They need to stop calling these pro devices. They are barely functional for anything beyond casual use and artwork
When I saw what one of my ex was using (bio chemist growing various stuff and testing treatments to rare sickle cell anemia that pharma didn't care about due to low patient count), it was very subpar and inefficient but she was happy with it and got results nevertheless eventually. Some of her work I could make more efficient by 10x, some by 50x maybe, but ie she as hardcore unix person just plainly refused to use MS Excel and all its statistics power, to pick a random example (there were quite a few).
Not saying this is your case of course, but oh boy do small screens, limited browsers, limited power and storage speed etc. do have negative effect on work itself, mental flow, staying focused etc. There is a reason not only we IT guys want powerful machines and massive screens, it ain't just chasing shiny higher numbers.
However, the app ecosystem is lacking in terms of interoperability, feature completeness within one app and export/import capabilities, and there is nothing you can do about it in iPadOS. File management is pure pain unless you fully bought into Apple already.
It's very nice for brainstorming and making transient personal illustrations while learning and working through technical problems, but you won't get the feel and certainty of a physical notebook as an institution for persistent notes.
The iPad is way too expensive for what it has to offer, in practice.
That said, without its artificial limitations it would be the last computing device you'll ever need. It could be everything.
Disagree on permanence. My notes are useful for much longer when they can be electronically sorted, searched, backed up, and when they take up no additional space in my backpack.
For me the main benefits of the tablet are:
- Copy/paste/drag. Pretty helpful when you manipulate long expressions, or want to condense a bunch of scratch work.
- Relatedly: easy erase. When I used real paper, pencil was too low contrast, and “erasable pen” never worked well. So I used a real pen and just crossed tons of stuff out; ugly.
- Keep a decade of notes with me wherever I go. (And cloud backed up so I won’t lose them.)
- Infinite zoom and no page boundaries. Seems silly, but it’s really nice to write as big as I want without worrying about running out of room on the page.
- Text search of handwritten notes. Works surprisingly well.
- Easily switch to different colors. 99% of the time I only use 2 or 3, but I find it helpful to visual distinguish the main argument/computation from “side commentary”.
It's always been meant for professional artists. Whether graphic artists, music producers, video editors, 3D artists, or what have you.
So it's strange to me that you treat "artwork" as an exception.
These are very much pro. That they're extremely functional for art is the whole point.
I'd argue that iPads being great for "art" is false. They have one killer app for one narrow specialized area (Procreate/illustration) but they aren't widely used as a main device professionally outside of that context (they are often used as a satellite device). They have adequate support for hobbyist level video editing/audio production/photography. They have minimal to non-existent support for motion graphics or anything related to 3D. Calling a device like this "extremely functional for art" I don't think is a defensible statement (unless it's specifically scoped to illustration).
I've written about my analysis of creative of apps on iOS devices here https://blog.robenkleene.com/2019/08/07/apples-app-stores-ha...
Pro == more capable
And the iPad Pro is more capable than any other iPad.
You use a Wacom for some things, but the iPad has the gigantic advantage that your image is directly underneath your Pencil. And, of course, that you can take it with you.
The iPad isn't a substitute for a workstation. But it's a huge complement -- both for creating things visually, as well as managing/showcasing all your media on the go. Professional artists are often going to a lot of meetings with different clients or team members around the city.
I would say the vast majority of artists do not travel and do not need to draw mid-meeting. Certainly there are exceptions but they are just that, exceptions.
I would say the vast majority of artists do have client meetings, whether they're employed full-time or freelance.
And artists need to work on the go just like the rest of us. Whether it's a dad trying to do 30 min of video editing in his car while he waits for daycare to get out, or somebody in the city doing an hour of website design in a cafe while they wait for their next meeting.
I'm baffled by your assertion that artists don't use iPads or shouldn't need them. It's just not the case, if you work with professional artists.
I will say that it's a major disconnect in our experience that you would say the majority of artists are directly client facing.
What company/industry is buying their artists iPads?