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iPad Why can’t people use iPad as iPad and Computer as computer
- Thread starter LovingTeddy
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I agree that one is not better than the other, just like a truck is not better than a car, and vice versa. It is fact that both can do things that the other cannot do (as well or at all), which you would think makes it impossible for any debate to take place. But people on both sides continue to choose to only focus on the advantages/disadavantages that are relevant to their personal needs and ignore the rest. Human nature, I suppose.
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Steve Jobs have said it best, using the car vs truck analogy. There are functions where you need a truck (PC), but for most people, a small car (iPad) fulfills their daily needs just fine.
This debate appears to be more sociological than technical. If I am not mistaken, the question raised by OP is why do some people constantly complain that their iPad is not as powerful as their laptop, and then go on to explain how they would improve iPad.
The salient point appears to be that, technology aside, people like to complain. Of course, there is no point in arguing why iPad isn't as powerful or versatile as a MacBook, as this is analogous to the apple-and-pear-comparison.
Also, I completely agree with @pika2000 on this point:
The salient point appears to be that, technology aside, people like to complain. Of course, there is no point in arguing why iPad isn't as powerful or versatile as a MacBook, as this is analogous to the apple-and-pear-comparison.
Also, I completely agree with @pika2000 on this point:
I am going to share a quote that is fast becoming one of my personal favourites.
To use an analogy, these are the people who were trying to drive in screws using a hammer because the screwdriver hadn’t been invented yet.
The hammer was the laptop and the screws are all these tasks that I could never really do well on a laptop, but I sucked it up because that was the only choice there was. The screwdriver is the iPad which lets me do things like scan documents to annotate on, because its form factor makes it optimised for this sort of tasks.
Personally, I am interested in pushing the iPad as far as I can. I like my 9.7” iPad Pro for its long battery life, portability and ease of use. If I am going to be carrying around my iPad instead of my laptop, then the onus is on me to find ways of performing similar tasks on my iPad so I can still get my job done and not inconvenience myself or anyone else.
I don’t need the iPad to replace every laptop in the world. I just need my iPad to replace as much of my laptop as possible so I can get more done on my iPad, rather than having to wait till I get back to my workstation.
And I am slowly getting there. Bit by bit, step by step. It’s more a process than an end goal. If I can get something done on an iPad, I will, and I will go out of my way to rethink my workflows to make said task possible and feasible.
To use an analogy, these are the people who were trying to drive in screws using a hammer because the screwdriver hadn’t been invented yet.
The hammer was the laptop and the screws are all these tasks that I could never really do well on a laptop, but I sucked it up because that was the only choice there was. The screwdriver is the iPad which lets me do things like scan documents to annotate on, because its form factor makes it optimised for this sort of tasks.
Personally, I am interested in pushing the iPad as far as I can. I like my 9.7” iPad Pro for its long battery life, portability and ease of use. If I am going to be carrying around my iPad instead of my laptop, then the onus is on me to find ways of performing similar tasks on my iPad so I can still get my job done and not inconvenience myself or anyone else.
I don’t need the iPad to replace every laptop in the world. I just need my iPad to replace as much of my laptop as possible so I can get more done on my iPad, rather than having to wait till I get back to my workstation.
And I am slowly getting there. Bit by bit, step by step. It’s more a process than an end goal. If I can get something done on an iPad, I will, and I will go out of my way to rethink my workflows to make said task possible and feasible.
But the Crook said he'd rather use a car to do the heavy lifting that he no longer uses the truck anymore. That's why under his tenure the Mac is severely neglected.
That's exactly what I, and most of my colleagues, do: Macs as the "daily driver", iPads as a useful addition for the things they're good at - when ultimate portability is required. At one stage, I put my iPad in a "keyboard case" and found that I actually used it less: the keyboard still wasn't brilliant for significant typing and editing and it made the iPad harder to use hand-held.
I think the real answer to your question is this: the idea that a tablet can replace your PC is useful for the industry, at a time when the PC market is maturing.
The rate of PC development has slowed - the relative advancement over the last 5-10 years is comparable to about 18 month's of Moore's Law in the 'good old days'. The last game-changer in PCs was the SSD - which, also inconveniently, was an easy upgrade for most existing PCs. We've also long passed the point where PCs are "fast enough" for general use (for those of us not editing theatrical movies or rendering Toy Story 5, once an entry-level PC could edit 1080p home video and play a first-person shooter at 30fps that was about it, really). Consequence - for the mass consumer market, at least - we've gone from PCs being obsolete doorstops after 2 years to 5-10 year old machines still doing everything that non-specialists need. PCs are becoming like fridges - something you buy when the old one breaks.
So, the industry has been focussing on smartphones and tablets, because they are a developing technology that consumers might be persuaded to upgrade every 1-2 years - and they've enjoyed a few years of that, but now tablets are getting mature, too.
It seems we can argue about almost anything these days.
I like my desktop, my laptop, and my iPad Pro and don't feel any burning need to replace one with an other. Some things are easier - and more enjoyable - on one device than the others, some things can't be done on a particular device, some things are neutral. I think I'll keep all three and not worry or care about it.
First, I don't recognize anybody named Crook.
Second, Apple never said anything about cars doing trucks' work. What Apple did were challenging developers to think beyond basic apps for the iPad (Pro) as the platform matures. Did Apple ever say you can do Final Cut or Xcode on the iPad? No. But they do showcase developers who up the ante on what apps can do on the iPad.
Mac is neglected? Have you seen the iMac Pro? Plus with Apple bringing metal to macOS and embracing external GPUs, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. And Steve Jobs already explained this situation in the past, where he described Apple as a big startup and tend to put their engineers to focus on few things.
Yes.
And I will add this:
People often reference the cars/trucks analogy that Steve Jobs made, but don't put it in any context or leave things out to fit their argument.
When Steve Jobs first presented the iPad as an "in between device" between a laptop and a smartphone, that was exactly what it was as far as hardware and software functionality. Keep in mind that the iPad 3/4 or maybe even the iPad Air were probably already in the product pipeline by then, as well as a couple more versions of iOS. (One interesting thing people often forget is that he did mention that it was compatible with bluetooth keyboards "in case you want to write War and Peace".)
But he also did an interview with Walt Mossberg not long after that, which is where the cars and truck analogy popped up. His idea was NOT "PCs are trucks and tablets are cars and people should only use PCs for real work", though that's how most people remember and interpret it now--usually the people that are afraid that PCs are going away.
What Jobs REALLY said was that PCs aren't going anywhere, but they're going the way of trucks. When cars were first invented, everything was a truck. But as more and more people moved into cities, most of them realized that cars were good enough to do what they needed to do, and trucks were overkill. So cars exploded in popularity and usefulness and trucks declined to where maybe one in every 10 or 20 cars was a truck.
This is where we're heading with iPad. And in my eyes, there are only two categories of people that say iPads can't do real work and shouldn't be used as "laptops":
1) People who are only interested in speaking for themselves and don't care what anyone else thinks.
2) People who have forgotten that back in the days where we all had a beige box Gateway 2000 or Dell desktops in our houses, they were used for all the same things we use our iPhones and iPads for now.
I do document creation, music composition, podcasting, drawing, notetaking, email, and entertainment tasks on my iPad. I have a work laptop that I use for work because it's what the company prefers I use, but I can also do 99% of my work stuff on my iPad if I need to as well. So if the company laptop went away, I would not replace it with my own personally owned Mac. I would just use my iPad Pro for everything. Others' mileage may vary. There is no "correct" way to use the iPad or Mac. Just use what you want to use. Once you find a workflow that works, you're golden. And more and more of your workflows will probably eventually work very well or even better on your iPad than they do on your Mac. That's great too. But for crying out loud--please don't feel like you need to make another post about it.
I tried using my 2017 iPad with a bluetooth keyboard for a week. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Was it a viable replacement for a computer? LOL.
I use my Mac Mini to backup my iPhone via iTunes and Photos to backup my photos to a folder that ARQ then backs up to B2. My Mac Mini has dual monitors. I have a Macbook Air 11' 2015 that I use for note taking when I'm out and about.
Let's see if I can simplify this week without making a wall of text.
1. Know how difficult it is to balance an iPad with a smart case and a bluetooth keyboard on your lap for note taking ? (without a lap desk). Yeah it doesn't work. Taking my iPad + a bluetooth keyboard everywhere got old fast and it was noticeably heavy (keyboard was heavy).
2. Alt tabbing between applications is a pain vs Mac OS and dual monitors. Copy/pasting stuff to my friends is near impossible or factors more difficult (article tidbits, screenshots, etc...).
3. I can't backup **** from my iPhone or interface with an external hard drive. OneDrive and Word on iOS is pleasant to use.
4. Trying to do programming on my iPad even via https://www.onlinegdb.com/ results in the iPad using the incorrect ' " ascii characters so I can't compile no matter what browser I use. Taking notes in class wasn't as bad with the split screen functionality though. But not having a mouse and trying to interject code with pinpoint accuracy is a pain.
5. Using Chrome Remote Desktop was painful vs my Macbook Air.
I forced myself to use an iPad for an entire week. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Still, a laptop replacement is almost laughable from my perspective. I paid $250 for my iPad 2017 thanks to a Best Buy deal. My mother in law is really looking forward to taking it over as her iPad Mini 2 is getting old. But even she prefers a mouse for hours of gaming.
I use my Mac Mini to backup my iPhone via iTunes and Photos to backup my photos to a folder that ARQ then backs up to B2. My Mac Mini has dual monitors. I have a Macbook Air 11' 2015 that I use for note taking when I'm out and about.
Let's see if I can simplify this week without making a wall of text.
1. Know how difficult it is to balance an iPad with a smart case and a bluetooth keyboard on your lap for note taking ? (without a lap desk). Yeah it doesn't work. Taking my iPad + a bluetooth keyboard everywhere got old fast and it was noticeably heavy (keyboard was heavy).
2. Alt tabbing between applications is a pain vs Mac OS and dual monitors. Copy/pasting stuff to my friends is near impossible or factors more difficult (article tidbits, screenshots, etc...).
3. I can't backup **** from my iPhone or interface with an external hard drive. OneDrive and Word on iOS is pleasant to use.
4. Trying to do programming on my iPad even via https://www.onlinegdb.com/ results in the iPad using the incorrect ' " ascii characters so I can't compile no matter what browser I use. Taking notes in class wasn't as bad with the split screen functionality though. But not having a mouse and trying to interject code with pinpoint accuracy is a pain.
5. Using Chrome Remote Desktop was painful vs my Macbook Air.
I forced myself to use an iPad for an entire week. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Still, a laptop replacement is almost laughable from my perspective. I paid $250 for my iPad 2017 thanks to a Best Buy deal. My mother in law is really looking forward to taking it over as her iPad Mini 2 is getting old. But even she prefers a mouse for hours of gaming.
Well, for some people, the ipad is a computer. For others it isn’t enough. Whats so hard to understand about that? Different strokes for different folkes. And it’s not a question of consumption vs creation. I know some people who use their laptop or desktop to only surf the web and write emails, and they prefer it over an ipad. And i know artists who create on their ipads and prefer it over a laptop or desktop. While others feel an ipad isn’t enough to create on and you need a “real” computer. So, it all depends on the person. There is NO right answer.
My whole problem with the OPs original couple of posts is that the thread was created with the idea that there IS a right answer.
I'm sorry if you feel I'm mistreating my iPad by using it as a PC. Do I beat my iPad with a rubber hose until it says, "Ok, I'm a PC, I'm a PC"? Absolutely. Maybe I should listen to iPad-rights proponents such as yourself and stop mistreating my iPad. Thanks so much for letting me see the light, bro.
Why can't you just accept that for lots of people an iPad completely replaces a PC? You created an entire thread based on an argument that's brought up countless times in every one of the "can an iPad replace a laptop" threads.
I am not sure it really needs to be discussed over and over because it ultimately comes down to the individual and what that individual needs a computer for. It's an available tool just like any other computer and you choose the one that works best for you. What else really needs to be said? If someone wants to integrate an iPad into their workflow while using a typical computer, great. If someone wants to use an iPad exclusively, great. If someone wants to only use a typical computer, great. It's really a dumb argument because it all comes down to the individual.
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I am not arguing if iPad can or cannot replace PC. What i am saying is that people should choose whatever works for them. However, when they choose their options, they should keep in mind that one is not meant to me replacement for other. If someone choose only use iPad for their daily computing need, then they should keep in mind that iPad might not do all tasks and it is not designed to be replacement of PC. If someone choose iPad and found out something can only be done over PC, then they shouldn’t go complaining about iPad what iPad cannot do. And when someone choose iPad over PC, they should also keep mind that they need change their usage pattern and relearning everything. PC mentality should not used to judge iPad.
If someone choose PC over iPad, they should not use iPad standard judging PC as well. If things that can be done on iPad, but cannot be done on PC, they one should not think PC is useless or iPad is superior.
Lots of people choose iPad over PC or PC over iPad made sound like one is superior than other. They are all applying the logic of using one platform over other. This is what i am arguing against.
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Why can’t you just accept that iPad and PC are fundamentally different things? iPad never meant to be full PC replacement. Just because Apple or whatever claim that all you need is iPad, doesn’t mean iPad can completely replaces PC.
One certainly is entitled to choose how they use digital devices. If someone choose PC over iPad or iPad over PC, then they should also accept that both iPad or PC can’t do everything.
So you arguing that I cannot want my iPad to handle more PC-like tasks? I can't want more features brought to iOS for the iPad?
Every workflow I do on my MacBook Air has an equal, or sometimes better, workflow on my iPad Pro. For me and the specific things i need to do they’re interchangeable and if I had to pick only one, it would be iPad Pro every time. So for me, one most certainly does replace the other if I need it to. Whether you think that’s correct or not is completely irrelevant.
If you want something like that, what would be end up like? iPad becomes PC? Even then, you will have different way to operating two. PC OS is fundentally different from iOS. There is no mouse pointer, there is no file structures like PC OS, you can’t hook up iPad with multiple monitors... Etc. When someone decided to go iPad, they should accept that they are using different devices that has different way of operating and accept the downside of using one.
When I am using my iPad, i accept that I cannot directly hook up my USB drive to the iPad, therefore i brought the dongle and I hooked up hard drive with my router. When I am using my PC, I accept it is not as secure as iPad and it is not as portable as iPad. This is thing that people should understand.
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Good for you then
I am still kind of lost on the point of the discussion. I am assuming people know the differences between a traditional computer and an iPad. I am also assuming Apple will continue to add features to iOS. In the end, use what works best for you and maybe don't worry about what other people choose to use for their computer? I don't know.
Again, it’s not your decision what I “should accept” when using my iPad. The things I need to do daily are not the same as the things you need to do daily.
In the last two years, even the niche power user type things I have traditionally done on a Mac can now be easily done on my iPad Pro and often in ways that make MUCH more sense to me than they ever did on my Mac or PC. That’s a dream come true for me. I couldn’t care less if it isn’t for you.