10.5" iPad Pro owners (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

Yep. I fooled around with the 12.9 but that's really huge. I think if I were a digital artist I might have gone with that. But for spreadsheets and word docs the 10.5 was the better call. Just as powerful (maybe more so because it doesn't have to push as many pixels as the larger iPad) and more portable.

I'm trying to figure out a use case for the pencil. My friend loved it and tried to get me to buy it but I really don't know what I'd do with it. She is a budding artist so she was having fun but my drawings look like stick figures on crack.

 

[DavidJ]

Something is wrong with me. I have a sickness.

View attachment 38812

512GB. Space Grey. Wi-fi (will tether to my iPhone).

Had no doubt you'd succumb.

 

[mattCR]

Spent today playing with one. Still IOS. They market it as a laptop replacement, but let's not kid.. this in no way is a replacement for a MacBook or PC Laptop/etc. it is still bound to the IOS ecosphere, and that's pretty limiting for some of the tasks. It's a great tablet. But.. it isn't a laptop replacement.

 

[Carlo_M]

Spent today playing with one. Still IOS. They market it as a laptop replacement, but let's not kid.. this in no way is a replacement for a MacBook or PC Laptop/etc. it is still bound to the IOS ecosphere, and that's pretty limiting for some of the tasks. It's a great tablet. But.. it isn't a laptop replacement.

Honestly it depends on your ecosystem. My workplace is fully Office 365 and runs software that only has Windows versions, but uses Citrix virtualization software which fortunately has an app in iOS so I can get all that on my iPad. So for me, between all the Office apps and Citrix, it actually is a laptop replacement right now (and I never thought I'd say that, I have a 2015 MacBook Pro which screams, and I have a Windows 10 boot camp partition on it). The only thing I don't have for the iPad which I occasionally use for work? Visio. But I use it rarely.

And wait until iOS11 is out. It's going to bridge the gap even further. Now if you need more than what I have written above from your laptop, then yes, it's still not for you. But for me, my laptop will stay at home and be my play laptop, and I'll start bringing my iPad to work (and my upcoming conference) with full confidence that I'll be able to do just about everything I need to on it.

 

[DaveF]

Depends.

The iPad isn't a desktop replacement, for me.

But the iPad is a laptop replacement. It eliminates any need I have for a laptop computer, giving me something that does everything I need for around the house and around the country computering. And it does it much better than any laptop (10" screen, 10 hr battery, 1 lb).

 

[Carlo_M]

No I would never consider the iPad as it is a desktop replacement, unless you're the kind of low-power user that my parents/grandparents are (they need email, social media, some light photo viewing/editing software, and digital services playback like Netflix, HBO Go). For them they don't need a desktop in the first place, and I'd even go as far as to say the apps for Netflix and HBOGo are equal to, or superior to, viewing them in-browser in a laptop.

Again, there are definitely use cases for a laptop over an iPad, and for the foreseeable future there will continue to be. But for most things I need, this iPad will take over for my MBP. My MBP will mostly be used for music creation (Logic) and hardcore image manipulation (Photoshop, Lightroom). But for business use and travel, I think the iPad will meet 95%+ of my needs.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Just for the record, I have been using my 9.7" iPad Pro combined with the Logitech Create Keyboard case & Apple Pencil as a laptop replacement for about 8 months now.

As stated above, it comes down to the software: I use the native iOS Microsoft Office apps -- completely unlocked via Office 365 subscription -- in combination with the excellent LogMeIn app to get back to the office PC on my desk. In this configuration I'm using OneDrive for file sharing.

If I were running something like the Surface Pro I would be using almost the exact same configuration as I ultimately have to log-in to my Office PC to get most of my work done anyway.

LogMeIn provides an excellent Remote Desktop environment with a virtual two-button mouse on the screen which can easily be manipulated by the Pencil. And pinch-and-zoom work as well so you can zoom-up any portion of the Remote Desktop for better clarity on the 9.7" screen.

There have been times when I have been stuck away from the office for a day or two with just my iPad Pro and have had no problem getting all of my work done.

Of, course, the real advantage the iPad Pro has over the Surface Pro is the media-consumption side: I would dare say that practically all of the iPad Pro's popular native iOS apps trump any counterpart available in the Windows Store. And, of course, there are thousands of apps that don't even have a Windows 10 counterpart in the Store. With it's four speakers the Pro is the best portable Netflix machine out there. I know it's a niche market, but if you're in to pinball, Farsight Studio's Pinball Arcade provides *exact* simulations of real, classic, pinball tables from the 80's to the present. Tables like "Attack From Mars" and "Medieval Madness". Play these games on the Pro in portrait mode (with the DMD centered on the top) and you would swear you were playing the real thing. FarsSight has Steam equivalents for these tables for desktop PCs, but they just don't have the same smoothness and "feel of the ball" as the Pro with it's "touchscreen" and shaking "nudging".

IMO, the iPad Pro strikes the balance between a capable production machine and an awesome entertainment machine. It's now my Number 1 "go to" computer when I’m away from the office. And it's just going to get better with iOS 11!

 

[Sam Posten]

So I downloaded the entire MS Office Suite and the Citrix app (to virtualize some work apps) and so far it's running like a dream. At some point I'll start hammering it with my music.

Auxey!

 

[Carlo_M]

Very encouraging early report on the iPad as my laptop replacement. I'm at a conference using their native conference app through conference wifi. This app lets me view my schedule, slides, and make notes on the presenter's slides. I'm also using my full featured Office apps for my workplace, with internet browsing and email. I'm easily getting all day battery life. I'm talking I use it for 5-6 hours and only use 25% of the battery. Wow! Right now I have had it on for an hour during a session and am at 99% battery remaining. My MacBook Pro (2015) would have had 10% gone or more.

I brought my laptop just in case, but have left it in the hotel room every day of the conference and have not missed it one bit.

While on the plane, I watched 3.5 Game of Thrones episodes (HD versions, downloaded to my iTunes via the code from my Blu-ray sets) and only used 10% of the battery life!

 

[Carlo_M]

I will also add that my brightness is set to about 40% which is plenty bright for a conference room lit by halogens. And the screen is pretty decent at not reflecting too much light in this setting. Also I'm using the Apple Pro Keyboard so that's adding to the battery drain. Just crossed 1h15m of use and it just dropped to 98% battery as I type this.

 

[Carlo_M]

Got through my conference day yesterday without needing the laptop at all. Used the iPad about five hours total, on wifi, mixed usage of Word, the conference app, email, etc. and had 73% battery life when I got back to the hotel. Not too shabby.

 

[Nelson Au]

Nice reports on your usage experience Carlo. Thanks for that!

By the way, did you use anything to protect the rear of the iPad, or perhaps you have the Logitech keyboard case? I see in your earlier posts, you got the Apple keyboard, so that would mean no protection.

I'm still waiting to see if the larger third party vendors will produce the a rear case like the Apple silicone rear case. Pershaps a clear one. There's a few quick knock-offs on Amazon that has fit issues around the power button and an opening for the Apple Smart Cover that's not right. So I'll avoid those.

 

[Carlo_M]

Just the pro keyboard. No protection. I had no protection on my air for many years and it survived. Knock on wood.