Apple iPad Pro Long-Term Review: Here's How I Replaced My Laptop

A bit over one year ago I published my review of the 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro. At the time I said that I believed the iPad has changed my life, and that it was rapidly replacing my laptop. Because this was controversial I wanted to revisit it after living with the iPad as a serious day-to-day device over the past year.

And I have put a lot of hours in with the iPad. It's been to press events with me, flown around the world and generally not left my side for every meeting and commute into town I've undertaken. I've lost count of the articles for Forbes I've written on this thing, and how much weight it's saved me lugging about.

So let's take a look at this tablet and see how I've used it, and how that might translate to your decision to buy one.

What's Right For Me May Not Be For You

Last time I wrote about the iPad Pro I did get a bit of a hammering over the tasks I perform with it. I certainly can see that there are a lot of jobs where switching to a mobile device over a laptop isn't practical. Later in this review I'll talk about video, but only in the context that it exists in the Apple ecosystem. If you want to edit footage shot on SLRs or standalone video cameras then this isn't going to be the device for you.

There's an element of common sense in this, but I'll say one other thing - I have done some pretty advanced stuff by connecting to my home PC using Microsoft's amazing Remote Desktop app for iOS. I'm a big fan of remote desktop, and while it won't be suitable for everyone, if you have a desktop PC you keep on then it can make for a powerful way to perform certain tasks. I have, for example, used it to render After Effects sequences. Likewise, having the option to put files on a server and have it process them for you can save a lot of horsepower on an iPad.

Where I think the iPad Pro comes in handy is for the sort of jobs you usually do when you're travelling. For me that's writing, invoicing and light photo manipulation but there are also more fun things like editing video and playing games, which also work brilliantly.

Why You Can't Compare The iPad To The Surface Pro

One of the arguments I heard a lot of last year was that I should have compared the iPad Pro to the Surface Pro. I didn't really anticipate this question, and honestly it's one of the things I wanted to address a year later.

Here's the deal: the iPad Pro isn't a computer and the Surface Pro isn't a tablet. The Apple system is about creating a new model for computers, one that steps away from x86 and moves toward the paradigm of mobile devices. Apple can do this with much more success than Microsoft could - note the failed Surface RT, which was basically Microsoft's iPad Pro. Why is Apple able to do it? Because there is a huge app library that exists for iOS. Microsoft had to try and achieve that from scratch, and struggled.

The Surface Pro is an amazing machine, and as some people point out, in some configurations the iPad Pro is a lot more expensive than Microsoft's laptop. I can see why some people would rule the iPad out on that basis, and I do think that the price is likely to be a barrier for some.

Also, it's worth remembering that Microsoft is now showing off Windows 10 running on ARM chips like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. This may well shake things up for Apple in the coming year, if Microsoft releases a tablet that runs full Windows and can work with desktop apps.

And I'm not here to tell you which of the two is right for you, but I can also tell you that the decision is reasonably easy to make - either you need a PC, or you can switch to iOS for your mobile computing.

I've Almost Totally Given Up On My Laptop

Here's one thing that I think Apple does better than any other company, it ushers you toward new technology. When I started with the iPad Pro I assumed that I'd need to keep using a laptop for video editing. That's absolutely right, even now, but what the iPad has made me consider is that some of the video I do could, actually, be done on the iPhone and edited on the iPad

This sort of thing has made a transition to the iPad easier, with a bit of forethought and good lighting you could use the iPhone for a lot of video. After all, that's 4K video you can edit on a tablet, rather than needing to lug a big and powerful laptop around. I've tested this approach, and I'll explain how it went, with the actual video later in this article.

But when it comes to a lot of other things, I have been able to move to the iPad with little to no friction. Here's a real-world example that I think will give some insight into how I've used the machine.

ON THE NEXT PAGE: My case studies for using the iPad Pro, and how I think it performed

Case Study: Four Days as a Mobile Office

For a few days I ran the social media for New Scientist Live in the UK. To do it I had an SLR, an iPhone and the iPad Pro. I also used the Lighting to USB camera adapter, and also used the DxO One add-on camera for the iPhone.

There were some frustrations with running everything on the iPad. Mostly those these came from Hootsuite, which offers both mobile apps and web interfaces for accessing Twitter and Facebook. It's a good idea, in theory, as it allows big teams to manage social but the apps and website are really clunky and unpleasant to use.

Even so, I had very few problems along the way. When Wi-Fi failed, I could use the iPhone as a hotspot or use the 4G in the iPad. Built-in 4G isn't uncommon in most tablets but it is an incredibly useful tool when you're out and about working.

Because a lot of New Scientist Live was on-stage presentations, I used my SLR and a long telephoto lens to capture shots from the stage, which then got uploaded to social media and the New Scientist app. The ability to connect a DSLR or other camera to the iPad is good - but it's a substitute for offering full SD card access and it's much slower. It works though, and I developed a workflow that, while slower, enabled me to easily carry all the equipment I needed around all day without the agony you usually experience

Case Study: Video Editing

One of the things that Apple likes to talk about is the way the iPad can easily edit 4K video. This is mostly about using the iPhone to capture and the iPad to edit. The one thing you can't do is, say, take a ProRes file from a camera and edit that, like you could on a Mac or PC. But actually, the editing of iPhone video is increasingly becoming something of real value.

To give an example, I recently went to a DJI event and shot a video on the iPhone. I then used AirDrop to get the files from the phone to the iPad. On there I used iMovie to edit the footage into a simple package. I then moved it back to my PC when it was done, where I made a couple of tweaks and recorded a voice-over. The editing process was, frankly, brilliant once I was used to it.The iPad can be used to record voice overs too, and I have a compatible external microphone I could use for this purpose. Below is the edited video:

Given that the iPhone records 4K video and does so well as long as there's reasonable light around, this whole system is gaining momentum as a simple production base. Bear in mind that the generation of viewers growing up with YouTube is a bit more tolerant to quality issues than, perhaps, we (the broadcast TV generation) are and you can see how this setup becomes quite a powerful tool for storytelling.

Hardware Longevity

For the most part a year of use has done very little damage to the iPad. The silicon case which protects the tablet now has a crack in it, it's fine for now but would need replacing fairly soon. Because the iPad has been in this case it's cosmetically perfect after a year of constant packing in my bag for every trip I take.

As you would expect for any device, be it Android or iOS, there's no noticeable slowdown after a year of installing apps. This is not something you can generally say about laptops, my Dell XPS included. The iPad remains as spritely today as it did the

day I unboxed it.

Another area I expected problems was the keyboard case. In fact this has survived a year of use and still looks like new. There's been no unexpected wear and tear to report. I don't abuse things, but I also don't baby them, so I'm pretty confident in saying that the keyboard case is built to last.

One ongoing bug with that keyboard though is that sometimes it will lose connection with the iPad. The solution is to simply undock and re-dock, and everything sorts itself out. A minor issue, but one that has never been fixed with a software update.

A Year In, What Are The Issues?

I've had very few problems overall. Early on there were some problems with a lack of multitasking apps. Everything I write ends up in Google Docs and I usually browse with Google Chrome, so early on when these apps weren't able to run side-by-side I found myself frustrated. Google fixed this though, and now I can write and browse at the same time - great for research.

Using my SLR with the Lightning USB camera cable works, but it's slow. I can't blame Apple for this as the SLR produces images that are massive. I realise that it's never going to happen, but an SD Card slot on an iPad Pro would really be a fantastic addition to the device, especially if it was high-speed like some of the more expensive SD cards used for photography.

The way that the iPad handles synced photos can be a little troublesome too. They all work, but sometimes the previews don't load properly and moving through those massive, imported, files can create some problems too. I'd also love a more complete version of Photoshop to work with, rumour has it this is in the works from Adobe.

Verdict

While the iPad Pro is hardly cheap, and won't be right for everyone I feel that it's important I follow up on my experiences. Reviewing technology happens all too often in the days after you get your device. We have loan products that go back and we never test long-term the way a device would be used by real people.

So after one year, I feel like I've lived with this device to back up what I wrote about it originally. I don't expect laptops to go away, but if you're looking for a device that gives you a great mobile office, with more flexibility than you might expect, then I do remain certain that the iPad Pro is a delightful product.

There will no doubt be a new generation of these tablets from Apple in 2017, so let this review be a reminder that the original device is worth considering, especially if it ends up getting radical price reductions. My recommendation from the original review holds true - this is still a surprising machine that allows you to get a lot done.

Watch: My Original iPad Pro Unboxing