Ondrej Holzman The "You're holding it wrong" line that Steve Jobs quipped when commenting on the iPhone 4's signal loss issues immediately came to mind. What if we're all looking the wrong way when we judge whether the iPad can replace the Mac?
The bug was planted in my head by Fraser Spiers, who, among other things, deals with iPads in education and who on his blog he wrote text "Can MacBook Pro replace your iPad?". And no less important is the article's original headline, which Spiers concludes: "If only journalists reviewed iPads like Macs."
This is precisely the main message of Spiers's text, which looks at the whole thing from the other side and does not address whether the iPad can replace the MacBook. On the contrary, they decide whether what iPads can do today, MacBooks can also do and what you will come up with. At the same time, Spiers points to an approach that must resonate especially with the youngest generations and which will become more and more valid over time.
The logic of thinking of journalists, who have been trying to compare for several years, what iPad is already as good as a computer and where it loses significantly and is not worth thinking about at all, is understandable, but apparently not even in ten years we will be faced with this dilemma look completely different. iPads are not replacing MacBooks, iPads are becoming them.
The youngest generation: What is a computer?
For those who have worked with computers all their lives, iPads are now something new, often unexplored, and therefore approach them very cautiously, comparatively, and through the dilemma of computer vs. tablet in their case the train is not running. The usual clash of such two camps is that one will bring a problem with a solution, but the other needs to show him the solution on his device at all costs, even better and easier.
But it is slowly necessary to start looking at the whole thing a little differently. Even staunch supporters of computers need to step back a little and realize where today's (not only) technological world is heading and how it is developing. For many of us today, Apple's proclamation that you can comfortably replace a computer with the iPad makes you dizzy, but for the coming generations - and if not for the current one, then certainly for the next one - it will already be something completely natural.
iPads are not here to replace computers. Yes, the MacBook can handle activities that you simply can't do at all on the iPad yet, or you'll sweat unnecessarily, but the same is true the other way around. Moreover, as the two worlds, namely iOS and macOS - at least functionally - are getting closer, those differences are being erased very quickly. And iPads are starting to have the upper hand in many ways.
Of course, it cannot be generalized, because there are a number of users who simply cannot function without a computer - they need performance, peripherals, display, keyboard, trackpad. But we can at least generalize it so that for these more demanding users there are (and in the future perhaps the only) desktop Macs. iPad vs. MacBooks will eventually completely dominate iPads. And not that they beat MacBooks, they just logically replace them.
Why should I use something with a fixed keyboard that isn't very variable and is three times as heavy? Why can't I touch the display and why can't I get creative with the Pencil? Why can't I easily scan a document to sign and forward? Why can't I connect to the Internet anywhere and have to look for unreliable Wi-Fi?
These are all legitimate questions that will be asked more and more over time, and they will be the ones that will justify the next arrival of iPads. The youngest users, even preschool children, do not grow up with a computer, but hold an iPad or iPhone in their hands from the time they are in their cribs. Touch control is so natural for them that we are often fascinated when they can handle some tasks more easily than an adult.
Why would such a person reach for a MacBook ten years later, when looking for a technological assistant during their studies or later when starting a job? After all, the iPad was with him the whole time, he can handle all the tasks on it, and nothing like a computer will make sense to him.
MacBooks face an uphill battle
The trend is obvious and it will be interesting to see how Apple will copy it. Already now, as one of the few (also because no one sells tablets in bulk here), it clearly promotes iPads as the so-called go-to "computer" for the majority of ordinary users.
Tim Cook insists that MacBooks and Macs in general still have their place in Apple's menu, which they will not lose because they are also completely essential tools, but their position will change. Apple is once again looking several years ahead and is preparing for exactly this situation, more precisely, it is already promoting it more and more aggressively.
Even Apple does not want to make a revolution and cut off Macs overnight and say: Here you have iPads, take your advice. This is not the case, which is also why there are new MacBook Pros or twelve-inch MacBooks, and all those who do not allow their computers, and of which there is still a large majority, can rest easy.
In any case, iPads cannot be seen in the medium term as replacing MacBooks in the hands of those who have been using them for decades - the process is more likely to look a little different. iPads will find their way from below, from the youngest generation, for whom a computer will mean an iPad.
From the actions of Apple, many may now feel that the Californian company often pushes iPads through force and tries to put them in everyone's hands, but this is not the case. The advent of iPads is nevertheless inevitable. They're not here to force MacBooks out now, but to be exactly what MacBooks are today ten years from now.
An interesting point of view and makes sense in my opinion, thank you for the food for thought.
In 10 years, it may become a reality for content consumers if multitasking in iOS is significantly improved and it will be possible to connect an external monitor, keyboard and touchpad to the iPad. Currently, iOS is too limited.
You are talking nonsense and contradicting yourself. Unnecessary post.
why should I be able to connect external peripherals to the iPad? Professionals will always use machines with a desktop system that allows this. The iPad will always be a tool for basic users and maybe for hobbyist photographers,... and especially as a travel tool. I think that in the future the ipad will most affect the group of today's macbook air users, and the vast majority of these users will not connect their macbook to external peripherals...
Very nice article :) it has already happened to me a few times that a person was sitting on a coffee table somewhere with an iPad Pro and had an Apple keyboard connected to it - it looked interesting, but I agree with the article that such a person will not need a laptop at all. This applies to ordinary users, I don't think that it will shut down macbooks everywhere - there are still many of us who need a macbook (I, as an IT student, cannot have an iMac because I still have to carry a macbook with me)
These articles like "soon we will do without computers... and they will be replaced by tablets/mobile phones/3D glasses/whatever" always amuse me. Of course, the iPad is fine for consumption, I have an Air 2 myself and I'm satisfied, but the problem arises when you get to a task that is not "dull" and involves something more than simply reading/viewing what has already been created. Basically any creation. From writing a text file longer than, say, A5+, through tables (whatever!), to home semi-professional creation (home videos, editing photos, documents). Sure, it's possible that in time we'll connect a mouse and keyboard to some device of the future, but I don't think this physical sensation will ever replace anything. Certainly not in the near future. After all, the mouse has been around for about 50 years. iPads 10.
But they push… and a lot.
I don't know, I personally only use the iPad to enjoy the content, let's work on it, let's code it, there is no danger in any case. I understand that there will be some fanatics, but I doubt that this will be a target trend.
So it was adoration/tendency nonsense again…
I would recommend the book Digital Dementia by Manfred Spitzer to the author.
Why should I use something with a fixed keyboard that isn't very variable and is three times as heavy?
iPad pro 12.9 weighs 0.7kg, ipad weighs 0.47kg, macbook 0.9kg. That's not a triple.
and add a keyboard to ipads.
* why should I use something on which even this comment cannot be comfortably written (and corrected)?
Why can't I touch the display and why can't I get creative with the Pencil?
Because apple has a bad product policy and artificially does not put touch screens in laptops. This has long been possible with other manufacturers.
Why can't I easily scan a document to sign and forward?
ok, I'll take it into account as a valid argument (how often do most people need it? I'll go in a month and I'll solve it with the camera on my phone just fine)
Why can't I connect to the Internet anywhere and have to look for unreliable Wi-Fi?
How does an ipad without a sim card solve this?
So is the wifi ipad just a device designed for unreliable wifi?
The author (and his supporters) could realize that constructive criticism reflected in real reviews (and possibly non-purchases) will move us apple lovers further towards satisfaction. If you let this company do one stupid thing after another and you still stupidly adore this nonsense, it's possible that in a few years it won't adore anything anymore.
The question is whether an entire generation of users will really appreciate only dull consumption of content with minimal editing options and new emoticons in the system.
If yes, then everything is fine.
If not, it is quite possible that in 10 years Apple will only be selling gadget nonsense and we will buy the real working machines we grew up on somewhere else.
I can't imagine a single office profession where an ipad has a better application than a computer.
ps: I have a mac pro/iphone/ipad myself
I wanted to write something similar + I would add - the author of the article probably wanted to cause a targeted "flame", which he obviously succeeded with a similar shout (throw away the laptops, there are iPads here) or Apple contributed to this article/author (they are trying to push this "progressive" style) or he doesn't use that for serious work - otherwise a reasonable person wouldn't be able to write this.
A lot of people here either don't understand the written text or can't get over their world view. I'll try it from somewhere else. In one of our activities, we have a key group of youth from the age of 13 and up. I would like to point out that 80% of people from regions such as South America or India have never worked with a computer. Their only gadget peripheral is a mobile phone with a very large screen if possible. These people are already changing the way of working with websites, for example. Those endlessly scrolling pages - yes, these are exactly the creations influenced by this generation. On those mobile phones, they do everything that we are used to doing on a computer, but in a different way. They only know what an e-mail is because they have to create one to register for an account on a social network, then they never see it again in their lives. They communicate through pictures and videos. It is naive to think that these millions of young people will change their habits sometime in the future. They will form future standards. And if they can squeeze out of their cheap Androids what they can do now, then I can quite imagine the development outlined in the article. Besides, it won't be iPads - this is where Apple makes a hell of a mistake and underestimates the situation. The iPad will maximally show the direction that Android will also bring to usability on its cheap devices, and thanks to better accessibility, this generation will continue on the platform that they will know from childhood, just as our generation continued on the PC, on which Prince of Persia once steamed. Btw. I can't imagine my work without a laptop, but I only go to meetings and lectures with an iPad Pro. Reading documents, taking notes in pdfs, mind maps and writing meeting minutes - I am much more flexible and faster than my colleagues with laptops. There are simply activities that today's iPad can handle better and more creatively. Oh, and I can't imagine editing photos without an iPad at all :-)
I've been using an iPad Pro and Pencil in conjunction with a Macbook Pro for some time now. If there is a program for the iPad that replaces the program on the Mac, I won't have to use a Mac. I make spreadsheets on an iPad. So, for me, this article is not as much science fiction as many write here. It's just a matter of perspective and what I use the device for. If there will be programs on the iPad that will replace the programs on the Mac, why not? It is clear that it will not be for everyone.
Today I no longer have a calculator, an alarm clock, a navigation system...because my phone replaced it.
My parents use a laptop only for the Internet and for e-mails the iPad is enough. It's really just a point of view - those things are interchangeable in many ways, and those that aren't currently, maybe over time. There will be new things like VR that the Mac will not be suitable for. Maybe when Ikea has a catalog that will show you how the table will look in your living room. Today is not yet but tomorrow?……
Just a small note: that someone will object that the keyboard cannot be replaced. That person needs to look at the children. In the days of push-button phones, they were able to text without looking at the keyboard. They adapted very quickly. Just because I can't do it doesn't mean it can't be done.
To ccrash : sorry but your imagination is really small. It depends on what you think office work is (write an email and make a table, why not? what is done in the office package can also be done) 12″ iPad pro is really big - try it.
I don't agree. Every day I wade through budgets that are created in Excel and I can't imagine doing it without a cursor and an additional monitor. At this very moment, I am preparing a list of services for the order, which has approximately 6000 lines. I have several offers from subcontractors open for this. I could do without a cursor. It will take practice in this direction, but without an additional monitor where I can see it all at once. I don't know, I don't know..
You can already run an application for presentations on the iPad, where you can use AirPlay as an external additional monitor. Then there is something different on the iPad than on the connected monitor. I can imagine that Apple will eventually come up with the ability to connect an AirPlay monitor from the iPad so that it works as an extended desktop in the entire system, similar to a Mac. I think it's only a matter of time. It will be interesting to see what control design solution Apple implements, as you write, the cursor, if the connected monitor is not touch-sensitive. If it will be something like a virtualized track pad from the iPad...?
But that's it again! The iPad serves here only as a kind of content player. Not a full-fledged device where I will completely create the presentation.
The information that the iPad is just a content player is not true.
Presentations (and many other things) can also be created on the iPad.
It's mainly about that principle. It is already possible to play or create some content on the iPad and at the same time something other than the connected monitor can be displayed on the iPad display. Via the iPad, you can control separately what is on the iPad and separately what is on the connected monitor.
Just because something fits you doesn't mean it will fit millions of other people.
I use keyboard shortcuts a lot during work and "work", I usually have about 5 windows/applications open and I like to have an overview of them.
This is also why I have an acer 34 predator monitor. Ios is completely useless for this. I don't know what you do, but I'd like to see you prepare a lecture without a keyboard. I'll bet you your ipad that I'll always be faster on my computer.
Calculator, alarm clock, navigation: single-purpose light applications that you can replace with basically anything, anywhere. This is not an argument for ipad/ios.
Ikea catalog: this augmented reality has been used for a long time.
And again: the ipad serves here only as a consumer/viewer of content.
Those who prepare the catalog will put it there on the computer.
Not on ipad via ios.
Your parents would probably be fine with an ipad, my dad can get by without a computer.
Neither of us can draw any conclusions from this for the others.
It depends on what you think office work is (write an email and make a table, why not? what is done in the office package can also be done)
Of course yes. This can also be done on the phone. But with what effort and for how long?
Sorry, but if you want to argue with little kids, I don't buy it.
They may have adapted so quickly in "stroking the glass", but at the same time personality disorders are growing dramatically. For example, children under the age of 3 should not have access to TV/smartphones etc. at all (it destroys the identical memory).
Of course, children adapt to it best. Who the hell else, if not those at the age when they learn "best" and "most". The question is, do you want to teach them to use hackneyed things instead of critical thinking, to depend on mobile phones and unverified data and knowledge "out there somewhere".
I think my imagination is perfectly fine.
I don't understand this excuse for unnecessary restrictions and nonsense at the expense of us users. Apple just fumbles and offers marketing nonsense instead of constructive solutions and you still defend it.
I'm not saying the iPad is bad. I know that it has a great application, for example, in the healthcare sector, where doctors can immediately download a high-quality X-ray of the patient they are dealing with. But there is no benefit in voluntarily cutting down the system, doing things for a longer time, less efficiently, but getting drunk on the fact that it is "much easier".
I have some idea of how I want to work with electronics. And apple still fulfills it best (albeit more and more poorly).
I'm definitely not going to accept the principle that apple will make an idea of how I should work and I should adapt to it.
The first sentence can also be applied the other way around: "Just because something DOESN'T fit you doesn't mean it WILL NOT fit millions of other people."
Of course, computers are still more capable than tablets. But there are so many situations when you don't need the higher capabilities of a computer. Then it is pointless to carry a computer with you everywhere.
E.g. Ikea catalog. This is exactly something that could be solved on the iPad as well. All that is needed for this purpose is a properly prepared application*. I don't know, maybe they already have it and are using it. How do you know for sure that the catalog (its contents) was created on a computer and not on an iPad? This is just filling the database with photos and texts. This can easily be done by someone walking around with an iPhone, taking pictures of goods with barcodes stuck on them, and sending it to a public database at the click of a button.
*Yes. They created that application on a computer. However, with the advent of iPad Pro and iOS 11, I think it is only a matter of time before it will be possible to program an iOS application on the iPad. Many developers are already calling for this. With the ever higher performance of these devices and ever better visibility and work with multiple applications, it is getting closer to reality.
Otherwise, you can also connect the keyboard to the iPad and you can also use various keyboard shortcuts. The advantage of the iPad is that if you spill beer on the keyboard, it's not such a tragedy as with a keyboard on an easel, you can get by with the virtual one too. And the machine still works.
This is not to defend all of Apple's actions.
But this step, the existence of a tablet, through which I can (although not the most conveniently, but still) do absolutely everything* that I do on a computer, I defend.
*This is an indisputable fact. For the more demanding tasks, it is enough to have a remote connection to your home computer or to a virtual station.
And if the answer is: "But you have to have the computer somewhere", then I could say that "you won't do any work on the computer". Because, for example, an astrophysicist needs a super-computer. And he doesn't have it at home either, nor can he take it everywhere with him, but he connects to it remotely from his easel or perhaps from an iPad.
The first sentence can also be applied the other way around: "Just because something DOESN'T fit you doesn't mean it WILL NOT fit millions of other people."
I'm not saying that. But I say that apple/the author of the article should not try to force these delusions on us in one direction or the other. And at the same time, I immediately added that instead of arguing here about the nonsense, it is necessary to pressure Apple to start producing solid computers corresponding to today's times (e.g. touch notebook). I don't accept some glowing nonsense between the keyboard and the display.
External keyboard:
When I connect the keyboard to the iPad, I basically create a touchscreen laptop with a refined system.
But I already write in the first post that apple has a bad policy and does not offer a laptop with a touch screen.
Other manufacturers have long since done so. Yes, so far the mac environment has not caught up, but considering that instead of fundamental innovations regarding stability improvement, I only see "new smileys", so it probably won't last that long.
The spilled keyboard type argument has absolutely nothing to do with our discussion. If you start to think that buying an external keyboard for an iPad is cheaper than for a Macbook, then I can immediately write that buying an Android tablet can be even cheaper.
The indisputable fact of permanent connection gets the first cracks as soon as you need solid multitasking and an overview in multiple windows.
I know this about IKEA and augmented reality, because I was one of the first in the Czech Republic to apply this use commercially.
I have worked in media and advertising for over 15 years.
btw. I would like to see you on the iPad via remote access:
you will prepare a nice presentation and a quality presentation
fold a catalog or brochure
you will make a poster for printing
you cut a professional video
ipad is just for consuming and creating simple content. And as long as there is a limitation of ios against os, it will continue to be so.
Again: I'm not saying the ipad is a bad thing. I have one at home myself. But stop forcing limited things into people's heads, saying that it is "enough" for them. I really don't understand why make things complicated on a simple device, when it's still much simpler on a complex device.
Yeah. I agree with you on many things. I also write that the computer is of course more capable. The point is that today is a time when more and more people are doing, let's say, simpler work. There are countless professions or positions where an iPad is enough. But I don't agree with the statement that the iPad is only for consuming content and you can't create on it. You can. And in many cases even more conveniently than on a computer.
When will it start developing for iOS on iOS? Then the iPad replaces the MacBook.
You can't write an iPad app on an iPad. It's okay. And when you write, you don't compile. It's nothing. I still don't understand why iOS doesn't have a Terminal app.
If you need it for SSH and not for local management, I use Termius.
Yes, but it happens to them at that moment when I see a square on the screen with the magic word "Finder" below it.
What is in iOS 11 is not the same.