iPad Pro Reviews Are Coming In: A Good Update, But Won't Replace Your Laptop

• Prominent tech writer Walt Mossberg said that Apple Inc. AAPL's new iPad Pro won't replace a user's laptop, even though he is a "tablet man."
• Mossberg, writing for The Verge, added that despite his appreciation for the iPad, he is not "over the moon about the iPad Pro."
• Reviews of the iPad Pro confirm it is not a laptop and desktop replacement.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook argued that the brand new 12.9 inch iPad Pro will kill the PC industry and be a permanent replacement for laptops.

"Why would you buy a PC anymore?" Cook said in Britain ahead of the launch of the new device. "No really, why would you buy one?"

Cook also said that the iPad Pro is a "replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people."

Was Apple's chief executive on to something? Initial reviews of the new iPad Pro point to a "no."

Related Link: Tim Cook: But Seriously, Why Would Anyone Buy A PC Anymore?

Not 'Over The Moon'

"You'd think an iPad guy like me would be over the moon about the iPad Pro," Mossberg, a self-confessed "tablet man" and "iPad man" wrote in a review on The Verge. "But I'm not."

Mossberg was "intrigued" when Apple announced its new "jumbo-sized" iPad with an optional keyboard cover and stylus. However, the device won't be a replacement for his "trusty" and "iconic" MacBook Air laptop.

"While the iPad hasn't entirely replaced my laptop, it has replaced so many of the scenarios for which I used my laptop in the past that I turn to the laptop much less often," Mossberg added.

Bottom line, Mossberg concluded that except for "heavy writing," he is more likely to use an iPad Air or even the "diminutive" iPad mini to get work done.

‘Worthy Runner Up'

The Verge's Lauren Goode also reviewed the new iPad.

According to Goode, the new device is unlikely to be a suitable device for a professional illustrator, graphic designer, or even architect. However, she noted that "the mere fact that we're at a place where the question is even possible is a win for Apple."

Goode stated the new device is a "worthy runner-up" to a laptop. After all, the device does make use of a mobile operating system and doesn't offer a trackpad to control movements. In addition, entering data into cells on the Google Sheets app is "still onerous."

Goode also pointed out that while working on the iPad Pro in a train or passenger seat of a car, there is an "uncomfortable imbalance between the heavy iPad and the lightweight keyboard on my lap."

"This new iPad is powerful, it's fast, it has a large display, and it never lagged when I was multitasking or switching between apps," she concluded. "It's not better than my laptop, but makes far few sacrifices than I expected."

'Not Killing Your Laptop Yet'

David Pierce reviewed the iPad Pro on Wired, noting that a tablet hasn't been powerful or large enough to fully replace a laptop.

"The iPad Pro Is plenty powerful, and it's plenty big," Pierce wrote. "But to call it just a bigger iPad is like calling the Millennium Falcon just a bigger falcon."

Pierce said the iPad Pro is "different" and Apple is out to prove that a tablet can "replace and outgun" a laptop, although it just falls short.

"It's easy to use anywhere, and capable of doing anything," Pierce wrote. However, he acknowledged that while his designer co-workers are "excited" to use the optional Pencil for sketching and brainstorming, they will "wind up" back on their desktops "soon enough."

He added the Pencil and available apps are a "great piece of the creative process," however, "they're not killing your laptop yet."

Pierce also suggested that Apple is hoping that people who have never bought a laptop in the past won't do so in the future. Rather, they will simply buy an iPad. For users who "cling" to their laptops and desktops, the iPad Pro "just doesn't feel like a serious machine for serious work."

"Maybe we'll catch up to Tim Cook's vision of work someday," Pierce concluded. "But for right now, we have work to do, and no time to reinvent how we do it."