Above Avalon:
Apple has always publicly supported the iPad and Mac. However, that hasn’t prevented questions regarding Apple’s commitment to the two product categories from popping up. In recent months, Apple has shown a new level of openness when it comes to embracing both the iPad and Mac as unique and differentiated platforms for creative endeavors. The change is noteworthy when thinking about each category’s future.
Apple now finds itself with an iPad business that is twice the size of Mac in terms of unit sales, but smaller than the Mac when it comes to revenue. The iPad user base is nearly three time as large as the Mac user base and is growing by 20 million new users per year while the Mac user base is seeing more like 10 million new users per year. In a nutshell, both the iPad and Mac businesses have found stability and continue to connect with their respective user bases.
The differences/comparisons between the iPad and the Mac fascinate me. I get a lot of people asking for advice about “what should I buy?” and, for a lot of them, I can often recommend “just” the iPad.
I have an iMac pro. It’s the first desktop computer I’ve had in over 20 years (MacBook Pro was my sole computer). I also have a 10.5 inch iPad Pro. I thought I also needed a new MacBook Pro but the touch-bar and keyboard issues out me off. I’m fine with just my iPad for a portable machine. Typing on it is no fun and text editing generally on iOS isn’t for me, but I don’t seem to be in a big rush to buy a a new MacBook Pro. The iPad is doing the job.
Man, I need job that pays like yours!
I’m retired.
Well, I’ll try that then! 😉
Presumably you’re typing on the iPad screen, right? If you were using a hardware keyboard, you’d have the same experience as on the iMac. Did you know you can use 2 fingers on the iPad on-screen keyboard to move your cursor? Tap with 2 fingers to select a word. Then 2 finger drag on the on-screen keyboard once again to move the selection handles. I find it pretty nifty overall.
Thanks for the tips. I’m aware of many iOS text editing shortcuts but I’m such a long term Mac user with a mouse that it’s tough to transition. Yes, I’m writing these comments with the iPad on screen keyboard and it definitely isn’t nearly as good as a Bluetooth hardware keyboard would be, but for me, that defeats the slickness of the iPad, might as well have a MacBook.
The other piece of this that’s bothersome for me is that this field, DISQUS, wordpress, and safari don’t work as well in iOS as they do in the MacOS environment.
Aside from wanting some development stuff that’s part of macOS (and the ability to add other things if I want), the two main drawbacks of an iPad as a portable device for me are the difficulty of precisely inserting a cursor in a text block and the fact that I often have my laptop ON my lap and a rigid bottom half makes that work well.