Working on iPad
notion.so
notion.so
Opening my iPad anywhere and having LTE internet feels
absolutely God-damn magical. It feels like I'm living
inside the Matrix. I'm constantly plugged in.
I mean... This is why Apple users are often joked upon: Apple comes ten years late to the party and users joy and spam the web as if it brought the greatest innovation since hot water.
That sound of joy is the feature coming into mainstream tech.
There's always a huge world outside of one's bubble.
https://www.imore.com/yup-ipad-air-still-gets-24-hours-batte...
I doubt the newer iPads would perform worse.
Maybe Apple came out with iPhone ten years too late as well: not that's a great reason to make fun of Apple users, for sure.
Try doing that (adding/replacing hardware) on an iPad.
Source: 11 years at Vodafone doing mobile broadband for enterprises in a previous lifetime. It was MUCH easier with PCMCIA cards, let me tell you...
But the iPad has had a cellular option since 2010.
My iPad has a 30 day stand by time. When it is in stand by, it still gets notifications, it’s instant on, I can granular control which apps can use cellular data.
It has 10+ hours battery life, it’s light, no fan and faster than most laptops.
It’s the totality of the experience.
I would really like a proper local development environment, though. SSHing somewhere is fine... but leaves so much power on the table. It is also insane to me that Safari still can't expose the 120Hz display to Javascript.
I hope to never own another laptop. All I want is a dumb terminal, and the iPad is the best I've found.
I'm skeptical about just how many users will adopt an iPad as their primary productivity device. Of course, there are a huge number of iPads in the world, but how many of those are iPad Pros compatible with the magic keyboard? And how many of those users are 'power users' looking to improve their experience using shortcuts?
I still feel the device has been quite niche and expensive, and therefore adoption has been proportionally low. I don't expect companies to feel the need to support iPad until Apple makes an inexpensive 'iPad Pro' type device, there simply is too much fragmentation in the product line at the moment.
The iPad (and iOS by extension) was built to have single purpose apps that work better than monolithic apps that do multiple functions. The problem was/is, getting the communication between those apps working seamlessly, which is getting better with dual screen, etc.
Today, I'm willing to bet that 90% of computer users could easily use an iPad and be happy and productive with it. This is why, in the last couple of years, development focus seemed to be iOS, iPad related.
Of course, Big Sur changes things a bit. Watching the keynote, the feeling I walked away with was 'refined.' macOS, iOS and iPad OS all got more refined and inline with each other in this release so users can jump between devices more seamlessly. I think we'll see progress move towards the Mac side of things a little bit quicker in the next few years because of the move to Apple Silicon.
And before anyone replies, yes, there are things you need a Mac for that can't be done on an iPad...yet. I do development work, so I certainly couldn't live 100% on an iPad. I'm not advocating on the Mac going away, in fact, I think Apple Silicon is going to breath new life into it.
I would argue that iphone apps are monolithic and do multiple functions. For example Booking, Airbnb and Uber all have messenger, mapping, reservation system, calendar and scheduling function...
Why I have to use dozen different messaging system? Or several maps, each with different search and overlays. I want single experience, consistent across all apps. It should respect my usability settings, theme and other tweaks.
Also Facebook split Messenger off.
The iPad has become good enough that I've sold my Macbook. I still do coding and other activities that require a lot of screen real estate on my iMac Pro, but I use the iPad Pro exclusively on the road. I've found that gives me the best of both worlds - the full power and size of a desktop (as opposed to the compromises of a laptop), and the full portability and touchability of an iPad (as opposed to the compromises of a powerful laptop).
> we will see a lot more apps on the mac
I liked Mac apps, especially when they followed the HIG. Too many iOS apps reinvent the wheel.
Me too, I think there is a niche group of people who will always prefer native (in the UI sense) apps on Mac, there is a small market catering to those people so I hope that doesn't disappear completely.
Then there are sandboxing issues that ended or hobbled previously-shipping software. Backup utilities, software that customized system software, security tools, etc. That's not as apparent, because all we see are the blog-posts of their sad developers.
To be fair, sandboxing is probably the best way to keep a machine secure. It does make my Mac less enjoyable to use, though.
I have a set of tools I use, and once I granted them access I was done. I haven't seen a permission box in months. It did highlight what the tools wanted to access which is a good thing. See all the shadiness coming to light with the new clipboard highlight feature in iOS14.
> Then there are sandboxing issues that ended or hobbled previously-shipping software.
Unfortunately this is the cost of progress, particularly around security. And, while some tools can't work, many are that the developer does not want to make them work.
> once I granted them access I was done
> many are that the developer does not want to make them work.
> the cost of progress
I do development work all day on a mac. What is sandboxing preventing me from doing?
> while the UI is increasingly ugly and inconsistent.
As a long time Apple user I agree, particularly with the early Catalyst apps. But, in some ways macOS is a victim of its own success here. Apple users have become so accustomed to pixel perfect UI consistency that even the smallest deviation is noticed. It does look like Catalyst is much improved in Big Sur, and the new Messages app seems to show off a best in class Catalyst app.
> Meanwhile developers focus on iOS, since that's where the big numbers are.
And ARM macs are getting ready to get access to the entire universe of iOS apps. IMO, macs are about to enter another golden era.
I bought iPad Pro at the end of 2017 after reading various blog posts of programmers using their iPad for programming. I loved the form factor and snappiness of apps but it was pain to do real programming on it. Yes, I was using Blink shell to login to remote VPS but debugging JavaScript was tedious. I was having buyer's remorse but I kept it because I enjoyed drawing and reading on it.
However, after 2 years or so, this iPad has become my default device for my personal projects. What is crazy that iPad has changed the type of projects I start at home.
Before I was mostly focused on building webapps build using Laravel and Vuejs/Reactjs. Now most of my personal projects are command-line only such as using python/data science, algo trading. I am working on a command-line based CRM.
Going forward, I might still keep personal desktop or laptop but not upgrade as often as I used to. (unless iPad changes for worse).
- In-app browsers are hell. This ruins the delightful "open in Safari quickly" experience I outlined above. I also can never figure out what the scope of my cookies and tokens are, which is very frustrating.
Huh?? Does the author not know that 1P can also autocomplete with Face ID?
1. Dock behaviour is a little annoying since iPhone X was released. I hate that dragging up triggers app exposé when four fingers works just fine.
2. Apple needs to kill this whole notion of syncing media libraries. I have only ever hated it.
3. If Apple wants to get serious with iPad Pro then they need to put Logic and Final Cut on it. Full versions.
4. I really hope to live and see the day when Blender is on it.
5. iPads are such exceedingly wonderful tools for self education. A large part is due to online learning in general becoming wonderful but PDF reader split view with something like good notes and using the pencil is such a joy.
6. I feel like gaming is in a sad state on iPads. I really hope that having PlayStation and Xbox gamepads working on them opens up the platform. It’s a kick in the teeth to have a portable machine which is just about as good as an Xbox one not having games to match it’s potential.
7. It’s been ten years and so many people still don’t get it. iPads are in a weird spot between power users who need more for their professional work (like CGI, developers, working with ridiculous size PS files) who understandably see them as toys and on the other side are most people who don’t use their computers for work, art, study, whatever just Facebook and Netflix. These guys would be better off with an iPad instead of a laptop but they find them too expensive anyways.
- LTE has been a standard feature in business laptops for decades and feels less "magical" and more like work.
- Faceid vs windows hello vs bluetooth tokens vs ... . Maybe neat, but not particularly distinct.
- Clipboard sharing. Yeah, kdeconnect is neat and apple's copy is as well.
- Apple pencil. Windows convertibles with pen have been around since windows XP and usually used pretty good pens by Wacom. The difference is that the software is more "fun", e.g. apple notes makes more use of tilt, animations etc.
- The magic keyboard is still a keyboard and start at $300. For that price one could get much better mechanical keyboards and this even makes the HHKB seem reasonably priced.
- Blink and iSH to me seem to say that the ipad is not good enough and you hence have to connect to something better.
That said, I can see that all the animations make working on an ipad feel more "fun" and the form factor and display are indeed nice.
LTE hasn’t existed for “decades”. The iPad had a cellular option since day 1 and stayed current with cellular standards.
Apple pencil. Windows convertibles with pen have been around since windows XP and usually used pretty good pens by Wacom. The difference is that the software is more "fun", e.g. apple notes makes more use of tilt, animations etc.
Pens on Windows were and still are a horrible experience.
Anything involving moving files is much faster on mac too.
I use a mix of both now. I prefer the ipad for anything editing related, the apple pencil is much nicer to use. Also prefer it for the limited vector work I do.
One hope I have is that Apple improves the external monitor experience. With the new mouse support and hardware keyboard customizability, there are a lot more possibilities to run ipados on a larger screen. Except the ipad is stuck in a small 4:3 window on the larger screen.
One thing I really like on ipad is the shortcuts app. It’s incredibly flexible and simple for automation. Also the time tracker Timery.
I'm in the same boat as the author and have been trying (slowly) to move towards using an iPad full time. Compared to a couple years ago the apps and UX have improved significantly, however, (for me) using the iPad still feels more like a very specialized tool, compared to the more general utility of a Macbook.
I realize that for general productivity the iPad works best with a keyboard attached, a mouse, external storage. Adding more hardware. But then you have a MacBook in disguise ...
I'm guessing we'll never get a Macbook with touch screen and Apple Pencil support? But it does seem like the iPad has been slowly optimizing itself to fill that role.
The buttery speed, lack of a howling fan, and the simplicity of apps is like a “zen mode” operating system.
It has been TEN YEARS since iPad came out and we still have nothing remotely useful.
Why not just use a MacBook? Why use iPad?
And then I try to select some text on my iPhone. Also no clipboard manger.
I sometimes wonder if anyone who works at Apple ever tries to select text on an iPhone.
Am I the only one who thinks that the author is showing off here.
For the price of 15 iPad setups he could have bought 100 second hand Thinkpads in great condition and his donation would have much bigger impact.
But then how would the 'disadvantaged folks' get locked into the closed-off and pricey Apple ecosystem?
I don't even understand how it could be showing off, it's just stupid.
Thinkpads would be trashed after 3 years
As the extended family’s bonafide IT admin, I looooong for the day when business apps are so effective on iOS that I can retire everyone’s W10 machine!
I keep trying to buy her a new one but she doesn’t want it, it still works fine.
Thinkpads can really last these days.
That said, nearly everyone who makes a donation could’ve done something “better” and made a bigger impact with their money.
I’m willing to roast the author for writing a boring article but not for their donation.
It is a little unusual to criticize someone who donated to the needy, just to say the donor was showing off and to point out what they could have donated instead to make a much bigger impact.
Let’s say you donated 100 Thinkpads (you should), but then you were criticized for showing off when you could have donated 5,000 meals to children who lost access to free school breakfast/lunches due to covid school closures. It’s a real issue, but you should pick and choose your battles (probably just like I should).
Well it's the same battle - it's about giving the kids access to information and an opportunity to learn coding. You can't compare that to free meals(which is of course important, but as you said it's a different battle).
Imagine you are going to a new company. The company is doing all their development work on a remote server (e.g. Visual Studio Codespaces) accessed by browser. What would you think when they give you a 5 year old, second-hand, ugly ThinkPad to you as a developer earning your $100k-$200k (or whatever a dev in California earns nowadays). The company would do the right thing, but the typical developer would be insulted. You would ask where your MacBook/Carbon X1/whatever is.
I am also not a fan of people showing off. But the act itself is still good.
It's particularly frustrating because I love the iPad. Like, it's one of the few devices I really, really, really enjoy in so many ways and I just wish it was better than it actually is. It's maybe the only device I own that I really do love. The Tab is a poor substitute and I really hate using it, but at least it fits with the rest of my tools in a sane way and gives me the freedom to customize it according to my needs.
Also, Notion. Another tool that I love the idea of, but hate the implementation. There are too many restrictions on the data model that make it frustratingly unlike any normal relational database and frustrating to use, and makes me wish somebody would just make a lightweight relational database with a friendly, practical wiki-like UI for building a knowledge base.
PowerPoint meetings on Teams, about Word and Excel docs stored on the SharePoint site.
I’m encouraged by MS’s recent moves into Linux / open source, but my gut tells me we’re a long way from properly functioning MS apps on iPad.
This is personal opinion, but I compared the Surface to the iPad pro and to me the iPad felt much more like a toy than a serious tool for getting work done.
I hate to say it, as I used to be part of the Slashdot anti M$ brigade, but they made a solid piece of hardware. The only thing I can fault it for is lack of a trackpoint; I spent too many years getting used to my fingers not leaving the home row to move the mouse.
On some level, keyboards should just expose the results of the key matrix scan to the OS, and let them add things like layers, macros, matrix position -> character map, etc... but no OS supports keyboards like this, so you just have to do it on the keyboard.
I plug in my qmk-based keyboard to my iPad Pro and it does exactly what I want. It is a shame that you can't reflash the keyboard from iPadOS, though.
In case you missed it, Apple added a very limited ability to remap hardware keyboards in ios 13.4. It is far from karabiner, but it at least lets you use windows keyboards on an ipad now: you can remap the command key.
I might be wrong of course and there are Apple devs for whom moving to a new OS and losing Karabiner will be an ok loss.
Why do you think it'd be impossible to be productive without this one random app you use?
I wrote a blog post the other day on my iPad. I was truly productive.
> I only care about reducing friction, and Vim's editing language is very good at that.
From https://www.reddit.com/r/vim/comments/hg37kq/question_how_mu...
So Karabiner to me is in the same category. It removes literally all frictions I have in interfacing with my computer. I can activate ANY app I use on my mac in less than 1 second (two key taps). On iPad that would require multiple gestures unless the apps were not recently used.
Have you used Karabiner hyper keys?
You might misunderstand just how powerful it is. For example I have all keys on my keyboard be custom hyper keys. That means I have around 30 modifier keys with 30+ keys mapped to each modifier with access of < 1 second away from me.
And it's not just Karabiner that iPad lacks. Alfred, Keyboard Maestro are two other essential tools. I am trying to bring one to iOS so hope that part will be solved.
Here is my config, it might bring more light to what I mean: https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/dotfiles/blob/master/karab...
> That means I have around 30 modifier keys with 30+ keys mapped to each
But to me that sounds like my worst nightmare. I really hate having to learn keyboard shortcuts. I'd much rather use touch and gestures and things. I don't really need to switch apps in less than one second - that's not the bottleneck in my workflow - usually thinking is.
Having a config like yours would make me despair. I don't like to configure anything - I just use the defaults and get on with my work.
> And it's not just Karabiner that iPad lacks. Alfred, Keyboard Maestro are two other essential tools.
They are demonstrably not essential, since people can get things done without them.