The iPad I Left Behind
I’ve been asked a number of times for my thoughts on the iPad Pro. I have a lot, but honestly, they’re probably not all that different from what you’ve already read. It’s an iPad. A big, freakin iPad. A fast-as-hell iPad. I just really, really hope I never drop the thing.
Anyway, I like it. The screen is fantastic. It’s a bit unwieldy to hold in two hands unless you’re in a recliner, but that’s not because it’s too heavy — it’s because the screen is so big. The screen is larger than the TV I used to play video games on in my basement as a child. I can’t imagine holding that in my hands either.
But the giant screen has a big upside: when paired with a keyboard, it’s going to be a perfectly functional laptop replacement for some folks. I know quite a few people who use the iPad Air (iPad Medium?) for this purpose already. The iPad Pro is better for this use-case. Especially if you like Apple’s own keyboard cover. It’s expensive, but well-done.
Well, well-done aside from the perplexing lack of iOS function keys. This would be a deal-breaker if the thing wasn’t so damn convenient (doubles as a cover, no recharging needed, no pairing needed, etc). At first I didn’t like it, now I really like it — I can even use it in my lap. It’s like… a laptop! ¹
And yet, here I am writing this on my iPad Air with a Logitech Keys-to-Go keyboard.
Why? Well, I’m on a plane en route to a vacation. (A honeymoon, if you must know.) We’re going to be traveling a lot in the coming weeks, so I debated quite a bit as to which devices I should bring on the journey. I ultimately settled on four: the MacBook, the iPad Air 2, an iPhone 6s Plus, and an Amazon Kindle Voyage.
Some would say this is at least two too many, but I’m proud of myself. Normally, the iPad Pro and the iPad mini 4 would be in my bag as well. Just in case. (Yes, I have a problem.) But again, in the hope of traveling as lightly as possible, I decided the other iPads were superfluous. iPad-wise, I’m going iPad Air-only this trip.
And this brings me to my point. The iPad Pro was supposed to be the laptop-replacing iPad. Yet, after a few weeks of solid usage, I wasn’t quite comfortable leaving my MacBook at home in favor of it. And it seemed silly to bring two devices with roughly the same-sized screen. So the iPad Pro was the first voted off the island.
While I like the iPad Pro, I don’t yet love the iPad Pro. Certainly not as my go-to computing device. I think there’s a chance it could get there, but it’s going to take some getting used to. I’m just not ready yet. Maybe others who already do the majority of their computing on the iPad are. I’m close, but something worried me about not having a MacBook with me. I’m not entirely sure what. But something.
And so here I am. Writing to you from my old, trusty iPad Air. I bet I use this device at least 10x the amount I use my MacBook on this trip. So… I probably should have just brought the iPad Pro. Next time, maybe.
¹ At first, I bought the Logitech iPad Pro keyboard case. There are some nice elements, like the backlit keys and iOS function keys. But I hated the thing. The case part of it was so janky that it felt like I was destroying the iPad Pro every time I tried to “slip” it on. There’s nothing “slip” about it, it’s more like shove it on, complete with many crunching sounds, and hope for the best. I returned the thing within a week.
