Has Your iPad Pro Replaced Your Primary Computer?

[Abu Khadija]

Are you talking about movie or audio CDs? If it's movie CDs than i want to know too. iTunes movies are at least $15 to buy. I've seen at least at truck stops not much older movies are sometimes 4 for $20.

 

[muchospanish]

I am now computer-free. I gave my work-issued MacBook Air to a colleague and upgraded from an iPad Air 2 to a refurbished iPad Pro 9.7 to use the Pencil with Pixelmator. Definitely worth it.

The iPad Air 2 is still a fantastic iPad. I've had it for two years and it still seems as fast as when I first bought it. My wife is using it now.

I'll see now how often I have to borrow a computer a work, but it won't be too often.

 

[G.4]

It has replaced my *personal* computer. I say that because I still have a work laptop provided by my company. I use my iPad Pro for lots of things, but for "computery" type stuff it's interesting. I use excel, word, PDF Expert, mail, etc. for work on occasion. It works great, but it is definitely less productive due to the fact that it's just much slower to operate a touch based OS for those type apps vs. a "regular" OS. That could just be my opinion, but I find myself much more productive for work stuff on a traditional computer with a mouse/trackpad and physical keyboard. I still love my iPad Pro though, and the Pencil is extremely handy for brainstorming and taking notes.

 

[anon(62000)]

I initially returned my 9.7" Pro and bought a Surface Pro. Awesome device, but my dislike for Windows in general had me return that as well. All things considered, after about a month of reflection I ordered another Pro. I wish it were a bit more "desktop class MacOS-like", but I don't regret it. I just need another Pencil and I'll be fine.

 

[Momof9Blessings]

I came from the Surface 3 - I had my 3rd one come in the other day and it was a dud - so Best Buy did the Lemon rule on it and returned my money.

I have a Windows desktop (with all the bells and whistles) and now my iPad pro - still debating about whether I should go with the bigger one or not... but I have until Feb to decide (BB return policy)....

 

[Abu Khadija]

Don't forget that the 2nd generation iPads are supposed to be coming in March.

 

[roystreet]

It's amazing what you can do on the Pro... From taking Notes (I use OneNote mostly) to working with some complex Word documents... To audio and graphic editing.

I have to say, I'm glad I kept my Surface Pro 3 because when I need to perform some heavy lifting, it just beats the iPad hands down. Especially if I need a keyboard and mouse. But I don't need that power most of the time.

Apple did promote/tout the iPad Pro as a computer replacement, which I don't think they are completely directly competing devices. They "cross paths" at times...Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.

I perform probably 90% of my tasks on the iPad Pro. I consider it one of the greatest computer investments I've made.

 

[bpeavy]

I've been reading all the post here and it looks like the iPad Pro can do just about all that I would need. I currently have a Surface Pro 2, Dell Venue 8 Pro (which I currently use much more than my Surface Pro) and an iPad Mini 4 which has become my daily driver outside of work. The iPad Mini 4 is great but I would like something larger especially since I do a lot of e-mailing, reading and word processing. I've tried hooking it up to a monitor and that works but then I'm chained to a desk which is not all bad I suppose. If I ever need a PC, my Dell Venue does a great job. Anyway I'll wait for the iPad Pro 2 to make my decision.

 

[Connie429]

Awesome but you should try the app that lets you do calculations by writing them. Excellent app. I just ordered my pencil and I guarantee you I will FIND ways to use it. Just like having the pen for the Galaxy Note. Makes it all worth it but you have to make an effort to get your money's worth.

 

[Connie429]

I am diligently moving toward this as I totally believe I can make it my primary computer. I will still need to use a laptop for homework as I need to use Microsoft Project and do some heavy typing (I don't yet have a keyboard). Other than that, this is my GO TO device. My pencil is on the way as well.

 

[j.bergsing]

My 9.7 iPad Pro with my Logitech create keyboard is my main computing device now. My MacBook Pro is just a backup device these days.

 

[afctee]

For me, my iPad is mainly for use when relaxing on the sofa. For work and such, my iMac.

 

[G.4]

As a long-time iPad user and current Pro owner, it totally depends on your use cases. If you are going to mostly check email, surf the web, social media, etc. then yes, an iPad Pro is perfect. But if you need to work with a lot of spreadsheets, manage multiple applications at a time, run proprietary software, etc. then you need a "real" computer, sadly. I've tried to make the iPad Pro my main computer so many times and it's just not quite there yet IMO

 

[Garz]

Still to this day, my iPad Pro is not capable of replacing my computer.

 

[dchandler]

I'm with you Garz, it's just certain things my iPad Pro can't do that my Mac can.

 

[mark-d]

I don't have an iPad Pro, only an iPad mini because of its size it was right for me.

I can't see my tablet replacing my PC at the moment. I use the PC for video and audio editing and photo editing too. The PC also hosts the Plex server.

Even though I don't have a pro and only a mini I do find though that it's replaced the PC for a lot of day to day stuff like email, browsing and arguable having an eBay app and amazon app is perhaps easier than surfing the websites.

I think the days of an tablet whether iPad Pro or not replacing PC for any "power user" are still a fair bit away yet?

 

[Ashraf Ilman]

My iPad Pro has become my primary computing device, but occassionally, I still have to use my MacBook Pro. Working on the iPad is more enjoyable, but working on the Mac can be faster, so if I’m pressed for time, I sometimes grab my Mac to do work e.g. preparing a Powerpoint/Keynote presentation, especially since drag & drop is not available on iOS. Other than that, I use the iPad for 95% of my digital tasks.

 

[j.bergsing]

My 9.7 iPad Pro hasn't completely replaced my Mac, however, it is my primary computing device, with my iPhone being a close runner up. There are just a few things that you can't do on an iOS device yet so one must still use the computer. But I find that list of "computer-only" tasks growing smaller every year.

 

[Idelgado782]

I have a surface pro 4 that I absolutely love along with the iPad Pro. I still have to use the surface pro for certain things for work such as some of the sites we use, uses flash and it won't load on iPad. And I'm very disappointed the pencil doesn't have handwriting to text recognition software like the surface as well as the Samsung Note line up. Comparing the iPad Pro to a mobile device such as the Samsung note series, Samsung is able to put an amazing program in the OS for handwriting recognition and you can switch between typing and handwriting with a button on the native keyboard. I still use my surface for meetings where I take extensive notes and use the handwriting feature because it's not distracting as is mashing away on keys in quiet room, and the finished product is a typed professional note that I can instantly share with my colleagues. Had the iPad had this feature I'd most likely never leave the house with my surface again. But I would never get rid of my computer because I would still need a stronger machine to use at home for photo & video editing as well as easily creating excel sheets and power power projects. The lack of mouse input on the iPad is also a big disappointment.

 

[muchospanish]

I still use my surface for meetings where I take extensive notes and use the handwriting feature because it's not distracting as is mashing away on keys in quiet room, and the finished product is a typed professional note that I can instantly share with my colleagues. Had the iPad had this feature I'd most likely never leave the house with my surface again.

That is a great feature. If an app like Good Notes can OCR my handwriting, I don't know why Apple can't convert handwriting to text.

But I would never get rid of my computer because I would still need a stronger machine to use at home for photo & video editing as well as easily creating excel sheets and power power projects. The lack of mouse input on the iPad is also a big disappointment.

Pixelmator for iOS is incredibly powerful. It's missing very little from the Mac version, which itself is missing very little from Photoshop. I can't talk about video editing, though.

As for Excel, you can create Excel spreadsheets on an iPad, although the most advanced features are missing.