iPad Pro Diary, Day 2: I have a shameful confession to make. Even though I’ve been using an iPad and iPhone for years, I haven’t really been using them.
I do a few things that haven’t changed for donkeys. I read on the iPad all the time and send the odd email. I play songs on Sonos. I played Kingdom Rush a few times. I watched a Netflix video. That’s about it.
My iPhone I use more, but nothing heavy duty. Messaging, email, photos and maps. The odd phone call.
But now that I’m forcing myself to use the iPad Pro for work — to see if it really is a PC replacement — I’m discovering something unesxpected: That the iOS ecosytem is far deeper, more productive, and better integrated than I knew.
Not only is work easier on the iPad these days, it’s a lot more fun.
I was going to talk about adding a keyboard to the iPad Pro (which I talk about in the video and a review of the keyboard), but the real lesson is how powerful and integrated the iOS ecosystem is.
Yes, I know it’s rather sad, but I used iMovie for iOS for the first time on the iPad and it was a revelation. I was able to make the above video pretty quickly and I’m delighted. Not with the results, which are comically amateurish, but the experience of putting it together.
The video was shot with my iPhone 6 and the footage transferred to the iPad via AirDrop. It was DEAD EASY!
The last time I did any video work, it was painful. I can’t remember precisely, but it involved plugging a camera or iPhone into the compuetr with a cable, or using a memory card or other hard media to import the footage. It ate giagbytes of hard drive space, and although older versions of iMovie were touted as easy-to-use, they really weren’t. At least the way I do things, which is steadfastly refusing to open a manual. If I can’t figure it out right away, I’m done.
How times have changed.
iMovie on iOS is a ton of fun to use, and amazingly powerful. I know my video has bad lighting, bad sound and way too many stock graphics, but I was delighted that I figured it out with minimal help (I Googled two things). I was amazed that the app does fairly complex things like video overlays with one click (or rather, finger press).
There’s also amazing and seamless integration between apps, devices and various online services. Swapping video via Airplay was fast and flawless. Uploading the finished thing to the Cult of Mac YouTube channel was so shockingly easy, it made me suspicious I’d done it wrong.
I know I’m just scratching the surface. Thanks to iOS 9, there’s a lot more cross-app integration than ever before. iOS 9’s Share Sheets bring up a wide variety of apps and services to work with, from Facebook to Evernote. Routine tasks like emailing an attachement are as simple as choosing the email app in a Share Sheet.
I knew a lot of this, of course, because I use iOS devices every day. But I’d never used them in a work context, to get things done, and I’m discovering that things have come a long way.
As I say in the video, a keyboard is essential to making the iPad a computer replacement. But I’m also discovering the joys of doing things with multitouch instead of a trackpad and keyboard. I’m discovering how rich and powerful it all is. It’s a better way to work — easy, intuitive and fun.
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.
92 responses to “iPad Pro Diary: The iOS ecosystem is much deeper than I knew”
Can Apple Pencil be used to navigate iOS?
No
Wrong. Yes, it can.
Not on other iOS devices than the iPad Pro, it appears.
half wrong…it only works with iPad Pro like the airmanchairman stated.
It only delivers super low latency, palm rejection, and tip angle effects with the iPad Pro, but it works just fine as a regular stylus with other iPads.
they wouldnt let me walk away from the ipad pro table at the apple store to try it out on the other tablets :)
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
well I havent been able to test it…have you? I thought the sensors/tip only worked with the iPad Pro as Apple has stated on their site. At least they aren’t marketing it as working on anything else.
Hey guys, I have one and it doesn’t work anywhere else but I’m an iPad pro itself. You can use it throughout the entire iOS except to pull down the notification centre for some reason but that doesn’t really matter to much. It doesn’t work on iPhones or other iPads just the pro. But you can use an iPhone to charge it or even another iPad.
I decided to go “all iPad” last year when I upgraded to my Air 2 and it’s been great. Granted, I basically just do writing, minor photo/video editing, e-mail and entertainment. Although, most people don’t even do that much.
BTW, the file transfers are via “Airdrop”.
AirPlay rocks and is one of the most useful IOS innovations. I use it a lot to send open webpages on other device or my MacBook Pro. Now that is far easier than emailing it or retyping the bloody address!
AirDrop, not AirPlay, as you said.
Correct
open web pages can be sent natively without AirDrop (which I think you actually mean handoff) I just use Google Chrome and when I sign in to Chrome on any of my devices it shows the open tabs for each device I own, tablet, imac and iphone.
No I am talking Airdrop. Happy to use Safari rather than introducing yet another browser app to my devices and laptop..
get Pushbullet and turn on universal copy and paste. Thank me later.
But yeah either way why would you use airdrop (are you like sending a .webloc file or something?) when safari has the exact same feature jonathanober is referring to chrome having, showing you open tabs on other devices, plus yeah handoff, reading list, shared bookmarks and probably other ways too.
as a website developer there are addons to Chrome and Firefox that work better than any implementation that Safari has. That’s really my only reason for using Chrome/Firefox. I also feel like bookmarks are handled better/easier in Chrome. Being able to log in to my gmail account is great in Chrome.
Why don’t you use reading list ?
Wow, I’m very impressed with the iPad Pro this is a very high-quality tablets one of the best ecosystems in the industry. I would also recommend that people who are buying the iPad Pro for graphics design and under intensive artwork to also get really good ambient lighting. A lot of my friends recommend LED desk lamps, and the most recommended is the Lumiy Lightline or Lightblade LED desk lamps.
These are exceptionally bright LED desk lamps that offer a lot of versatility, durability, and performance for not a lot of money. I highly recommend people check out the Lumiy Lamps.
I played with one in a store yesterday and I loved it. It was fast, light and had amazing sound. I will be buying one. Not to fully replace my MBP completely but taking a 15″ laptop out with me is a pain.
Then why not just get a 13 inch version of a real laptop?
Because tablets can be conveniently used where laptops cannot.
This from a cult of Mac writer.
I edited a video with two video parallel tracks, a text track, and two audio tracks all overlaid, on my Windows tablet using full-blown video software. Try that on your iPad.
I also emailed 5 document attachments in the same email. Try that in your iPad without convoluting your whole workflow.
I had 3 documents open at the same time within MS Word. Good luck.
That just scratches the surface.
You wrote: “This from a cult of Mac writer.”
And you name is?
In the short time since the iPad Pro was announced, you have posted more than 250 messages attacking the iPad Pro while promoting Windows tablets with an almost religious fervor. I counted thirteen times that you cut and pasted the exact same tirade about things you claimed Windows tablets could do that iPad Pro tablets could not. (Anyone can click on your name and see that I’m telling the truth.)
This should not be that important to you. Different people have different needs and priorities. I could no more use a tablet to replace my Xeon-powered Mac Pro workstations, or even my 17″ MacBook, than I could use a moped to replace my car.
For me, the advantages of the iPad Pro’s integration with the rest of the Apple ecosystem make it a much better choice, as does its built-in cellular connectivity.
If a Windows tablet works better for you, that’s fine. Buy one. You don’t have to bad-mouth a product simply because it’s not a good fit for your use case.
Im just someone wanting to post facts so people can understand what is truly offering professional productivity in this form factor, in light of the swarm of articles that are regurgitating hype with no rubber-meets-the-road facts at all.
What do you care how many times I choose to post them? If I want to help make sure people have the facts, why is that a problem? Why call those facts a “tirade”? Why do you assume it’s an “attack”? Unless you are the one “religiously devoted”, not me?
Last I checked it’s a free internet. I’m entitled to post facts on it. You are entitled to your opinion, as you’ve given. I’ll continue to provide facts as long as articles wear rosy-colored glasses when it comes to evaluating professional productivity of devices, because I want to help people make an informed decision. You can of course continue to judge that if you want to. It’s a free internet.
Good day.
More than 250 messages attacking iPad Pro? Of course, you are right. It’s a free internet, you are entitled to post on it, and you are entitled to your opinion,
You are also entitled to get a life, have your head checked, get out of mums basement and do some productive with your life…
Wow, the personal attacks just keep flowing ay? Starts to become clear what drives a “cult” of Mac fan.
sorry if the facts I posted offend you. At least Apple can feel secure that they have some devoted soldiers ensuring opinions do not run against them on the free internet.
It’s ironic that you would refer to “devoted soldiers” given the 250+ messages you have posted. It really appears to be 95% or more of your entire posting output since the iPad Pro was announced.
I’m not a “post about everything in the world” person. I’ve chosen to putting facts out there to educate people on where true enterprise productivity in a tablet form factor can be found today. So what? Does this make someone a criminal to be shot at?
I use one device (yes a Windows tabletthat I picked up complete wit to accomplish all my personal and office consumption and creative work, and simply couldn’t accomplish that on an iPad without running into wall after wall. I want consumers to know so they spend their money wisely.
If that makes me a bad guy in your eyes, then feel free to shoot me again. Then shine your Apple enforcement badge.
What sort of idiot clicks on Apple device articles under the laughably stupid guise of ‘educating’ people?
Unless you had noticed, 90% of the world uses PCs.
Just another troll with a bizarre Apple obsession.
Facts? What facts? Your personal opinion is not facts!
A cult of Mac fan? First post here ever!
Offended me? I’m allergic to bullshit!
Mac fan? Devoted soldier? Get a grip!
You wrote: “Im just someone wanting to post facts so people can understand what is truly offering professional productivity in this form factor, in light of the swarm of articles that are regurgitating hype with no rubber-meets-the-road facts at all.”
You claimed to be a writer for Cult of Mac, so why haven’t you published an article on this topic? I still don’t think I caught your name. What was it?
You wrote: “What do you care how many times I choose to post them? If I want to help make sure people have the facts, why is that a problem? Why call those facts a “tirade”?”
I don’t really think that you do “want to help make sure people have the facts.” It seems more like you have a deep-seated emotional need to convince others that they should make the same choice you did — regardless of their actual needs and priorities. Otherwise, you would have provided a more balanced set of facts. You compare the Surface Pro 4 to the iPad Pro, but you don’t mention any of these things:
➤ Which one is available with GPS?
➤ Which one is available with mobile LTE data?
➤ Which one has a longer battery life?
➤ Which device has a larger, higher resolution screen?
➤ Which one is lighter?
➤ Which one has no moving parts (like fans) in any models?
➤ Which one has more carry-in service locations?
➤ Which integrates better into a Mac environment (AirDrop, AirPlay, iMessage, etc.)?
I’m a boater. I carry my tablet as a backup GPS chartplotter (overlays my boat’s position and course on charts which show hazards to navigation, water depth, marinas, etc.). How well would the Surface Pro 4 work in that application?
You wrote: “Why do you assume it’s an “attack”?”
It’s not an assumption at all. I read many of your posts before replying.
You wrote: “Last I checked it’s a free internet. I’m entitled to post facts on it. You are entitled to your opinion, as you’ve given.”
I never suggested that you were not allowed to share your opinion and your carefully cherry-picked facts to support it.
You misunderstood me. I meant the above article is from a cult of Mac writer, which is why it paints a rosy colored picture.
As far as your list of use cases, I don’t see a lot of people asking if fans are in their devices or not. I see them asking if they can get all their productivity work done at the office and home without running into walls or rearranging their workflow.
As far as your boat gps plotter use case, a surface 3 supoirts LTE. Not sure if you were aware of that. In any case you’re giving a use case here that applies to 1% of people. I gave use cases that apply to 90%+ of office people; these are not cherry picked. Sorry if those facts offend a cult of Mac fan.
I spent a career in engineering (retired early in 2014) and I saw enough fans die, and enough overheated computers with interiors caked in dust, that I am very concerned about any device that is glued shut with a fan inside.
A Surface Pro 3 might have worked on my boat, and then I’d have to re-buy Windows versions of iOS software I already have. But for what? I’m not using the tablet as a computer replacement — I didn’t even buy a keyboard cover for it.
I’m sure that the Surface Pro 4 is a great device for some people and that the iPad Pro is better for others. People are productive with both and it depends on what their work entails and what other devices and computers they use, etc.
It’s not religion. It’s just technology.
Yes, exactly. and my point has been and continues to be that the Windows devices fits 95% of professional productivity use cases in the enterprise, whereas iPad does not. I own an iPad and an iPhone, so I’m not speaking from bias here. Not sure if everyone here can claim that.
What I am speaking from is a desire to get the facts out there, because many people will otherwise be duped into spending more money for an inferior product to use in the enterprise because articles and writers keep comparing things like screen sizes and whether a product has a fan or not.
Sorry if you don’t like those facts. But consumers have a right to know.
Take this off-line.
A-thought, maybe you need to hang out in a windows forum. If we wanted to see how awesome windows products were, we would go somewhere else. We don’t need someone coming in here to bash Mac products. We can go research Windows products if we are interested. You aren’t going to convert anyone.
You are like a Chevy fanatic going into a Ford dealership and preaching about how awesome Chevys are.
Yes, it is a free country (to be an jerk) unfortunately. Doesn’t mean you should, however.
I haven’t bashed anything. Just stated facts that aren’t popular here. It is I who have been bashed and ridiculed by responders. Such as you calling me a jerk, or others telling me to “get a life and have my head checked”. When did I ever name call in this stream?
Plenty of Apple enthusiasts bashing Windows products at many of the sites I’ve been at. Certainly no difference here when someone posts a fact-based opinion.
I would like the pleasure of more respectable company, so I will take your advice and exit.
I wish you all a good day.
I apologize for overreacting. I was too harsh.
But I hope you see our message. It is not that we don’t mind contrary opinions, it just can be annoying when it is over and over again.
Forgive me.
Wow..that’s a first. I’ll take your reply as on-the-level, not sarcastic, and say that I really appreciate it. All is good, and I appreciate the exchange.
As for the other people in this stream and the stuff they continue to say, I choose not to respond because they’re acting very cutting and immature IMO.
You wrote: “What I am speaking from is a desire to get the facts out there…”
What you are speaking from is a desire to promote your agenda — just as you have for months now.
The Surface Pro’s biggest strength — that it can run Windows desktop software — has lead to its biggest weakness; the lack of high-quality, tablet-specific versions of important applications. That leaves users with application GUIs that are poorly suited to tablet operation — where the user is holding the device in one hand and operating it with the other, maybe while standing up. Perhaps that’s where it got its name, users are always looking for a ‘surface’ on which to use it like a notebook computer.
The people on this site, and elsewhere, don’t need your (biased version of) help to understand and evaluate tech products. I took my first engineering job in 1980 and worked in engineering positions until my retirement in 2014. There are satellites orbiting the Earth, and a probe in the asteroid belt, on which I worked in a senior level engineering role. I used iPads at work in conjunction with other computing tools. I saw many of my colleagues in aerospace, as well as scientists we worked with, also using iPads. I doubt that you have more insight, knowledge, or experience than we do.
iPads, not Windows tablets, are found in the cockpits of major airlines like American Airlines, Alaska Air, United Airlines. They are found in nuclear power plants in use by people who operate, service, and maintain nuclear reactors. They are used by doctors and staffs at hospitals all over the world as well as by ambulance crews transporting patients. They are used by engineers and technicians in aerospace. And IBM has been a major proponent of iPad use in business, but I guess you are going to tell us that you know more than IBM about enterprise productivity.
You know a little something about my background, so how about sharing something about yours? In what industry do you work? How many years have you got under your belt?
A picture is worth a thousand words. The original article’s writer has kicked off a slew of videos (without using a manual, mind you!) that’s going to increase exponentially on YouTube and other video sites showing off the various simultaneous tasks that can be carried out with an increasingly-multitasking iOS and it’s latest, greatest tablet. In the fulness of time.
Then we can compare and contrast with the Surface’s capabilities and SEE (rather than hang on to @A-thought’s “facts”) what the iPro (heya!) can do.
Good point. That we will. Never claimed a crystal ball.
I find that argument from authority is the weakest form of argument, so I don’t really want to brandish swords with you, but since you asked…
Your entire argument has been one of casting yourself as an authority on enterprise computing and productivity, while portraying those at whom you direct your comments as ignorant rubes likely to be “duped” without your wisdom and guidance.
But when presented with actual facts about how iPad are used in industry, and how IBM is a proponent of iPads for enterprise, you “really want to brandish swords.”
Bought a surface pro 2. Total waste of $$$.
Fell for the BS about running windows SW.
Most SW sucked w/o keyboard + track pad. Spent another $100+ for keyboard cover.
Sat
on my desk like a mini-me version of my company dell laptop. Keyboard too
small and felt like cardboard. Squinted to see the little screen.
Stopped taking it to work. Gathered dust at home until I gave it to my son. He hated it and traded for a used hp laptop.
I got an ipad air2. Much more useful at work than s.p.2 ever was. Got a keyboard cover. Don’t use it. Everything works fine w/o. YMMV.
All are entitled to their opinion (except me in this forum). Just remember that when we’re talking enterprise, to have to contend with IT, domains, security infrastructure, etc. beyond personal professional use. All part of my point.
@A-thought
The Surface is good enough to be copied, I guess!
Agreed. Thanks for the respectful reply.
Just that iPad Pro didn’t copy it very well IMO. Too many things you just can’t do in an enterprise environment.
Enterprise would be using Citrix or some virtual desktop, imagine that, you can even use a mouse on your iPad with Citrix now. No need for a surface at all
Yeah, what’s up with the hundreds of posts slamming iPad Pro and other Apple products?
Are you a hater, or just a troll… or both?
Are you pissed off that Apple released another product that millions will buy?
Are absolutely livid, like pounding on the table mad that people like the products you don’t, and do not care for the products you love?
What gives…why so mad?
You are all wasting your time on troll-boy.
He is just some angry kid doing a sorry ass job of being a fake expert.
I am over 40 years old with 20 years of professional experience in tech. These assumptions should be proof to you guys that you’re putting blinders on.
First it was 49 and 25 years. Not it’s changed. Huh.
And elsewhere you wrote:
“I live in Detroit, MI, United States, and I want a surface book because I of everything I do as a professional:
– review videos for speaking
– preparing notes for public speaking
– editing video for presentations and team exercises
– taking handwritten notes & to-do’s on a clipboard in meetings and
while walking around the teaching institute (I take inventories of books
among other things)
– drawing diagrams of room layouts, and more.”
You want to pick use-case now, eh?
Ok, I want to run Procreate on a Surface.
I don’t care about Photoshop, Art rage or any other shits, i want ProCreate.
Can the Surface offer that? or should it shut the fuck up and not shoving that whole “productivity” trite up other people’s nose?
And if my example has shown you ANYTHING at all, is that the fact that the Surface can run full desktop software doesn’t fucking matter to a lot of people, including me.
I already have a workstation that I use to do everything that will take me more than 2 hours. For the rest of the light computing tasks on the go, an iPad suits me just fucking fine, if not even more so.
For such a device, I don’t FUCKING need a full desktop solution. Whereas for work station, such thing is required, my light, on-the-go device, SHOULD remain light, and caters to a different use-case than my desktop.
Same reason why I didn’t really use my Android tablet – why do I want to use a device that offers the exact same functionalities as my android phone? 90% of the time i should just use my phone instead, right?
And this is the point that you should realise, there are different users out there. There are users who want to have a single device for everything, and there are users who want to use multiple devices based on their needs and want.
I GET IT that you love your Surface. but to argue that the Surface is better than the iPad simply because it can run desktop applications is fucking missing the point, by a long, long mile.
Wow..nice….language. Throw tantrums much?
To your point, it’s as vacuous as me saying the opposite. “I want photoshop. Can the iPad do that??” Vacuous point. Each platform has software the other doesn’t have.
But here’s a point I can raise. You mentioned using your tablet for anything quick, and if it’s “more than two hours” (must mean detailed work tasks), you use your desktop. Difference is, I do all of the above on one device. No need to switch. That’s my point.
Sorry if it offends the loyal.
And try to Use a little soap in that mouth, ay?
No, of course the iPad doesn’t have Photoshop, and that is FINE. That’s precisely my point.
The workstation point is really moot, because if you talk about use-case, anything that i need to do on my workstation, i can’t do with a Surface due to its hardware being inadequate. Will you render videos from a Surface? just because it can does not mean that I would necessarily want to do so.
I’m not loyal or anything, I have been using windows since windows 7, and have always been the first person to adopt new versions of windows. I’m not attached to any platform, but i’m REALLY annoyed when people dismiss the Ipad on the ground that it can’t not run traditional software. No shit sherlock it cannot, but it can do plenty of other things that does not require these traditional softwares in the first place.
First of all; I appreciate your move toward a more civil reply.
Second, yes I run video rendering on a Windows tablet that is not even as powerful as a surface pro 4, I do it using full video editing software, and I do it every day. Works great. No “light app” compromises.
Third, I never dismissed the iPad on the grounds that it can’t run desktop software. I pointed out issues with it on the grounds that it has many productivity limitations. Just try to open two Word documents at the same time and you’ll quickly see what I mean. For many of us, a simple thing like that can interrupt daily workflow a lot, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
You wrote: “Second, yes I run video rendering on a Windows tablet that is not even as powerful as a surface pro 4, I do it using full video editing software, and I do it every day. Works great.”
So why don’t you apply to work at Pixar, explaining how you could oversee a transition to Windows tablets for their rendering work? You could explain how it would save them huge amounts of money in hardware and electric bills while still providing the Pixar staff with something that “works great.”
You wrote: “Just try to open two Word documents at the same time and you’ll quickly see what I mean.”
I have never wanted to open two Word documents at once on any tablet. Ever. Most tablet users want to quickly switch between documents, which is a better productivity model given the limited screen real estate and need for GUI elements sized for finger-operated touchscreens. That’s why Microsoft’s engineers designed the mobile version of Word to work that way. It’s why Apple’s engineers designed the mobile version of Pages to work that way.
You wrote: “For many of us, a simple thing like that can interrupt daily workflow a lot, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Why don’t you tell us about your “daily workflow”? It looks like it primarily consists of Windows tablet proselytizing and iPad Pro bashing on numerous sites including BetaNews, BGR, Cult of Mac, delhidailynews, DhakaTribune, ExtremeTech, Microsoft News, Morning News USA, NerdWallet, Neuro Gadget, Pocket-lint, Pocketnow, REM, Report Daily, SlashGear, TechnoBuffalo, TechTimes, The Cubic Lane, The Week, TouchArcade, TrustedReviews, Ubergizmo, ValueWalk, WCCFtech, and WinBeta.
So tell us about your professional expertise and credentials in “enterprise productivity.” Are you in IT management for a large company? Do you have your own consulting firm that specializes in enterprise-level computing services? Are you a developer for office productivity apps? How many years of professional, paid experience do you have?
Boy you guys have a lot of spit and vinegar. I have posted elsewhere my professional experience, which you all have wrongly assumed I have none.
I can clearly see this will not be a respectful discussion, but rather an attacking one. Only two people have showed any respect here, including the journalist – see his post to me above – who said the surface was “worth copying”. His words, not mine.
With that I’ll sign off. Last post from me, I promise.
So long.
One normally shows respect in order to get respect. When you treat people in these forums as if they are deluded half-wits who need your guidance when selecting a tablet, don’t expect them to welcome you with open arms.
Nope, sorry, that won’t fly. I will post one more time and then hold my peace, say what you will. Because you don’t deserve to let yourself off that easily.
From start to finish, I have posted my thoughts concerning the device, and expressed appreciation multiple times toward those who chose to be civil. look at the stream. I have called no one any names. You are making the assumption that I am treating people in the way you describe; I have never called anyone anything of the sort.
I on the other hand I have been called a jerk, told to ‘get a life’, that I need to get my head examined, and called unprofessional/ignorant and a bs’er by you, sir. it’s you and your friends here that are the name callers. don’t push that off on me.
I will explore a more civil forum where people are allowed to express their strongly held opinions of all stripes without Nazi-style persecution. After all, we should be confident enough to allow for that. In the meantime, you and the other insulters here might want to think about how you behave toward people. (as a further insult will only serve to illustrate.)
M$ drone shows up on Apple product review page forum and wonders why his trolling is not welcomed. O_o
There is definitely something wrong with you.
Yes, it will fly, because it is the truth.
You have shoved your unwanted opinion down everyone’s throat for months, alleging here that “many people will otherwise be duped into spending more money for an inferior product to use in the enterprise.” That’s an insult to the intelligence of people on this site, suggesting that they are too dumb to make an informed decision without your ‘guidance.’
You wrote: “I on the other hand I have been called a jerk, told to ‘get a life’, that I need to get my head examined, and called unprofessional/ignorant and a bs’er by you, sir. ”
Let’s add another to that list. You are a despicable hypocrite. During your Pro-Windows/anti-iPad Pro trolling spree you’ve called others “BRAINWASHED,” “totally clueless,” “L-I-A-R,” “Apple fanbois,” “troll,” “bald faced liar,” “the loyal,” “brat”, “fruit loyalist,””Apple lover,” “Apple shills,” and “lemmings.”
The people who have called you out here, including me, have been right. There’s something wrong with you when the entire focus of your online life for months has been posting negative comments about the iPad Pro while praising Windows tablets. You’ve posted more than 300 messages on more than two dozen sites, including BetaNews, BGR, Cult of Mac, delhidailynews, DhakaTribune, ExtremeTech, Morning News USA, NerdWallet, Neuro Gadget, Pocket-lint, Pocketnow, REM, Report Daily, SlashGear, TechnoBuffalo, TechTimes, The Cubic Lane, The Week, TouchArcade, TrustedReviews, Ubergizmo, ValueWalk, WCCFtech, and more. You’ve received similar responses on many of those other forums. This isn’t about this forum or the relatively small group of us posting under this topic. Your behavior is the problem.
You wrote: “I will explore a more civil forum where people are allowed to express their strongly held opinions of all stripes without Nazi-style persecution.”
Have you ever met a Holocaust survivor? I have. You sicken me.
You wrote: “Last post from me, I promise.”
How about keeping your promise this time?
Of course you’re free to post as much as you like. But I still gotta say: posting 250-plus posts about iPad Pro … even positive ones … seems a bit weird (IMO, that is).
Meanwhile, you’re obviously loving all the attention you’re getting here, and all the opportunities to post even more. again and again and …..
Look at the stream. Most of my posts have been defending against rude, assumptive attacks.
It’s hilarious when these Microsoft brand ambassadors talk about “professional productivity”. I can’t think of anything less professional than working as a pay per post shill earning less than minimum wage. You guys are laughable!
Yes you are correct Airdrop. Bloody awesome as is AirPlay!
Leander, You referred to transferring video from your iPhone to your iPad Pro via AirPlay. Did you mean AirDrop?
Let’s see if I got this right. The editor and publisher of Cult of Mac uses his Iphone for — wait for it — “Messaging, email, photos and maps. The odd phone call.” (?!!)
I got my Pro last night. So far, I haven’t used my MBP since. I don’t do much, other than the general computing, like millions of us do everyday.
I think if the naysayers would just give it a try, then they would wrap their minds around how it can be done.
Those that will allow this to happen will indeed find numerous, fun ways to complete most of the common tasks we do on a day to day on a laptop, but on a iPad Pro.
With that said, I miss 3D Touch SO BAD. Ha ha. It is/was almost a complete game changer on my decision on getting this Pro. The Pro’s screen real estate is so large, the 3D Touch would be a dream on this tablet, and would help a lot from having to move my hand when mistyping, etc… Very frustrating.
I will make do for now, as I did… not too long ago, before the function became available.
All I all, I absolutely love the size of the Pro, and could never go back to a “normal” size tablet. It’s awesome!
This is my concern as well. I’m working on an iMac but feel the need to be more mobile. The choice then becomes whether to purchase an iPad Pro or a Macbook Pro. There are pros and cons to each, and I’m not sure it’s worth buying both (I currently have a second-gen iPad).
If you had that choice, would you buy both, or just stick with the iPad Pro?
It’s all about mindset. John Gruber says it can’t be done while Federico Viticci just does it.
Mind you I do need to get Dragon Dictate on iOS and I also need iBooks Author on iOS.
You know what this whole thing looks to me? A bunch of people trying to justify spending $1300 on an iPad and forcing themselves to be convinced that this wasn’t a waste of money.
If it’s not a F*** Yeah device from day one, it’s obviously not.
I did some math on that. In Canada (with the exchange difference) it’s a bit more. Factor in the keyboard and pencil, plus tax – and the fact that you’re going to want the full 128 GB storage, you’re looking at $2131 CAN. That’s a lot for a tablet.
Well, for me it’s not like that at all. I got the Pro for ONE reason: its drawing capabilities. Yet, what I’m finding is that it works for a LOT more than that. It won’t replace my Desktop, but it sure as hell has replaced my laptop.
If you’re into drawing, this is probably the best mobile device you can get, although Pro’s still prefer the Cintiq.
Once again, Leander…your cute journey of compromise, adapting and lowered expectations will not make it to the end of the week without reaching for a bonafide computer.
The ones with the Stockholm Syndrome held hostage in the Apple ecosystem will make excuses for and try to reanalyze their needs based not on their changes but imposed ones by a monopoly OS and manufacturer.
This is not a new experiment. The iPad with a multitude of keyboard options have been trying to pretend to be laptop alternatives. They are not. Simply missing the key interaction of a mouse is enough to dismiss it but the list can go on and on for missing software that the store does not allow in conflict of Apple’s interests, missing ports for plug and play of modern drives, monitors, televisions and so on. Missing file systems. Missing expansion of local expansion storage (unless the iCloud apologists put all their GB and GB of media files, videos, photos etc and upload and download them in high speed unlimited internet on the fly and don’t need them stored locally)
monitors and tvs eh…I guess you never airplayed anything or used an adapter to HDMI…works the same way pushing a computer to a TV or second monitor does, so that one is a moot point.
Your solutions are compromises. Compromises require more effort and more expense. A port is not a compromise, it is a standard offering.
You’re a fool. Sorry, but that comment is pure stupidity.
All manufacturers have a monopoly on their own products. Nobody forces people to use Apple gear.
Stockholm Syndrome applies to those who support their captors – which if anything is you, not we.
M$ has you so brainwashed that you and dozens of other drones flock to Apple news and reviews as if your mental health depends on the continued dominance of M$.
It’s pretty sad.
I too used to be a drone just like you, but I woke up.
Here, try this: Do a search for ‘IBM Mac Fletcher Previn’ and read the article entitled “Zero to 30,000 in 6 Months”
IBM is proving that we do not need to suck on the Redmond teat for the rest of our lives. Some may be happy to do that, some prefer to use good products.
haha… what you wrote… monopoly OS and manufacturer… wow you really hate Apple…don’t you?
Which part was hard to understand for you? How many manufacturers make hardware for OSX, one of two available mainstream desktop OS (and I am being generous since OSX is a <10%usage niche software).
Keep twiddling thumbs for one incremental change every year and completely at the mercy of the manufacturer to decide WHAT and WHEN they decide to provide you rather than cater to your needs like the others.
so what makes monopoly a bad thing. you want to share your property or hard work to others? which part of their business is hard to understand for you? I see so much Apple hate in your post…nothing else.
for someone who hates Apple so much, you wrote a pretty glowing review of their latest MacBook just 4 months ago. Here are some quotes:
“A Macbook allows both Mac and Windows usage side by side seamlessly, making it future proof as well. The trackpad has no competitor. The Core M flies for daily tasks with no stutters. Specs are over rated with Macs since they are more tightly integrated and controlled and the experience is not determined by pure number crunching.
I made the circle from Macs to Windows and now I am back to using a Mac. In the process my productivity has soared, multi tasking has been a breeze and the peace of mind of enjoying life rather than worrying about driver issues, viruses, freezes, forced updates, incompatibilities etc typically associated with pure Windows computers does not exist.”
“Bottomline, this is kind of perfect for me. I can combine my personal laptop, work laptop and tablet reading needs into one and the price actually seems cheap all of a sudden.”
“I can interact with people by texting from the computer for work and personal use. I have a company iPhone so it works great together with the Handoff feature. This is a BIG deal to be able to send docs images and type long texts to ANYONE not just iMessage”
See where I’m going with this?
Thank you for the compliment. It makes the obvious point that I am not a Apple “hater” and I follow technology not brands. And yes, technology changes rapidly so needs and expectations follow.
My subjective analysis of the MacBook 12 was based on some specific needs to fulfil at the time (iMessaging all my work people from the laptop, portability, power bank charging etc and so on)
For the most part the MacBook was fine. It was plenty fast, the price was fine for the 8/256 offering (I have strongly derided the SurfaceBook for being overpriced at the base offering).
However, the small factor for the MacBook starting working against it for me personally… it started feeling cramped for spreadsheets etc, the super thin form factor screamed touch and hybrid tablet use but I couldn’t do that. The keyboard was OK and not something you looked forward to typing a lot on.
Bottomline, the MacBook 12 was fine.
But you are still missing the point between monopoly and technology.
It was the ONLY small portable MacBook with at least a Full HD screen that was available on the market. I did not have a choice. The Airs ancient dull screens are useless in the age of Retina, QHD and 4K laptops.
Therefore I have currently switched to a Yoga 2 Pro 13 that I got for a steal that has the larger real estate, strong processor, hybrid touch and glorious screen. It still has known flaws and I have ordered the better AC wifi card for it but overall it is solid for my needs and I am glad I had a choice while I sit by and watch what else is coming down the pipeline.
Oh, and the iPad Pro simply has no reason to exist in its current state of no mouse availability, no trackpad on keyboard, no port, no expansion, no desktop OS and on and on.
That part does not change. The iPad Airs can do all that in a better form factor already.
Fair enough. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and how they choose to spend their money. Just do the rest of us a favor: Please, stop trying to tell me how to spend mine. Keep your hands out of my pocket. I have never in my life went to a Microsoft fan site and denigrated their products. I’m trying to keep up with this article (which clearly if you’ve been reading, Leander indicates thus far an iPad Pro is a suitable laptop alternate) without someone telling me how lousy Apple is, and what I can’t do on an iPad.
Personally, I would never pay for a Yoga 2. But if it works for you, that’s awesome. In my opinion, Windows 8/10 is terrible. Trying to use a desktop OS with touch controls is an awful user experience, wouldn’t you agree? I’m surprised, given your knowledge of the industry, that you’d recommend that experience.
Clearly, you have not owned (and from the sounds of it, probably never will own) an iPad Pro. So how can you FAIRLY assess its value? Comparing an iPad Air to an iPad Pro is like comparing a MacBook to a MacBook Pro. One is bigger and more powerful than the other (hence the difference). So I don’t see your point there.
You’ve REPEATEDLY chastised iPads (and Apple) for not having ports, trackpads, desktop OS, and several other things that you obviously feel are invaluable and irreplaceable in a portable device. But I simply cannot think of a task that I (me personally) can’t preform on an iPad, and therefore would NEED my laptop (mouse, trackpad, ports, desktop OS.) Wait, I already know what you’re going to say, I’m “compromising.” Just because there’s a different way of doing things doesn’t make it compromising, you understand that right? My 80 year old grandmother has no clue how to work a computer, but she uses her iPad everyday. My point being, you only THINK you need a mouse, USB ports, desktop OS, etc. because that’s all you’ve ever known. It’s not your fault, it existed first. To you, that’s now computers work. But to claim that those things are NECESSARY to portable devices is naive and close minded.
I recently replace my macbook pro with an ipad air and I don’t regret it at all. I find myself more productive than I was when using the mac. I am student, and the way I use onenote and dropbox change my productivity and ios 9 keyboards shortcuts increase that. I hope apple will add more keyboard functions. that will be awesome
I am really surprised to see that the iPad Pro doesn’t have spell check… unesxpected, giagbytes, guess no one edits the editor…
Go to the Psychology Today website article untitled: ‘Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists’. Apparently psychologists have studied the phenomenon and concluded that internet trolls are pretty screwed up people.
You will not find Apple fans on reviews on M$ products. Go ahead and look for yourself. But here and on most Apple product reviews/news pages, the M$ trolls are legion.
I have often wondered what the connection between M$ and mental illness looks like. Are these people ill to begin with or does prolonged exposure to the awfulness that is Windows make them ill?
On a lighter note, the iPad Pro is on my Christmas list. :D
“please disable your adblocker”. Sure, why not. Oh cool suddenly your page is maxing out an entire core and standing at 1.4 GB ram and growing, and scrolling is like 1 fps and delayed by 5 seconds. Nice one!
I thought with notices like that it’s generally implied that your end of it is to not serve the kind of ads that can bug out in ways like that? I mean I get it’s a glitch but again, point is as long as ads mean an environment where that is even possible no one will feel bad about blocking them, nor should they.
cheers
I hope that the reviewer is using the Apple Pencil. The ways it is used in Photoshop is remarkable. I understand that design apps are a niche market, but for those who would enjoy taking their Photoshop needs on the go, the Apple Pencil is truly revolutionary. The precision is a game changer. Without going into a ton of detail, Photoshop Sketch with Apple Pencil made a part of my job incredibly easier. I showed it to a colleague and he ordered an iPad Pro online that day. Bravo, Apple.
I recorded a video of what I was doing to send to my dad using my iPhone. AirDROP it to my iPad Pro, edited it on iMovie and emailed it to him. As the reviewer mentioned, the sense of satisfaction of doing this on an iPad made me realize that I have misused these devices over the years, and they have far more potential than I realized.