While I love my iPad Pro (been using it more now that I have a living rooom, and using my MacBook less) but at this point it’s mostly a web browsing tool, Apple TV remote and sketch book.
I own the 9.7 Pro and love the size for most things, but when I need to do writing I find myself reaching for my MacBook.
I have been going back and forth on whether my future mobile situation should be an iPad plus external keyboard or a new MacBook Pro once coffee lake comes out on Mac. Quite frankly I’m torn. On the one hand I love sketching on the iPad. On the other hand there are still some apps that are Mac only (one in particular that I want to try using for a new project won’t wven run usable on my current Mac) at the same time there are so many Apps that only exist on iOS.
What is really kill for would be an iPad that slotted into a REAL keyboard heavy enough to use it like a laptop. And having Affinity Designer wouldn’t hurt.
It will really depend on what Apple does with their MacBokk keyboards. At this point I’m thinking I might save myself some head aches by going with a high end iMac, keeping my iPad and using my old MacBoom Pro as a mobile type writer. Then I can get a new MacBook once the ARM macs launch in a few years that hopefully also allows me to use the Apple Pencil with it.
... It needs to work with a full hierarchical file directory. Access to directories is a problem in real world use. This is simply because workplace file systems and servers ARE organised that way. ...
Don’t disagree with most of what you say. But what makes you conclude that, from a users point of view, user management within an HFS structure or management within a relational database are mutually exclusive? Who says tags within a file’s record in a relational database could not include HFS location data?
As we go into the future with ‘big data’ I’ll ask again, how is the user supposed to handle millions of files down the road? I’m not buying any argument that implies that HFS is in any way appropriate for handling so much data.
What do YOU think “big data” means? Lol. I’ve only ever heard that term in reference to how companies like IBM, Google, etc. are using machine learning to look through enormous data sets for decision making, such as autonomous driving choices, made from untold amounts of simoultaneous sensor data & the like. All this sensor data obviously wouldn’t be stored in user folders to be casually perused as you’re looking through your downloads. I haven’t heard any mention of this new paradigm shift, where we are going to move from the several important folders we’ve had for the last 30+ years (my documents, my downloads, etc.) each with maybe a few hundred files, suddenly to thousands of folders w/ millions of files. Wtf are you talking about?? Please describe to me the “millions” of files I’m going going to need to swiftly individually access via a file manager on my iOS device in the near future.
Tycho_macuser’s understanding of Big Data is in line with how “big data” has been and continues to be applied in industry today. Big data doesn’t currently significantly change the volume of data being stored or processed on end devices like MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, HomeKit nodes, etc. More importantly, big data does not change the volume of data that needs to be managed by end users from end devices. End devices may be asked to contribute a greater variety of data at a greater frequency to the big data systems that store and process big data for reasons of analytics, decision support, historization, trending, prediction, machine learning, etc. It’s the aggregation, assimilation, normalization, etc., of lots and lots of data of different types from lots and lots of different sources, e.g., end devices, into big data sets that creates the need for massive data storage in big data systems.
Some of the impacts of big data are already present on Apple end devices. One obvious case is seen when you are asked during OS installations and upgrades whether you want to enable analytical data collection from your device to be sent to Apple for diagnostic processing. Pretty much any data about your device or the use of your device that is being sent to somewhere outside of your device is a essentially a big data source.
Like many things technology related,”big data” is a new label and expansion of techniques that have been applied for decades. A great deal of big data processing has been ongoing for about the last 25 years around retail transactions. Companies like Coca Cola and Walmart have been collecting and processing huge amounts of transaction data and storing it in data warehouses for a couple of decades. All of this data is used to analyze buying behaviors. If you participate in “customer loyalty” programs (frequent shopper clubs) with retailers your personal information and demographics are used to contextualize the data that’s been collected about you to stimulate your future buying behaviors. The data collection aspect is the whole reason for getting you to sign up for the programs, so you are effectively an end device in a big data system. But you are not being asked to store any more data about yourself locally. In fact, if you’re like me you don’t remember what you purchased at Walmart yesterday, much less two years ago.
... Apple started marketing the iPad Pro as a notebook replacement after the release of iOS 11. Given some of the features it introduced around the time, Apple was right to be confident it could handle the workload.
The usual Apple Fan Boy review.... Sad....
They start out billing the iPad (Pro) as a laptop competitor, but end up comparing it to other iPads.
The reason: The iPad still does not have the critical feature needed for most laptop work: a cursor.
That is: the cursor is needed for most input work like text and spreadsheet documents. Yeh, you can reach up and try to use your finger to position or select areas of input, but its awkward, crude and inefficient. A cursor is far more efficient, functional and precise.
More than any other thing, it was the mouse/GUI that set off the Mac(intosh) revolution. (Prior to that everything was menu based with only a screen and a keyboard.) Until and unless we want to return to that, the iPad will remain a great tablet but mediocre laptop.
As soon as they support extending the desktop to an external monitor (no, not mirrored via AirPlay or cable), I'll consider it a laptop replacement. I understand there are some technical/OS hurdles, given the external monitor may not (or may?) be touchscreen, but that would truly make it a replacement for me. I don't perform very many resource-intensive tasks, but there are too many instances for me where having two full-screen apps open at the same is incredibly more efficient.
Larger iPhones, huge success, larger iPads huge success, larger iMacs huge success, massive 4K and 5K screens for Mac Pro huge success, MacBook Pro 17" missing in action.
I've come reluctantly to the IPad Pro 10.5 because Android tablets of similar size and weight are really not made anymore. Android is on "convertible" laptops weighing closer to 2.5+ pounds. I've used Windows before Windows (green and black DOS screens). But I naively thought that Apple is known for its iPads and it'll be ok. Wrong....
As someone else mentioned, the tiny font and the lack of real contrast are amazingly unfriendly. Android and Microsoft manage to allow you to adjust ALL fonts to the size you need. The iPad provides a magnifying screen that doesn't always reflow and gets in the way when you try to read a web page. agree, the Files App is pathetic. I found files faster in every other OS I've ever used.
Then, I paid for and downloaded a PDF reader from the store that said it reflowed. When I couldn't make that happen I went to an Apple store only to be told that they only support their own apps, not including all those written by others and sold through the Apple store. Google Playstore looks better and better.
I'm mystified by the adoration that continues to be bestowed upon every product Apple makes. I've now owned a Macbook and an iPadPro and neither one has helped me to understand. Granted that their screens, camera on the phone and audio are reliably very good. But that's just not enough anymore.
Tycho_macuser’s understanding of Big Data is in line with how “big data” has been and continues to be applied in industry today. ....
Dewme, apologies for my use of ‘big data’ in a way that not everyone agrees with, although I am quite familiar with how the term has been used in the press over the years and what it means. So yes, I liberated the term a bit for my own use to make a point. While I had no interested in responding to tycho_macuser given the prattish and adolescent response, I’ll respond to your post.
Where I work we have millions of individual files on a server and personally I have several hundred thousand I’ve accumulated over the years. Most of these files have been carefully maintained using hierarchical folders and naming conventions to permit to make searches more productive. My point is that this method is a pain in the ass to maintain but if you don’t do it you might as well go ahead and delete the file because the odds of finding it recede every month that passes. Use of a relational database filing system is a better way. I suspect that people who don’t see HFS as a problem are majority home users.
After trying to use the iPad with Pencil and Logi keyboard exclusively for work (my work documents are now stored in iCloud), it becomes painfully apparent to me what the shortcomings of iOS are: (1) the lack of a cursor, (2) the inability to easily connect to external drives, (3) the lack of a real file system. It becomes difficult to work only with your finger to manage files. The iPad does have it’s uses, but a full laptop replacement is not one of them.
I should point out that I’m working in a Windows-only environment, and am trying hard to see whether iOS can serve as an alternative platform. At this stage, iOS does hinder productivity when compared to equivalent workflows in Windows, MacOS and Ubuntu. Using the Cloud for access to storage works well if you aren’t a power user and if you don’t need offline access. I’ve also used the Surface devices, and whilst they are still a work-in-progress, they offer more of a better fit for the enterprise and mobile worker than the equivalent iPad.
My workflow consists of: 1. Working with files in Microsoft Office. 2. Corporate email using Microsoft Exchange (accessible only on company-supplied Windows laptop). 3. Company laptop has no Internet access except for sanctioned corporate sites through VPN.
It’s challenging to use iOS in my situation. I tried to do it again and again, but keep falling back into either Windows/MacOS/Ubuntu. I use LibreOffice on Ubuntu.
The iPad is bette-suited for certain media-centric workflows.
After trying to use the iPad with Pencil and Logi keyboard exclusively for work (my work documents are now stored in iCloud), it becomes painfully apparent to me what the shortcomings of iOS are: (1) the lack of a cursor, (2) the inability to easily connect to external drives, (3) the lack of a real file system. It becomes difficult to work only with your finger to manage files. The iPad does have it’s uses, but a full laptop replacement is not one of them.
I should point out that I’m working in a Windows-only environment, and am trying hard to see whether iOS can serve as an alternative platform. At this stage, iOS does hinder productivity when compared to equivalent workflows in Windows, MacOS and Ubuntu. Using the Cloud for access to storage works well if you aren’t a power user and if you don’t need offline access. I’ve also used the Surface devices, and whilst they are still a work-in-progress, they offer more of a better fit for the enterprise and mobile worker than the equivalent iPad.
My workflow consists of: 1. Working with files in Microsoft Office. 2. Corporate email using Microsoft Exchange (accessible only on company-supplied Windows laptop). 3. Company laptop has no Internet access except for sanctioned corporate sites through VPN.
It’s challenging to use iOS in my situation. I tried to do it again and again, but keep falling back into either Windows/MacOS/Ubuntu. I use LibreOffice on Ubuntu.
The iPad is bette-suited for certain media-centric workflows.
We used Macintoshes in the our IBM centric office back in the early 90's and they worked well and greatly enhanced our abilities and functionality. Later in the 90's Windows became more powerful and the Apple products were pushed out -- and we became strictly IBM for the big stuff and Microsoft for the little stuff.
And since then, Apple has yet to make much effort in meeting the needs of the typical office. Instead it caters to consumer mobile with some niche office functions where iPads are used to fill out forms and such. And, it's power users are mostly restricted to the arts -- music, video, etc... While a MacBook Pro can do office type work, few offices are going to be willing to pay the premium price they demand or deal with the closed architecture.
The iPad, has the ability to change that. But, so far Apple has been very cautious in expanding its capabilities beyond traditional tablet functions.
Those are not mutually exclusive ...... Network server access could be made available in the files app as easily as cloud server access currently is. that would increase the power of the ipad as a tool quite markedly.
We found the app “FileBrowser for Business” provides good server access via the workplace higherarcial folder structure. Fast and works well over VPN even if using a cellular link
Yes, but i doubt my luck having corporate IT approve it. If it is standard issue with iOS I would be more likely to succeed. Besides, it would be quite a basic capability of a Files app don’t you think?
Wrod59 made an important point in the first comment under this article that the Apple Magic Keyboard does not have backlighting. (AppleInsider should correct the oversight in its video and article.) You can buy Logitech's iPad Pro keyboard if you want backlighting, although I understand that the Logitech alternative is bulkier.
I have the Apple Magic Keyboard on my 10.5-inch 2017 iPad Pro, and generally like it. The keyboard has a thin, cover-like profile, yet the keys make a satisfying clicking sound that works well for touch-typists. However, occasionally the keyboard fails to register with the iPad, meaning that nothing might happen on the screen when you hit a key. In that situation, I separate and reattach the keyboard to the iPad, which usually fixes the problem. Still, it is a rather sloppy, non Apple-like annoyance. I heard this problem existed in the pre-2017 iPad Pros, at least in the 12.9-inch version. But does anyone else have this problem with 2017's 10.5-inch iPad Pro?
Overall, I think the iPad Pro is a wonderful device. I have the Apple Pencil, and use it every day for note-taking and to mark up PDFs at work. I think that the hardware already is a match for (or better than) a laptop. However, iOS as an operating system is not quite powerful enough (yet) to replace MacOS or Windows on a laptop.
Comments
I own the 9.7 Pro and love the size for most things, but when I need to do writing I find myself reaching for my MacBook.
I have been going back and forth on whether my future mobile situation should be an iPad plus external keyboard or a new MacBook Pro once coffee lake comes out on Mac. Quite frankly I’m torn. On the one hand I love sketching on the iPad. On the other hand there are still some apps that are Mac only (one in particular that I want to try using for a new project won’t wven run usable on my current Mac) at the same time there are so many Apps that only exist on iOS.
What is really kill for would be an iPad that slotted into a REAL keyboard heavy enough to use it like a laptop. And having Affinity Designer wouldn’t hurt.
It will really depend on what Apple does with their MacBokk keyboards. At this point I’m thinking I might save myself some head aches by going with a high end iMac, keeping my iPad and using my old MacBoom Pro as a mobile type writer. Then I can get a new MacBook once the ARM macs launch in a few years that hopefully also allows me to use the Apple Pencil with it.
Some of the impacts of big data are already present on Apple end devices. One obvious case is seen when you are asked during OS installations and upgrades whether you want to enable analytical data collection from your device to be sent to Apple for diagnostic processing. Pretty much any data about your device or the use of your device that is being sent to somewhere outside of your device is a essentially a big data source.
Like many things technology related,”big data” is a new label and expansion of techniques that have been applied for decades. A great deal of big data processing has been ongoing for about the last 25 years around retail transactions. Companies like Coca Cola and Walmart have been collecting and processing huge amounts of transaction data and storing it in data warehouses for a couple of decades. All of this data is used to analyze buying behaviors. If you participate in “customer loyalty” programs (frequent shopper clubs) with retailers your personal information and demographics are used to contextualize the data that’s been collected about you to stimulate your future buying behaviors. The data collection aspect is the whole reason for getting you to sign up for the programs, so you are effectively an end device in a big data system. But you are not being asked to store any more data about yourself locally. In fact, if you’re like me you don’t remember what you purchased at Walmart yesterday, much less two years ago.
Dewme, apologies for my use of ‘big data’ in a way that not everyone agrees with, although I am quite familiar with how the term has been used in the press over the years and what it means. So yes, I liberated the term a bit for my own use to make a point. While I had no interested in responding to tycho_macuser given the prattish and adolescent response, I’ll respond to your post.
Where I work we have millions of individual files on a server and personally I have several hundred thousand I’ve accumulated over the years. Most of these files have been carefully maintained using hierarchical folders and naming conventions to permit to make searches more productive. My point is that this method is a pain in the ass to maintain but if you don’t do it you might as well go ahead and delete the file because the odds of finding it recede every month that passes. Use of a relational database filing system is a better way. I suspect that people who don’t see HFS as a problem are majority home users.
I should point out that I’m working in a Windows-only environment, and am trying hard to see whether iOS can serve as an alternative platform. At this stage, iOS does hinder productivity when compared to equivalent workflows in Windows, MacOS and Ubuntu. Using the Cloud for access to storage works well if you aren’t a power user and if you don’t need offline access. I’ve also used the Surface devices, and whilst they are still a work-in-progress, they offer more of a better fit for the enterprise and mobile worker than the equivalent iPad.
My workflow consists of:
1. Working with files in Microsoft Office.
2. Corporate email using Microsoft Exchange (accessible only on company-supplied Windows laptop).
3. Company laptop has no Internet access except for sanctioned corporate sites through VPN.
It’s challenging to use iOS in my situation. I tried to do it again and again, but keep falling back into either Windows/MacOS/Ubuntu. I use LibreOffice on Ubuntu.
The iPad is bette-suited for certain media-centric workflows.
I have the Apple Magic Keyboard on my 10.5-inch 2017 iPad Pro, and generally like it. The keyboard has a thin, cover-like profile, yet the keys make a satisfying clicking sound that works well for touch-typists. However, occasionally the keyboard fails to register with the iPad, meaning that nothing might happen on the screen when you hit a key. In that situation, I separate and reattach the keyboard to the iPad, which usually fixes the problem. Still, it is a rather sloppy, non Apple-like annoyance. I heard this problem existed in the pre-2017 iPad Pros, at least in the 12.9-inch version. But does anyone else have this problem with 2017's 10.5-inch iPad Pro?
Overall, I think the iPad Pro is a wonderful device. I have the Apple Pencil, and use it every day for note-taking and to mark up PDFs at work. I think that the hardware already is a match for (or better than) a laptop. However, iOS as an operating system is not quite powerful enough (yet) to replace MacOS or Windows on a laptop.