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."

Comments

Perhaps because

[guruevi]

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.

Re:Perhaps because

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple isn't marketing it as just a tablet (and the iPads are fine tablets, I'm happy with mine), they're marketing it as a laptop/laptop replacement. It's only fair then to hold it to the same standard as its competitors in that same space. If you're going to say it can replace my mobile workstation you better make sure your keyboard is up to snuff.

Re:Perhaps because

[cayenne8]

but it's priced like a laptop, not a tablet

I guess it is, if you buy cheap laptops...?

I got mine a couple weeks ago, loaded up.

So far, I'm pretty impressed. I've been working with RAW and DNG images on Affinity Photo and it works great.

Getting used to a full blown image editing suite on a tablet, well that takes some getting used to, but so far, it doesn't blink with whatever I throw on it....

I"m next about to try focus stacking about 10 DNG images next, that will give it a true test....

I'm new to moving stuff from main workstation through cloud to tablet and back, I'm still trying t figure out that workflow, but so far, it works very well.

I'm anticipating when the new iOS comes out, and you can do more "computer like" file manipulations, that this will help matters greatly.

So far, the screen is amazing, the pencil works great, battery time is really surprising me to how long it lasts.....

I'm impressed. I didn't get the keyboard, didn't figure I'd use it, after all, it *IS* a tablet and I seem to use it as one 99.9999% of the time.

It is nice to be able to edit photos while at the neighborhood pool lounging around, or at a bar waiting on friends...

I went 10.5"....best size for portability and you can get same hardware as larger one...

Re:Perhaps because

[guruevi]

Actually, the MS Surface can't be properly used as a tablet because the OS is intended to be mouse-based control. You have to attach a keyboard/mouse to do basic things like setup a self-signed certificate. It's also not a very good laptop.

Was going to be snarky, but then

[chispito]

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.

Re:Was going to be snarky, but then

[El Cubano]

So kudos to someone previously associated with Engadget, of all places, to take Apple's marketing to task.

Personally, I would have preferred that it read like an actual "review" instead of a "rant". I get that the marketing made some exaggerations and that the product is less than stellar. However, the tone of the whole thing is rather offputting. I don't need for someone to yell at me to convince me.

Re:Was going to be snarky, but then

[R3d M3rcury]

I made a basic 3D model a few weeks ago and it took about half an hour to do a decent quality render on my moderately powerful desktop.

Obligatory Dilbert. It's a pretty old strip, so you might replace 286 PC with iPad...

Re:Missing the point

[techno_dan]

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.

where is the love?

[PopeRatzo]

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.

Re:It needs to be asked....

[doggo]

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of iPad Pros!

Strangely positive non-review

[nine-times]

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?"

Re:Other reviewers love it

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be Apple. Didn't see that coming, did you?

Re:oh lord it leads to a twitter page

[TWX]

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.

Positive first impression

[Camembert]

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.