It's been a month. And it's been a bit of a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs.
From the elation of getting it on launch day,
to the disappointment of Apple's software announcements at WWDC.
So we will cover today what it's been like for me to use this iPad, covering:
- The Processing Power, Battery Life - The Design features
- iPadOS15 (Public Beta version) - The Display, did it live up to the hype?
- The speaker! which really surprised me - And other bits and bobs
Not gonna lie, I was really angry when I realised I’d essentially
bought an overpriced tablet. Not my next computer.
My initial thought was... Hmmm That was a mistake.
But after one month of daily usage, working, watching content, studying…
And having seen what is now possible with the new iPadOS15…
I don’t know, was it really a mistake? This device may not be my next computer, but...
Have I made the right decision?
Let’s crack on and find out.
This video is sponsored by…No one. This is from me to you!
I am Alex and I do down-to-earth tech reviews.
So yeah, I was so pissed about not getting any decent software upgrades or not even a cut down
version of Final Cut Pro... I did a bit of a rant video about that. But that’s on me.
So be kind in the comments, before you hit me and tell me it’s my fault,
that bought a product based on a promise… Yeah I know… I bought a
product based on its potential to one day become more than what it is now.
Have I made the right decision?
Boasting 1TB of internal storage, and 16GB RAM (yes I was totally tricked into it)
this is the 12.9 inch version which all in, cost me just over $2,000 dollars
I appreciate that this is a lot of money
so this video is to hopefully help you in your purchasing decision.
Or if you already got the iPad, this may highlight some areas that you haven’t explored yet.
What a powerhouse this is! What a machine right?
Question is... what do we need all this power for? That we didn't already have on the previous iPad?
And the answer is... Right now? Not much. Not for me.
Yes, we are getting faster transfer speeds when using Thunderbolt accessories…
Yes, we are able to process more images more quickly, use more layers in Procreate, and edit
(albeit basic video editing) but we can render videos at blazing speeds using Lumafusion...
For example, I did a comparison, between the M1 iPad Pro
and my overspec'd Intel MacBook Pro with 64GB RAM 2.4Ghz Intel Processor and....
The time it took me to render the same 10 minute, 4K video
was 19 minutes on the MacBook Pro agains 5 minutes 45 seconds to render it on the iPad
Pro. Not comparing Apples with Apples there I know but stil... That speed is very impressive.
This is not an M1 MacBook Pro but it does cut through my 4K footage like butter.
It just shows that when an app is optimised to take advantage of the M1 processor,
this device can be amazing!
I know many artists do use the iPad for things like animation 3D modelling and photography.
And I actually started to use the iPad Pro much more than my laptop
for certain things, mainly because of the display and the mobility aspect.
But when it comes to heavier duty video editing, I still go to my MacBook Pro,
as I can really push the machine and not feel that my creativity is being limited.
I wanted to add overlays like this one here in this video,
where I used After Effects and you just couldn’t do that on the iPad today. Not as easily anyways.
Is this me, trying to use the iPad as a computer instead of a tablet?
Yes. Absolutely! After all, I have all I need from a hardware perspective.
I have the amazing display, I have the connectivity to
use external storage and displays… And I have the processing power here too!
So, why wouldn’t I try to use it as a computer?
I gotta be careful here not to turn this video into a rant again, but yeah…
Call me old fashioned but I do want to get more out of my $2000 dollars investment!!
Back down to earth.. In this one month that
I've been using the M1 iPad Pro, what are the things that I actually like on this tablet?
Let's talk about the great things that this tablet is able to do
I gotta be honest, the stuff that we are able to do with this device is very much
the same we could do with the previous iPad Pro. But there are some clear improvements.
For example... Everyone talks about the M1 in terms of its performance
but one aspect of the M1 chip is how this architecture is VERY energy efficient.
In English… I still haven’t encountered any issues with overheating or
got caught short running out of battery.
It’s been incredible really.
I take this to work when I am in the office, I use it when I come home and I watch content on it.
I charge it when I need it and the magic keyboard helps
as you can charge the iPad through it, whilst you're working away.
The short version of this segment:
About 6 hours of screen on time and 3 hours to fully charge it.
But if you are thinking of buying it, and battery is a consideration, you need more data!
So here is SOT usage on a fairly busy day (for me)
I used about 90% of the battery with just over 5 hours of Screen-on time.
It doesn't sound like a lot but I was downloading quite a lot of high quality content
for a long time that day.
And I've seen people trying to drain the battery and managed to do it in about 6 hours.
The 11 inch iPad Pro will last about half an hour more because of the smaller display size.
I had the display set at full brightness.
Apple claims 10 hours battery and I am sure that is probably
with quite a few things turned off and maybe not a full brightness -
which is why I like to tell you how I used the iPad
on a particularly busy day so you have a better, and more realistic view.
With the EUROs on right now, I've watched a couple of games whilst working
away. On this day I watched the entire match... so 2 hours of watching a live football match.
There was also about an hour of browsing.
Half an hour of watching YouTube videos.
40 minutes of Apple TV 15 minutes of Google photos
Half an hour of taking notes at work 10 minutes of Emails
20 minutes of writing probably research for this video, on Evernote
I really don't like battery tests because they're usually quite unrealistic
but to give you another idea on a lighter usage situation.
I fully charged the iPad yesterday and it took me 3 hours to get down to 97%!
And that's because I was using Evernote and Notion, pretty much static,
not downloading anything and both apps support dark mode.
But yeah.. And I don’t EVER close my apps right now!
I’ve been purposely trying to push this iPad Pro with lots of apps being open
but again… The M1 chip is coming in clutch when it comes to power management.
iPadOS15 Features What about the software??
OK, credit where it’s due guys. Not that Apple gives a damn about what I think,
but I am gonna share it anyway 🙂
The iPadOS15 does improve the usability of the iPad.
It makes this tablet much more efficient, for example when multitasking.
The experience is much nicer now and given it’s still in Beta they may improve it even further.
I am not a fan of multitasking, I actually prefer focusing on work,
but in this sense, you can couple multiple apps to help you get a particular task done.
So even though this feature is called multi tasking, for me
this is actually helping us be more productive and more focused.
Of course that goes out the window if you pair a
note taking app with a social media or content app right?
The point is, you can do both. Maybe it's the weekend and you can take the
foot off the gas a little bit and pair a note taking app with social media.
You have Split view or Centre Window so you can focus on something
like an email without leaving your current view.
And we also got this new shelf which allows you
to see all the open windows for an app and add, close or switch between them!
If you're using a keyboard with the iPad,
holding the Command key will show even more shortcuts for that app.
And when it comes to taking notes, the other very cool feature is the "quick note" feature.
I am really happy with how quickly you can take notes now.
It was already pretty good when the iPad was locked there was this neat feature
that you can just start writing with the pencil to start a new or existing note.
But this is nicer.
A quick swipe from the bottom or using a shortcut, and it
lets you take a quick note without having to stop what you’re doing.
From a focused work and productivity point of view,
this little feature makes a big difference for me.
As I said I am not a big fan of multi tasking..
Humans are not designed to multitask We function much better when we focus, so for me…
The least amount of distractions whilst working... goes a long way in staying productive.
Now. Let's talk about this amazing display... Did it live up to the hype?
Yes! For me, and by the way, there is no way I can show you here on YouTube how good this display is!
So if you are able to safely visit an Apple store I definitely recommend you do that.
If not, you have to take my word for it. This thing is incredible.
I have the Samsung S21 Ultra which has an awesome AMOLED display and I have an OLED TV...
But Apple have done an amazing job here.
You may have heard about the blooming issue and I covered that in my initial review.
And after a month of extensively using it, it's not an issue for me.
And it's not just the high contrast ratio and incredible colour accuracy,
but it's also how it feels to the touch.
Maybe it's because the latest iPad I had was from 2015 but this feels great to the
touch and I am actually reluctant to use any screen protectors on it.
Talking about protection, I can't really talk about it yet but will be reviewing an exciting
product from a company that I absolutely love and I really can't wait to share more with you.
So if you haven't already... make sure to subscribe.
Actually that's a good point. A lot of you are here for the first time.
In the last 12 months I produced about 100 videos covering a lot of gadgets...
Not just Apple! So have a look around and if you like my stuff,
it would mean the world to me if you subscribed and I am small channel still so share my video!
I am sure there's a WhatsApp group out there that will enjoy this.
Anyway...
The speaker! This really surprised me. I
love listening to music while I work but I don't always like to wear my headphones.
Especially in the summer, it's quite nice to just have the iPad playing some tunes
or my favourite series in the background.
One of my viewers who is a teacher, actually commented here on a previous
video and said that he no longer needs to have a bluetooth speaker for his classes.
The speakers on the iPad are good enough for him to play content for the entire classroom.
There are many other things that I like about this iPad and a couple of things that wouldn't
be fair for me to comment on in detail as I really haven't used it in anger yet.
Like the camera for example.
Yes, the new Facetime is great. How you can
share a link with anyone now and they can join from a non-Apple device.
That's really cool and really quite easy to do! It's beggining of July now so still in Beta.
What about the stuff that I don't like? In this one month of usage...
The biometrics. I really think Apple should have given us something better than just FaceID.
Yes you can unlock it quite easily,
but when I go into the office these days like many of you... I still have to wear a mask.
Not only that, if you are holding the iPad like a tablet... The camera is in the way.
Turns out guys... You heard it here first... Apple had a secret meeting about this.
Apple Senior
Exec: Any updates on the iPad Biometrics? What are we doing?
Engineer: Yeah. We found that you can re-use the technology we used on the iPad
Air to give our customers the choice between FaceID and TouchID.
Senior Exec: So the Power button is also a TouchID button?
Engineer: Yeah, Just like we did. A few months ago. It's no bother.
We have it ready. China... they're on it. They're building it as we speak.
Senior Exec: But that's gonna cost more?
Engineer: $2.78 per device.
You're charging customers $2 grand. Profit is... a bucket load. Give or take
Senior Exec: But that's gonna hit my bonus?
engineer: I . I ... I . .. I am not qualified to answer that. But I guess...
Senior Exec: Get me security. There's someone for you at reception.
Engineer: Really? I don't have any friends. My family lives in Venezuela.
Senior Exec: You might need to bring the iTaser with you....
And just like that TouchID was removed from the iPad Pro.
When it comes to accessories, I gotta say. I was really looking forward to
the Magic Keyboard - Probably more so than the iPad itself.
It is expensive. But what I really loved about it, especially because it's the 12.9 version
is that the size of the keyboard is very close to the keyboard on my Macbook Pro.
That made it really easy for me to get used to. It's very pleasant to type with it.
It's not the best accessory if you want to just lounge with the iPad. It's OK if
you are sat at a desk or at a table.
But not great on the couch! That's what she said!
But I love the trackpad, it's very responsive and actually accelerates slightly different to
many other trackpads to compensate for the size. It's very smooth, very nice to use.
Still talking about the magic keyboard.
The USB-C charging port is quite nice too. It's just power of course, but it's
convenient. They put it on the left hand side, I am guessing so that the charging cable doesn't
interfere with any other thunderbolt accessories you might have plugged in on the other side.
The pencil is great, the way it responds to pressure is really cool. And I don't
have one of those screen protectors so it is a bit slide-y. Palm rejection works really well,
especially on apps like Procreate and Noteability.
I don't do a lot of drawing but I do take a lot of notes,
and if I am at home, I use this little glove which makes it easier to write for me.
Would I sell my Macbook Pro and only use my M1 iPad Pro as my "Next computer"?
No, I am not gonna sit here and pretend that this iPad Pro
can do everything a Macbook Pro can. I am not that naive.
I honestly think that Apple are just afraid (or even know for certain) that
people that are buying this iPad Pro would not need to buy any other Apple
computer. So they consciously decided not to make the iPad Pro.... too Pro.
For instance, you still can't really use an external display with it.
Technically you can but it's not the best experience.
There are limitations with Thunderbolt still.
And the latest iPadOS 15 from what I can tell
using the latest Beta version... Doesn't really take the iPad to the potential I think it has.
It’s also a shame that there aren’t many apps in the “PRO” category out there for MY usage.
But what about you, is this your next your computer or
is this simply your next very powerful, tablet?
I will see you and your smiling faces on the next one!