(I am one of those 12.9-inch iPad Pro users that was fine with the functionality and feature-set of the original 12.9-inch iPad Pro (sans the never-ending repair extension program on that model's Smart Keyboard cover), only adopted the third generation iPad Pro because, at the time it was the only 12.9-inch option, and would otherwise be fine with a 13-inch iPad Air. All that to say that while I prefixed this post about the iPad Pro, what I'm writing here could easily be about any 12.9/13-inch iPad.)
Prior to the launch of the App Store, Steve Jobs told folks to make web-apps because a full desktop browsing experience on a 3.5" display was abysmal. Afterwards, the clear solution to getting things otherwise accomplished on a computer's web browser became apps provided on the App Store. Even on today's 6.1" iPhones, the experience isn't as good as it is on a desktop. While games and video apps are generally better as native apps anyway, most of the apps we use are basically compensating for the fact that the experience of using it in a browser is still sub-par.
While this is still true of Safari for iOS, Safari on iPadOS is certainly much closer to that of its Mac-based cousin. On something like the current iPad mini, I still appreciate the convenience of apps. But on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is similar enough in size to my 13-inch MacBook Pro, maybe it's not as necessary. Add to this that there are still a larger-than-should-be number of iPad native apps that only operate in landscape mode (something that would be tolerable on a current generation iPad mini, but rather intolerable on any 12.9/13-inch model iPad Air/Pro).
So, with iPadOS 18, I'm going to do the following experiment on my third generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro:
I'm going to wipe it (I generally do DFU restores of all my Apple stuff to the new major releases each year, anyway; just to get as fresh a coat of paint as possible) and then, when it comes time to redownload my apps, I will ONLY redownload an app if I cannot perform those same functions (on those same exact services) in Safari or on a stock app. If I come across something that I want to run or do on this particular iPad and doing so in a browser either sucks or is outright impossible (e.g. any games), I'll download the corresponding app.
I have 95 apps. Let's see how many of those I actually need, given the promise of a (mostly) "desktop-class" web browser on a device that is, for all intents and purposes, the same size as a 13-inch MacBook Pro.
I'll update this thread on what apps I currently have (on my soon-to-be-former iPadOS 17 installation on said iPad Pro) as well as how many I needed to redownload vs. those that I didn't.
Hopefully it's useful/interesting to someone. Apologies if it's not.
Prior to the launch of the App Store, Steve Jobs told folks to make web-apps because a full desktop browsing experience on a 3.5" display was abysmal. Afterwards, the clear solution to getting things otherwise accomplished on a computer's web browser became apps provided on the App Store. Even on today's 6.1" iPhones, the experience isn't as good as it is on a desktop. While games and video apps are generally better as native apps anyway, most of the apps we use are basically compensating for the fact that the experience of using it in a browser is still sub-par.
While this is still true of Safari for iOS, Safari on iPadOS is certainly much closer to that of its Mac-based cousin. On something like the current iPad mini, I still appreciate the convenience of apps. But on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is similar enough in size to my 13-inch MacBook Pro, maybe it's not as necessary. Add to this that there are still a larger-than-should-be number of iPad native apps that only operate in landscape mode (something that would be tolerable on a current generation iPad mini, but rather intolerable on any 12.9/13-inch model iPad Air/Pro).
So, with iPadOS 18, I'm going to do the following experiment on my third generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro:
I'm going to wipe it (I generally do DFU restores of all my Apple stuff to the new major releases each year, anyway; just to get as fresh a coat of paint as possible) and then, when it comes time to redownload my apps, I will ONLY redownload an app if I cannot perform those same functions (on those same exact services) in Safari or on a stock app. If I come across something that I want to run or do on this particular iPad and doing so in a browser either sucks or is outright impossible (e.g. any games), I'll download the corresponding app.
I have 95 apps. Let's see how many of those I actually need, given the promise of a (mostly) "desktop-class" web browser on a device that is, for all intents and purposes, the same size as a 13-inch MacBook Pro.
I'll update this thread on what apps I currently have (on my soon-to-be-former iPadOS 17 installation on said iPad Pro) as well as how many I needed to redownload vs. those that I didn't.
Hopefully it's useful/interesting to someone. Apologies if it's not.
