As I've said many times in other threads, I have been using an iPad Pro as my only personal computer for quite a while now. I have also always had my iPads Pro (first the 9.7" and now the 10.5") set up with all the software I need for my full time job as well. I don't like using my own personal gear for work, since they supply us with Macs or PCs, but they do allow us to log in to Office 365 as well as all of our other apps and services from our personal devices in case we want to use those in certain situations. It does come in handy for when I need to answer an email or look at a project while I'm out and about.
But yesterday things really went haywire when I updated my company issued Macbook Air to High Sierra. The update itself went fine, but when I got to the login screen on my Mac, it would no longer accept my company credentials. Something on their system was not compatible with High Sierra, and I was forced to kick off a Time Machine restore back to earlier in the afternoon. It was estimated to be a 4 hour process, and I had meetings and other things coming up that afternoon. I usually use my iPad Pro during the day to take notes in One Note during meetings. Now it was going to have to be my laptop, my note pad, and my phone line all rolled into one.
I had a team meeting coming up in GoToMeeting, so I tapped the meeting link, entered the session in the GoToMeeting app, and used my AirPods for audio. I had OneNote open at the same time and when I needed to jot something down, I would just 4 finger swipe over to OneNote and write it down with my Apple Pencil as I always do. The AirPods worked brilliantly as both my mic and speakers for the meeting, but I could have gone without and just use the built in iPad mic and speakers too. (Added bonus: I could pace around the office while "attending" my meeting and still comfortably take notes.)
After the meeting I went to "laptop mode" and had Outlook, Skype for Business, and Safari all open on my screen at the same time, with Excel, Salesforce, and Word all at the ready in my dock. This was my first real road test with using iOS 11 for true multitasking, and I felt liberated. This situation would not have worked nearly as well in iOS 10 because the third app on top of split screen was not permitted, and it was much harder to find and launch apps for multitasking due to that awful slide over list. Toward the end of the day when my afternoon calmed down a bit, I even had Netflix going in PiP mode in the top corner while I answered emails, kept track of projects, and continued monitoring my Mac restore.
I worked this way for roughly 4 hours yesterday using various apps and websites. It felt weird to be able to do it on an iPad. But I did it. I always knew that it was possible, but I've never been forced to work that way like I was yesterday. And even with all that going on and having started with my battery at around only 70%, I was still at 25% when I finished my work day.
Once my Time Machine restore finished and I was back up and running on my Mac, I have to admit to feeling a bit smug. The next time someone tells me I can't do "real work" on my iPad Pro, instead of telling them all the things I use it for in regards to music, writing, drawing, etc., I'm going to tell them about yesterday afternoon. I got real work done. And I didn't feel like I was compromising for one second.
But yesterday things really went haywire when I updated my company issued Macbook Air to High Sierra. The update itself went fine, but when I got to the login screen on my Mac, it would no longer accept my company credentials. Something on their system was not compatible with High Sierra, and I was forced to kick off a Time Machine restore back to earlier in the afternoon. It was estimated to be a 4 hour process, and I had meetings and other things coming up that afternoon. I usually use my iPad Pro during the day to take notes in One Note during meetings. Now it was going to have to be my laptop, my note pad, and my phone line all rolled into one.
I had a team meeting coming up in GoToMeeting, so I tapped the meeting link, entered the session in the GoToMeeting app, and used my AirPods for audio. I had OneNote open at the same time and when I needed to jot something down, I would just 4 finger swipe over to OneNote and write it down with my Apple Pencil as I always do. The AirPods worked brilliantly as both my mic and speakers for the meeting, but I could have gone without and just use the built in iPad mic and speakers too. (Added bonus: I could pace around the office while "attending" my meeting and still comfortably take notes.)
After the meeting I went to "laptop mode" and had Outlook, Skype for Business, and Safari all open on my screen at the same time, with Excel, Salesforce, and Word all at the ready in my dock. This was my first real road test with using iOS 11 for true multitasking, and I felt liberated. This situation would not have worked nearly as well in iOS 10 because the third app on top of split screen was not permitted, and it was much harder to find and launch apps for multitasking due to that awful slide over list. Toward the end of the day when my afternoon calmed down a bit, I even had Netflix going in PiP mode in the top corner while I answered emails, kept track of projects, and continued monitoring my Mac restore.
I worked this way for roughly 4 hours yesterday using various apps and websites. It felt weird to be able to do it on an iPad. But I did it. I always knew that it was possible, but I've never been forced to work that way like I was yesterday. And even with all that going on and having started with my battery at around only 70%, I was still at 25% when I finished my work day.
Once my Time Machine restore finished and I was back up and running on my Mac, I have to admit to feeling a bit smug. The next time someone tells me I can't do "real work" on my iPad Pro, instead of telling them all the things I use it for in regards to music, writing, drawing, etc., I'm going to tell them about yesterday afternoon. I got real work done. And I didn't feel like I was compromising for one second.
