Beardy Guy Blog

#Apple #iPad #Pundits

Some iPad users really should just use a Mac

So, it continues. Federico Viticci continues to be unhappy with the iPad. With that article as wall as his other recent posts and podcasts and I can't help but conclude that it's probably time for him to move on to the Mac. Same for many of the other comments I'm seeing on Mastodon, etc. There's also this post by Hey Scotty, a fellow micro.blogger.

And really, I don't think it's all that confusing. The initial iPad was meant to be a casual, easy to use device that sat between the iPhone and a Mac. Mostly for consumption but Apple also sold the Keyboard Dock and had the iWork apps available from day one (at least Pages, not sure about the others). So even then they knew it had potential.

Fast forward 6 years and the device is getting more powerful and they release the larger iPad Pro. And it just goes from there that the hardware is obviously very powerful and Apple, noticing at least a small group of users are increasingly enthusiastic about the device as a full-on computer.

From there it's just a process of Apple protecting the ease of use for the vast majority of iPad users that want that easy, casual, non threatening computer while, at the same time, offering new features for the "power" users. Year by year adding those features pretty steadily,

The "problem" is that the tech enthusiasts tend to have the loudest voice. Thanks to his website and the many podcasts he's hosts, Federico's voice and opinions are greatly magnified. And over the past couple of years he's become increasingly disgruntled. The iPad simply does not meet his very particular needs, preferences, tastes. But again, his disgruntlement is the loudest opinion.

Setting aside all of the users the iPad was originally aimed for, I'd guess that there are lots of very happy "pro" users of the iPad today who are actually quite happy with the device but who's voices are greatly muted in comparison to the very opinionated guy with the bullhorn.

I really love iPadOS and the iPad form factor. I'm not conflicted or angry about the state of Stage Manager or multitasking. I've been watching with great appreciation as Apple has, year-by-year, increased the features found in important apps like Files, Mail, Safari, iWork, etc. For me it's only getting better. And now, with Stage Manager and full external display support, it's the mobile touch tablet that can be a laptop or a desktop computer in seconds. Attached to an external display I'm able to see more and do more as I'm doing in the photo above working with two Numbers spreadsheets, each of which has a lot of columns across and thousands of rows. Stage Manager on an external display makes my hours of work on these documents more efficient. It's a huge win for me.

It's a shame that the iPad isn't doing it for Federico and others. For them it would seem the Mac is the better choice. That's fine. It's can't be for everyone. Just as the Mac isn't for everyone.