Apple’s new baby with the superpowers.
Does the new iPad Pro fit your needs?
So it’s finally here with the M1 running inside and an eye-watering new display. Sweet! But is it worth the price? Can it be a laptop replacement now with a laptop-grade processor? Why would anyone want to buy it?
Let’s find out!
First things first, iPads have been amazing devices that people have been loving for years, for the experience and the seamless integration with the ‘ecosystem’. Especially after the redesigning of iPad Pro in 2018, they have been dominating the market with leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. So yeah, from the basic iPad to the iPad Pros, they are great.
Recently iPad stepped on completely new ground with the M1 chip and an HDR supported display (yes it’s only for pros but still). Apple gave a pleasant surprise with the first ARM-based chip (M1) wrapped in a MacBook Air last year and so far, it’s been amazing. It delivered multiple times better performance (I won’t go into numbers here) and great battery life.
So then it means the same level of performance and action on the iPad Pro right?
Actually YES and NO!
Let’s see just a little bit in deep at these 2 devices to understand what’s going on here.
iPads started as a device for a little bit of email, reading articles or Fifty shades, watch movies; simple fun stuff we do. At the other end of the spectrum, MacBooks were computers which meant to do the computer stuff. So there was a clear line between these two and they lived happily in the same store.
But now the situation is quite different and there can be thousands of facts to consider if someone is choosing one of these over the other. Even though the iPad Pro holds the same processor as MacBooks, these are still on separate levels of use cases in the practical world.
iPad OS and Mac OS
Undoubtedly this is the single most prominent factor which sets these 2 devices far apart right now. On the hardware side Macs and iPads are generally on the same level. Same chips, ram, and storage options, you get the idea. But as for the software, it still on two different levels.
I have a summarized breakdown of the two devices so you can see it for yourself. (I’ve only included the differences here)
Don’t get me wrong, iPads are still really great devices that suit some use cases better than a laptop. It just, iPad OS is still a mobile OS that clearly doesn’t offer a complete desktop OS experience like MAC OS. It depends on your workflow.
If your workflow only includes tasks like web browsing, web applications, online documents, and anything that you could do within this mobile app ecosystem, then go for an iPad. It will be a great portable device and will crush anything you throw at it.
But if you are a professional content creator who uses Final cut pro, Adobe suite, or anyone who runs a professional workflow with any other desktop-only apps, stay away from the iPad, seriously. Even though you have mobile alternatives for almost any desktop application, you’ll end up frustrated trying to pull out the desktop-level tasks from an iPad.
By the way, if you’re a graphic designer who sketches your ideas into wonderful artworks, just grab the iPad. You’ll have an amazing experience in doing so with pro apps like procreate. Now with M1 inside, it will supports hundreds of layers in high-resolution graphics on your iPad.
So on final thoughts, yes, iPad Pro-2021 is an amazing device with superior performance and build quality and no, it is not a laptop replacement, at least not yet.
Hope I got you covered on the new iPad Pro. So, choose wisely!
Probably, now it’s only the software that holds iPad Pro back from being the awesome perfect go-to device for anything. But will Apple ever let it replace your MacBook? Well, that’s a story for another day.
