This article is about Apple's asinine "what's a computer" ads which go way beyond a few select examples.
Everything in that “What’s a computer” ad, I have done. If not with the exact apps, a similar one.
This semester in my graduate class, as a lark I attempted to do everything I needed on my iPad to see my pain points. The class deliverables were primarily PowerPoint Presentations. The iPad did fine. They weren’t complicated. I didn’t use any animations or transitions (although the iPad version can handle them). Really the only two roadblocks I hit where I could only add images from iPhoto library and there was no drag and drop. Drag and drop is in beta and will be released soon-ish.
I use OneNote for taking notes in meetings. Procreate to draw with. There is an (admittedly gimped) version of AutoCad I can at least use to mark up drawings in the field. Word on the iPad is ok. The biggest roadblock for me is not being able to create a ToC, edit styles, and the aforementioned drag and drop.
My primary non-consumption uses are drawing, writing, and editing photos. Ulysses on the iPad is amazing. Procreate and Sketchbook Pro are production-level art tools. For editing photos, Affinity Photo on the iPad is as capable as the macOS version. The only thng I miss is using an external filter like my Topaz filters I like. I’m starting to get back into architectural drawing and my workflows on the iPad fit my needs: I use Formit on the iPad to rough out the shapes I want to use as the basis for the drawing, and then bring it into Procreate to do the painting.
I am definitely in the camp that thinks the iPad is a capable device for production. Now, granted, not every production workflow is well-suited to an iPad. That said, for my day job I can’t get everything done on my Mac, so saying a device can’t do something doesn’t mean it can’t do “real work.” In my experience discussing iPad production stuff on these forums, “real work” is often defined as: “this thing that I do, that you don’t do, that the iPad can’t do.”
I feel I am more productive on my iPad. I have less distractions. I can’t play my games on my iPad. I bring my iPad with me almost every time I leave the house. For me, I just wish some of the software — like AutoCad— was better. Even if they added a few features I’d be happy.
The problem for me is the last mile stuff. I can do probably 90-95% of my creative work on the iPad. That last 5-10% is tough, though, and is the only thing that pops up when I analyze whether just using my Mac is better for me. I think it comes out to the same, since drawing on the screen of the iPad is bettert than drawing on my Mac, even with using something like Astropad that turns my iPad Pro into something like a Cintiq.