For the past two years or so I’ve been openly contemplating what would happen if Apple evolved the iPad into a true productivity PC. That day hasn’t arrived yet. But the new iPad Pro lineup —and a coming revision to iOS—shows us how Apple can get us there. Someday.
For now, however, Apple has an iPad problem.
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When the original tablet was introduced in 2010, then-CEO Steve Jobs said that he had wondered whether there was “room” for a product between a phone and a laptop. But in doing so, he inadvertently revealed Apple’s real goal, which was about selling more hardware, not fulfilling actual customer needs.
Then the firm announced the original iPad Pro in late 2015. And once it again, it did a horrible job of explaining why it was necessary or, in this case, even deserved a Pro moniker.
The result is well-known: Apple has sold fewer iPads, year-over-year, for 12 consecutive quarters. That’s three straight years of falling sales. Not slowing sales. Falling sales.
That fact needs to be put in perspective, of course. iPad sales are still about double those of Mac sales. And these devices are high quality enough that they last for many years. In this age of throw-away consumerism, maybe we should commend Apple for bucking the trend.
But then Apple also has a hubris problem that prevents it from shifting strategies quickly: The original iPad was heralded as the start of a post-PC world that never came. Which is particularly amazing when you consider how badly PC sales have fallen in recent years. Here’s this wounded and struggling animal, the PC, and Apple’s new wonder weapon can’t even deal a decisive death blow. Seems like a missed opportunity.
Not helping matters, Microsoft and it PC maker partners have paved their own path to a future that does include PCs by innovating with 2-in-1 PCs, gaming PCs, and premium PCs, sub-markets in which there has been tremendous growth. So Apple has been forced to veer from its original iPad vision and offer an iPad Pro 2-in-1 of its own.
It hasn’t helped. At least so far.
Part of the reason is that the original iPad Pro was ill-conceived. It had a huge and technically advanced screen, of course, though Apple later admitted that customers prefer a 9.7-inch form factor, introduced in early 2016, over the original 12.9-inch behemoth. But because of the screen size of that smaller device, the on-screen keyboard is not full-sized as it is on the 12.9-inch version.
Those first iPad Pros were more powerful than other iOS devices, thanks to a more powerful processor, graphics, and additional RAM. But they were also held back by the modest software improvements in iOS, which provided basic multitasking features like a side-by-side apps view but little else.
So Apple is finally addressing these and other issues. In part via new and much-improved iPad Pro devices. And in part via iOS 11, which significantly improves the system’s multitasking and productivity capabilities, but will not arrive in final form until September.
Which is an agonizing three months away for those, like me, who wish to see how well Apple’s vision of the future of computing works today.
It does not work well at all. This will please PC fans, I hope. Because while I keep dreading the day that Apple—and for Google, with Chromebook—will wake the f#$k up and just do it already, these companies have both run into major and I assume unexpected roadblocks in delivering on their promises to put the PC out of its misery already.
Witness the new iPad Pro as the latest example of this half-heartedness. I ordered a new 10.5-inch version, which replaces the old 9.7-inch version, an Apple Pencil, and a Smart Keyboard, which also works as a big and heavy cover for the device. For now, this setup will work much like iPad Pros have to date, using a fairly lackluster iOS 10.x version that doesn’t fully take advantage of this hardware and its unique capabilities. But as I’m a registered Apple developer and have access to the pre-release code now, I’ve already moved it to iOS so I can get a more complete idea of where things are going.
And it’s not there yet. Will not be there, in fact, at any time in the next year. So there’s your breathing room, PC fans. Even with the advances in iOS 11, the iPad Pro is no laptop replacement.
The issues with this device are many, but they boil down to two basic ideas, which I’ll tie back to opening comments about Apple having an iPad problem. I just don’t see what the point is here.
First, the iPad Pro is too small to be a productivity device, and it lacks key features—most obviously a touchpad or similar pointer—to ever replace a laptop. A Chromebook is a much better solution for anyone who needs to type at all, and that’s pretty damning all on its own.
Second, the iPad Pro is simply too big to be enjoyable as a consumption device. The screen is amazing, and the speakers sound incredible, but holding this thing to read is like carting around a hardcover bible or coffee table book: It’s big, heavy, and awkward. It’s like a large print edition of the iPad.
As always, I should qualify these statements. It’s a well-made, high-quality device. (Which it should be at these prices.) And I can see how the 10.5-inch iPad Pro improves over its predecessor, which contrary to claims does not share the same basic form factor as the iPad Air and Air 2. (Those tablets were, in fact, smaller, by about half an inch.)
I haven’t owned a full-sized iPad since the original iPad Air, though I did own all previous full-sized iPads, including the original, the iPad 2, the iPad 3, and the iPad 4 (which was at first just called the new iPad). Since then, I’ve stuck largely with the iPad mini, which works well as a reading and video watching device, with its small form factor and light weight. So this will be a bit of an adjustment. OK, more than a bit.
But the screen, paradoxically, is perhaps the iPad Pro’s biggest asset. Pardon the pun. It offers a resolution of 2224 x 1668 resolution, which works out to be 264 PPI, the same pixel density that Apple provides on the bigger 12.9-inch version. This bigger screen sort of fixes the on-screen keyboard issue, too: On this device, the on-screen keyboard is full-sized, just as it is on the 12.9-inch version.
That screen can’t help with the Smart Keyboard, however. Here we see a less-than-full-sized keyboard, with that weird fabric covering, and no touchpad or other pointing device. I would have preferred a 12.9-inch model, if only for a more comfortable typing experience. But I can’t afford such a thing, and for now, what I really want to do is just experiment with the new productivity capabilities. So the 10.5-inch model will have to do. Maybe iOS 12 will include a mouse pointer in 2018.
The device is elegant in the way that all Apple hardware is elegant, and if you’ve owned any iPad in the past, this will look and feel familiar. Maybe too familiar.
So what’s the point?
In a perfect world, I would just return this thing. It’s borderline pointless, and when you add up the costs—$650 for the tablet, $130 for the Smart Keyboard, and $100 for the Apple Pencil—you’re edging nicely into premium laptop territory. But I have slightly different requirements than most consumers.
Looked at from a purely Microsoft-focused perspective—an admitted niche—the iPad Pro is the most sophisticated mobile platform on which to run the software giant’s productivity apps and services. In particular Office 365, which is expanding so quickly these days I can barely keep up. So there’s some testing to be done there.
But I also have a long-running—and by “long running,” I mean 20+ years—history of keeping competitive devices on hand for testing purposes. I’ve always had one or more Macs, for example, and my now-aging MacBook Air will need to be replaced at some point. With an eye towards this post-PC future that never seems to arrive, I will need to keep this thing around for testing purposes. I won’t call it in investment. But it’s a bit of a necessity.
(On that note, I skipped the first-gen iPad Pro devices on purpose, knowing that gen-2 would be much improved. When Apple announced the MacBook Pro with Touch bar, I figured I’d jump in at gen-2 there, as well. But they released gen-2 so quickly after the first models, that I will keep waiting. Not made of money, etc.)
There’s also that Apple Pencil I’ve barely mentioned. I’ve been spending a lot more time in recent weeks experimenting with various smartpens on various platforms and will be writing more about this going forward. I’m decades away from my years as an artist, and many years away from the last time I took notes by hand, with real pens and pencils. But maybe it’s like riding a bike. I at least do have those experiences to fall back on.
In any event, there is much to test, much to think about, and much to write. But what you need to know right now is that the iPad Pro (2017) is almost certainly the best full-sized iPad that Apple has ever made. And while it is a step towards the post-PC future, it’s only a step, and a belated one at that. And it doesn’t go far enough to warrant any worries that doom is upon us.
So thanks for moving so slowly, Apple. Now I can turn my attention to more pressing matters.
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125511"><em>In reply to nbplopes:</em></a></blockquote><p>" I actually believe that Apple already knows when it will launch such support. But the fact is that if they supported it right now, a lot of App optimizations for touch, and probably iOS 11 would not be what it is today and touch the darling interaction language of the iPad, would already probably have been compromised."</p><p><br></p><p>The day the first iPad launched I knew that mouse support was going to be an issue. I think Apple knew this as well, but "Steve" set the words in stone for them and Steve's words were everything to them.</p><p><br></p><p>Your point is that they held back mouse support so touch support got better? So when they do finally drop mouse support and lots and lots of people use it 90% of the time during content creation means what?? They blew their opportunity for how many years?</p><p><br></p><p> I would seriously consider using a iPad as a laptop replacement for lots of task, the second it get's mouse support. Until then my iPad Air 2 is one fantastic consumption device! Neflix is fantastic on it.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125701"><em>In reply to nbplopes:</em></a></blockquote><p>"Why are people in such a rush to replace the PCs?"</p><p><br></p><p>The idea is a good one for a few reasons. The iPad is thin and light and has fantastic battery life. If it could replace my heavier, bigger laptops, especially when I travel then it would be great. Who would not want that if it could actually be that replacement? The Surface is a great device but it is not a great tablet at all.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus Apple has pushed it as a "Laptop Replacement" since the launch of the Pro.</p>
Delmont
<blockquote><a href="#125449"><em>In reply to bbold:</em></a></blockquote><p>"As an old Apple user for many years, I keep picking up the latest iPads and iPad Pro's" So, you're made of money to keep wasting?</p>
Bats
<p>The post-PC is not yet here? LOL…did he tell Harry McCracken that?</p><p>LOL…I don't think Paul understands what the term "PC" is short for. It's an acronym that means, "Personal Computer." Ya know, it's that thing that helps the thing make and get things. We have personal computers in our pockets. They are called Androids. Some have personal computers in their homes and they are either called Macs or Windows based computers. We even have portable computers that we can carry in our ScottEVest clothes and they are called tablets.</p><p>When Paul says that the post PC world is not here because of his analysis of the iPad, he is dead wrong. However, Paul shouldn't be blamed for that conclusion as much as a toddler shouldn't be blamed for touch a pot of boiling water. Paul simply doesn't know. </p><p>I read this post, and it's pretty much about technical specs. In the real world, who really cares about technical specs? It's all about getting things done and being able to accomplish work (real work) in whatever device you choose. Clearly, in this day of age, that can be done on a Chromebook, Android phone, iPad, iPhone, etc….</p><p><br></p><p>I loved the story Paul told about Harry McCracken on both Windows Weekly and What the Tech podcast. Sometimes I wonder, why did he tell it, because his answer as to why he uses an iPad for productivity absolutely destroys his claim that "real" work can't be done in anything other than a Windows Computer. Despite that, Paul still claims that Windows PC's are still needed? LOL. Again,….did he tell that to Harry McCracken?</p><p><br></p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125457"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>McCracken is a total Apple fanboy. He would rather give up the ability to do something if it can't be done on the iPad without a mouse. </p><p><br></p><p>He has stated on Twit that he is a purest and that he does not even want the option of mouse support on the iPad even if it does not impact anything he is doing. That is ignorance at its best.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125612"><em>In reply to PincasX:</em></a></blockquote><p>They could do it but they don't like the taste of humble pie. It is a pride issue. </p><p><br></p><p>It is clearly the BIGGEST reason that the iPad has not even scratched the surface of replacing laptops with the iPad.</p><p><br></p><p>It is shocking how obvious the lack of mouse support is impacting their efforts. Stupid is as…..</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125700"><em>In reply to PincasX:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't like Apple? I own a 2015 Macbook Pro, iPad Air 2, iPhone 7 and a Apple TV, but I don't like Apple.</p><p><br></p><p>I want mouse support for the iPad. If it had mouse support I would use it a lot more. I simply can't stand using the screen and lame touch multi-tasking when I have the keyboard attached.</p><p><br></p><p>I feel like Apple is just being arrogant about it, just give us the option. Clearly I am not the only one asking and clearly every move they have made with the Pro so far has not stopped the sales decline quarter after quarter. When I heard Paul say on Windows Weekly he was going to get this new Pro, I practically said out loud "nothing has changed he wont like it".</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125484"><em>In reply to Tony Barrett:</em></a></blockquote><p>For the Enterprise customers Microsoft does not care. You pay the same whether you are running Windows 7 or 10. According to NMS Windows (as a whole) has actually gone up in market share in the last year by 1-2%…from 89% to 91.64% now. Mac market share has almost dropped 33% according to those some numbers.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125537"><em>In reply to nbplopes:</em></a></blockquote><p>Why do you keep linking that article? The writer is amazed by benchmarks???? </p><p><br></p><p>Buy any new device today for portable computing and the last thing people will complain about is speed, especially for the tasks they will do on a portable computing device. Sure it maybe fast/faster in some bench marks but any new device with a SSD is going to be fast enough.</p><p><br></p><p>The reasons the iPad can not replace a laptop for most are NO different since before these new iPad's and before iOS 11. Nothing has really changed. There are many reasons, the strongest is lack of mouse/trackpad support and no ability to use an external monitor.</p><p><br></p><p>I could get around no ports as I hardly use them on a laptop. I can get around file storage as I use the heck out of onedrive and I can use it on my iPad. I can't get around the lack of software, like Visio and the lack of of mouse support. </p><p><br></p><p>Trying to use something like OmniGraffle for the iPad (which is worse than the Mac version) to replace Visio……with my finger……..ummmm no.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125698"><em>In reply to nbplopes:</em></a></blockquote><p>"surpasses even a Core i7 and tasks known to be strong"</p><p><br></p><p>On Geekbench??? How do the two even compare with two different types of CPU/Chipset architectures????</p><p><br></p><p>Name an app on that is on both, content creation app since we are talking about "Laptop Replacement" here. I going to bet in 100% of the apps, the app on the computer is has more features is more powerful and runs better once you put some serious effort/work into the app. Use Excel and load up some big spreadsheet and have it do some data analysis and see how the two compare….are those geekbench results holding up?</p><p><br></p><p>If someone can replace a Laptop with an iPad Pro all that means at this point is that they did not need a laptop. In that case it is a "Laptop Alternative". </p><p><br></p><p>If they really need a Laptop the iPad Pro with iOS and the apps that are out there are not a replacement. Sorry is just is not. </p>
Locust Infested Orchard Inc.
<p><strong>In mid-2017 the premise of this article's heading no longer resonates with the reality. Had this article Surfaced three to five years ago, I certainly would have been in agreement. The PC world, though it continues to shrink (primarily because the lifecycle of PCs has steadily increased, and shall continue to do so with their ever-increasing power), continues to make strides in innovative products that one couldn't have been foreseen a decade ago.</strong></p><p><strong>I am strongly of the opinion that 'the post Android/iOS World isn't quite here yet'. One may question my seemingly bizarre statement when all data trends point to an increasing usage and reliance of Android devices. But remember this, history has shown that all fads and trends are cyclical in nature, they rise to peak point, plateau off, and then fall to a trough. Whether
there is a resurgence depends upon something better coming along. In technology, it is almost always the case that which has sunk enters a state of oblivion.</strong></p><p><strong>For now though, Android and to a lesser extent iOS are witnessing the heady days of their prevalence. Though difficult to perceive, now is the time to look beyond that which reigns supreme, for I believe not before long, the gorgeous once-loved Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus shall be consigned to the bottom drawer only to be collecting dust.</strong></p><p><strong>Time shall test the veracity of my sentiments, as it always does.</strong></p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125545"><em>In reply to Locust Infested Orchard Inc.:</em></a></blockquote><p>"<strong>One may question my seemingly bizarre statement when all data trends point to an increasing usage and reliance of Android devices."</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Not bizarre at all. It is the truth. Outside of Chromebooks in US schools all this smartphone/tablet/Chromebook talk has done NOTHING really to replace computers in the last 10 years. </strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Chromebooks success, in US schools only, is 90% cost/10% ease of administration. The ease of administration part could easily be considered a "cost" item since they just get rid of the support people and push the job on some over worked teacher.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Apple has abandoned Enterprise. The iPhone is the only serious money maker for Apple. Every other division is falling or stagnated. That Home Pod or whatever is will sell less than the iWatch or AppleTV probably. </p><p><br></p><p>Google just stopped development on the new OS that was going to combine ChromeOS and Android. What happened to the Android on Chrome efforts…..crickets. The Pixel phone, you know the phone that Google was going to be in more control of, their first flagship offering, priced like a flagship, that had some actual advertising for a week or so, just passed 1 million sales, which is pretty much a total failure.</p><p><br></p><p>Google is an ad company (86%+ revenue) that makes tools to collect information. Android is everywhere because 60% or more of Android devices are total junk that still collects tons of info. Who cares if they are secure or ever get updated they are still collecting tons and tons of data to feed Ad sales…..mission accomplished.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#125586"><em>In reply to Michael Babiuk:</em></a></blockquote><p>Sorry but that "trackpad" feature is a joke.</p><p><br></p><p>I will never get the Apple purest point of view. Just add the OPTION…as in OPTION, you know OPTION for mouse support. Do NOT take away any current touch features to keep the Apple cult members happy.</p><p><br></p><p>However to the cult members that is sacrilegious and they would cry a river if Apple did this. However until they make it easier with mouse support to do multitasking and more refined pointing, the iPad sales will continue to fall and continue to be a consumption device for 98% of owners.</p>
jbuccola
<p>I picked up the 10.5" version to replace my 9.7".</p><p><br></p><p>As a consultant who spends field time listening / presenting, emailing and consuming, the device with LTE is dead perfect. I no longer lug around a laptop bag (which is much worse than the "heavy book" analogy) and only grab it when I expect to be coding or producing content.</p><p><br></p><p>This has replaced the PixelSense as my favorite screen, and the form factor for this type of work –especially with LTE– is uniquely positioned as a go-to machine for the 80% use case.</p>
Stooks
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"iPad sales are still about double those of Mac sales."</span></p><p><br></p><p>And yet iPad sales have fell each quarter for 3 years now. Looking at NMS numbers Mac market share has gone down 33% since February of 2016. (9.75% to 6.12%).</p><p><br></p><p>Apple is a smartphone company at this point and the iPhone has a ever shrinking market share, with 14% world wide now??</p><p><br></p><p>Until Apple caves and adds Mouse support at a min, these new finger/arm torture features that try to give you better multi-tasking are a complete joke. There is simply no way I would use an iPad for any kind of creation beyond typing a short, simple email.</p>