Is the iPad exciting anymore?
Matt Birchler, of A
Better Computer and Birchtree
fame recently released another great video on his channel, posing the
question Is the iPad exciting
anymore?
The video saw Matt, and a fantastic line up of
known iPad power users, share their thoughts on the current state of the
iPad and where this may go in the future. The question posed by Matt got
me thinking about my own views on the topic, so I thought Iâd take a
stab at answer the two questions Matt posed to Christopher
Lawley, Daryl Baxter
and Tim Chaten.
Is the iPad less exciting now than it used to be?
As Tim points out, I donât think anyone can reasonably argue
that every current gen iPad is in an incredibly exciting place
from a hardware perspective. The Pro XDR display on the 12.9â
iPad Pro is really stunning, the current keyboard folio with trackpad
adds another dimension to the device, and there isnât a day that goes by
without seeing a tweet from someone gushing over how much they love the
new iPad mini. I, personally, love using both of my iPads, the large Pro
and the petite mini. That being said, as Daryl points out some
tasks are just not suitable on the iPad, or if they are they can be
achieved easier elsewhere. In Darylâs case in particular he has clearly
âout grownâ the iPad to a certain extent and needed something more than
the iPad can currently offer. From Chris and Darylâs points of view, it
seems that the iPad hasnât become less exciting, per se, their use cases
have just evolved beyond that which the iPad is currently
designed for.
For me, my day job canât be done on an iPad. It also canât be done,
however, on a Mac. So, despite the Mac itself going through a bit of a
Renaissance right now, even that canât be bent to do doing real
work for me. So, as pointed out by Matt, it comes down to
perspective.
The iPad itself, in terms of excitement as a concept, Iâm still very
excited by the device, from both a hardware and software perspective.
For me, the hardware itself is exciting now. Itâs a pleasure to
use for any of the tasks I do use it for. From a software perspective,
the excitement for me still comes in a large part from the
potential of what comes next.
How can the
iPad get exciting again for you?
In his section, Daryl laments over iPadOS 15 being the death knell
for his excitement and passion for the iPad in general, and I understand
his viewpoint. Whilst he does touch on this, I think the impact of COVID
on the development of iPadOS 15 cannot be understated. When iPadOS 14
was released I said at the time that real widget support in iPadOS 15
was clearly held back from release the previous year as almost a freebie
tentpole feature in this years release. I donât believe it didnât still
require work, but I would bet it could have shipped in iPadOS 14 if
Apple were on track for their planned roadmap. I still think, without
COVID, the iPad software would be better aligned with the hardware
currently available. Whilst I doubt it would have met all of the lofty
expectations us iPad fans have of it, I think it would have been closer
than we have now.
As I say above, the iPad hardware itself is in strong and
exciting position at the moment and the software is ripe to
catch it up. For some, like Chris and Daryl, their personal needs and
use cases have meant they can no longer wait around, their minds full of
what ifs and wishes. From my side, however, my use case is a lot lighter
and the iPad still fits perfectly for the things I need it for
right now, and the excitement for me comes from both a love of using a
joyful device today and the idea that potentially exciting things are
just around the corner. Crucially, because of my lack of
needing the iPad to do more I can sit back and enjoy the
waiting, the anticipation, the hype, the rumours, the what-ifs. If I get
more functionality from the devices I love and use daily, then
wonderful, but if not I enjoyed guessing what might come up next
regardless. As and when I get to the point I outgrow it like some of the
others, Iâd happily move on. Until then, however, Iâm excited about the
future of the iPad.
As a final aside, Daryl you donât need to hope for Apple Arcade on the Mac App Store, those games are already there. Shut down Metal Gear Solid for now and get some cheeky Oddmar+ action in your life.