Crossing the iPad Rubicon
As I’ve noted many times before, I much prefer using my tablet versus my laptop. The new MacBook is fantastic; without question, the best laptop ever made (even those who at first disagree, come around). But it’s still a laptop. It’s a form-factor that is 30–40 years old. It carries the baggage of computing past.
In contrast, the iPad carries none of this baggage. In fact, it has the opposite problem: because it evolved from the iPhone (which likely evolved from it!), it’s still finding its way in the world where we wish to do all our computing on these devices. We’re not there yet — and here come the Surface + Windows 10 comments — but we’re inching closer. And I think we may cross an important threshold in this movement this fall.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it would take for me to use my iPad full time. I’ve tried before, of course. And others have seemingly successfully made the jump. But there are still a handful of things that hold me back, most of which are software-related. And more specifically, most are work-related.
At a higher level, I wonder what the threshold would be for me to make the jump. Is it being able to do 90 percent of what I need to do on the machine? 100 percent? When will I personally reach the tipping point? A crossing of the Rubicon, as it were.
I know I can already do the majority of things with relative ease on the iPad. And many things I can do better on the device. But the fact that I can’t quite do everything is a large enough inhibiting factor that stops me from using it full time. If I have to take out my laptop to do even just one thing, why not just use it for everything?
A report today from the always-reliable Mark Gurman indicates that not only do new iPads draw near, the long-rumored “Pro” variety sounds likely to bring with it a few key “power” features. Force Touch sounds compelling to ease quick interactions. The “if you see a stylus, they blew it” stylus sounds less vital to my flow, but we’ll see.
But more intriguing is iOS 9 itself. Split-screen mode is a productivity no-brainer — especially on a larger, say 12.9-inch, screen. And the new touch-friendly software keyboard baked into iOS 9 should replicate a lot of what makes a trackpad great.
I’ve long been a fan of external keyboards for the iPad (I still use and love this Logitech one), so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Apple make some sort of move here as well. These are the “crutches” I unfortunately need to help get me over the line.
The key is that it won’t be any one of these things that will lead to my tipping point, but all of them combined. It has been a long road to get to where we are now from the first iPad. In true Apple fashion, the progress has been slow, but methodical. I think we’re about 75 percent of the way to where I need to be to use the iPad full time. If the improvements this fall take us north of 90 percent, I may be able to make the jump.
I would love to make that jump.
