![]() ![]() In spite of such obviousness, I feel like I should reiterate this sentiment as, somewhere along the conversation surrounding post-PC hybrids and “what’s a computer” rhetoric, we may have lost track of the tablet’s basic appeal. It may be a trite statement a decade into the iPad’s existence, but no traditional portable computer, from Apple or other companies, beats the iPad’s inherent simplicity when it comes to holding a large screen in your hands and controlling it with multitouch. And despite the number of desktop-oriented accessories I’m going to cover in this story, I still enjoy the simple act of unplugging everything from my iPad Pro – including its Smart Keyboard Folio cover – and sitting on the couch to read longform articles and books, watch videos, or take care of MacStories admin tasks with the Apple Pencil. Laptop Mode: Custom Smart Keyboard FolioĪt its core, the iPad Pro is still very much a tablet.So how exactly did I transform the iPad Pro into this new kind of modular computer? Let’s dig in. By virtue of its modular nature, I find my custom iPad Pro setup superior to a traditional laptop, and more flexible than a regular desktop workstation. ![]() I’ve tested dozens of different keyboards, purchased more USB-C hubs than I care to admit, and tried to minimize overhead by designing a system that lets me use the same external display and keyboard with two different computers – the Mac mini and iPad Pro.Īt the end of this fun, eye-opening process, I’ve ended up with a computer that is greater than the sum of its parts. Ever since I purchased the 2018 iPad Pro 1, I’ve been regularly optimizing my setup at home and on the go to take advantage of the device’s versatility. The intersection of these evolutionary paths is the modern iPad Pro, a device that fills many roles in my professional and personal life. And lastly, just a few weeks ago, Apple unveiled iPadOS’ native cursor mode, finally putting an end to the debate about whether the iPad would ever support the desktop PC’s classic input method. At the same time, even without considerable software enhancements by Apple, the creativity of third-party developers allowed iPad apps to embrace external displays and new file management functionalities. Three years later, the company followed up on the iPad Pro’s original vision with a switch to USB-C which, as a result, opened the iPad to a wider ecosystem of external accessories and potential configurations. The original iPad Pro showed how Apple was willing to go beyond the old “just a tablet” connotation with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. In looking back at the past decade of iPad and, more specifically, the past two years of the current iPad Pro line, I believe different factors contributed to making the iPad Pro Apple’s first modular computer – a device whose shape and function can optionally be determined by the extra hardware paired with it. This multiplicity of states isn’t an afterthought, nor is it the byproduct of happenstance: it was a deliberate design decision on Apple’s part based on the principle of modularity. ![]() Hold an iPad in your hands, and you can use it as a classic tablet pair it with a keyboard cover, and it takes on a laptop form place it on a desk and connect it to a variety of external accessories, and you’ve got a desktop workstation revolving around a single slab of glass. ![]() The more I think about it, the more I come to this conclusion: the iPad, unlike other computers running a “traditional” desktop OS, possesses the unique quality of being multiple things at once. Over time, however, that state of necessity became a choice: for a few years now, I’ve preferred working on my iPad Pro and iPadOS (née iOS) in lieu of my Mac mini, even when I’m home and have access to my desk and macOS workstation. At a time when I couldn’t use a desk or connect to a Wi-Fi network, a tablet I could hold in my hands and use to comunicate with remote colleagues over a cellular connection was all I needed. It’s a story I’ve told many times before: I had to figure out a way to get work done without a Mac, and I realized the iPad – despite its limited ecosystem of apps and lackluster OS at the time – granted me the computing freedom I sought. When I started my iPad-only journey in 2012, I was stuck in a hospital bed and couldn’t use my Mac. ![]()
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