Or at least, the iPad as we know it.
Okay, that was a click bait title, but bear with me. The fact that new 10.5" iPad Pro replaces the 9.7" model, as well as the upcoming iPad exclusive enhancements to iOS, has got me thinking of something. Apple really wants the iPad to replace your laptop. You're thinking, "no kidding! What else is new?" but the thing is, they're not really even giving us much of a choice anymore. If we look at the iPad line-up, on the one side we have these two larger than ever, high priced "Pro" models. On the other side, we have the 2017 iPad built in the chassis of the original iPad Air from 2013, and the Mini 4 which is almost 2 years.
One side is getting all the love from Apple, and the other side harkens back to a time when the iPad was specifically designed to fill its own niche between a laptop and a smartphone, not replace either. It seems that Apple is moving the iPad away from its roots, and I always thought that would be a good thing, but now I'm wondering if it really is.
I like that my iPad is my pick-up-and-go device for web surfing, YouTube, Facebook, checking my email, and other simple tasks. It can do these things quicker and easier than my laptop, but also better than my pocket-sized phone. But as iPads (and accessories) become almost as big as ultraportable laptops, not to mention as expensive, I'm starting to wonder if that happy middle ground isn't being lost. Ironically, several years ago when the iPad first debuted, I said that I saw no point in buying a tablet if it couldn't replace my laptop. Now I'm starting to wonder if we're losing some of the advantages of the tablet form factor in order to make it more laptop like in function. I realize now that if I really wanted a tablet that would replace my laptop, I would have bought a Surface Pro by now. So now where do we turn for a tablet that is just a great tablet?
Just food for thought.
Okay, that was a click bait title, but bear with me. The fact that new 10.5" iPad Pro replaces the 9.7" model, as well as the upcoming iPad exclusive enhancements to iOS, has got me thinking of something. Apple really wants the iPad to replace your laptop. You're thinking, "no kidding! What else is new?" but the thing is, they're not really even giving us much of a choice anymore. If we look at the iPad line-up, on the one side we have these two larger than ever, high priced "Pro" models. On the other side, we have the 2017 iPad built in the chassis of the original iPad Air from 2013, and the Mini 4 which is almost 2 years.
One side is getting all the love from Apple, and the other side harkens back to a time when the iPad was specifically designed to fill its own niche between a laptop and a smartphone, not replace either. It seems that Apple is moving the iPad away from its roots, and I always thought that would be a good thing, but now I'm wondering if it really is.
I like that my iPad is my pick-up-and-go device for web surfing, YouTube, Facebook, checking my email, and other simple tasks. It can do these things quicker and easier than my laptop, but also better than my pocket-sized phone. But as iPads (and accessories) become almost as big as ultraportable laptops, not to mention as expensive, I'm starting to wonder if that happy middle ground isn't being lost. Ironically, several years ago when the iPad first debuted, I said that I saw no point in buying a tablet if it couldn't replace my laptop. Now I'm starting to wonder if we're losing some of the advantages of the tablet form factor in order to make it more laptop like in function. I realize now that if I really wanted a tablet that would replace my laptop, I would have bought a Surface Pro by now. So now where do we turn for a tablet that is just a great tablet?
Just food for thought.