The device that changed the world will soon take over too
I am writing this article on a 2012 15" MacBook Pro. In the cupboard on the other side of the room, I have an iPad Air 2. Currently, I only use the iPad for watching YouTube and entertaining the kids from time to time. There is literally nothing else I do with it.
Before I bought this 15" MacBook Pro last year, my old 13" MacBook Pro was getting tired and old, so I tried to fill the gap with the iPad. I bought a Logitech Keyboard case and ventured into the world of iPad only computing.
In the beginning, the novelty factor allowed me to lean into the iPad experience. I was able to do all the things I needed and it was so exciting to be doing it on something so portable. Even with the Logitech case, it was a really slim package and I got excited about the prospect of carrying something around that was genuinely not much bigger than a notebook.
But after a couple of weeks, there was one thing that did start to get on my nerves. The novelty factor just wasn’t able to overcome the 9.7" inch screen. Even though I was only coming from a 13" MacBook Pro, the loss in physical real estate led to me feeling cramped. The matching keyboard case felt claustrophobic. I imagined how a T-Rex would feel using a keyboard, with my hands forced together at an unnatural angle. The screen also only sat at the one angle, which for me was too steep.
The other major thing that bugged me was the lack of mouse or trackpad input. Using my finger for navigation was fine, but once it came to moving around in apps, the shine wore off pretty quickly. In Microsoft Word, it was a real fuss to navigate. Highlighting what I needed, format, jump to another location, etc. all were much harder and frustrating than they needed to be or were on my Macbook Pro. The same went for any other app that was trying to emulate a laptop experience. I just found it all to be a bit of a fiddle.
I wanted my iPad experiment to be a success. I wanted to find a solution for my computing needs that was fast, portable, cheap and had great battery life. But the iPad Air 2 just wasn’t going to be it. I bought a 15" MacBook Pro and the rest is history.
Well not exactly!
What I did learn from my experiment is that with the right screen, keyboard design and trackpad input method, the iPad could become a genuinely viable laptop replacement. Even with something more antique like the iPad Air 2, speed wasn’t an issue. iOS13 runs smoothly on it and apps are fully compatible too. So for a modern iPad, there would be power to spare.
For 99% of people I know, all they use their laptops for is surfing, email and a bit of word processing. Often, like me, they are buying and using laptops which are capable of 100x more than they will even test them with. All that extra unused capacity is a waste and comes with a very real cost.
The iPad has evolved significantly since the iPad Air 2, with the introduction of the Pro range sporting bigger screens and smaller bezels. Apple also just announced the Magic Keyboard for iPad which includes a touchpad and ability to adjust the angle of the screen.
In just a few years the iPad has gone and resolved all the issues that prevented the iPad Air 2 from being a genuine option for those looking a mobile computer.
The CPU and GPU capabilities get faster every year, meaning even video editing is a workable option
This great video from Jonathan Morrison shows just how much is possible even for an advanced user on an iPad Pro.
I have invested already in my MacBook Pro, but as it is a 2012 model it will be coming to the end of its macOS supported lifespan, this year, if not next. After that, it will be only a matter of time until I started to get frustrated with the lack of app support increasing over time.
When the time does come to change to a newer computing system, I am 99% sure that will be an iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard.
Thanks for reading!