INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
We tend to classify usage of our devices between two categories - content creation and content consumption
However, computing has evolved over the past few years, and while we continue creating and consuming content, we also spend a fair amount of
There are exceptions such as the music or sketching industry where the iPad is used to create phenomenal content
But for most of us, the iPad is better at consuming content than creating it
However, the new iPad 2018 is also great at content modification - something many of us do on a daily basis.Apple was kind enough to loan me
the new 11-inch iPad Pro for a few weeks along with the Apple Pencil
This is the top-of-the-line model with 1TB of storage and LTE connectivity
iPad Pro - Gareth Beavis has already done a fantastic job writing one up
Rather, this is a write-up of my usage of the iPad over a couple of weeks.I have previously tried replacing my MacBook Pro with an iPad when
the original 12.9-inch iPad was released but I ended up going back to the laptop for the flexibility it offered
I was pretty sure that the latest iPad Pro, at least with iOS 12, still wouldn't replace my laptop full time but I wanted to see how far
along it had come.Sizing it upAs with the last generation of iPad Pro, the 2018 model of the iPad Pro is released in two sizes
The smaller 10.5-inch iPad Pro is now an 11-inch version and the larger 12.9-inch version has the same screen size but comes in a smaller
is top notch, though the new iPad looks a bit generic now without the home button
an iPad or just another tablet.Defining work - most of it happens on the webMy workflow is divided between my Mac at the office, my MacBook
Pro, and my mobile phone which I keep rotating between an iPhone and an Android phone
For many, the iPad is their one and only computer - my wife uses one as such
But her usage differs considerably from mine
I do a LOT of different things on my computer - from email, messaging and web apps to editing photos and videos and working through
documents and spreadsheets
analytics for daily usage
Google Chrome is available for the iPad but, because of Apple's restrictions on iOS, it can't use its own rendering engine and has to stick
to Apple's Webkit which pretty much makes it as impractical as mobile Safari.That being said, there are iOS apps available for most web apps
I use such as Xero, Salesforce and GSuite
The iPad app for Slack works really well for everything I do during a normal workday
Besides Slack, I also use Google Hangouts at times for video conferencing and the iPad is equally good for that.Where the iPad failed me was
with WhatsApp which is the default chat client for a billion users and is extremely popular in the Middle East for personal as well as work
message.Other AppsBesides using Chrome for everything I mentioned above, there are other apps that I use on the Mac on a daily basis
One of them is for accessing my RSS feeds, which helps me stay up to date in the rapidly changing work of tech
which is quite nice, but the one on my iPhone is Newsify which is also optimized for the iPad
1Password on the iPad is a better experience than Mac because FaceID makes it much faster to authenticate.While we use GSuite at work for
documents and spreadsheets, there really is no way of getting around Microsoft Office - I get tons on attachments as Word, Excel or
Microsoft makes good iPad apps for all of them and while I did face moments of frustration, especially when editing a Powerpoint
presentation, it wasn't something I couldn't overcome.Editing photos and videosI'm not a professional photo editor but I do need to work on
photos for reviews and articles
Most of my edits require cropping and resizing photos, changing colour levels and adding text layers
using a keyboard and mouse for decades.If you like to do more than just edit images and actually create artwork, the Apple Pencil can be
This highlights the lack of a truly accessible file system on the iPad
I complained about this before when looking at the 12.9-inch iPad Pro a couple of years back and unfortunately, not much has changed since
then.To me, this was where I felt most restricted using an iPad
There are a couple of video editing tools available on the iPad such as iMovie which I found too basic
TouchID on my 2015 MacBook Pro
And LTE connectivity lets me stay connected in and out of the office no matter where I go.Where the iPad is still behind is with photo or
access to the file system
But there are ways Apple could allow opening specific file types- such as in the Files app on iOS, or making apps go through a secondary
verification process to open specific file types.2) Have a desktop version of Safari instead of mobile Safari
mouse/trackpad, which will tremendously help with apps that need precision such as photo and video editing apps
Apple already supports Pencil which allows a certain amount of precision work but there are certain apps and tasks that just work better
