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Comment by monkmartinez | Hacker News Reader

Anecdote: My parents use their iPads as you mention. The thing is, they have iPad 2's and are very happy. If they ask me about upgrading to a larger screen, I will tell them to buy a refurbished 13.3" Macbook Air for approx $1000 +- $100. That is a "no brainer" recommendation compared to the iPad pro.

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I don't really think that's a no brainer. They're completely different products. I'd much rather watch a movie on netflix on an IPad Pro than deal with the very poor resolution of a Mac Book Air. Also an IPad is a touch interface, Mac Book Air is OS X. As the OP said, these can be great devices for people not in tech that just need to type a few notes or emails. There's very little to break in an IPad as everything is pretty much preconfigured.

Much better screen overall.

Another anecdote: Dad (in his 90s) uses an iPad2 every day, having rejected the HP laptop I got them a few years back. He will never switch to a traditional laptop, especially sans touch screen, but a larger iPad would be great for his and Mom's eyesight.

Having learned the iPad paradigm, this demographic is going to be much more open to a size upgrade than to a paradigm shift, in my opinion.

Another anecdote as well: I hate to use the Mom cliché, but after years of trying to get my dear mother to use a desktop-based UI for basic stuff like email, web-browsing, I just got her an iPad. (In this case, an iPad Mini 2). Because there's much less to customize, there's much less to mis-configure, and she's been happily using it for some time. I don't think she'll ever go back to a desktop/laptop. (She actually prefers the smaller mini size, and says it's easier to hold)

The screen is garbage and not retina, nowhere near as good as the iPad pro.

Agreed. For a more affluent demographic that can afford it, however, the iPad Pro wins because it's an iPad and "not a laptop."

Same reason people spend more money to buy SUVs and crossovers...it's "not a minivan."

> Same reason people spend more money to buy SUVs and crossovers...it's "not a minivan."

You should say "three row" crossovers and SUVs. In the two row configuration they are cheaper than most Minivans (e.g. $2500+ cheaper in most cases for a similar trim). Plus the fuel savings (Minivans have universally bad MPG, until the hybrids appear, particularly in the sub-$35K price bracket).

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