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The New iPad Pro Review (twitter.com)
An anonymous reader writes: As tech reviewers across the United States and Europe sing praises of Apple's new iPad Pro, here's what Joshua Topolsky, former editor-in-chief of The Verge and Engadget (and now with The Outline) had to say: "It [10.5-inch iPad Pro] is inferior to a laptop in almost every way, unless you like to draw. If you think you can replace you laptop with this setup: you cannot. Imagine a computer, but everything works worse than you expect. That is the new iPad. Now, I know the software is in beta, but I also know how Apple betas work. They don't massively change. I have no doubt it's a very powerful piece of hardware, and the screen is gorgeous. Garageband is a lot of fun to play with. But this doesn't COME CLOSE to replacing your laptop, even for simple things you do, like email. AND one other thing. Apple's keyboard cover is a fucking atrocity. A terrible piece of hardware. Awkward to use, poor as a cover. Okay in a pinch if you need something LIKE a keyboard. Anyhow good to know there are still Apple fanboys who get mad if you insult their products. But I don't think it's a very good product. Finally, iOS 11 is definitely a STEP in the right direction. But guys the iPad has been around forever and it still feels half-assed. I think a lot of people are willing to contort themselves around a bad UX because marketing is powerful."
It's not a laptop, it's a tablet and tablets are touch-based, keyboards are an afterthought and useful enough to type email on the go.
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If you think you can replace you [sic] laptop with this setup: you cannot. Imagine a computer, but everything works worse than you expect. That is the new iPad.
Okay so I was going to get all snarky about how, "duh, it's an iPad, what did you expect?" and then I saw Apple's marketing.
No matter the task, the new iPad Pro is up to it — and then some. It offers far more power than most PC laptops, yet is delightfully simple to use. The redesigned Retina display is as stunning to look at as it is to touch. And it all comes together with iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iPad Pro. Everything you want modern computing to be. Now even, well, better.
So kudos to someone previously associated with Engadget, of all places, to take Apple's marketing to task.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
If I'm looking to use it to replace a laptop, sure, this review may be spot on. The review tweets seem to be written as that is the tablet's sole purpose.
Disregarding the absolutist blinders, it seems like a pretty powerful and useful tablet. As products go, it is the only Apple product that I have been tempted to buy.
But Apple advertises it as a replacement for your laptop. If they didn't, then the article is garbage, but Apple did, so fair game.
I just wish Apple would make a tablet that will run one of the professional music production platforms, like Pro Tools or even Logic Pro X. This is an area where the PC tablets and hybrids are light years ahead of Apple. Considering Apple was a pioneer in tools for artists, I'm surprised they haven't made this a priority.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I know people who will do best on a tablet rather than a laptop. A tablet is perfectly good for mail. My wife pretty much gave up email on anything but her tablet, and she's computer-savvy. My mother-in-law doesn't really know how to use her computer, but can use a tablet. (We got her a cheap Android as an experiment, figuring we could get her a better tablet if it seemed like a good idea. So far, she's happy with what she has.) A tablet is well suited for the sort of person I would have recommended Ubuntu or Mint to earlier.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of iPad Pros!
Anyhow good to know there are still Apple fanboys who get mad if you insult their products.
First, a statement like this has no place in a technology review. Even if we were to assume this is true, it's a criticism of people, not the product.
Second, this just isn't a review. It's some guy's angry twitter rant.
Third, his complaints seem to be that the iPad isn't a laptop. And he's right. It's not a laptop. If you want a laptop, you should get a laptop.
Finally, his assessment is that iOS 11 is "a step in the right direction.
Given all of his complaining, I think the take-away here is strangely positive. It reminds me of a review that I read once that gave a Brooklyn restaurant zero stars, saying, "Although the food was really great, it was filled with a bunch of young hipsters, and I hate hipsters." -- to which I wanted to respond, "So you're saying food is great?"
Well this guy is saying that although it's a step in the right direction, he doesn't like working on tablets because he wants a good physical keyboard. -- to which I want to respond, "So you're saying it's an improvement over previous iPads? Like... for anyone who thought that previous iPads were pretty good, this one is even better?"
Exactly. You are describing people who use it as a tablet, and not a replacement for a laptop. Typing long emails on the laptop is much easier and faster, as well as spreadsheets, complex documents, etc. are all easier on laptop that apple was saying their new tablet could replace.
My parents replaced a laptop with a tablet and it does everything they need. I have a work provided laptop and I find that at home, when not doing coding, my iPad is more than sufficient for most daily computing and its not even one of these pro's.
What you are complaining about here is that it is not a replacement for a PRO laptop... a 4 core monster that can run photoshop or final cut like its nothing.... and thats fair, its not really build to be a replacement for a PRO laptop... but as an alternative to a macbook air for instance? I mean it depends on what specific software you require (though honestly, if you require specific software you are probably looking at pro laptops anyway) but it seems like a pretty legit option to me.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
That would be Apple. Didn't see that coming, did you?
Given the way that I use electronics (and I suspect a lot of the IT professionals on Slashdot for whom "Pro" equipment would normally be marketed) the "one stupid tool" probably has a review more along the lines of what I need anyway.
The new Apple Macbook and Macbook Pro differences annoy me. I want the ports of the Macbook Pro, but I want a physical escape key like the Macbook. I've had enough late nights in server-rooms where I want both the ability to charge and the ability to use peripherals like console cables and ethernet cables where having a single port and an even more complex series of adapters is much more cumbersome, so the regular Macbook is flat-out out of the question, but the lack of real escape key that is as intuitive as the rest of the keyboard is also out of the question.
So this idea that a tablet could be a "Pro" machine is laughable when they can't even manage to keep their proper laptops "pro". When we talk about Apple starting to deviate from its generally reliable course as far as design goes, this is generally the kinds of things we're talking about. Perhaps we wouldn't have gotten multiple USB-C ports at all if Jobs hadn't died, but we probably also wouldn't have gotten the weird strip under the monitor in-lieu of the escape and function keys either.
I suppose I could try to get work to buy me an XPS-13 Developer Edition but they'd probably want to put Windows 10 on it in order to join it to the domain.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I said, "Pro Machine," not, "Tool."
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Bought it last weekend as a replacement of my fossilised ipad 2
Use case will mainly be typical tablet use, also for watching a movie while cycling in the gym. And on holidays I plan to be editing/finetuning my dslr pictures and possibly videos of the day on it. A glass of beer or wine while editing photos, yes that is holiday to me.
First impression is good actually. It won't replace my macbook but many daily activities work well on it. The screen is absolutely wonderful, the high refresh rate is noticeably smoother and the colours are great. It is obviously very quick on today's apps. The general use while the ipad is mounted standing on the keyboard cover is not ideal. I find the touch screen more ergonomic if it is lying flat.
I want the ports of the Macbook Pro, but I want a physical escape key like the Macbook.
FYI, you can still get a Macbook Pro with a physical ESC key.
I have one of the new iPad pros (the 12.9 with the new hardware same as the new 10" but larger screen).
Common Sense
-It's not a laptop, expecting it to be one is starting from a false premise.
-Slashdot users are not a representative sample of the target audience for the product.
-For someone who has no computing electronics other than a phone, this would be able to take care of anything that common user would likely need in a laptop. email, browsing, word processor, spreadsheets, paying their bills online, etc.
The Good
-I have some visual issues, so bigger is literally better for me and that was part of my decision to purchase.
-It's big enough to read comics at full size without having to sit in front of my desktop. I can read books with less eye strain.
-The pen is amazing. The wife is a graphic artist and she is really loving it.
-We both enjoy coloring using Pigment. That's close to being the killer app for the pad/pencil for us.
The Not So Good
-It's biiiig. I'll retain my ipad Air for travel. not getting this out to use on a plane.
-Any game that forces you to use it in portrait mode makes you feel ridiculous, even when you are alone
The Wait and See
-iOS 11 has some interesting things coming.
-The new file manager is very interesting, and seeing how companies can work apps with that. Could completely change using dropbox with the pad.
- I'm still hoping for some more powerful photo editors for the ipad now that the hardware is improving. There's a bajillion of them out there but they all have like 20 features and 90% feature overlap between each one. We need something with 80% of photoshop, not another editor just like all the rest.
Warning: Teh poster of this messaeg is lysdexic
Meh... I'm an Apple Fanboy, sitting in front of a brand new 27" iMac. I thought about getting the new iPad Pro (not for what the iMac is for), but I tried typing on the keypad and hated it... so I'll hang on to my 1st generation iPad Air for a while longer.
But, I do understand that people's needs are different. I can do most of my work easily enough from a tablet, until I get into writing a heavy document or thinking about opening a spreadsheet.
I tend to agree with the assessment that it is not a suitable laptop replacement (for me), and didn't really expect many people on /. to feel differently. I think Apple needs to expand the intended use-cases for the Pro models if they want the line to flourish; significant improvements in software and hardware are needed for it to be more universally acceptable.
No they don't, they market that it has more power than a PC laptop, they are not marketing it as a MacBook replacement (they don't market against their own line).
It's like saying that your motorcycle has more horsepower than a cheap car. This may be true, but it doesn't make it a car.
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i have ubuntu on my desktop and am not looking forward to having that be my daily computing experience. but such is life.
Get used to it. 2018 is poised to be the year of the Linux Desktop.