Apple wants the iPad Pro to be the true beginning of the Post-PC era. An iPad with enormous raw power and with the necessary tools so that the Apple tablet can stop being a product to consume and begin to be one to produce. Its huge screen, its keyboard and the Apple Pencil, together with the A9X processor and 4GB of RAM put it in optimal conditions to be able to face any laptop of the moment, but its price and having iOS as an operating system limit it enormously. Can the iPad Pro be a real alternative to the MacBook?
Specifications
It is difficult to establish a comparison between two devices as different as the MacBook and the iPad Pro. The first is a "conventional" laptop, the second a tablet. But I did at least want to be able to reflect those aspects that are comparable in two so different devices but that a priori fight for the same position.
| DEVICE | MacBook 2015 | iPad Pro |
|---|---|---|
| WEIGHT | 0.92 kg | 0.71 kg |
| SCREEN | 12" | 12.9" |
| AUTONOMY | 9 hours | 10 hours |
| CONNECTIONS | USB-C | lightning |
| STORAGE | 256GB-512GB | 32GB-128GB |
| PRICE | $ 1299- $ 1599 | $ 799- $ 1079 |
In this table aspects such as RAM, processor or screen resolution are missing, but I think that it is data that does not have much relevance in practice, since they are devices with different operating systems and therefore it would be like entering the eternal war between the RAM of Android devices and iPhones.
Maximum portability and autonomy
I think there is no doubt that both devices are equally portable, both for dimensions and weight and for autonomy. Being able to go out with your laptop or tablet in the morning and forget about the charger at home is precisely what many are looking for, and both devices will meet this requirement. In addition, their dimensions are so similar that you will practically not notice the difference between wearing one or the other.
Limited storage
The iPad Pro is available in two capacities, 32GB and 128GB. If to this we add the fact that it is not possible to increase this capacity Apple's tablet is at a clear disadvantage compared to the MacBook, whose most basic model has 256GB and there is another model with 512GB. It is true that the iPad Pro is a device designed for cloud storage, either with iCloud or with any other similar service, but it is still a limitation to take into account depending on your needs.
The available connections also make an important difference between the two devices. The MacBook has the much-criticized single USB-C connection, and the iPad Pro has the classic Lightning port found on iOS devices. Although many might think that this leaves them in a technical tie, the reality is very different. There are already adapters for USB-C that offer you multiple ports or compatibility with normal USB connections, something that does not exist for the Lightning. You can connect any external storage device to the MacBook, either with a traditional USB connector (via adapter) or with USB-C, a standard that will become more and more widespread in notebook peripherals.
Touch interface and Apple Pencil
I think that the biggest difference between both devices and perhaps one of the most important criteria when deciding between one or the other. The iPad has a huge touch screen with 2732 × 2048 resolution (264ppi) while the MacBook has a similarly sized screen, with a lower resolution (2304 × 1440 and 226ppi) but is not touch. Instead it includes a trackpad with Force Touch technology that can partly make up for this lack, but certainly cannot be said to be equivalent.
We also have the Apple Pencil, a fabulous digital pencil With which designers will surely be dreaming about the possibilities it offers them next to that big screen. In the case of the MacBook we would have to add a graphics tablet which, in addition to supplying a significant price increase, reduces comfort by needing a large workspace and can no longer be used anywhere.
iOS vs OS X, at the moment there is no discussion possible
Let no one misunderstand me: iOS is a great operating system and the improvements received in recent years have placed it in a situation much closer to what a "conventional" system such as Windows or OS X can offer. I myself use my iPhone daily at work and it is an essential tool for day to day in my case, but you have to be realistic and what OS X offers today is still a long way from what iOS offers. The limitations of the system that Apple imposes (less and less) and Apple's own philosophy of turning its iOS devices into devices for the whole family mean that it is at a clear disadvantage compared to OS X, and that the possible confluence is still very far away of both systems.
Something as simple as writing this article is practically impossible on iOS. I don't want to imagine the time it would take to download the images to my iPad Pro, retouch them, insert them into the (unfortunate) WordPress application for iOS, place the tags, fill in the SEO ... I'm sure many of you could give me other similar examples with other common tasks for you. Also someone could give me an example of the opposite, I do not doubt it.
A good start but at an excessive price
Perhaps this discussion would not exist if the price of the iPad Pro was not so high. Surely my argument would collapse when someone told me "the MacBook is worth twice as much." But the reality is that if we add the Smart Keyboard to the iPad Pro and go to 128GB of storage (I leave out the pencil and 4G because the MacBook does not have those options), Its price goes up to $ 1118, very close to the $ 1299 that the MacBook costs with 256GB of storage.
Personally, I will continue to wait until Apple decides to create its first hybrid, Microsoft Surface style. It would not have been bad if when connecting the keyboard to the iPad Pro OS X El Capitan appeared on the screen, and I have no doubt that by specifications it could have been done without problems. But that may be for the next generation, or the next.
I fully agree, excellent!
It does what it does… A blogger will do infinitely better a Macbook, or even a crappy € 399 laptop. You can write on Windows, Mac OS or Linux, but you have a complete file system, a desktop and its folders… But also, the multi-window system, drag and drop, plug and play. The iPad is a touch screen and keyboard that you can type in a super limited system. At the moment you cannot and it does not seem that you will be able to do many things in the short term: retouching a photograph at a professional level, designing a book, a magazine, making a logo with its alternatives, designing a plan in CAD, ... But starting with what A blogger can't blog with an iPad, nothing more needed to be said.
All this for the moment. Hundreds of thousands of people will buy it in the US, new apps will be launched, iOS Pro will evolve ... we'll see what happens.
I have simply put an example. Right now it is easier to put examples of works to which this iPad is not useful than the other way around. Obviously This iPad Pro must evolve, iOS must evolve as well and maybe in a couple of years we will have a round product that suits more sectors than right now. At present it is practically restricted to designers and little else.
Completely agree especially with the last part, every year I expect a hybrid, it would be the best, I have a macbook pro but it is very heavy and I have been tempted to buy an air but I think of an ipad, even if it turns out to be selling an ipad 3 that I had that with the iphone 6 plus stop seeing content on it.