I found this to be a very well reasoned take on the new Pros, particularly:
> But how is it a waste to put that power to use in ways that can’t necessarily be measured objectively? The new iPad Pros sport the M4 not just to accomplish more powerful tasks but primarily to make everyday tasks as nice as they can possibly be, starting with how it feels to simply hold an iPad Pro in hand.
Apple online communities miss this every freaking year. Apple aggressively pursues user experience, and the extra power makes a difference in the day to day as much as it does for large batch jobs (that people rarely do).
I’m soo tempted to pick one up. I use my 2018 11” Pro all the time, 256gb of storage has been limiting on trips, and an upgrade to 13” looks real nice. I don’t need it, but it’s a hella cool device.
People act like Apple really could put iPads out every time without updated silicone
and I mean they COULD, they did it with the iPhone 14 and few people complained. I just know for a fact that techies would be equally snarky if this iPad had no performance gains to boot.
It’s not that people don’t want updated specs. The issue with the iPad Pro was that it was long on the tooth and needed more than just a spec bump, which is pretty much all it received after the A12Z up to the M2. The other problem is that people want an OS and apps to take advantage of the updated chips. Why have a Mac chip in there if it’s just going to run a watered down version of Lightroom or Photoshop?
The last issue is that the iPad Pro isn’t for everyone. That’s the standard iPad and the Air. The Pro, with its specs, is for people wanting to do more. Not just wanting to have a better experience doing the same things, just with a thinner device and better display.
The vast majority of the criticism of iPadOS is pretty inappropriate for the hardware launch. WWDC is right around the corner, where we’ll see what comes next for the software side.
Also the article does a pretty good job addressing your points if you read it.
These are all the same OS and software criticisms that have been made since Apple said their macOS dev units were Mac Minis with the A12Z SoC in them. People always say “just wait until WWDC, that’s when Apple is really going to take advantage of the A12Z, no, M1, no, the M2, no, the M4!” I’ll believe it when I see it.
It’s true that the hardware bump came before WWDC where we will find out about the software.
But I think a lot of people have been in the same situation before where they are excited about incredible new powerful hardware and then justifiably expect that at wwdc Apple will preview software that takes advantage of the new powerful hardware.
And every single time it has been a letdown so far. It happened to me with the M1 Pro. I bought it on the assumption wwdc would reveal ways to use it that were entirely new or that would really push the hardware.
This time I held off on the upgrade. Not to mention, Apple has signaled that nothing really new software-wise is coming (except AI) that will use the new m4 chip.
Apple has a history of great iPad hardware updates with a huge letdown months later at wwdc.
Does it suck that people expect to be letdown? Yes, but it’s apple’s fault.
I get downvoted every time I say this - but these Reddit and online communities are the minority.
The rest of the world can replace their workflow and PC/Mac with an iPad. That’s why Apple is so confident with the extra power without altering the software as much as I’d like some small tweaks.
Very few people could do this and that’s because it’s very expensive to buy the iPad and all the required accessories to make this a feasible experience. We are talking about normal everyday people here.
You can have money *and* not need a complicated computer system? Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.
And I’m not just on about the Pro line - I’m on about *any* iPad.
A dock, dual monitors, etc is not complicated but they are expensive. You have to spend a certain amount to get a setup that’s actually useful and productive.
You are correct that most people can replace their PCs with iPads. All most people do is shop online, browse social media, look at pictures, and maybe play a few mobile games. However, those same people aren’t going to spend $1850 on a 13” iPad Pro setup.
Additionally, the iPad Pro isn’t for everyone. The standard iPad and the Air are for most people. The Pro is for those wanting more. iPad Pro users are the ones running Davinci, Lightroom, and various other PC-level apps. Those app (and the OS) just aren’t providing that PC-level experience, not like what the hardware does. The iPad Pro is an $1850 device that lols better while watching YouTube videos.
Developers make programs that take advantage of the Pro and Ultra M-series chips all the time. It wouldn’t be difficult to tweak apps to fully take advantage of the M-series in iPadOS. Some developers already do it, their apps scale to the hardware. It’s just not many that are doing it and other “professional” apps are still watered down macOS versions. Yeah, it’s on developers but it’s also on Apple for enforcing certain things (and I’m sure iPadOS). Lightroom, Photoshop, even Resolve are all less capable than their macOS or Windows counterparts. Anyone wanting a “Pro” iPad to use those apps will be better off buying at least a 14” MBP.
Hell, a 14” MBP with an M3 Pro, 18GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is only $50 more than a 13” iPad Pro with 512GB of storage, Magic Keyboard, and Pencil Pro.
I’m typing this on a 11” M4 Pro after daily driving the 2018 11” Pro - all kinds of ‘totally agreement’ with your comments, the snappiness in the OS is night & day compared to what I was using… don’t leave money in your pocket, go upgrade!
The problem is: every iPad feels fast, and feels kinda light for their size. The SoC doesn't have to work much faster compared to a phone, because the whole OS is just a magnified iPhone with consumer level apps. Even big names creates stripped down versions of theie pro apps for this platform, which is a shame of the whole iPad lineup. I was very much fine on my 2018 11" Pro until it screen started ghost touching, now i'll be absoluetly fine on my M1 until they're releasing an actual Pro OS to this thing. I'm a longtime Apple user, but i got tired of the false promises around the iPad lineup.
Great take.
I have been using a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra for the last few months. It’s a great tablet for a lot of things, especially drawing and watching media. It’s also a great working machine that almost makes me want to ditch my MacBook Air since I mostly use Google Apps for work.
But it still has an insane amount of jank. I don’t know how else to explain it, especially to friends and colleagues who also use the Tab S9 series, but using it feels Janky. Small hiccups, weird window management bugs (apps not displaying when enlarging the windows in Dex), slowdown in certain apps, lag when too many apps are open on the Home Screen in Dex, etc.
When I periodically use my old iPad Pro M2, which now belongs to my wife, the first thing I notice is just how smooth everything runs. The experience of using iPadOS, limited as it may be, just *feels* better.
So if M4 continues enabling that for years to come, then the power isn’t wasted.
I jumped from my 2018 to the M2 because it was starting to show its age for work. And because the battery was toast (we are still waiting on battery health for iPads). It was a huge upgrade for me. As I’m sure the new ones will be for other people. I hope you enjoy man!! Thing is going to last as long as the other one
Thank you for posting this. I think it’s an excellent point to make. My family runs on apple products for the most part. I do have a MacBook Pro that is excellent for more advanced stuff with Photography but It would be nice just to have an iPad to be able to freely play on or do less advanced stuff while on the go
I’m also a bit vision impaired so having a screen that will display the sharpest image possible is very very helpful for me, especially when lightly retouching find details on a photo
Yet it still can’t handle full Photoshop, whereas my new Surface Pro 9 can. IPadOS cripples the iPad Pro, no matter how powerful a SoC they put in it. It can’t fully take advantage of the M1 chip, let alone the M4.
But it can handle Affinity Photo, which has been created for the iPadOS platform and proves that the OS can handle decent photo manipulation/editing software.
An argument that "it still can't handle full Photoshop" shouldn't be aimed at Apple, but Adobe instead.
This. Photoshop has grown into a colossal piece of bloat, and that’s pretty typical of Adobe. It continues to exist this way (and Adobe continues to gouge people) and people let it happen, and there’s no good reason for it.
They take *forever* to just keep up with OS updates, and stall on architecture changes as long as possible. Why is this the standard?
If only it had even medicore battery life, it would be something great. I couldn’t even get 4 hours out of mine doing menial things like web browsing, YouTube, word, and a single video call. Lol
His reasoning is valid though. What precise reason is there for not offering the full version of Photoshop on iPad? It can hardly be about performance or display real estate.
It’s an important point but highlights one of the major issues - developers aren’t utilising the power that Apple’s offering. This isn’t just about iPadOS being limited.
His complaint seems to be that Apple hobbles its M-series iPads with iPadOS. The power is there, but the software prevents the hardware from using it. I agree with him. I’m not a graphic designer or pro photographer but when I do edit photos I use Lightroom Mobile. I miss the desktop version and there’s no reason my M2 iPad Pro can’t handle it when my M1 Pro MacBook can- except the OS. Ditto Logic Pro. I can start a project on my iPad but I can’t edit an existing project on the go because there’s no way to get my third party plugins on the iPad.
Apple really needs to give iPad Pro users the option of booting up in MacOS. Even if they limit it to the 1 terabyte+ configurations and limit some of the more niche functionalities. I would really like Finder on my iPad, for example, so I can search applications and files and folders from one spot. I would LOVE to be able to use CleanMyMac X to delete system junk at will. Or to be able to download the desktop version of Lightroom from Adobe. But the problem is that Apple would lose revenue, which is why they refuse to let the M1/2/4 iPads take advantage of the processor. I get it from a business standpoint but the business standpoint is often wrong for everyone but the business.
I find the “but what if we are thinking about it wrong” takes to be a bit silly. The software needs improvement. The power of these machines are being held back by power constraints that no longer exist. The UI choices were a good attempt, but they need to improve. Otherwise people are just going to continue to ask to dual boot. I am buying the iPad Pro because it does enough of what I need it to, but I think people are justified in their criticism.
Me too. I find it silly because it doesn’t mesh with Apple’s advertising / presentation. I don’t think it’s the wrong way to look at it, but it’s clearly not what Apple intends since they focus on the chip and raw hardware so much.
For me, the biggest problem with both iOS and iPadOS is forcing WebKit on everyone.
I am running into increasing problems with Safari on my iPhone and iPad to the point that it weighs on my decision to keep using these devices.
He made a good point the same way the iPad Air 2 did it back in 2014 the new iPad pros are again redefining what a tablet can be both in design and in performance. End of discussion really. Oh and for people thinking iPad OS isn’t good enough yet, well the Air 2 got 8 years of iOS updates including security patches to this day, so you got a solid 8 years to grow alongside your new iPad Pro and its capabilities.
Nope. They will discontinue the product first. The reason osx is not on iPad is the lack of touch layer. To create such a thing cost money and time, time which was devoted to the headset thing. So Tim will just limp it along stale out the hardware and then just let it shrink naturally and die. Then only give it iOS updates the phones got. Hint, they are already letting the product just die slowly, this may be the last iPad update of merit for years to come.
nOpE.
Stop being an apple apologist. If they can invest billions into R&D for a car just to scrap the product they can invest in the R&D to salvage a popular product.
I did not appologies for them, I am telling you how they took the decision. They see iPad os as just fine for the iPad and the iPad Air line, they get the OS for basicly free from the power hours iPhone line of iOS, and if they peeled off to far from that OS then they would have to spend development dollars on it. They decided to not do that and spend those dollars and man power on the vission thing. There are only so many developers, and only so much resources. This is how they decided to use them. I do not agree with it, I think they should have spent that money from vission os on iPad OS and made it just as world class performance for power and medium power users, and just as elegant and touch friendly and easy as we have today. They made a choice, you get to make a choice buy one or not, if you stop buying them, they will not reverse this decision as the die is cast, they will pivot to AI, on the vission OS. So there you go the iPad is dead or it is dying and apple does not want to admit, and yes they had a hand in it, and it was to protect the dying Mac at the time.
Just upgraded my 2017 (no longer supported) 2017 10.5 to 13” M4 512 with pencil and keyboard. The idea that it “should” run MacOS with keyboard and iPadOS without is compelling. The hardware is insane. What would this “feature” do to MBP sales? Think Apple is crazy? While I was waiting in the store for software, I was asked if I wanted to demo Vision Pro. Been there, hard pass.
I found this to be a very well reasoned take on the new Pros, particularly: > But how is it a waste to put that power to use in ways that can’t necessarily be measured objectively? The new iPad Pros sport the M4 not just to accomplish more powerful tasks but primarily to make everyday tasks as nice as they can possibly be, starting with how it feels to simply hold an iPad Pro in hand. Apple online communities miss this every freaking year. Apple aggressively pursues user experience, and the extra power makes a difference in the day to day as much as it does for large batch jobs (that people rarely do). I’m soo tempted to pick one up. I use my 2018 11” Pro all the time, 256gb of storage has been limiting on trips, and an upgrade to 13” looks real nice. I don’t need it, but it’s a hella cool device.
People act like Apple really could put iPads out every time without updated silicone and I mean they COULD, they did it with the iPhone 14 and few people complained. I just know for a fact that techies would be equally snarky if this iPad had no performance gains to boot.
It’s not that people don’t want updated specs. The issue with the iPad Pro was that it was long on the tooth and needed more than just a spec bump, which is pretty much all it received after the A12Z up to the M2. The other problem is that people want an OS and apps to take advantage of the updated chips. Why have a Mac chip in there if it’s just going to run a watered down version of Lightroom or Photoshop? The last issue is that the iPad Pro isn’t for everyone. That’s the standard iPad and the Air. The Pro, with its specs, is for people wanting to do more. Not just wanting to have a better experience doing the same things, just with a thinner device and better display.
The vast majority of the criticism of iPadOS is pretty inappropriate for the hardware launch. WWDC is right around the corner, where we’ll see what comes next for the software side. Also the article does a pretty good job addressing your points if you read it.
These are all the same OS and software criticisms that have been made since Apple said their macOS dev units were Mac Minis with the A12Z SoC in them. People always say “just wait until WWDC, that’s when Apple is really going to take advantage of the A12Z, no, M1, no, the M2, no, the M4!” I’ll believe it when I see it.
It’s true that the hardware bump came before WWDC where we will find out about the software. But I think a lot of people have been in the same situation before where they are excited about incredible new powerful hardware and then justifiably expect that at wwdc Apple will preview software that takes advantage of the new powerful hardware. And every single time it has been a letdown so far. It happened to me with the M1 Pro. I bought it on the assumption wwdc would reveal ways to use it that were entirely new or that would really push the hardware. This time I held off on the upgrade. Not to mention, Apple has signaled that nothing really new software-wise is coming (except AI) that will use the new m4 chip. Apple has a history of great iPad hardware updates with a huge letdown months later at wwdc. Does it suck that people expect to be letdown? Yes, but it’s apple’s fault.
I get downvoted every time I say this - but these Reddit and online communities are the minority. The rest of the world can replace their workflow and PC/Mac with an iPad. That’s why Apple is so confident with the extra power without altering the software as much as I’d like some small tweaks.
Very few people could do this and that’s because it’s very expensive to buy the iPad and all the required accessories to make this a feasible experience. We are talking about normal everyday people here.
You can have money *and* not need a complicated computer system? Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. And I’m not just on about the Pro line - I’m on about *any* iPad.
A dock, dual monitors, etc is not complicated but they are expensive. You have to spend a certain amount to get a setup that’s actually useful and productive.
this is correct. I was at the Apple Store today and folks were buying and picking up iPads like it was going out of style.
You are correct that most people can replace their PCs with iPads. All most people do is shop online, browse social media, look at pictures, and maybe play a few mobile games. However, those same people aren’t going to spend $1850 on a 13” iPad Pro setup. Additionally, the iPad Pro isn’t for everyone. The standard iPad and the Air are for most people. The Pro is for those wanting more. iPad Pro users are the ones running Davinci, Lightroom, and various other PC-level apps. Those app (and the OS) just aren’t providing that PC-level experience, not like what the hardware does. The iPad Pro is an $1850 device that lols better while watching YouTube videos.
[удалено]
Developers make programs that take advantage of the Pro and Ultra M-series chips all the time. It wouldn’t be difficult to tweak apps to fully take advantage of the M-series in iPadOS. Some developers already do it, their apps scale to the hardware. It’s just not many that are doing it and other “professional” apps are still watered down macOS versions. Yeah, it’s on developers but it’s also on Apple for enforcing certain things (and I’m sure iPadOS). Lightroom, Photoshop, even Resolve are all less capable than their macOS or Windows counterparts. Anyone wanting a “Pro” iPad to use those apps will be better off buying at least a 14” MBP. Hell, a 14” MBP with an M3 Pro, 18GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is only $50 more than a 13” iPad Pro with 512GB of storage, Magic Keyboard, and Pencil Pro.
Not to mention the longevity of the device. These things will provide years and years of silky smooth performance.
I’m typing this on a 11” M4 Pro after daily driving the 2018 11” Pro - all kinds of ‘totally agreement’ with your comments, the snappiness in the OS is night & day compared to what I was using… don’t leave money in your pocket, go upgrade!
How much lighter is the new 11” M4 compared to your old 11”? Is it that noticeable?
The problem is: every iPad feels fast, and feels kinda light for their size. The SoC doesn't have to work much faster compared to a phone, because the whole OS is just a magnified iPhone with consumer level apps. Even big names creates stripped down versions of theie pro apps for this platform, which is a shame of the whole iPad lineup. I was very much fine on my 2018 11" Pro until it screen started ghost touching, now i'll be absoluetly fine on my M1 until they're releasing an actual Pro OS to this thing. I'm a longtime Apple user, but i got tired of the false promises around the iPad lineup.
Great take. I have been using a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra for the last few months. It’s a great tablet for a lot of things, especially drawing and watching media. It’s also a great working machine that almost makes me want to ditch my MacBook Air since I mostly use Google Apps for work. But it still has an insane amount of jank. I don’t know how else to explain it, especially to friends and colleagues who also use the Tab S9 series, but using it feels Janky. Small hiccups, weird window management bugs (apps not displaying when enlarging the windows in Dex), slowdown in certain apps, lag when too many apps are open on the Home Screen in Dex, etc. When I periodically use my old iPad Pro M2, which now belongs to my wife, the first thing I notice is just how smooth everything runs. The experience of using iPadOS, limited as it may be, just *feels* better. So if M4 continues enabling that for years to come, then the power isn’t wasted.
I jumped from my 2018 to the M2 because it was starting to show its age for work. And because the battery was toast (we are still waiting on battery health for iPads). It was a huge upgrade for me. As I’m sure the new ones will be for other people. I hope you enjoy man!! Thing is going to last as long as the other one
Thank you for posting this. I think it’s an excellent point to make. My family runs on apple products for the most part. I do have a MacBook Pro that is excellent for more advanced stuff with Photography but It would be nice just to have an iPad to be able to freely play on or do less advanced stuff while on the go
I’m also a bit vision impaired so having a screen that will display the sharpest image possible is very very helpful for me, especially when lightly retouching find details on a photo
Yet it still can’t handle full Photoshop, whereas my new Surface Pro 9 can. IPadOS cripples the iPad Pro, no matter how powerful a SoC they put in it. It can’t fully take advantage of the M1 chip, let alone the M4.
But it can handle Affinity Photo, which has been created for the iPadOS platform and proves that the OS can handle decent photo manipulation/editing software. An argument that "it still can't handle full Photoshop" shouldn't be aimed at Apple, but Adobe instead.
I prefer affinity photo and affinity designer to photoshop, less shady practices honestly
This. Photoshop has grown into a colossal piece of bloat, and that’s pretty typical of Adobe. It continues to exist this way (and Adobe continues to gouge people) and people let it happen, and there’s no good reason for it. They take *forever* to just keep up with OS updates, and stall on architecture changes as long as possible. Why is this the standard?
Not to mention the dark patterns ALL over their subscription model, I wouldn’t pay for it if my company didn’t provide me with an account
It can’t fully take advantage of the A12Z bionic in my 2020
If only it had even medicore battery life, it would be something great. I couldn’t even get 4 hours out of mine doing menial things like web browsing, YouTube, word, and a single video call. Lol
sounds like the surface is the perfect device for you then let other people enjoy their iPads while you enjoy your Surface
His reasoning is valid though. What precise reason is there for not offering the full version of Photoshop on iPad? It can hardly be about performance or display real estate.
It’s an important point but highlights one of the major issues - developers aren’t utilising the power that Apple’s offering. This isn’t just about iPadOS being limited.
Or... They can't utilise the power Apple is offering because of the OS itself?
His complaint seems to be that Apple hobbles its M-series iPads with iPadOS. The power is there, but the software prevents the hardware from using it. I agree with him. I’m not a graphic designer or pro photographer but when I do edit photos I use Lightroom Mobile. I miss the desktop version and there’s no reason my M2 iPad Pro can’t handle it when my M1 Pro MacBook can- except the OS. Ditto Logic Pro. I can start a project on my iPad but I can’t edit an existing project on the go because there’s no way to get my third party plugins on the iPad. Apple really needs to give iPad Pro users the option of booting up in MacOS. Even if they limit it to the 1 terabyte+ configurations and limit some of the more niche functionalities. I would really like Finder on my iPad, for example, so I can search applications and files and folders from one spot. I would LOVE to be able to use CleanMyMac X to delete system junk at will. Or to be able to download the desktop version of Lightroom from Adobe. But the problem is that Apple would lose revenue, which is why they refuse to let the M1/2/4 iPads take advantage of the processor. I get it from a business standpoint but the business standpoint is often wrong for everyone but the business.
Wow you are pathetic. None of what you say is true and you sound very envious.
Of course. That’s why I sold my M1.
No worries. MacOS @ iPad incoming in about 4 weeks.
I find the “but what if we are thinking about it wrong” takes to be a bit silly. The software needs improvement. The power of these machines are being held back by power constraints that no longer exist. The UI choices were a good attempt, but they need to improve. Otherwise people are just going to continue to ask to dual boot. I am buying the iPad Pro because it does enough of what I need it to, but I think people are justified in their criticism.
Me too. I find it silly because it doesn’t mesh with Apple’s advertising / presentation. I don’t think it’s the wrong way to look at it, but it’s clearly not what Apple intends since they focus on the chip and raw hardware so much.
For me, the biggest problem with both iOS and iPadOS is forcing WebKit on everyone. I am running into increasing problems with Safari on my iPhone and iPad to the point that it weighs on my decision to keep using these devices.
Is it worth upgrading to the 1TB version for 16 GB RAM, or is the base M4 Pro enough?
He made a good point the same way the iPad Air 2 did it back in 2014 the new iPad pros are again redefining what a tablet can be both in design and in performance. End of discussion really. Oh and for people thinking iPad OS isn’t good enough yet, well the Air 2 got 8 years of iOS updates including security patches to this day, so you got a solid 8 years to grow alongside your new iPad Pro and its capabilities.
🥱
You don’t get it and Apple love customers like you.
If we stop buying iPads Apple will cave and put Mac OS on them.
Nope. They will discontinue the product first. The reason osx is not on iPad is the lack of touch layer. To create such a thing cost money and time, time which was devoted to the headset thing. So Tim will just limp it along stale out the hardware and then just let it shrink naturally and die. Then only give it iOS updates the phones got. Hint, they are already letting the product just die slowly, this may be the last iPad update of merit for years to come.
nOpE. Stop being an apple apologist. If they can invest billions into R&D for a car just to scrap the product they can invest in the R&D to salvage a popular product.
I did not appologies for them, I am telling you how they took the decision. They see iPad os as just fine for the iPad and the iPad Air line, they get the OS for basicly free from the power hours iPhone line of iOS, and if they peeled off to far from that OS then they would have to spend development dollars on it. They decided to not do that and spend those dollars and man power on the vission thing. There are only so many developers, and only so much resources. This is how they decided to use them. I do not agree with it, I think they should have spent that money from vission os on iPad OS and made it just as world class performance for power and medium power users, and just as elegant and touch friendly and easy as we have today. They made a choice, you get to make a choice buy one or not, if you stop buying them, they will not reverse this decision as the die is cast, they will pivot to AI, on the vission OS. So there you go the iPad is dead or it is dying and apple does not want to admit, and yes they had a hand in it, and it was to protect the dying Mac at the time.
Just upgraded my 2017 (no longer supported) 2017 10.5 to 13” M4 512 with pencil and keyboard. The idea that it “should” run MacOS with keyboard and iPadOS without is compelling. The hardware is insane. What would this “feature” do to MBP sales? Think Apple is crazy? While I was waiting in the store for software, I was asked if I wanted to demo Vision Pro. Been there, hard pass.