In 2018 I brought myself the 3rd generation 12.9" iPad Pro, together with it I got the Smart Keyboard Folio and the Apple Pencil.
Every time I used my iPad since then was with the keyboard attached, until a couple of months ago the keyboard stopped working and the iPad would not recognise it as a supported accessory. I didn’t want to splurge on a Magic Keyboard Folio for the iPad (something I had been eyeing since it got introduced a year or so later after I got the Smart Keyboard Folio), as I did not want to get one only to find the next redesign of the iPad making it incompatible.
Last week, I wanted to do some planning for my short holiday in Portugal, I thought let me grab the iPad and the Apple Pencil and get to it, mostly because I was in bed and was lazy to go grab my MacBook in the other room. First thing I did: remove the keyboard from it. First thing I felt: this things is really thin and not heavy as I thought it is. The keyboard restricted the iPad into a traditional form factor. It was a computer in the traditional sense, albeit with a touch screen. This was not the case when I removed the keyboard, it felt liberating.
Just like in the Apple demos, I used split screen with Safari on the right side and Google Maps on the left, with the notes app on slideover to make notes and plan out the efficient way of getting from place to place. I used drag and drop, I used the Pencil to click on links. The only annoyance was the full size keyboard being a bit of a pain to handle as it obscured half of the screen when it popped up — the solution : Use the floating keyboard. Yes, it’s not a full size keyboard but it does the job done when the primary input for the kind of work you are doing does not require a Keyboard. Plus, having QuickPath to slide my finger over the letters was quick and efficient.
Since 2018, I have been using my iPad as a traditional laptop with a keyboard but this experience was liberating, took me back to the days of Steve Jobs sitting on a couch demoing the original iPad. And this is how I intend to use this iPad from now onwards. If something requires a lot of typing I will use my MacBook, just as I am doing right now typing out this blog post. But for when I am editing photos, or want to read, or want to do some research, the iPad with the Apple Pencil is the way to go.
That said, when I do decide to upgrade my iPad, I am not fully omitting the idea of a keyboard. But when and if I do get a keyboard, i’ll know not to have it attached all the time and use it only when needed.
While I have a new found way of enjoying the iPad, let me just say, shaking a 13 inch iPad to undo a bit of text I didn’t intend to type/pate was something not fun. Please Apple, figure out a better way than shake to undo.
