Apple iPad Pro 2020 Review: Not a Macbook Replacement! By Tim Schofield

By Tim Schofield
Aug 14, 2021
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Apple iPad Pro 2020 Review: Not a Macbook Replacement!

Everyone Tim Schofield here it's time to review the first iPad I've ever used. This is the twenty-twenty twelve point: nine-inch iPad Pro and I, bought it trying to replace my MacBook Pro for video editing and just everyday use after using it. There is a lot that I like about this iPad. However, there are some things that I dislike, especially when it comes to trying to replace full on desktop with macOS on it as well. So let's go ahead and get into the full review of the iPad Pro 2020 to begin when it comes into the design of the iPad I'm. Actually, a big fan, it's very premium, as you would expect from Apple.

It is fairly thin. Considering again, this is the twelve point. Nine-inch iPad the bezels are also a very solid size in terms of being able to hold on to it without accidentally touching on touching the display. Although I will say, the display does collect fingerprints fairly, easy, so I do find myself having to clean off the display fairly often when I am using the touchscreen. The speakers have been very good quality and considering the size it does get fairly loud, not as loud as other laptops out there.

The microphones on the iPad are fantastic, though I even get comments from people that I FaceTime with saying wow. That microphone sounds perfect. A small camera bump housing, the standard and ultra wide-angle lenses. You do have a power button and two volume rockers up at the top is the support for your Apple Pencil, which I did go out and buy, and then you also have your one USB type-c slot, and this is kind of a deal-breaker for me only having one USB slot when you're trying to replace a laptop having to go out, buy extra dongles for extra support. If you want to connect something, not only are you limited to the one USB-C slot, it also doesn't have Thunderbolt support, so you'll see I will connect my SSD, which is a Samsung portable x5 SSD I've been using that for a while.

Now it's awesome, but you cannot use thunderbolt accessory it just isn't compatible at all. Even if I go to my files, it'll should not show up on the left side. So I can't even use this external hard drive, which I've been using for a long period of time on different laptops. So since it's only one slot back to that ROG of life I've been carrying these around just stand one's for us BA. This is a big one for me, because I am editing videos on the iPad as well.

So this is us BC to our SD card. There is Bluetooth, so if you have wireless accessories, such as a mouse or a keyboard that works just fine, so you'll see here, I'm actually using a mouse, because it does have trackpad or Mouse support on an iPadOS, which is nice using our mouse, isn't as precise as I really want it to be I think a trackpad will be much better, so I am hoping to get that magic keyboard soon, I've also already pre-ordered. The new magic keyboard that Apple's coming out with, so I will be doing video coverage on that, so make sure you are subscribed, but in the meantime, with this iPad and with it being so big, but you pretty much have to have a case on it specifically a case that has a stand and I have two solutions for that. This brings us to our sponsor and I can wholeheartedly recommend both of these cases. They are from ESR.

Both of these cases. I'm gonna show off work on the twelve point. Nine and eleven inch models I will link to everything down below and there's a coupon code. Tim 20 20 20 for 20% off I will link to everything down in the description. First, one is the ESR yippee trifold smart case.

So when you do open up the case, it will wake up your iPad, and it will put it to sleep when you close. It there's also a couple different stand modes: you have a 65 degree, viewing mode and a 30 degree typing mode. It doesn't magnets to keep everything, secure and full Apple Pencil support, which is nice, because you could just have your Apple Pencil on your iPad and there's a clasp to keep it secure. The next one is the ESR centuries stand case, and this is the one I've been using more just because there's a little more functionality to it, and it's a little more rugged to it will protect the iPad just a little more there's a ton of angles for this case to sit at, and it uses magnets. So when I do pick up the iPad, when it's already in at an angle, it will stay at that angle.

It doesn't it's not loose at all. It's a very strong magnet and speaking of that, strong magnet I've actually used it to hang it on the refrigerator. That's how strong it is. It just holds up the case and the iPad and, of course, there's a little notch where you can hang it on something as well. It does have Apple Pencil support to connect it to your iPad or you can actually store it away in the case itself, which is great when you aren't traveling.

So again, thanks test for sponsoring this video use code, Tim 20-20-20 for 20% off link in the description when it comes to the display I'm extremely happy, the colors look great viewing angles are good: it isn't an OLED display. That would be the cherry on top with iPads, but it does have a 120 Hertz refresh rate when you do couple that with apple's animations, it makes the overall experience so smooth, it's actually pretty amazing. So, for example, if we are watching you know, a 4k video here, I generally do like to use desktop websites because, of course, I'm trying to replace my laptop I'm, not gonna, be into YouTube ever I'm, not gonna, be in the Twitter app all those feeds that I use when I'm on my laptop come from the desktop experience, so I have been trying to use the browser a lot more, unfortunately, you're pretty much forced to use Safari, so browser extensions, etc. Just are pretty non-existent. It's not so great and then, for example, there are things I want to do while watching a video, sometimes I like to leave the video and have it run while I'm on a desktop I'm going to go back into Safari it just pauses, it doesn't keep going like it would on a desktop OS and the reason you have to use Safari I'm, a big chrome user, and it doesn't have a native desktop Chrome browser, but it automatically goes to your mobile websites, no matter what site you go to.

It goes to the mobile version. You have to go through and automatically request the desktop website, every time which is pretty on access, unacceptable to me. So for me, I'm always having to go to Safari, so I've just started using Safari, which has been okay. It's not the best browser out there, but it's also just missing features that let that are included when you do use a laptop like Mac, OS or Windows. I also turned to the iPad Pro to replace my MacBook Pro for video editing.

Now I generally use Final, Cut I've been using Final Cut for years, but I did get the Lima fusion app and iPad, which thank-you guys. You recommend it to me and there is a bit of a learning curve. You know it took some time to figure out how to do certain things with music ears and different things, but I actually did get a solid handle on them with a fusion and there's a good amount of features to it. I actually really do like the Lima fusion app, and this is my Q&A video, which did take a bit of time to edit, because I was adding in different images and trying to figure out different things. But overall it was smooth.

I am a fan of using it. I didn't really get any stuttering or lag just a couple. Different things. I want to mention file management on iPadOS is just okay, it's kind of all over the place. You do the files app here, so there's just different things that you can do with it.

If I go to my downloads here, I have a bunch of different files that I've downloaded, but they're all over the place within photos or within your actually, your file browser on your iPad, it's just kind of wonky how they have it working, especially within loom fusion, that you have to really go back and find different file locations, and you can't just, and you'd have to really transfer it to get it to all in one place and to transfer everything just takes time, and it's not as smooth as desktop experiences. Aside from that one other gripe I do have with using Lima fusion / Final Cut Pro, like I, said I actually think I could get used to it. I could generally edit a lot of my video content using this might take a little more time, but one problem, I do have is I'll show you actually I'll go into, let's see under my files on my iPad, let's go into downloads here, not downloads. Let's go back to on my iPad, go into videos and here's an example. Now the right video is a ten minute.

Video and the middle video is a ten minute. Video. The right one is edited in Final, Cut Pro, the middle one is edited in Lima fusion. The file size output after editing is just a pretty large difference. It's crazy how much Final Cut can compress those video files.

So you'll see two point: two one gigs versus five point: five, eight similar lengths a little different of a video style, but still just as an example, there's a big difference in that file, size, which is kind of a deal-breaker taking up that much more space and, of course, it's going to take a little longer to export because you don't have as much power as you would on a MacBook Pro pending on the app developers. Sometimes support for the iPad app is very limited. For example, let's go ahead and go to Instagram check this out, so it just kind of blows up this mobile version of Instagram, and this is what it looks like fairly comical- that Instagram hasn't made an iPad app. It's almost embarrassing specifically because if you go to Instagram come on your desktop, you can't upload images. So if I want to upload any images from my iPad I, do it through this goofy tiny, app, it's kind of embarrassing, and it forces you to use portrait mode and what it does come to gaming.

It's kind of up to you to decide if you want afterwards to play or if you want to be on a laptop like windows where you, hence we play higher end games. If you have a GPU that supports them now, for example, you can't play fortnight in 120 FPS, which is kind of nice out of the App Store, and that is the full fortnight game. If you're a touchscreen gamer, or you can sync up a Bluetooth controller and play with a controller. And yes, there are an are games that you can plan and find any AR games that you really pulled me in. However, there are some cool AR apps, including the IKEA one, to kind of see what something will look like in your place.

You can measure different things, so there are some uses to augmented reality on your iPad, but it doesn't really take full advantage of that LIDAR technology with such a larger tablet. I do like to use it horizontally. Most of the time similar to I would with a laptop display. However, the design language is definitely geared towards using it like a tablet in portrait mode, because the camera is up towards the top when you have it like this, and you're, holding it you're going to block the camera on the left side. I almost wish the larger model would have the camera in the middle in landscape, as opposed to your know over here on the left side, because when I video chat and such I'm like this most of the time, especially lately I've been doing so much video chatting on this iPad and I really wish.

The camera was up here, because when I am in these apps I'm, not using it portrait I'm using it landscape, specifically, if I want a multitask and do multi window just to show you with my left thumb right here, it does start to block that camera. Even when I unlock it- and I are- I lock and unlock it- and I have my thumb here- I'm holding it- sometimes it won't unlock because obviously you shouldn't be covering the camera. So again, I guess, depending on your uses, I found I was using it horizontally more where the camera just started to be covered. Now, aside from the placement of that camera, the front-facing camera quality is fairly good. It's better than my MacBook Pro so I've have been happy with that and, like I said, the microphones are excellent, not sure how many selfies you're going to be taking, but there is portrait mode to the front-facing camera, so you can take selfies with portrait mode, but if you do actually want to take portrait mode shots with the rear cameras, unfortunately you can't it just Auto switches in the front camera.

So if that's a deal-breaker for you, but it's kind of annoying that they didn't include portrait mode in the rear cameras. I'm, not a big I pad photo taker. However, if you do want to take some photos, you do have your 1x, and they added an ultra wide-angle lens, which is pretty nice that they added as a feature of functionality. You can zoom in up to 5x ?, but that is of course just digital zoom from the 1x like I mentioned, I did buy the Apple Pencil ? I've been a fan of it overall, this fairly premium, it's comfortable the whole overtime I'm, not a big artist in general, yeah I went through some coloring apps and colored in, and it was ok. You know like it's, it's very useful.

It feels very real, but the biggest use I got out of it was writing notes, especially when I'm on video calls I will just I. Actually just prefer writing notes. My handwriting is terrible. Don't get me wrong, but I do prefer writing notes. I feel, like I, retain the information better when I'm writing as opposed to typing, so it has been excellent.

However, you know I, don't really need this full functionality, because I'm not that much of an artist on that artist. Side, I also will use it as a stylus overall, just you know browsing through my iPad using different things. I wish you could go up and home I know it's to kind of cancel out if you're, drawing, and you're accidentally going home, I still kind of wish. I could because I use it as more of a stylus, sometimes instead of drawing with iPadOS, it does have split-screen and multitasking capabilities. So when you do actually swipe up and pause, there are multiple apps here, as opposed to maybe just a couple that you can choose from, so it's nice that they've added more.

However, there's also another feature so from the dock. You can press and hold and drag an app, and you can swipe it over for split screen view. You can, you know customize where you want the app size to be. However, there's another option, so, let's close out of that go back to Safari and then, if we're in Safari- and we want to go ahead and just throw the Files app up, it opens up in a smaller version of that app just a little more slimmed down, which is nice to have. It is compatible only in some apps.

As you can see, the file ZEP is compatible, and then you can swipe it over to the side here. So, let's say you're going through doing different things doing some shopping, and you still know you have that app open on the right side. There you can swipe it over. You see I, just flew it all the way over, but of course you can pop it out. You can put it back into split screen mode.

Furthermore, you have multiple options for multitasking, not quite as good there's other desktop options, but it is there as I wait for the magic keyboard I've been using a Bluetooth mouse, a Bluetooth keyboard to actually type on this, so that has been fine overall. One thing that I have a complaint about is when I am connect to do a Bluetooth keyboard and I swipe down. You have no option to actually load up a touchscreen keyboard. It's kind of annoying if I want to type something real, quick, or maybe I brought my iPad away from where that keyboard is because it is a tablet. I still want to carry with me places, and even if it is still staying connected to that Bluetooth keyboard somewhere.

So the point I'm trying to get to is no. This is not going to be able to replace my MacBook Pro over all it might if I'm not doing things such as video editing, but even with the lack of a full desktop web browsing experience, it's just still constrained to a tablet. It's a little annoying, but with all of that being said, this is an amazing tablet. So, for me, this size is too big. I actually wish I would have gone with the 11-inch size for the tablet, as opposed to the 12 point 9 to try and replace a desktop hands down.

This is the best tablet on the market right now, so, if I'm going to use it as a tablet, I think twelve point. Nine inches is a little too large, but I have really enjoyed using it as a tablet. Once I got over the hump of gotta stop trying to replace my keyboard beard. My laptop this just is not a replacement for it. In my opinion, it still is great for video editing that Lima fusion app is excellent.

Like I said you still have to get over some file management hurdles, but even if you're doing video editing- and you need something to edit it- this is still a good option. So, with that being said, I would recommend going with the smaller version of this iPad or potentially look at getting the 2018 model and especially if they are lowering the prices on them. Just because, if you're not replacing your laptop, you might not need that extra power boost, and again you might not need that extra size, because you're probably going to want to carry it around use it as a tablet, use it vertically. So you could take advantage of that. Top camera, and even just the overall design sense it's just kind of made for it to be used vertically and with all of that being said, I hope you enjoyed my review.

Video more to come, like I said that magic keyboards coming in I'm still going to be using this iPad. Don't worry, I'm not giving it up, I still really like using it as a tablet in general. Again hope you enjoyed the video be sure to give it a thumbs up and as always guys. Thank you very much for watching.


Source : Tim Schofield

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