The iPad Pro is a killer

APPLE SPRING LOADED EVENT

The iPad Pro is a killer machine, but its software is killing me

The hardware is top notch. The software leaves a lot to be desired. Jason Snell reports

Nobody needed to convince me that Apple’s at the top of its game when it comes to designing iPad hardware. The 2018 iPad Pro was so fast that more than two years later, it can handle more or less anything that you can throw at it. The 2020 iPad Pro was essentially the same speed – and it didn’t matter.

So here comes the 2021 iPad Pro, which is an even more extreme dunk in terms of features. Adding an M1 processor isn’t going to add the same boost as it did on the Mac side, because the iPad Pro was always powered by an energy-efficient Apple processor. But it’s still an upgrade of two processor generations, and that matters. A new display on the larger model allows Apple to set a new standard for brightness and dynamic range. Thunderbolt accelerates the iPad’s connectivity with other devices.

And yet, in 2021, it feels like the same story: Apple killed it on the hardware side, and the software… well, the software lags behind, to put it nicely. Apple built a spectacular sports car, but where are the roads to drive it on?

A PRO DISPLAY FOR WHAT?

The new 12.9in iPad Pro has a Liquid Retina XDR display powered by new mini LED technology. Adding this tech has a physical cost (the iPad has gone from 5.9mm to 6.4mm thick, and increased from 641g to 682g) as well as a monetary one (starting at £999, it’s £100 more expensive).

The result, though, is a display that is bright and offers extreme dynamic range, a great boon to pro-level photographers and videographers alike. (It’s probably also going to be great to watch movies on.)

But more than five years after Apple introduced the iPad Pro, it’s telling that Apple is still demonstrating its gorgeous prolevel displays by using third-party apps. As impressed and enthusiastic as I am about the Affinity Designer apps and the video-editing power of LumaFusion, it’s still perplexing to see Apple show off yet another iPad Pro, with yet another impressive hardware upgrade, and Final Cut Pro is nowhere to be seen.

How are we supposed to interpret this? That Apple’s hardware team thinks the iPad is a vehicle into which incredible, cutting-edge features should be built, but that the teams responsible for Apple’s own professional-focused apps don’t think the iPad is worth the effort?

THUNDERBOLT SUPPORT FOR WHAT?

With the announcement of USB 4/ Thunderbolt support on these new iPad Pro models, I’m thrown back to the past. In 2018, when Apple released the first iPad Pro with a USB-C port on the bottom, it didn’t

update the software to read the but if you want to display the iPad entire contents of a thumb drive when interface itself, it’ll just be a pillaryou plugged it in. The hardware was boxed mirror of what’s on the iPad’s willing, but the software was weak. own screen. And here we are again. That’s because, despite Apple Thunderbolt adds even speedier adding support for external pointing APPLE SPRING LOADED EVENTconnectivity, but for what? Faster devices and an on-screen pointer to photo and video imports? Okay, the iPad a year ago, iPadOS doesn’t though once again, I’m reminded that actually support moving apps off to Apple’s bread-and-butter pro media a larger external display. The device apps won’t run on these iPads. itself clearly supports it – after How about external display all, macOS devices with the same support? The new iPad Pros can hardware can do it – but the software drive even larger external displays, just can’t do it. All that power, and including Apple’s Pro Display XDR. nowhere to go. Third-party video apps can take advantage of this to display highresolution video and even some analytical displays. Which is great,

AN M1 FOR WHAT?

This is the crux of the issue: Apple’s decision to market the iPad Pro as being powered by an M1 processor. As a marketing move, it’s solid. There’s been so much positive press about the M1 that wrapping the iPad Pro in its halo makes sense. (In truth, the M1 is Thunderbolt is great, but it’s difficult to take full advantage of it. an evolution of

the processors Apple has been building for the iPad Pro for years, so the real story is that the Mac has adopted the iPad Pro’s processor, not the reverse.)

Here’s the problem with this clever marketing, though: it draws a direct parallel between the iPad and the Mac. And while the The switch from the ‘A’ naming conventions to ‘M’ for Mac definitely lacks Apple’s iPad Pro SoC makes sense from a marketing in some areas (no perspective, but it creates an association with the Mac. touchscreen or Apple Pencil support, for instance) you can can add just a keyboard, or just a basically do anything on your Mac, mouse, or a combination keyboard including run a bunch of apps that and trackpad, or an Apple Pencil. With originated on the iPad. each combination, the iPad changes.

The iPad Pro, in contrast, can’t Unless they want to use a Mac app, or do all sorts of ‘pro’ things that a Logic Pro, or Final Cut Pro or Xcode. professional-level user buying a Should Apple add some sort of device starting at £999 might want to macOS virtual machine that can do. They can’t run Mac apps (though if run on an M1 iPad Pro when it’s you connect a keyboard and trackpad, attached to the Magic Keyboard or an you certainly could), and Apple has external display? I don’t know, that’s failed to build iPad-optimized versions a complicated question and things of its own professional apps. could get weird, fast. But now that I

What makes the iPad Pro great is know the iPad Pro has an M1 inside, it that while its core is a simple touch seems like a natural question. And if tablet, its users can transform it into the right answer is to build iPad apps whatever they want it to be. They that obviate the need for features that

exist on the Mac and not the iPad, great – let’s see them. We know what the M1 and Thunderbolt are capable of. Now that the new iPad Pro has been announced, the spotlight is firmly APPLE SPRING LOADED EVENTon the next version of iPadOS, due to be announced in June at Apple’s developer conference. Maybe iPadOS 15 will finally fulfil the promise of the iPad Pro’s hardware. As someone who uses an iPad Pro every day, I sure hope it does.