I think he makes some good points, but I still see the iPad as a great complimentary device (though not necessarily a laptop replacement).
Basically everything I would normally do on my iPhone I now do on my iPad (10.5 inch Pro). I love having the huge bump in screen real estate. I have the LTE model which means I can do things like use navigation on my iPad, which is MUCH better than on the phone as it's far easier to see.
One thing I don't understand is why he said the iPad Pro plus a pencil is not a good way to learn art. It seems like a great way to me! Not only can you draw in a natural way, you also get all the perks of the digital world (undo, copy/paste, cropping, clean erasing, layers, etc).
I think most people referring to the iPad as not being great for productivity are using the 9.7 or 10.5, as you do, but trying to use two apps side by side. If you're working with one app at a time, the ipad is great for that. the extra 0.8" that the new model gives you, I guess, helps out in some significant way. It's certainly nicer to look at compared to the older model with the larger bezels.
However, if you try document annotation, or just using two apps side by side, it's too cramped. That's what most people talk about.
For drawing, the iPad can be great for convenience, but I think it's poor in teaching concepts like arm and wrist control where you will learn the nuances of friction: something the ipad screen cannot change when you use that pen.
Pressure is half the battle, which is why Apple hits that hard when trying to convince people it makes the iPad great, but it doesn't address friction which is why it feels different to work with different drawing materials.
it would be like learning to drive a race car in an automatic. Technically you can do it but you don't get the physical experience of understanding why you need to downshift before entering a corner because you simply can't brake anymore or risk losing traction.
iPad apps don't even reference the concept of depth of the paint/ink/etc. as multiple layers. When painting or drawing, not only are you drawing on paper, but you're also drawing/painting on top of other paint/ink, adding depth and layers. You can't get that on an iPad screen.
I think tablets, whether it's the iPad or not, will eventually replace traditional desktop and laptops for most users, but not for us. It will be the kids who enter the workforce around 2025 who have grown up with tablets and phones in their hands and see it as a natural extension of themselves. That generation will not have the legacy beliefs about computing that we come with. The iPad is disrupting computing, but probably not as quickly as Apple is trying to force it.
I think that would be dependent on the programs that people are using at the time. Just like the pushback devices got with wireless printing when it sucked (ChromeOS devices, for example), iPads and iOS devices are getting pushback from the ability to use the mouse with apps that would greatly benefit from them, like text editing or excel formatting.
Unless mouse support is applied or that program isn't used in the future, the next generation will still not like iPads and the form factor because the application is inherantly clunky by design.
People here aren't mad that they can't use their ipads or that the ipads suck: they're mad because they're trying to use a touch-centric tablet in applcations made for a mouse and keyboard.
