The Brooks Review:
It has been over a year of full time iPad usage for me, and in that year I have had my iPad in a plethora of configurations. From the simple Smart Keyboard Cover to nearly duct taping it to the wall. What I have come to realize over this past year, is how portable and manageable the iPad as a desktop machine is.
I’m always interested in how others manage to use their iPad full-time. I love my iPad and use it every day but there is no way I can make it my full-time machine.
I love mine, and use it for almost everything. “Funny” enough the two or three main reasons to grab my MacBook are writing Apple News(or more specifically, publishing since I can write the whole article up in scrivener for iOS), checking news stats and iAd money, and also Xcode and some sketch too
The last two are understandable though now I do heaps of stuff I would have in sketch, on the iPad instead with the ✏️
Apple news publisher, and iTunes connect, iad too need to be accessible on iOS and not via safari (or CHROME which seems to work better with iCloud.com/#newspublisher than apples own Dog Food!) or at the least, plz integrate the news publisher into Pages, Notes or anything else that is close enough to add a template to. Would love to use iPad for news as I don’t want to lug around the MacBook; and having the option of publishing direct from the iPhone could be brilliant in on-the-scene reporting or an imminent or breaking news situation that you can’t get to the desktop for.
I’m impressed by how certain kinds of professionals can work around the device’s specialized UI, but even with an attached keyboard and documents manager app, I’d still find an iPad too limiting for primary use.
I also find these discussions fascinating. I don’t think the iPad replaces a desktop OS (e.g. MacOS, Windows, Linux) for certain classes of activities like programming or 3D. But I also don’t think of it as a “replacement” but rather as a “different thing”. There still is a list of annoying barriers in iOS but them seem to diminishing or disappearing year by year.
I have a MacBook and a 2014 MacBook Pro (supplied by my employer) and love them both. I bought my wife a 12″ iPad Pro and I own an older 9.7″ iPad. They all are wonderful products but fill different workflows and needs. I don’t think the iPads as replacements for my Macs, but if I wasn’t currently programming then I could see myself using a 12″ iPad for everything else that I do in my life. My workflows would be different, not better or worse, for things like writing (Ulysses), and email (actually there are better choices for iOS than MacOS), photo editing (I’m a hobbyist), presentations, etc.
For me, all my data is in Dropbox, iCloud, and Github (coding). When the day comes that I stop programming then I will likely never need a “desktop OS” again.
No exposed file system.
No true multi-tasking
No true multi-windowing
No true multi-threading
Incomplete features in most productivity and creativity apps.
No ability to use a second monitor
Too little RAM
Not enough onboard storage
too much reliance on wireless networking
Since it can include LTE, no ability to use as a phone
Even the 13 inch screen is barely large enough to get creative work done efficiently.
Too much reliance on Apple services
Inconvenient to use when not in battery mode.
No software development environment
NOT SERIOUS WEB DEVELOPMENT TOOLS.