So, it seens that the iPad is turning 10.

what you folks think, is it possible to do serious work on an iPad.

There are serious apps like the Omni Group suite of apps, Devonthink to go, Microsoft office apps, Things and etc...

But having good apps is enought ?

I particularly, tried with an iPad pro and tha hardcover keyboard, but never really felt at home, always had the feeling that something is aways missing.

the only exception seems to be graphic artist that seens to love the combination of iPad pro + pencil more than tha walcon tablets + pcs combination

Some links to read

https://stratechery.com/2020/the-ipad-at-10-the-ipad-disappointment-ipads-missing-ecosystem/

http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2020/01/29/the_failure_of_the_ipad/

A few years ago, in productivity terms, I used my first iPad rather than my iPhone for:

* Reading Books or PDF files for work-related projects

In the meantime, some apps have stepped up their game on the iPad, and we have a real stylus input. Now, I use my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 2 for:

* Carrying out routine administration of my tasks in OmniFocus (my iPhone is solely for reference and my MBP is for heavy-lifting)
* Drawing illustrations during lecture demonstrations: iPad + (ZoomNotes, GoodNotes, ...) + AirServer
* Taking hand-written meeting notes.
* Annotating (hand markup and notes) selections of PDF reports.

In summary: The starting mantra was, "You do not need anything but your fingers." When this mantra was finally broken in a good way, the iPad became a true productivity tool for me.

I can live with just the iPad, but can't work with it solely. I used a Brydge keyboard with it, and what annoyed me most is that when I went back to using a Macbook, I couldn't get out of touch-screen mode.

There are some serious apps (Omnniplan, Scrivener) and it is the only way to go in meetings because opening up a laptop on the conference room desk is just plain rude. Writing on the iPad with the Apple Pencil feels awful, but the matte screen coverings give it a more paperlike texture.

I like the iPad Pro. I too use a Brydge keyboard with it, and I use the Apple Pencil for annotating PDFs and for handwriting (which I then turn into text). I like the convenience of the Pro, its responsiveness, its relatively long battery-life and - paradoxically perhaps - its refusal to distract me by allowing me to launch numerous applications.

I do also use a Mac Mini with greater storage than the Pro, as a kind of "basecamp" (no pun intended), and I employ it for tasks, such as dictation, for which the Pro isn't ideal. Additionally, I have a nine-year-old Mac laptop, but when that dies I intend to rely on the Pro for working when I'm away from base (and possibly even when I'm not). I'm also looking forward to the forecast new keyboards for the Pro which are said to include trackpads; an unnecessary addition, some may probably think, but for me a useful enhancement of the Pro's versatility.

Jeffery Smith wrote:

I can live with just the iPad, but can't work with it solely. I used a Brydge keyboard with it, and what annoyed me most is that when I went back to using a Macbook, I couldn't get out of touch-screen mode.

There are some serious apps (Omnniplan, Scrivener) and it is the only way to go in meetings because opening up a laptop on the conference room desk is just plain rude. Writing on the iPad with the Apple Pencil feels awful, but the matte screen coverings give it a more paperlike texture.

A device which is both a tablet and a real computer with touch-screen, that has an optional keyboard and pen, which you can use in a conference room is a Surface Pro (or clone of)
It really is a "do it all" device

Just my 2 cents !

Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer

Are Surface Pro's reliable and durable -- they feel flimsy. And that model with the carpeting on the keyboard is ... odd. Don't know if it is still offered.

Paul Korm wrote:

Are Surface Pro's reliable and durable -- they feel flimsy.

They are. I had my Surface Pro 4 for almost 2 years, there were almost no scratches or damages when I sold it. The Surface Pro 6 I have now is as robust as my iPad (6. gen)

And that model with the carpeting on the keyboard is ... odd. Don't know if it
is still offered.

Do you mean the Surface Book? That is still sold.
Or do you mean the Surface Type Cover? That's also still available. It is no comparison to the Bryce keyboard for the iPad (but there is also a Bryce keyboard for the Surface).

I used the iPad 2 for many years, and very productively, as a speaker. My main tool was mindmaps. I used SimpleMind or iThoughts to produce a seven first-ring presentation, then additional branches to support them. Since most speakers reuse various bits, this allowed me to set up a series of mind map nodes I could recombine into new talks. I found this creation process so simple and easy that I could accept a speaking engagement one day, then create the talk on the flight out, and deliver it once I arrived. I bought an iPad to VGA cable, which worked almost all of the time to project the mindmap, expanding and zooming as I went. (These days most conferences and workshops have shifted to HDMI, and I never bought the new cable when I shifted to the Chromebook. (I did buy an adapter for that machine, though.)

Later, I used Editorial to write on the iPad when I traveled (blog posts, and longer form things), at which point I really liked my Logitech snap on keyboard. I also used Simplenote and CarbonOutliner to take notes, and journal.

Advantages (as others have noted): lightweight, long battery life, and the additional advantage of being an excellent consumer device for books and movies. I suppose the question is WHAT do you need to create? Through the years I've decided it makes more sense to simplify my work, rather than complexify my tools.

Sorry, I misspelled the Brydge keyboards (not Bryce).