As the iPhone X was for iPhone and the Series 4 was for Apple Watch, the
2018 iPad Pro is a significant step forward for the iPad. Sporting a
completely new and striking design with slimmer bezels than ever before, it
is powered by a processor capable of outperforming those in several current
MacBook models; gains Face ID biometric authentication that works in any
screen orientation; and switches from Apple's proprietary Lightning port to
USB-C.
Additionally, by removing the Home button and slimming down the bezels,
Apple has been able to give the new 11-inch iPad Pro essentially the same
overall footprint as the 10.5-inch model it replaces, whilst the 12.9-inch
version puts the same-sized display into a much smaller form factor than the
prior 12.9-inch model.
In short, the 2018 iPad Pro is the best iPad ever made ... and since its
launch I have been curious whether it would be a good fit for my use case
and workflows.
For it to fit, the iPad Pro would need to offer me something new or better
to what my iPhone XS Max and 2014 MacBook Pro already deliver. I wanted to
believe that there was scope for this, but any musings on this nearly always
returned to it being a lot to spend on something which might only offer a
small return.
However, it was an itch that kept urging to be scratched, and this week that
urge finally became irresistible, and I found myself hurrying home from my
local Apple Store clutching a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a Smart Keyboard Folio.
I headed home with what I believed to be realistic expectations for the iPad
Pro: I would love the new design, find the performance far greater than I
needed, and encounter enough hardware and software limitations to prevent it
from being a complete replacement for the MacBook Pro.
I would also like to believe that I knew and was prepared to embrace that
transferring established workflows to the iPad Pro would in many cases
require me to find new ways of doing things. I anticipated a learning curve
with iOS and VoiceOver on iPad, maybe some different apps to find and
familiarise myself with, and that all of this might take some time and
initially bring some frustrations.
Whilst I anticipated that some tasks and workflows would not transfer well
to iPad, my hope was that enough would actually prove to be more efficient
for the iPad Pro to justify a place alongside my iPhone and MacBook Pro.
What I was not expecting was to be disappointed with the experience of
VoiceOver on iPad; or that VoiceOver might be a factor in the number of my
routine tasks and workflows that would be transferred to it from my iPhone
and Mac. But, after two days of fairly heavy use - two days spent testing
and playing around with some routine tasks and workflows - the frustration
of what I felt to be a subpar VoiceOver experience compared to that on
iPhone and Mac proved to be more than I was prepared to tolerate.
Consequently, the iPad Pro was disappointedly returned to the Apple Store
for a refund.
I appreciate that many will argue that I should have given the iPad Pro more
time. But, sometimes you have to go with your gut, and my gut was warning me
that the iPad had all the signs of becoming little more than an extremely
expensive desk ornament.
Looking back on my 48 hours with the iPad Pro, the die was possibly cast
within seconds of powering it on for the first time. Before even completing
the initial welcome and setup screens, I had encountered a badly labelled
button and landed on a screen where VoiceOver didn't make it obvious how to
navigate back to where I needed to be.
As much as I wanted to give the iPad Pro a fair chance, this early 'hiccup'
was enough to send my thoughts off to the $1200 that I had just spent on it,
and I think it's safe to assume that the price paid was an
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room> 'elephant in the room'
every time I encountered further problems or frustrations over the next two
days.
In fact, If I was honest with myself, I would probably have to admit that
the main reason for returning the iPad Pro was that I never felt comfortable
with its price, and that I am using what might in the scheme of things be
minor and manageable VoiceOver issues to justify my decision.
Despite this admission, I believe that I would still have the iPad Pro if it
weren't for the problems and frustrations I experienced with VoiceOver.
Before continuing, I should mention that another expectation for the iPad
Pro was that I would nearly always use it with the Smart Keyboard Folio.
This was actually why I opted for the 12.9-inch model, as the Smart Keyboard
for the 11-inch version has several keys that are smaller than those on the
12.9-inch model's keyboard, and I thought that all of the keys being
full-sized would be more forgiving towards my large fingers and typing
capabilities.
I also anticipated that much of what I would use the iPad Pro for could be
done faster and more efficiently with a keyboard. In fact, using the iPad
with the Smart Keyboard Folio was something that I was looking forward to,
and something that I believed would significantly help with transferring
tasks and workflows from my Mac.
I was to be reminded of this expectation every time that I raised my hand
from the keyboard to locate and touch something on the iPad's screen. Often,
this was done simply because it was quicker than using the keyboard to get
to the area of the page where I wanted to be. Many people might reasonably
argue that this demonstrates the power and flexibility of having both the
keyboard and touchscreen available. For me, it simply felt disjointed.
However, perhaps this just highlights the effect of my keyboard-centric use
of computers over the past 40 years that's left me with a lot of habits and
memory muscle to get in the way of doing things differently.
Given time, I would probably have adjusted and adapted, perhaps even come to
like, combining keyboard and touchscreen. However, this would probably only
have been the case when this hybrid approach was the best way of doing
something. If I'm forced to reach for the screen because it's the only
option, it's likely to garner a less positive response from me, and too
frequently during my time with the iPad Pro there were situations where it
appeared impossible to locate and access all page elements with keyboard
alone. On these occasions, I would need to touch the screen before VoiceOver
focus would move to where I wanted it.
A case in point was the Drafts app
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drafts-5-capture-act/id1236254471?mt=8> -
the app that I was probably most looking forward to using on iPad, and that
I thought would not only help to bridge the gap for tasks and workflows
transferring from the Mac, but actually make many of these more efficient
and a better user experience on the iPad Pro.
Imagine my disappointment, therefore, upon finding that navigating the area
of the app that's home to most of its 'magic' could not be done consistently
or reliably with the keyboard. As was also the case with some other apps, my
experience was that VoiceOver focus would get stuck looping through one
small area of what was on screen, and the only way to get it out of that
loop was by touching the screen. The experience grated, and did nothing to
make me sympathetic towards the prospect of giving the iPad Pro more time.
I will report this behaviour to the developer of the Drafts app, and
hopefully they will resolve the problem in a future update. I could also
reach out to the developers of other apps where I encountered similar
accessibility-related quirks or issues on the iPad which aren't present when
using these apps on iPhone. Again, fixes and enhancements would hopefully
come. But, I bought the iPad Pro for what it would offer me now, not what it
might offer at some unspecified point in the future.
My suspicion, however, is that in many cases the problems I encountered with
being able to reliably move VoiceOver focus with the keyboard alone is a
problem with VoiceOver itself, and not the apps themselves. Until I am
corrected, my current view of VoiceOver on iPad would have me reach for my
iPhone if I want to do something quickly, efficiently, and with the best
user experience, or reach for my MacBook Pro if I need to be productive.
This has the iPad Pro squeezed out from both sides, and leaves it with
little to do apart from looking pretty on my desk.
Although my time with the iPad Pro left me mostly disappointed, there are a
few things that I will miss.
When sitting on the Lock Screen of my Mac; prompted to enter my user
password; or needing to unlock 1Password, I will miss how Face ID on the
iPad made authentication something that I didn't need to think about. It
just happened in the background, leaving me to get on with whatever I wanted
to do.
In particular, two taps on any of the Smart Keyboard Folio's keys to have
Face ID authenticate me and unlock the iPad was slick and a very satisfying
user experience. I also found Face ID on the iPad Pro to be a little more
responsive and less 'fussy' about face position than it is on my iPhone.
Whilst on the topic of Face ID, the settings for Face ID on the iPad Pro
appear to be the same as those on the iPhone, including the option to
disable the requirement to be looking at the iPad. As with the iPhone, this
"require attention" option is automatically disabled if you enable VoiceOver
during initial set up. Although some have expressed concerns - myself
included
<https://www.applevis.com/blog/apple-ios-iphone-news-opinion-reviews/iphone-
x-review-there-are-some-adjustments-and> - over the potential security and
privacy risks from disabling this requirement on the iPhone, it seems far
less likely that somebody could take your iPad and hold it up to your face
without your knowledge.
One final note on Face ID is that if you try to unlock your iPad Pro whilst
your hand is covering the Face ID sensors, a warning message is shown
stating "Camera covered". In my limited testing, VoiceOver will read this
message if you go searching for it, but it would be a far better user
experience if this warning message were to be spoken automatically. That
being said, maybe it already does under certain contexts, and I simply
didn't find myself in one of them.
Now, back to some other things that I will miss ...
I will be reminded of the iPad Pro when I feel the weight of my MacBook Pro;
when my knees feel the heat that the MacBook at times generates; and on the
many, many occasions when VoiceOver on Mac will say "busy".
There's a slight question mark hanging over whether I would have used the
iPad Pro to watch movies and TV shows, and whether this would have offered a
better experience to watching these on a television, where my residual
vision contributes little. Certainly the iPad's four-speaker system that
includes a woofer and tweeter in each speaker would have added to the
experience and is one area where it clearly outshines both my iPhone and
MacBook Pro.
Rather surprisingly, I will possibly miss the Smart Keyboard Folio. Not
because it's a great keyboard in the scheme of things, but because every
time I feel a key on my MacBook Pro 'wobble' when pressed I will be reminded
of the firm and quite pleasing responsiveness of the keys on the Smart
Keyboard Folio. I've read that this feel is
<https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/14/review-apples-smart-keyboard-fol
io-is-the-best-option-for-the-ipad-pro-but-has-too-many-compromises> "not
too dissimilar to the butterfly keyboard on the Mac", so perhaps I'm set to
develop another "itch", one that will end up with me replacing my MacBook
Pro with the new MacBook Air.
There are lots of impressive sounding benchmarks and technical terminology
which hint that I should also miss the performance of the 2018 iPad Pro.
It's powered by a new A12X Bionic chip that offers 8 cores divided in 4
performance cores and 4 power efficiency cores (up from the 6 cores of the
A12 chip in the iPhone XS).
Apple said on stage when announcing the 2018 iPad Pro that the A12X Bionic
chip will deliver a 35% improvement in single core speeds over the A10X chip
in the previous generation iPad Pro, and a 90% improvement in multi-core
scores. According to Apple, this makes it faster than 92% of all portable PC
computers sold in the past 12 months.
The chip also includes a new GPU with 7 cores, the M12 Motion co-processor
and a Neural Engine with 8 cores for up to 5 trillion operations per second.
As I said, that all sounds very impressive. Do I understand all of it? Heck,
no. Can I say that I noticed what the iPad Pro had 'under the hood' in my
use of it? Again, heck no.
All that I can say, is that the hardware and performance of the 2018 iPad
Pro should be more than capable of coping with whatever Apple has planned
for iOS 13, 14 and probably beyond.
For those who like raw data when it comes to performance, you may be
interested in the following MacRumors article:
<https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/01/2018-ipad-pro-benchmarks-geekbench/>
"New iPad Pro Has Comparable Performance to 2018 15" MacBook Pro in
Benchmarks"
One final thing that I will miss about the iPad Pro, is its design. Perhaps
mostly because its flat and angular sides remind me so much of my favourite
iPhone design - the iPhone 5. Also, when holding it, I had to admit that the
design, engineering, and build quality of the 2018 iPad Pro gave it the feel
of a serious piece of kit, and goes some way towards understanding why it's
the price it is.
Closing Thoughts
It could be reasonably argued that I did not give the iPad Pro enough time;
that, despite my claims above, I approached working on it with the wrong
mindset and unfair expectations. It was never going to work like my MacBook
Pro, and I should have been more open-minded and willing to try things in a
different way; I should not have tried to force the iPad to work the same
way as my MacBook.
In fact, whilst walking home after returning the iPad Pro, I was already
thinking of things that I should have explored and tested more fully: for
example, Siri Shortcuts, which could be a potential game changer for getting
work done on iPad.
On this basis, I am willing to accept that if I had given the iPad Pro more
time, I would have learned and become familiar with the keyboard shortcuts,
gestures, and how VoiceOver works on iPad; I would have learned and adapted
to how my preferred apps behave with VoiceOver on iPad... or found apps
which provide a better VoiceOver experience; and that my workflows and the
overall user experience would have improved.
But - and it's a very big but - the simple and harsh reality is that I found
the experience of using VoiceOver on the iPad Pro in conjunction with the
Smart Keyboard Folio to be disappointing. Each time I put down the iPad and
reached for either my iPhone or Mac, the frustrations would disappear. Tasks
which were a struggle on the iPad, or offered a poor user experience,
instantly became simple and more satisfying. I truly do not believe that
time would have changed this enough for the cost of the iPad Pro to feel
like money well spent.
And, once again, we return to the "elephant in the room". Perhaps I could
have lived with it if I only had the iPhone to partner with the iPad Pro; if
I had a use for something that could do much of what my MacBook does but is
lighter and more portable; or if money wasn't a factor. As none of these
apply, the constant presence of that "elephant" has made me forget my itch.
Now to wait and see what will cause the next itch.
Some Actual Reviews of the iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard Folio
It should be clear that I didn't spend enough time with the 2018 iPad Pro
and Smart Keyboard Folio to offer a comprehensive and informed review. So,
below are a few links to more in-depth articles that you may find
interesting:
John Gruber on Daring Fireball: The 2018 iPad Pros
<https://daringfireball.net/2018/11/the_2018_ipad_pros>
Macworld: 2018 iPad Pro review: A fantastic tablet, if not a fantastic
laptop
<https://www.macworld.com/article/3321139/iphone-ipad/2018-ipad-pro-review.h
tml>
9to5Mac: 2018 iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Smart Keyboard Folio
<https://9to5mac.com/2018/11/08/2018-ipad-pro-upgrade/> - a big leap from
the first Pro
Craig Mod: Getting the iPad to Pro <https://craigmod.com/essays/ipad_pro/>
Laptop Magazine: New iPad Pro 2018 12.9-inch - Full Review and Benchmarks
<https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/new-ipad-pro-2018-129-inch>
CNET: iPad Pro (2018) review: Big beautiful tablet? Yes. Flexible computer?
TBD <https://www.cnet.com/reviews/apple-ipad-pro-2018-review/>
AppleInsider: Review: Apple's Smart Keyboard Folio is the best option for
the iPad Pro, but has too many compromises
<https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/14/review-apples-smart-keyboard-fol
io-is-the-best-option-for-the-ipad-pro-but-has-too-many-compromises>
Submitted by David Goodwin - Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team at:
www.applevis.com
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