Is being a laptop replacement such a huge deal to everyone here?
Look, I believe you all know my story. I use my iPad Pro 9.7" to teach in the classroom, though I still do the bulk of my lesson prep on my iMac, including converting word documents to pdf format (which then gets synced to the documents app via dropbox) so they can be opened in Notability for annotating.
I don't pretend the iPad can replace my Mac, and honestly, that doesn't bother me. I have two devices, each of which excels in what I need it to do, and they complement each marvellously. I don't need my iPad to run macOS because my iMac already does, and truth be told, I have genuinely come to prefer iOS for its ease of use and intuitiveness. Not saying the iPad is perfect (google docs still sucks on it, for one), but having worked with integrating an iPad into my workflow since 2012, I do find that the iPad has come a very long way since then.
Not too long ago, the phrase “you can’t do real work on an iPad” was thrown around a lot, but as more people have shown that they totally can do their work on iPads, the PC defenders have had to become more specific in their criticisms. Arguments for the continued dominance of the PC have been reduced to “you need it for sharing documents” or “you can’t do development on iOS.” or some other niche use case.
The trend towards eliminating things that iOS devices can’t do is marching on and there’s no reason to think it will stop. With each passing day, people are changing their workflows in ways that make PCs less relevant, while iOS (and Android) are making changes to fill the gaps that are still there.
PCs will exist for a long time, and I have no doubt that they will remain relevant for many people, but it continues to become more and more clear that the future is not macOS or Windows, but iOS and Android. As such, I am neither surprised nor dismayed that Apple continues to favour development of iOS over the Mac.
We really should be beyond debating whether the iPad can be used for content creation. That discussion is over and those still arguing that it cannot are saying more about themselves than about the iPad with every passing day.
I completely agree with your evaluation there. I myself made the decision to move away from my MacBook Pro to just my iPad Pro and iMac.
I had already owned my 12.9” iPad Pro for a while and had become reasonably productive with it when I decided to invest a not insignificant amount of money, in a tricked out MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Initially I got on perfectly fine with it, I used my developer tools, productivity apps and so on, as one would expect.
But within six months or so I began to find myself once more doing the lions share of my work on my iMac, simply because it had more power and a much larger, nicer screen. Out-with that, I was back to using my iPad Pro again. Drawing, jotting down notes and ideas, doing mock-ups and so on, is just so much more pleasant with the Pencil than a Trackpad and keyboard - or so I find.
I discovered more, and better apps for the iPad Pro which enabled me to do even more work with it. Apps such as Graphic, in my opinion, an excellent alternative to illustrator on my Mac gave me the freedom to start doing my vector work with iPad Pro and the Pencil. The fact that it’s also compatible with illustrator is something of a boon.
Ultimately I sold my MacBook Pro, it had become largely redundant. I’ve never regretted that decision. Of course there are some occasions when I’m away from home and my iMac that I must resort to using Remote Desktop software to hook into my Mac and access Xcode, for instance. But I’ve not found it to be a particular hardship. It works perfectly fine for the small amount of time I use it.
I’m not about to say the iPad Pro is a complete replacement for all that a laptop is and can be. Certainly for some, there is no alternative to a laptop and that’s just fine.
But, like you I think the days where an iPad was nothing more than a big iPhone, used for entertainment purposes only, are over.
Many people have demonstrated just how capable the iPad Pro can be at content creation, within the confines of the software available. By which I mean, of course we’re not yet able to run apps such as Xcode. Though I think that too could be a possibility one day.
For some people an iPad is all they need - my next door neighbour for instance. For some an iPad Pro will provide all of the flexibility they need to get their work done. Others will require both a desktop system and an iPad Pro. For more a laptop and only a laptop will do.
My point is, there is no reason why all of these use cases cannot happily coexist. Indeed they do, they are.
I really don’t understand the need for some people to try and shoehorn a device like the iPad Pro into a corner where content creators are not allowed to visit. It’s nonsense and it’s becoming more nonsensical with each passing year (or less.)
One can most definitely be productive on an iPad, one can certainly create on an iPad. It doesn’t mean those of us who do so want an end to “traditional computers”. We’ve just discovered ways to coexist, or exist without them. If you haven’t, or you can’t, well that’s fine too, all of our needs are different. But for goodness sake, stop trying to deny that the iPad (Pro) isn’t capable in its own right.
.... Feels good to get a short story’s worth of a rant out - it’s been a while

Maybe once I’ve finally broken this 57 hour insomnia trip, I may even read it
