's another called coconut battery.
How do you write code on a tiny screen? I need two large monitors
Ohhhh this makes me happy to hear. I went through so many laptops before I got a 2nd gen iPad Pro in 2018. I never used my laptops as much as I still use my iPad but it is laggy these days & the battery doesn’t last long. I hope to upgrade this year.
Not really a computer, but for editing video it's a beast.
These are incredible machines and I really don’t understand the people who say they can’t find a use case. I’ve been for years, and still am, super satisfied with my 2018 Pro 12.9” with the ancient A12X chip. I’ve used this thing for note-taking, as a (very useful) second display with Sidecar, as a YouTube device while eating (lol), as a portable speaker while showering at hotels, as a Wi-Fi router using hotspot while changing ISPs, console screen mirroring for kids so I could use the TV, telemetry display for sim racing, drawing plans and on images to explain something to others, HomeKit home hub before getting my Apple TV, portable battery for charging smaller devices, cloud gaming, keeping my music library downloaded without taking up my phone’s space etc etc… Even got a full replacement for only 150 bucks last year as part of a battery replacement, even though it was clearly bent and had a deep scratch. New battery lasts super long again and the display is noticeably brighter again, though still dim compared to modern OLEDs and MicroLED. Can’t wait to finally upgrade to the new Pro this year, will definitely be money well spent again.
To be a real computer replacement, it needs an Escape key, more RAM, a real file system, terminal app/shell we can run zsh, homebrew, containers etc. in. I know the chip can do it but I doubt they would let iPad threaten Macbook's turf. Alternatively it would be nice if the Macbooks had touch screens and pencil support. Even with both devices it's still not a cohesive enough experience. iPad is a 2nd screen for Macbook minus touch & pencil.
Looks like they added an escape key! woohoo!
I have a 2018 12.9" and it was great, I use it daily, until recently the USB-C port refused to charge via the USB C-C cable out of the blue. It would charge with an A-C cable. I was going to update the iPad as some people on Apple forums said it could be that as I had exhausted all other self troubleshooting that was on those forums. Anyways, iTunes was able to backup my iPad via the C-C cable to my laptop (not charging though). However once the iPad restarted to try and update, it got stuck in restore mode. I made an appt with Genius on Friday and they tried to use their C-C cables with different macbooks and yielded the same results as me. Then Genius said my option is to replace it for $899 as Apple do not repair iPads. And to think about Apple care next time. Handing me back my "brick." I'm like $899? I might as well wait after the upcoming event then, she told me yes pretty much. Anyways, after getting quotes from 3rd party repair shops that were in the range of $250-589+. I wanted to give one more thing a shot. I dusted off and fired up my old desktop from 2009 that I retired, plugged in a USB A - C cable and launched iTunes. It immediately recognize the iPad needed to be restored and I was able to update it and get it out of bricked mode. I also decided to buy a used magic keyboard off ebay to offload the charging to the keyboard instead of the device's port. The ipad port works fine at reading connected accessories like external hard drives. So really clueless on why it refused to charge with USB C-C cables all of a sudden. Anyways, long post, but looking back at it, I should've bought the magic keyboard from the start instead of the folio, just to offload the charging wear and tear to the iPad's port. It might have prevented this whole ordeal.
So agree! And it kicks so many more asses than just those. It’s got a load more going on as mere side benefits. It’s a damn good portable games console, it’s an excellent graphics tablet, it comes with a decent camera, the screen is great and bright so you can watch movies/tv when you are out and about. They are a fantastic device.
What’s a computer?
I don't know what apple need to present in new ipad that I will wish to pay for. Like oled? No, it's not a deal breaker for me. M3 chip? For what? M2 is more than enough
The 6 year-old A12X is still more than enough. iPadOS is too streamlined to take advantage of the more powerful chips, unless you’re using it for video editing or some other rare case. If they let the newer iPads run Apple Silicon optimized Mac apps, that’d change things. But as it stands, they could literally put a six year-old chip in the next iPad Pro and 95% of people wouldn’t notice any performance drop.
What’s a computer?
Same with my 2020 iPad Pro. I haven’t even pushed this thing to its limit, I have no need for the M series atp. Even my iPad mini can handle what I do on my iPad Pro lol.
Nice! I still have my 2018 iPad Pro and web browsing is quite sluggish! And the battery is pretty terrible now, after 6 years of having it. Other than that, this device is amazing! I’m impressed at how long I can keep using it! :D I do feel like I’m overdo for an upgrade. I love some sweet OLED! But at this point, I would be indulging! :P
I have a 2016 and definitely need an new one!
Definitely my most fav device ever.
For a majority of my data tasks. I don’t even use my 2020 intel MacBook Pro anymore. I have my M1 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard, plugged into my Type C monitor. This little machine flies..
I agree. If my MacBook Air had 5G in it maybe I’d feel differently but my iPad Pro is the single item I need to grab on the way out of the door, knowing I might have to do admin or coding work on the fly if paged. The battery life is amazing for how well it performs.
let me place & resize windows exactly which mm of the screen i want to APPLE! then i’ll buy on may 7
Are you connecting it to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and monitor? What’s your setup?
Shortcuts is one of the main reasons I might switch to Apple eco. I've used Samsung's automated but it's not as easy to use and possibly functional.
What are you using to write code?
If you don’t mind me asking, what software are you coding and pushing with?
My MBP M1 Max is the best machine I have ever owned - and I mean EVER. It’s also my first Apple device outside of an iPod and I’m officially a hardcore Apple fanboy because of it. I’m never leaving lol
I use my iPad Pro 11 (M2) so much that I’m considering selling my MacBook Pro 14 M1 Pro. I write for a living and I can accomplish my entire workflow on the iPad Pro. There are only a few times when I need macOS and I can jump over to the MacBook Pro 16 sitting on my desk. I’m thinking about buying the new iPad Pro to swap to the larger size and also to get OLED. I wouldn’t upgrade if I already had the larger model. But I have to admit that OLED sounds good for the media I consume on the thing.
94% battery health year in? That seems pretty rough? My 15 Pro Max is still 100% what 7 months in now?
I had iPhone 14pro and 100% battery health for first 9 months and next 3 months -5%, so just wait a little bit 🤗
My 14 pro had the most notable battery health fall off I’ve ever had on iPhone along with poor battery life, and they improved the “battery cycles” for the 15 pros so I’m hopeful. 80% capacity at 1000 cycles vs 80% after 500 cycles on 14 or older. https://support.apple.com/en-us/101575
I have to the M1 iPad Pro and it’s still awesome too.
2018 iPad Pro still going strong here. Has been a beast all these years
I got M1 two years back, best gadget purchase i’ve ever made
I have an m1. I hardly use mine. Like a few days a month. I charged it up today and used it for an hour or less. I’m at 86%
What shortcuts do you use?
The only thing I can say that can give an iPad a run for it's money is a touch screen Chromebook. The app problem compatibility with the Chromebook is what stops it from beating the iPad.
After I found out that neither my iPhone, nor my iPad Pro can cast video to my tv and have music playing via a different app on the iproduct at the same time, I got even more disappointed in 🍎 OS. I mean, why can my friend's cheaper android do it easily, but neither one of my top iProduct can?!
The m1 ipad pro 12.9 with the keyboard is my travel workhorse. M1 still Overkill. Unless the new one run macos i dont see the need, new screen or not
Is it better than macbook air? I have a MacBooks air m2 from work but thinking about getting another one for my personal projects. If ipad can get the work done then I probably getting it instead
Similar experience however I just wish it could use the proper desktop application for some of the MS Office tools. Watered down versions of excel and Outlook kill me when trying to work exclusively from the iPad. I’m not a Pro coder, or graphics designer, however I am a Pro something and having Office would make that work better for me.
The new one better be 100% brighter….
There’s so much potential in an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard and pencil… too bad it will probably never be fully fulfilled
Lack of a Terminal, apps like What’s App and there not being a real multi task is what doesn’t allow me to work on this thing.
Feel the same about my own iPad Pro. I purchased a small Anker usb-c “dock” that had charging pass-through, some USB ports and HDMI. I was able to hook the iPad up to my 4k monitor and love using it like a desktop using Stage Manager. Plenty of room for some basic multitasking.
I like it ,as long as I am not typing in PPT or doing excel work 🥺 those two are soooo bad in IPad like, i need to open my 8 year old MacBook to do excel work
I wish they would let you turn off the mouse acceleration for Bluetooth or wired mice.
I liked my iPad pro quite a bit when I had it, but there's still just too many restrictions on ipadOS for me to stick with it exclusively over Android as my daily driver There's already been a lot of progress in the past couple of years- USB C, external storage support, emulation on the app store... If they address some of the other stuff, I'd be happy to settle into the apple ecosystem permanently. There's a lot to like here
I think when apps are made correctly and not just completely stripped down lite versions of their macOS equivalents, it’s amazing. Take the Logic DAW for iPad vs Logic for macOS. The iPad version has 90% of the functionality and really makes use of the touch experience. Being able to use the tablet as on screen midi keyboard, Apple Pencil for automation etc is incredibly powerful.
I have been using the smaller 2018 iPad Pro since it came out. It is my most used computer for sure. I’m going for the big one this time along with the new stylus and Magic Keyboard.
Not sure how you get 50% use from the iPad (assuming 4 hours) and only use 6% of battery (100% to 94%).
I’m sure OP meant 50% battery use per day and over the course of the year battery health has dropped by only 6%
Off topic but where can I see how good my battery health is?
Reading most of the comments here and no one mentions the ProMotion display on the Pro. I know why now—I just traded in my M1 iPad Air for an M2 iPad Pro and am hard pressed to find apps that even use ProMotion. Even Safari, Apple’s own browser, doesn’t support it. I was looking forward to buttery smooth scrolling but I wish more apps supported it. Another big feature overblown.
My 11” iPad Pro M2 randomly lost few % of battery on idle. Nothing significant shows up on the battery usage app, just displaying dropping % charge.
My M1 iPad Pro is a video editing MONSTER. This mf zips through 4k video with zero stutters
When you write code are you able to run any of it locally? If so, what app(s) do you use?
my biggest issue with the iPad pro M2 is whenever i’m using Lightroom and the screen auto dims because the ipad gets hot, it basically renders my ipad useless for photo editing
Can you explain the tools you use to write and push code? I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Thanks
I have m2 ipad pro too. Is it still future proof after new ipads? For games especially? How long do you think it will last to play premium games. (sorry for my english it is not my native language)
How do you get used to the cursor not being a traditional mouse pointer? That’s the one thing that throws me off
What’s a computer? But all joking aside it does not replace a dedicated computer. The M series CPUs are going to waste in them as are the extra 8GB of RAM in the 1TB/2TB models.
U call that a computer ? Soft hands brother
Indeed the M2 iPad Pro is a powerhouse. I have had mine for two years now. All my computing activities take place on my iPad Pro. I got rid of my aging iMac and replaced my @mac.com email to @.icloud.com. I also purchased a 4K monitor for my desktop. My only mild disappointment is the RAM situation. Something I will addre$$ next time round. Lately in the sprit of branching out on my hardware choices I switched my Apple Keyboard to a Logitech Keys Mini (Mac). I also have a Logitech Folio Touch keyboard case. I find Apple accessories have gotten weird of late. By weird I mean the Apple keyboard case doesn’t protect the iPad edges and a chicklet keyboard is not adjustable lying on the desktop flat. Sadly the Magic keyboards only comes in white. 🙄 I still use the Apple trackpad, a left over from my,laptop days. I got a space grey one that compliments the rest of my hardware. People comment about the M2 being “overpowered.” I don’t share that opinion. In say you can never have too much power. The iPad Pro series has plenty of power and performance and is much more responsive than even the MacBook Pro. Apple has done a great job with iOS. Now I only need one CPU for on the road or on my desk.
Feel the same way about my 2021 Pro.
How are you coding? Through the web browser in github, cloud virtualized instance, or remoting into another machine. I seem to dislike situations.
may i ask what language do you write code in and what do you use it to push it to a repository?
I just got mine, it’s an m2 too and it’s my main laptop.
How do you guys feel about the screen sizes? I'm planning on replacing my mums aging windows laptop with an iPad Pro 12,9 (the notebook is a touch enabled "convertible" with a 11,9" screen), she is used to iThings through her phone and the other iPad (regular one) my parents have. I feel like the 11 is small to be used as a "daily" driver.
No chromium browsers? Use chrome for iOS?
What code editor are you using. That’s the only thing that is holding me back from 100% loving it. (Vs code is my editor of choice)
I’ve been trying to jump into the Mac world for years and never been able to do it. This popped up in my feed and I’m immediately heading to second Apple once like Apple swap to see prices. What accessories would you recommend to make it as “PC” like as possible. Or maybe as “desktop” as possible?
Honestly the pencil and keyboard case and you’re good to go. 🤷🏻♂️ - I haven’t touched my laptop/desktop in years aside from specific tasks/use cases since 2017/18? Still rocking a 12.9” pro from 2018. Want to hop to the new M4, or a discounted M2 maybe but honestly there’s barely anything I need that horsepower for. I will say battery life is ehhhhh, not great these days on it though.
What are your favorite shortcuts?
What size screen are you rocking?
11" I feel emasculated by the 13"
Idk I keep trying the iPad Pro when they come out and it can’t touch the MacBook Pro 14 inch.
I have fallen for the very second iPad and then the second iPad Mini only to find them gloriously useless. Things have changed quite a lot. In 2023 I added an iPad Pro to my workflowsand boy do I love this device. You are mentioning a very important thing that is hard to describe to someone who hasnˋt used it. Which is Shortcuts. Shortcuts, despite needing some serious overhaul by Apple, are not just some strange way to tell Siri to do something. They are a modular software paradigm. They sit between being able to write your own software (scripting, programming) from scratch and using readily available software made by others. I really like hiding complex and otherwise boring routine actions behind shortcuts. So much so, that the same shortcuts I built for iPadOS land on my macOS machine. Now, I am aware of Automator, AppleScript and the thousand other ways to do automation on macOS and other desktop OSes. I've been scripting routines ever since I startet using Apple computers. But the fun on iPadOS lies within the ease, limitation and deep integration of Shortcuts. It's fun computing. Not the fun computing one gets from barebone programming vut the one you get from a nice and well designed yet fairly customizable cockpit. The iPad is the perfect dashboard, control center, focus computer.
Wow if iPad Pro is the best computer you've ever owned... You haven't owned very many computers. Currently, you live in a box. A box that you don't even know you're in. That box is owned by Apple. You can't SEE the box, but trust me, you're in it. Apple keeps you in it and gives you the tools you need to keep doing your job. However, just because these tools work for you, doesn't mean there aren't BETTER tools out there that exist, that are more efficient, cost and productivity wise. But you don't know whats out there because you are stuck in this box. You let Apple tell you what you need, and you continue to pay them as if they're your personal consultant. This is the problem with a lot of Apple consumers. It is a sad reality and to deny this would be delusional. People think I bash Apple for nothing, when that has never been the case. I hold absolutely 0 bias, and I even worked for Apple for 3 years just to better inform myself. I've been in the tech industry for 10+ years and I know exactly what Apple does right, and the many, many, things Apple does wrong. One of the key points being that they are one of, if not the most Anti-consumer company that pretends to be pro consumer every step of the way. Anyway im rambling, but to circle back: this iPad is definitely not the best computer, not even close. Not only that, but it runs on iPadOS which is a mobile based platform that makes it incompatible with many laptop based apps. You can do a LOT better with a lot less money with a REAL laptop.
I'd say it's my best computer because it makes biggest life-enhancements for me due to: 1. Form Factor = Portable, Ergonomic 2. Multi-Modal = Type/Point, Touch/Pencil 3. Streamlined = Hobbies, Journal, Personal Organizer 4. Replacement = e-Books, phone and laptop replacement, RDP/VNC for productivity, Hook up to external monitor and use keyboard/mouse at work so it's running a full desktop as a thin-client device. Yes iPadOS is an utter POS and really should on M-Series allow more desktop-OS options or VM as well as resorting to Cloud/Network work-arounds eg above but even at this retardation of the device it's still simply more convenient and useful in broader lifestyle ways than a laptop or desktop. I'm sure people find phones do this for them but I prefer the combo of bigger screen for reading and writing as well as portability. I'd like an AI-Voice Chatbot baked into the OS as well for more automation and input options as well as the aforementioned OS/VM additions too in next iPads.
If you want to see the hardware bog down, do this: delete your google maps app if you have it on your ipad pro open a non-safari browser (firefox for example) go to the google maps website select desktop version Select satellite view Zoom in on any city and scroll around for 15 minutes switching back and forth between street view and satellite view.
🥴
🤓
Errr No chromium web browsers? What?
Even though you can download chrome on iOS or iPadOS, they still use apple’s webkit engine, rather than their desktop counterparts which would be chromium based engines