iPad Pro Diray, Day One: Instead of writing a long and boring product review, I’m going to try something new with the iPad Pro. I’m pulling a Tim Cook: I’m using it as my main and only machine for a while. I’ll be keeping a diary of how it goes.
In fact, I’m typing this on it.
The question everyone is asking — and it’s Apple’s pitch for the Pro — is that this a bone fide computer. It’s not a silly tablet any more. It’s a heavy duty tool for Pros — a jackhammer for creatives.
I’m going to find out…
Not just for liking cat videos
Of course, we’ve heard this before. From the get-go, lots of people have argued that at the iPad isn’t just for consumption. And, in fact, plenty of people I know use only an iPad: my wife for instance.
But every time I tried to use an iPad for work, I gave up. I’ve made half-arsed efforts to use it for work but inevitably I came up against some roadblock. I couldn’t upload a picture to WordPress, or edit some file. So instead of finding a workaround, I tossed the iPad aside and turned to a computer instead.
I think a lot of people have had the same experience. But this time Apple says it’s different. It’s the magical combination of powerful hardware, a ginormous screen, a mature OS with split-screen multitasking, and a range of productivity-enhancing accessories, that makes the Pro and real pro tool.
We’ll see.
No cheating
I’ll be using the iPad Pro for the time being as my one and only machine. No cheating. I’ve shut down the iMac I use at work and stuck my MacBook in a sock drawer.
The iPad Pro certainly has a lot of interesting potential. Take TouchID. One of my least favorite things about computers is the string of passwords I have to deal with all day. I use the 1Password password manager, but I still have to type a lot of passwords — mostly the 1Password password to unlock it.
Not so with the iPad Pro. Just hold your thumb to the TouchID sensor, and it opens right up. TouchID also unlocks the 1Password app, and a bunch of others like bank apps and Amazon. Using TouchID as a password replacement is not yet universal, but its increasing and it makes a huge difference. It’s a big difference in the experience of using the thing, and it makes me think, yeah, this is the computer of the future.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
30 responses to “iPad Pro Diary: Will this really replace my PC?”
I used an older iPad for over a year as my main computer. I love Numbers and pages in stead of office. I sent documents to my work mates saved in Excel format worked fine. I did get a macbook because I wanted to program, Xcode, etc is not available on the iPad.
BTW: Try MACID it uses the touchID on your iPhone to unlock/lock your mac.
You used an ipad and created or edited spreadsheets without a mouse? Really?
Yah. Pretty easy. Try keyboard and touch. Actually a mac trackpad is much better than a mouse anyway. Of course if you use that clunky and busy UI in Excel – Good luck
Yes, I use Excel like the rest of the world. What “trackpad” did you use on your iPad that you mention? Considering how some drag and drop type commands are tricky using a bonafide mouse, I was curious how that went without one….
I bet you already know where this is headed, Leander. (Spoiler Alert: It’s not)
In fact, I will be truly amazed if you survive the whole week with no cheating and using this as a PC/Mac replacement (Spoiler Alert: You won’t)
I’ve been using my iPad for 2 years as my primary computer. I don’t get the arrogant bashing. I completely did away with my Mac. I use my iPad Air 2 for work (self employed marketing), school, and everything else. Stop trolling and accept the fact that tablets are the future of computing.
Arrogant bashing? Tell us how this is nothing more than an oversized iPod? Tell us what you are really gaining from all that real estate in your hands?
More ports? Expansion memory slot? USB plug and Play? HDMI out? File Manager system? Desktop level programs?
You gonna hold that thing and walk around in public all day as a tablet? Tablets might be the future of computing. Just not this one.
I don’t get the brand lemmings. I sincerely hope no one seeks advice from folks who blindly follow a single manufacturer while roped into an ecosystem that ONLY plays nice with its own devices. A manufacturer that dictates what they think is best for the user rather than providing the masses what they want.
Their heads are so far up the…rabbit hole…that they simply cannot and will not see things for what they are and hurt the rest of us wanting a better product at a better value from the only other major desktop OS/mobileOS.
You are bashing. You are making the assumptions that the iPad cannot replace a computer based on your needs. Get out of the mindset of how a computer should be.
Are you serious. It’s the same iPad but bigger and runs the same iOS. Was it that add on keyboard that looks like the million others already in production that sealed the deal? Or that revolutionary pencil?
The surface eg. runs a desktop OS and has half a chance of calling itself a computer replacement albeit with a compromised user experience.
Heck, the much maligned Chromebook has more laptop functionality than this thing.
Manish, you’re an idiot. Bai.
I’ll pipe in here, just to help you understand…..
More ports? – For what exactly? It always helps to know what you’re actually trying to achieve.
Expansion memory slot? – For what exactly (Plenty of storage on the 64GB and 128GB Models)
USB plug and Play? Again, what are you trying to achieve?
HDMI out? Yes you can do this with an adapter, 1080 I believe.
File Manager system? Yes it has one now called icloud drive, you can browse files on both iOS and OSX not to mention DropBox etc.
Desktop level programs? Hmm Do you need this on you Mobile device, no you do not, the Surface pro showed us how useless these are for touch.
It depends on what you need to do as to whether and iPad is the right tool for you. Just because it’s not for you, doesn’t mean it’s all of a sudden not for someone else?
I know a lot of older people who have replaced their desktops with iPads, as all they did was browse the internet and send photos via email, not to mention they can take it on holiday and use it to take photos.
Danny.
It is important to understand that some people are unable to use an iPad as a replacement for a computer because they are not as intelligent as you and others are.
Perfectly stated dcj001. I was thinking that to those individuals, the iPad is lika a pearl before swine. But you said it much better. So I don’t have to say what I was thinking. Thank you ;)
Oversized iPod?
1. You’re resorting to name-calling which automatically puts you in the Troll category.
2. Calling an iPad Pro an oversized iPod is like calling a 65′ Flat screen TV an oversized 32′ Flat screen TV. Or a Van an oversized car. It’s just ignorant.
To your point, I don’t really agree with Apple suggesting that this is a laptop replacement. I’d rather they market it for what it is, a state of the art tablet with advanced stylus technology. Trying to persuade people that they can throw away their PC and use this instead is a tough sell (but possible in my opinion.)
With that said, I bought an iPad Pro at 10:00 AM on launch day. So I’ve had it at work for 2 days. If the question is, “Can this do anything a laptop can do?” Then my answer would be yes, through ways that can feel unfamiliar with iOS. I have used Mac OS X now for over 10 years, it’s like second to me. Learning to do the same things on iOS is not. It’s like learning a different language. But you’re making it sound like that’s impossible.
These days I don’t need more ports, HDMI out, expansion memory slots, blah blah blah. I don’t even use those on my laptop anymore. Do you still use your Zip Drive? I bet you make copies on your floppy discs. As far as desktop level programs (spoiler alert: Every single company who aims to profit from programming makes a iOS or Android version with identical if not better performance, with cloud support)
But who knows, maybe you use your computer in a complete different way than I do.
A 65″ Flat Screen TV with the exact same ports and functionality of a 32″ TV is STILL an oversized TV. Not a refrigerator substitute.
All you are doing is compensating, adapting and making excuses for a company that has not provided any innovation since the first iPad.
10.5% slimmer, 1.2% lighter and 6.4% glossier doesn’t mean squat in 2015 with the kind of available options out there.
And yes, I have a Chromebook as well in my arsenal. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015 Edition.
For $350 I get a better than Retina screen, a dream keyboard and an excellent trackpad. And get 90% of my work done with cloud support AND ports for USB, HDMI and a full card reader for offline storage.
Educate yourself on the possibilities beyond the Brand name.
What awesome innovation does a 2015 chromebook offer that any decent 2010 laptop doesn’t offer? What great options are available? Please don’t say ports. I’m in the business sector, I don’t burn DVDs anymore, I don’t use card readers. I fly places in airplanes and use my iPad.
I have a crazy concept for you. It’s my money, I like name brand products. Buy your off brand items and go on the Internet and troll about how you think it’s better. Apple doesn’t put their name on a bad device. Everything they make is top rated by non biased tech review sites. But yet there’s always someone like you in the comments below trying to convince the world that were wrong.
Typical fanboi crap.
“I needed it before my worshipped brand said I couldn’t have it. They know my needs better than myself”
This article dared to compare a stupid minimal tablet with tablet OS to a fully functional laptop.
That audacity deserves an appropriate response.
They know my needs better than myself? What are you talking about? Are you trying to sound smart? Please elaborate on how you took what I said and came up with “Apple knows my needs better than myself.” I’m not sure what needs I have that Apple is aware of and I am not.
No one claims that Apple products are the best deal in the world. They’re expensive. No one claims that all other products are inferior. I looked at the Surface Pro. I just didn’t think it was better.
Sure, lump all Apple supporters as fanboys, but at least admit you’re a hateboy, who goes to Mac dedicated websites to troll.
Hey Nick, did Apple do a survey of their users to see if they only needed one USB C port on the only portable Mac OS notebook with at least a FHD screen.
Neither of the flagship Airs qualify considering they do not have even a FHD screen and we are in 2015 in the age of QHD+ screens (not to mention touch capability)
Did they ask you to make a DESKtop so thin that they could not put optical drive or ports as normally seen on a desktop sitting on a desk most of the time.
Did they ask you if you needed to simply hook up a tablet to a TV with an included HDMI port with all that real estate available without an adapter.
Did they ask you if you wanted to simply plug and play a USB jump drive to load files on the go again without an adapter.
Did they ask you if you had no need for file explorer built into an OS to navigate to your files?
Fun Fact: Did you know initial iPhone users had to wait for Copy and Paste functionality until Apple thought it was OK?
You sound like an Apple apologist. One that “adapts” to their shortcomings with more adapters, more apps and THIRD PARTY assistance to make it more useful than it really is.
Tech enthusiasts follow multiple sites and OS and vendors. They are not fanboys. Unlike fanboys, they are sought to give advice to people as well on new tech.
Fanboys simply encourage the manufacturer to not change their gameplan since there are enough out there buying into their smoke and mirrors.
That annoys the real tech savvy people like me.
No, Apple did not have to ask me all of those questions about things I don’t need in 2015. You claim Apple knows my needs better than myself, when in actuality, you think YOU known my needs better than myself. I’m going to repeat myself now. I don’t care for USB ports and HDMI ports. Cloud storage and screen casting is a REAL THING IN 2015. It acutally exists. Therefore, making a device thicker and heavier to accommodate antiquated/cumbersome technology is something I commend.
Fun fact: I didn’t know about the copy and paste thing you mentioned. Wow, what a bummer, I’m glad they fixed that 7 years ago.
You make it sound like Apple has some secret agenda and they’re trying to trick all of us. “Smoke and mirrors?” Good one, Shaggy. You’re right, Apple is evil because their tablets don’t have USB ports.
Be honest. Do you really burn CD’s still? Or have you caught up with the rest of the world and use Bluetooth when you’re in your car.
I have good news for you though. There are plenty of companies who make cheap plastic $300 laptops with all of the hdmi ports and usb 3.0 ports and card readers in the world. And they’re sold at Wal Mart.
This would be a no go for me. No xCode, no gcc, infact no compilers whatsoever. Also no kicad, or eagle. I love my ipad , but the apps on it are no where near professional. It does nothing more than a normal ipad to me
I travel with an iPad and a keyboard but to be honest, if I have anything significant to do I ‘Splashtop’ back to my MBP. I’ve ordered the whole kit for the iPad Pro and I am hopeful it will be all I expect. (I’d really like a touch MBP true-be-told)
I don’t get it Leander, if it didn’t work before, what makes you think it’ll work now? It’s not a hardware problem, is an OS one
Well, the OS has changed; e.g., split-pane multitasking, inter-app sharing, and iCloud Drive. It is also a hardware problem. Some times an iPhone or iPad’s screen is just too small to get a “lay of the land” view of your content. A big screen will help with this.
all of which you can do on an iPad Air 2. I don’t think size is a big deterrent to get things done though. I get to work on a 27″ iMac and on a 11′ MacBook Air.
It completely depends on what your doing. I’m a photographer, and the extra screen space will definitely help with comparing photos for selection. I also sketch diagrams a lot, and seeing the whole diagram while still being able to read the labels without zooming in is a big plus. I’ve written code on an 11″ MBA, and although possible and even productive, a bigger screen makes me even more productive.
Right, I think the iPad Pro is a no brainer if you use the pencil for sketches, or even as a controller interface, like the Logic ipad mixer app.
But that turns into a niche category of devices, what were arguing here is replacing the desktop computer for an iPad, two different things
When it comes to wordpress. I never use the app for iOS. I always use Safari. iPad can never replace my laptop and my PC
What about an iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 3 or 4?
This is very subjective and must be judged by each individual. If you only use your computer to play solitaire then you can replace your computer with a deck of cards.
I had to replace my 13″ 2015 bottom-of-the-line retina Macbook Pro because I was maxing out the processors and the memory. I’m getting a new fully-maxed-out 5K iMac tomorrow. Virtual instruments in a digital audio workstation limits the number of tracks, don’t you know.
I think what would be of the most value would be to state which use cases the iPad Pro handles well and what use cases it does not or is marginal on. I would think PDF sheet music on a music stand or piano would be ideal.