Is the iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever created?

Before the iPad Pro was finally released, there were many rumors circulating about what it might be like. People were quite curious and there was much speculation about whether or not Apple actually would release a bigger iPad. But now that it’s been out for a while, it seems pretty clear that some folks absolutely love the iPad Pro.

In the MacRumors forum, one iPad Pro owner started a thread he titled “The best product Apple has ever made” and his post spawned a long discussion thread. I’ll share my thoughts below, but here’s a sampling of that thread including the comment from the original poster:

Thinayr: ””Holy $#!% – this is incredible!”

These words have come out of my mouth more times today than they have since I first used an iPhone. I am ASTOUNDED at how good this device is and wanted to tell you why.

I am a creative professional who has used Apple products for 30 years. So yes, I’m incredibly biased. Even if, say, the Microsoft Surface were empirically a better product, I would still never buy one. I love Apple, and the iPad Pro is the culmination of all the reasons why.

First and foremost, I feel like Marty McFly just showed up in a flying DeLorean and handed me a device out of its time. In one day, hours really, my entire view of “computers” is shifted into a place I always knew it would go. The iPad Pro is the most immersive, intimate, exciting computer I have ever used. It’s just feels right, and I am excited to see where it’s going to take me.

Also, the multi tasking in iOS 9 is spot-on, and while I did have moments where I thought about how many windows and things I could have open and running in my view on OS X, when I actually jumped back to my Mac while setting up the pro, I was shocked at the clutter of a half dozen Windows all lying on top of each other and a thousand other notifications, menus and icons crammed absolutely everywhere. There are plenty of multitasking improvements the fledgling iPrOS could benefit from, but the potential to move to iOS as a creative workspace brings with it the promise to start fresh in sparkling clean, distraction free simplicity.

Also, the sound is phenomenal. Because using the iPad in the hands on why I described brings you face to face with the device, the sound utterly floods your awareness… I cannot wait to start creating art on this thing when my pencil arrives in god-knows-how-many-weeks…

Be excited people… This is the continuation of something remarkable. ”

Bcaslis: ”Have to agree with OP completely. All this moaning about how it can’t replace a laptop because it doesn’t have this feature or that reminds me of all the complaints that Apple was doomed because the original iMac didn’t have a floppy drive.”

Goomba478: ”GREAT Post(s)!! I am in the same boat as you. Illustrating and fiction writing are two hobbies of mine and the iPad Pro is the device that concisely being together all the necessary tools I need. Just trying it out in the Apple Store, I also pointed out that the device feels like it was from the future. I can’t wait until Friday when I get mine. Now if only Apple could pump out some more  Pencils!”

Mystro: ”Totally agree with the OP and I have been with Apple products from the beginning. I knew the iPad Pro was a serious “Game Changer” by all the push back and smack talk from the Windows fan boys that just “happened” to stop by the first few days of the Pro’s release. When the competition is making early calculated attacks on a new products forum to start cyber misinformation, you know they are worried. The same threads kept popping up over and over as if reading a telemarketers script. Same thing was happening with early reviews at Best Buy even before the iPad Pro was even released.

I am buying 4 more iPad Pros for my company. How’s that for voting with your wallet.”

Sjleworthy: ”agreed 1000%, i’m still in cloud heaven!

this product is a definite game changer as far as i’m concerned. it’s awesome. light to hold and handle. almost too delicate feeling. beautiful big screen of course, and absolutely super super super fast. i mean, blisteringly so. even the wifi is faster than my hard wired pc’s. the sound is superb. and using side-by-side apps is marvelous. multitasking without optimised apps is great too.

and the Pencil is a genius device. as a general all round Pro pointing/stylus device it’s magical. it feels heavier and more substantial than the flimsy look it portrays. it’s feels quite weighty and premium. apps like Numbers and safari are a pleasure to use it with.”

ZombiePete: ”I was taking notes in a meeting yesterday with my iPP and Pencil. I snapped a picture of a handout and embedded it into my written notes, marking up the handout as needed and making notes in the margins and stuff. One of my coworkers pointed out that I could have done that with a pen and paper, until I pointed out to him that I was leaving without any papers to file or throw away. I also was able to erase and make changes to some of my notes as we went along (it was a planning meeting so somethings were changing as we talked), and my notes would be searchable at the end so it would be easier for me to find keywords later. I don’t know how valuable that is to anyone else, but it’s damned cool to me as an avid note taker. I’ve also worked on a couple PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, a spreadsheet, etc.

On this same device, I watched most of Jessica Jones on Netflix this weekend and made it to about halfway through A Dance with Dragons last night. It truly is an all-in-one device for me, with the battery life to make it all day. I get that it might not cut it for others, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the coolest and most useful devices I’ve owned. It’s amazing how much of a difference a bigger screen could make in changing my perception of the iPad as a productivity device. ”

DavidLynch: ”So far I’m extremely impressed and it may very well replace my laptop. I’m not using a physical keyboard either, but I’d like to try the keyboard cover. Just can’t find one! The only thing I’m missing right now is the ability to prop it up on my lap like a laptop.”

More at the MacRumors Forum

Why I still haven’t bought the iPad Pro

As you can tell from the comments, there are some folks in the MacRumors Forum that love their iPad Pros. It’s clearly a big winner for them, and they have no regrets whatsoever about buying it.

I, on the other hand, have still not bought one. I have gone to an Apple Store and used one for a while. I was enthralled with the bigger screen and how much better it made web pages and ebooks. And I’m not kidding when I say that either, the extra screen space just made it so much better to read on than even the iPad Air 2.

The iPad Pro may actually be the best ereader ever created since not only can it handle ebooks, but it’s perfect for magazines, comic books and any other kind of reading material. I found myself quickly becoming immersed in anything I started reading on the iPad Pro.

And yet I’ve decided to hold off on buying one and here’s why:

1. I’m not sure if the iPad Pro would be comfortable to use laying on the couch or sitting in a chair. It almost feels like something that would work best on a desktop.

2. It lacks the 3D Touch feature found in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. While this is not a huge deal breaker, it does kind of disappoint me and makes me think that it might be better to hold out for version 2 of the iPad Pro.

3. I already have an iPad Air 2 and it works pretty well for me. So it’s kind of hard to justify spending the money on the iPad Pro (despite the fact that part of me wants one).

4. I have no real use for the Apple Pencil, and that’s one of the neatest features of the iPad Pro.

Of course I reserve the right to change my mind and buy an iPad Pro. But right now it feels like I don’t have a valid enough use case to justify getting one. And the size of the iPad Pro may not work well for me in the same way that the iPad Air 2 does right now.

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