Are Mac users jealous of the iPad Pro? [Opinion]

Anyone who thinks it's impossible to get a "real job" on an iPad is crazy. Similarly, anyone who claims that Apple's tablet is not a real computer sounds like it was said that the 1984 Mac was not a real computer because it did not have any hardware. A text-based command-line interface.

The iPad / Mac debate This is certainly not new.

I think the people who explain these arguments are jealous of the iPad Pro or fear that it will become more important for Apple than for their Mac. They want to use it instead of their Mac, but at the same time they do not want to change their way of working. Instead, they want the iPad to be a touch screen Mac with a removable keyboard.

The iPad Pro and the "Real" Work

Musicians can get "real work" on centennial violins and tape recorders. Writers have been able to write novels on paper long before your Macbook is so valuable to you. Architects built buildings, pilots flew planes and accountants counted. And they can do all those things with an iPad.

If the argument is that an iPad does not work exactly the same way as a laptop, that's fine. For example, if your job is to "use a laptop", your chance is total because the iPad is not a laptop. In this case, a MacBook is the only choice.

But, faced with this fact, some insist that the iPad needs to be modified to be able to add specific features to Mac, even if they are clearly specific to Mac. Worse, adding these features could ruin iOS for those who really like it and use it as it is.

But if the title of your post is not "using a laptop", you can probably * do your work on iPad. The list of tasks that the iPad * can not * do is quite small. You can write, design, edit photos and videos, add numbers, send e-mails to people, run a business.

Do not blame the iPad if you do not want to change it

Another common argument is "The iPad may not connect to a hard drive. But think about this: Unless a person's job is to "connect a hard drive to a computer and transfer files," they can probably perform the task they need to do otherwise. AirDop for photos or videos, for example. And otherwise? Is it really really impossible to do a task on the iPad (and not just replicate a workflow designed for a Mac)?

No problem. Just stay with the Mac. The iPad can not do everything yet. Maybe it will never be. But it's just not true that the iPad is not capable of a real job. It's just that he can not duplicate an exact Mac workflow. The solution is to stay with the laptop. The MacBooks are also great and will be even more so when they switch to Apple's ARM Series A processors. The big advantage is that the Mac and iPad can both focus on what they do best. If you need a Mac, use one.

Maybe the Mac is not the "real" computer

And consider an illustrator who uses the iPad. She draws on the screen with an apple pencil. She creates entire books and sends them to her publisher via the LTE connection of her iPad. Maybe she likes to sit in this comfy chair in the library to draw. That of the corner overlooking the gardens and posing the iPad on his lap.

Imagine that she has to translate this workflow on Mac. No LTE. No way to draw on it without plugging in a Wacom tablet, and even then, you can not just press a knee.

Of course, I chose this scenario to prove my point, but it's not more crazy than the popular "photographer with a hard drive" often used to prove that the iPad n & rsquo; Is not the real deal.

What I mean, is that the iPad and the Mac are computers. And both make different compromises in their design, mainly with regard to tactile interactions or pointer / mouse interactions, choose the one that suits you best.

Objectives vs Process Established

When you compare Mac and iPad, it It is important to try to separate the * purpose * of a task from the * steps * already established to achieve this goal.For most people, these steps are easily confused with the task for which they had been originally, for example, the goal may be the editing of a video that was filmed on a video camera and the preparation of the result for publication. It's easily possible on iPad. But if you want to use the tools and workflows built on the Mac (automations, Adobe Premier, etc.), you can not do it.

You probably can not perform the same operations on an iPad as on a Mac or PC, but you can almost certainly * achieve * the same goal. And you may find a new way to do it on the iPad and still prefer the Mac. That's good, of course, because you can use the Mac.

But you may find that you prefer the way to do the iPad. Like our hypothetical illustrator. Or an airline pilot who does not have to carry a suitcase full of manuals on every flight. Or the podcast editor who prefers to use a $ 30 custom application like Ferrite, instead of folding a versatile application such as Logic Pro to do a job for which it was not designed. It's a Mac alternative. In reality, Apple insisted that it be too similar to the iPhone and not enough to the Mac. I'm just glad we have all three.