iPad Things
As is tradition, it’s the time of year where folks have hot takes on iPads and the ~ future of computing ~. Here’s one from Joshua Topolsky:
Couple of tweets about the new iPad and iOS 11. It is inferior to a laptop in almost every way, unless you like to draw.
— Joshua Topolsky (@joshuatopolsky) June 27, 2017
This year’s spin on the age-old debate comes from iOS 11’s heavy emphasis on iPads and productivity. Most of the changes in iOS 11 seem great; none of them seem to address the existential issues that most folks talk about when they talk about the issues of productive work on the iPad.
I wrote about my experience with the iPad Pro last year, and I mostly stand by my conclusions. In particular, this passage rings truer than ever:
Still, though, I feel good using the iPad. “Delight” is the buzzword of the day when it comes to technology, and the iPad Pro doesn’t quite delight me: but sitting in a coffeeshop and using it to read or write gives me a vital sense of clarity and focus. This is important: as we drown ourselves in apps, in engagements, in vertices of various graphs, feelings of clarity and focus are rarer and more fleeting than ever before.
Using the iPad (or, perhaps more accurately, using iOS) feels absolutely frictionless. The iPad Pro, which I now use for reading, writing, and emails, albeit rarely, never confuses or surprises or angers me. It performs exactly as expected, unlike my MacBook Pro (which, despite its power and complexity, will randomly behave in bizarre and unexpected ways.)
Moreover, I think I’m just kinda bored of the narrative that the iPad has to replace the laptop or else it’s a failure. My iPad does iPad things really well! I love using it!
Maybe that’s not reason enough for market analysts, but it’s reason enough for me to continue owning mine.