Expanding the Canvas Analogy: an iPad Pro Review
Years ago, I penned a piece declaring the iPad as something of a blank canvas. More like the launching pad than an anchor. And there were a few people who agreed with me, and others who wished they could — but we’re stuck in the computing analogy that needed a keyboard and mouse. As I’ve evolved my iPad use over time, moving from the 1st gen, to the iPad 4, then then Mini 2, and finally a cellular Mini 3, I’ve seen the canvas analogy not just play out, but be a bit prophetic. Now, I’ve got an iPad Pro. A decision made because of the shift in working environments and modes; a shift made more necessary because of being in a context where I’m designing a future interaction, and don’t want to be stuck in an older one along the way.
The iPad Pro isn’t a small machine. It is effectively two of my Mini’s — side by side and with some additional bezel. The screen is impressive. For those who care about resolution and refresh rates, it’s hard to beat this one. And yet, for all of this size, the Pro is not all that bad to carry. It’s not the pocketable affair of a phone by any means, but it is more or less something you would take with you to and from the office and not get tired of the bulk.
That is, unless you put a thicker case of cover on it. My Pro only has the Smart Cover — purchased when I attained the Pro. I don’t like the idea of the keyboard cover — yes, I’m typing on the screen right now, and it’s really not all that bad. I think the length of the keyboard is taking away some of the feeling of tapping on glass — well, that and the Robert Glasper tunes making my fingers tap rhythmically. Maybe I will go for a conventional cover or something else later. But, for now, this form factor begs to be seen and not covered.
The only other addition to my Pro is the same addition my Mini has — 53's Pencil stylus. Yes, I know that Apple’s Pencil is more or less made for this machine. However, I don’t like the length or weight as much as others. Plus, I had recently gotten a new (gold) Pencil after losing my wooden one. I would rather get the most out of this than kicking another item in a pocket.
Usually, at this part of a review, you start hearing about things like battery life (it’s solid, but mostly plugged in), speakers and sound (actually quite decent), or other nits (should I really have these two weeks in). But, why do a review as they always have? It’s a canvas, let’s continue to create something better.
So what has something better looked like for me so far? Interestingly enough, it has been constraints put into my work environment which have offered some of the best views as to how forward any tablet can be — let alone this iPad Pro. My primary use case is the Pro as my primary create and email machine. While on-site, my Pro is only able to access those things approved for that network. Which makes the Pro a fairly focused device — I have maintained a second-screen with my cellular-connected iPad Mini 3 for non-work items. Outside of calendar and email, I use Evernote’s Penultimate and Adobe’s Comp CC for both notes and creating project deliverables.
What has been most interesting has been not so much how I might have had to figure some work-arounds for some things (posting items to Confluence, or uploading designs to InVision; but how fast some artifacts have flown thru my usual process of noting/sketching and becoming usable pieces for sharing. Granted, I see a bit of slowness with Comp CC, which seems to be the fault of the app, not the Pro. It’s is still a really neat thing to idea-generate, then create, and pull the streams together as fast as I have. Some co-workers rightly ask if I am being as productive, and then see the results with something of an appreciation and question as to the real place of an iPad in the workplace.
The unintended consequence of the Pro, even more than when I was doing the same level of design work on the Mini, is that other designers are asking how an iPad might serve their own workflows. A few have trialed some note-taking apps, others are using Duet to extend their Mac’s display abilities. It’s pretty interesting what happens around the conversation of tools when the conventional ones are thrown aside and new avenues looked for.
This just might be the overall point of the Pro line of iPad devices. Not so much that they are a replacement for your PC (because they can be). But, it’s just fresh enough of a change that it will cause you to revisit what it means for a computer to be a productivity-enhancer for whatever it is you do. Chances are, you have been doing things the same just because you can; the canvas is different, and it’s worth finding out how colors mix outside of the lines.
I am posting images of my iPad Pro, in various settings, as I own and explore, over at — my Flickr gallery
