Probably the controversy regarding the potential of the iPad as a work instrument will still be alive for a long time but in general the consensus after the launch of the the two new iPad Pro models is that, in conjunction with iOS 11, at last they are one alternative to laptops and choosing between one format or another is more a matter of specific needs. What factors to consider?
No fear of falling short of performance
One of the great achievements that the new iPad Pro has left us is being able to put an end to the idea that we are going to have a lower performance than with a laptop. Of course, there are still more powerful laptops, but as we saw when we reviewed the first iPad Pro 10.5 benchmarks The evolution of the A10X processor has been simply spectacular, and as we mentioned later when reviewing the ranking of the most powerful tablets, has reached the point where it is capable of surpassing the 2 in 1 Windows and, as we can see in the video that you have below, in some cases even the MacBook.
There is one downside to this tempting painting, however, and that is that it still lags behind them when it comes to RAM: even if now in both models we have 4 GB, MacBook keep coming with a minimum of 8 GB. It is also true that iOS apps are designed to consume less RAM, we cannot take the hardware data totally separately from the operating system they serve, but it is still a point at which the balance is still going to tip from the conventional format.
Size doesn't matter either
Another fact to keep in mind is that the most affordable models of the MacBook have screens quite close to the one of the largest iPad Pro (12 and 13 inches against 12.9 inches), and although with the MacBook Pro yes, we have already reached 15 inches, in reality with him we are already a bit in another league (among other things due to price). If anything, a point in favor of the tablet should be considered to be available with 10.5 inches for those who need more mobility than space. In fact, another thing that we can see in the video that we leave you, is that actually the iPad Pro 12.9 it's something bigger than the new MacBook, and if we attach the Smart Keyboard we see that it is even thicker as well.
The advantage that we will continue to have with him is that we carry him keyboard It is not mandatory and if we can do without it then we are going to enjoy it thinner and lighter. We must also bear in mind, speaking of keyboards and sizes, that we can always work with it with the Magic Keyboard, especially at home, if we need a conventional one to write comfortably. If perhaps we can put some fault to the iPad Pro In this sense, it is that when we use it with the Smart Keyboard we will not have so many angles of inclination.
The price plays in favor of the iPad Pro
There has been a lot of talk about the rise in prices that has been experienced in the field of tablets (and smartphones), but even with it the iPad Pro is a more affordable option: up to the model of 12.9 inches with 256GB of storage and adding the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard It will cost us less (about $1300) than the most basic version of the new MacBook, sold for $1500. And it is not a small difference: those 200 euros are enough to get the Magic Keyboard, AirPods or Gamevice controllers to also enjoy games.
On the other hand, for those who have minor needs and do not suffer too much if they lose something less than 2 inches of screen, they find that they have a really powerful device for little more than $700, and although the quality is not the same as that of the Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, it must be remembered that there are quite efficient keyboard covers for only $30, in addition to the multiple options we have in the field of wireless keyboards (Microsoft's costs that too, without going any further). We lose a lot in storage capacity, of course, but we must be aware that for certain tasks and with the different cloud storage services that we have, 64 GB on an iOS device can give us a lot.
iOS 11 is going to give you an important boost
In general, it is convenient to be realistic with the type of work that we are going to carry out and the needs that we are going to have, because it is true that there are still tasks for which devices with iOS, even when they do not lack power, they may seem limited, but for the bulk of the activities that most of us carry out (thinking, for example, of students or working with office suites, etc.), the truth is that the possibilities that it offers us will be more than enough.
In any case, thanks to iOS 11 productivity on the iPad is going to receive an important boost, as we have already commented on several occasions since its presentation, introducing some key novelties, such as the function to drag and drop, application bar floating, the new native file explorer Files and all the functions with which the Apple Pencil to turn it into a useful tool not only for artists and designers (amateurs or professionals) but for much more everyday tasks, more in the line of the Surface Pen or the S Pen. And it's a minor improvement, but the virtual keyboard of the iPad so that writing on it is more similar to doing it on a physical one. Let's not forget that the update is about to arrive, too.
Going beyond simply replacing a laptop
And speaking precisely of Apple Pencil, it should be noted that the new models of the iPad Pro Not only are they capable of replacing a laptop, but they continue to offer us advantages typical of tablets, things in which they are simply superior, such as versatility and the convenience of being able to use them or not with a huge variety of accessories or, speaking precisely of the stylus of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, having a touch screen that opens up endless possibilities for us (with the added attraction of its Promotion display).
We leave you to finish a video in which they face the new iPad Pro and the last MacBook and that illustrates the main points that we have touched quite well and that can help us with images to get a better idea of the user experience that we can expect from each of them.