Apple introduced the iPad Pro 2020. Great cameras and a keyboard for the iPad? That doesn’t turn a tablet into a laptop!
But who is the target group of an iPad Pro anyway? All those who need a fast tablet with high performance. If you just want to watch videos on YouTube or surf the Internet on the couch, you can save yourself the money and use an entry-level iPad or iPad Air. All devices in the Apple universe get software updates over a long period of time anyway. The iPad Pro is intended for all users who would like to work on a portable device while on the move. For example, when designing new graphics with the Apple Pencil or writing long texts with the Magic Keyboard.
But is that enough to replace a laptop? During an internship, I had the chance to use the large 12.9 ”iPad Pro 2020 as a full-fledged laptop. Together with the new Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. Exactly as Apple propagates it in its own commercials. iPadOS (13) was set up quickly and the most important work apps downloaded. In addition to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, this also included mail apps (e.g. Gmail) and a full-fledged browser such as Google Chrome or Apple’s Safari.
It’s the software that slows down the iPad Pro
Could I use the iPad Pro as a full-fledged laptop? No. With apps like Chrome or Word in particular, I missed many functions that I use on a full-fledged laptop on a daily basis. The processor is fast enough for the operating system, but it was not up to the performance. You can visually compare this with a Porsche driving on a go-kart racetrack.
The iPad Pro is not even aiming to completely replace a MacBook, it should be a hybrid between a large smartphone (touch, apps and a large display) and a laptop (external keyboard, adapted software and pen). In the past, Apple’s marketing focused more on the large display and advertised the everyday benefits of reading the newspaper, playing games and watching films, for example. In recent years, the focus has tended to be on the “laptop alternative”.
This changed with the iPad Pro While Apple has previously installed a smartphone processor in the iPad, the new iPad Pro with Apple’s own M1 chip has a full-fledged desktop SoC. The M1 from Apple won over critics last year and will lead to a massive increase in the performance of the iPad Pro.
But for what? With the iPad Pro (2020) everything ran perfectly anyway, there were very few loading times – if at all – and the tablet could keep up with the most complex apps. But in theory more than just an “iPad app” is possible with the M1. Complex programs like a full-fledged Photoshop, Premiere Pro etc. would no longer be a problem. In addition, Apple installed more RAM (8 or 16 gigabytes) and a mini-LED display is now available on the larger iPad Pro.
The hardware is fine
Nothing stands in the way of a full-fledged laptop alternative on the hardware side with a new processor, more RAM, better display and a maximum of 2 terabytes of memory. However, the big problem that has slowed the iPad Pro down so far is still the software. iPadOS has improved since it was released two years ago, but it is by no means a serious alternative to macOS.
That’s why all eyes are now on Apple’s WWDC conference in June, at which the company will traditionally present the next version of iPadOS. With the newly achieved performance, maybe nothing stands in the way of a modified version of macOS as an additional desktop mode. Third-party support such as Adobe, Microsoft, and smaller businesses will also be important. In the future, they will have to take the iPad seriously as an important platform and port full versions of their desktop counterparts.
Only with software that fully exhausts the technical specifications will the iPad Pro become a serious laptop alternative. Apple is currently standing in its own way, because the biggest criticisms of the MacBook Air (which is priced in the same region as the iPad Pro) have been battery life and performance. Apple fixed this with the M1, making the iPad less lucrative as a laptop for many customers.
A.H.
