Should I get a new iPad (Pro)

[telebunke]

I wouldn't be going for a Pro unless I was doing visual art, sheet reading music or really liked editing video on the ipad. The size makes them impractical for mounting to a mic stand and they take up a lot of room on the desk.

But the iPad Pro exists in a smaller version, too. Sized like the iPad Air.
tele

[realdavidai]

I wouldn't be going for a Pro unless I was doing visual art, sheet reading music or really liked editing video on the ipad. The size makes them impractical for mounting to a mic stand and they take up a lot of room on the desk.

But the iPad Pro exists in a smaller version, too. Sized like the iPad Air.
tele

Yes that's the one I opted for (iPad Pro 9.7) and it's perfect for portability without screen size compromise.

[billw]

I've still got a 3rd generation iPad that'll be 6 years old in July. I really wanted to get the new 9.7" pro, but couldn't justify the cost and mine still does everything I ask of it (except run 64-bit stuff). Now I think it's too far into the pro's lifecycle to risk buying one of those. I'm sure the next best thing is just around the corner.

[sprnva]

Same here really (but with a 4th gen). The Air 2 isn't enough of an upgrade at this stage and the Pro really needs 3D Touch to make me feel it's time to get a new one.

[telebunke]

Same here really (but with a 4th gen). ... the Pro really needs 3D Touch to make me feel it's time to get a new one.

3D touch will make me move some money towards Apple, too
At least after some of my apps support it.
I wonder how much that 3D thing will do for us. If its really 3D it should be possible to control at least after touch plus vibrato.

How ist that on the iPhone with 3D touch?

tele

[Cinebient]

Same here really (but with a 4th gen). ... the Pro really needs 3D Touch to make me feel it's time to get a new one.

3D touch will make me move some money towards Apple, too
At least after some of my apps support it.
I wonder how much that 3D thing will do for us. If its really 3D it should be possible to control at least after touch plus vibrato.

How ist that on the iPhone with 3D touch?

tele

It works nicely. You have simply said a polyphonic expression on the X,Y and Z axis. You could say like a Seaboard, Linnstrument etc. as touchscreen. Sofware wise it´s even more versatile and i find personally the aftertouch works at least as good as on my Seaboard Rise.
The velocity response for strike is the downside. It works O.K. but not for really fast expressive play for keys f.e. since there is a slightly delay after the first input (i think 10 extra ms or so) to messure the amount of pressure.....or so
I´m not sure if we see iPad with 3D touch because there is the pencil which can do this (but of course monophonic only) and while iPhones just have to handle 5 multi-touch inputs, iPads have 10 (or 11 even i think?).
Of course the lack of tactile feedback is another big downside.
But i still find 3D touch THE BIG feature of the latest years for iOS devices.
F.e. in the Moog Model 15 app it can be let you play some awesome expressive lines on a freaking phone. Because of that i much prefer my iPhone 6S plus rather than an iPad for iOS music apps.
The resolution on all 3 axis is at least the full 7bit midi (means 128 steps but int theory even more are possible) and that polyphonic, individually per finger/input.
X/Y slides working of course much better on a flat surface. So here it is even better than most of the hardware MPE controllers. Also it´s nearly impossible to do slides of of X and Y axis and changing pressure (Z) at the same time on the Seaboard while this works great on my iPhone.
Still, i love my Seaboard much much more for playing

[ezelkow1]

Well now theres a third option
https://arstechnica.com/apple/2017/03/a ... -features/

An air2 replacement, uses an A9 processor so not the A9X of the pro's but still respectable and basically a doubling of performance over an A7 thats in the air. Presumably has 2gb ram but no official word yet. All that for 329 for 32gb or 429 for 128gb. Not too shabby a price on those either especially for the 128

[Jace-BeOS]

I like my iPad Pro 12.9" for Internet, writing (I have the Smart Keyboard), music creation (Gadget and others), and maybe someday I'll use it for photography or art but there's no good raw camera support yet and I find the apps aren't consistent in how they use the Pencil. I don't mind the size whatsoever because I never used a smaller iPad. I really don't understand people's complaints about the size.

I also play Fallout Shelter on it

I'll be disappointed if the next release of it has pressure sensitivity because, while I would be happy to have that, I can't afford to replace mine with a new one. I'll be happy for other people to have it though. I thought it was a gimmick, a solution needing a problem, but then I played with Roli Noise (the original version, not the blocks version) and I was impressed at the level of pressure sensitivity for five fingers. I had no idea it was that advanced. I had thought it was just a one touch pressure response.

[pdxindy]

I find using my iPad Pro (12.9") annoying enough that I don't use it for much of anything except as a drawing tablet (via Astropad) which I do like for sure.

I found connecting it to my Mac for use as say a midi controller was a pain. I can take a midi controller and connect it to my laptop via usb and it just immediately functions via my DAW. After a few hours of fussing with connecting the iPad, I still did not get it fully working and then decided I had no need for the headache... it is nothing like plug-n-play.

Most of the audio related iOS apps I tried were a disappointment... wasted my money there.

[Cinebient]

I find using my iPad Pro (12.9") annoying enough that I don't use it for much of anything except as a drawing tablet (via Astropad) which I do like for sure.

I found connecting it to my Mac for use as say a midi controller was a pain. I can take a midi controller and connect it to my laptop via usb and it just immediately functions via my DAW. After a few hours of fussing with connecting the iPad, I still did not get it fully working and then decided I had no need for the headache... it is nothing like plug-n-play.

Most of the audio related iOS apps I tried were a disappointment... wasted my money there.

Might be user fault. It takes just a minute via the usb to lightning cable to use it as audio device or midi input device (f.e. via midimittr).
It´s really not more complicated to connect a midi keyboard and/or set up something in the Audio/Midi Set-Up.
But if you get annoyed, just leave it if you are already happy.
Of course it´s a matter of taste too. The pure sound output quality, especially if i connect it via the usb to lightning cable into Logic, is as good as my "expensive" plug-ins.

[dangayle]

I'm in the same boat as you, but mostly interested in the Pro and Pencil as a Wacom alternative. Personally, I'm waiting to see what the next version looks like.

Unless you're REALLY dedicated to drawing, the Pencil is a waste of $100. Yes, it draws amazingly. But it's quite crap as a regular stylus. Other styluses basically pretend to be your finger, so anything you can do with your finger they can do.

Not so with the Pencil. For instance, there's no press and hold to select text.

And you can't use it on your iPhone should you want.

[pdxindy]

I find using my iPad Pro (12.9") annoying enough that I don't use it for much of anything except as a drawing tablet (via Astropad) which I do like for sure.

I found connecting it to my Mac for use as say a midi controller was a pain. I can take a midi controller and connect it to my laptop via usb and it just immediately functions via my DAW. After a few hours of fussing with connecting the iPad, I still did not get it fully working and then decided I had no need for the headache... it is nothing like plug-n-play.

Most of the audio related iOS apps I tried were a disappointment... wasted my money there.

Might be user fault. It takes just a minute via the usb to lightning cable to use it as audio device or midi input device (f.e. via midimittr).
It´s really not more complicated to connect a midi keyboard and/or set up something in the Audio/Midi Set-Up.
But if you get annoyed, just leave it if you are already happy.
Of course it´s a matter of taste too. The pure sound output quality, especially if i connect it via the usb to lightning cable into Logic, is as good as my "expensive" plug-ins.

It could well be user error... however, I never have trouble connecting any of my hardware and I am fairly good at this sort of thing. I just could not get it to fully work with my MBP via the usb to lightning cable or via wireless... this was after about 3 hours of futzing, buying/installing a few apps etc. The MBP 'saw' the iPad Pro, but no midi data was going across. I was not even thinking of sending audio, just trying to use the iPad Pro as a midi controller. I was interested to make some X-Y pads for controlling Zebra.

[lnikj]

^ Midimux/Studiomux over the lightning cable?

It can occasionally be flakey but restarting it usually works. As I write Fugue on my iPad mini is feeding 4 synths in Live.

[deastman]

Wacom has a new pen for drawing on iPad.
http://www.wacom.com/en-us/discover/dra ... -your-ipad

I don't think that's a new one (and afaik it doesn't work on iPad since Air 2)

I got the first generation Intuos stylus for iPad, and while better than most other styluses at the time, it was still a pathetic joke. I looked at the second version but opted for the Adonit Jot instead. It isn't a real Wacom tablet or an Apple Pencil, but it's the closest you'll get for the time being, and much better than the Wacom stylus.

[Wormhelmet]

I went for an Air 2 128gb last year. Still using my ipad 2 for a lot of things though.

Probably a Pro 2 9.7" in the future. Depends on how many new apps need the extra horsepower.

Air 2 doesn't get used as much as my ipad 2 except when running Model 15, Auria, Gadget with new Oddysei, and Module. Could all change with Beatmaker 3 when it comes out. Also if I plug it into my hardware desk setup on my Griffin dock to be sequenced by my mv8800.

The difference between the Air 2 and ipad 2 on updates is ridiculous though. Thats when I notice it the most. Screen quality too.

I don't like to update iphones or ipads often though. Seems like I'm just throwing my money around too much. Its really my last ties to software synths though and makes for great sound module use with hardware.