Some thoughts on the iPad Pro as a Tablet and hybrid device, not a laptop replacement

So, the reviews are out and people seem to really like the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro for the most part. I really want to try one myself, but I do have a few misgivings about it. I use my iPad as a tablet-first and a hybrid device second. I almost always have my MacBook Pro with me since I’m geek and do carry around a backpack almost everywhere I go. I do love the hybrid nature of the iPad in the sense that it can become whatever you want it to be at this point though. For some people that’s a tablet, others like me a hybrid device with the Smart Keyboard folios, and others the Magic Keyboard. I take a lot of hand-written notes on the iPad for work and I feel like the Magic Keyboard may not be built for me. The handy thing about the Smart Keyboard Folio case is that you can flip it around and basically make the iPad flat for notes. I used this case at Microsoft Ignite last year and really loved it, using OneNote to take all of my conference notes. I also regularly use the Surfacebook and I just find the form factor kinda awful to take meeting notes with the pen because you have to detach the keyboard, Windows freaks out for a minute, and then you have to find a place to put that large slab of metal. I do, however, love the mouse support on the iPad now and that will probably be my personal sweet spot. I’ve found myself using the mouse more and more with the iPad when I need to get some light SysAdmin work done on the tablet and don’t feel like want to pull out my Imperial Star Destroyer, aka my 16” MacBook Pro. That, or sometimes it’s easier to be reading over my lunch break, pop out the mouse, flip open the keyboard folio, and reply to a few things in Teams or Outlook. I think Apple did the right thing by making the Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro into more of a docking station than a case. It’s very evident by that video and the reviews that it’s designed to be quickly and easily taken out of the Smart Keyboard case.

For me, the iPad Pro is a top-notch tablet and hybrid computer device that I can use on the go. I think going forward when things start open back up and it’s safe to be a Panera or Starbucks again, I may just be bringing iPad Pro and my Logitech MX Master mouse in a small backpack sling going forward when I’m off work and wanting to get out of the house.

I dunno, maybe it’s also the size of the iPad and the nature of the work that I do that for me the 11” iPad Pro is the perfect size. It’s just big enough to do some lightweight work on, but too small to do a lot of real multitasking on. I’m not really looking at turning the iPad Pro into a full-time laptop and I’m okay with that. I may pick up the Magic Keyboard for science when life calms down with all this COV-19 chaos, but right now I am pretty pleased with my iPad Pro as it stands right now.

(typed on an iPad Pro 11 virtual keyboard)

-Hobie 🤖