10 Predictions of What to Expect as the iPad Becomes a Creative Tool

It’s been four years since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. It’s no longer about consumption.

When Steve Jobs demoed the iPad at its unveiling four years ago (January 27, 2010), he reclined in an arm chair with his legs crossed. This was not a typical Apple presentation yet certainly deliberate. The intimate setup meant to speak to the pleasure of consuming media on this new device.

The iPad, according to Jobs, had to be better than a laptop at a few key tasks. He listed browsing the web, emailing, viewing photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games and reading ebooks. All of the key talking points were largely about consumption. And rightly so, as the first generation of the iPad didn’t even have a built-in camera.

Four years later, with the arrival of the powerful iPad Air, Apple’s marketing signals are shifting. First there was the pencil commercial and then came What’s Your Verse? Clearly the new message behind the iPad is creation. So what should we expect with Act II of the iPad?

1. The iPad becomes better at a few more key tasks. Video editing on the go or capturing field recordings: these are a few of the many powerful abilities the iPad can now handle. And these types of tasks are the content building blocks for creative expression.
2. A new generation of iPad apps. These will harness the creativity of iPad users while embracing the improved computing and graphic processing speeds. We live in an age defined by the empowerment of self-expression. And for professionals and semi-professionals, you can forget Instagram and begin to compose serious work on a tablet.
3. More external hardware for content capture. If you visited CES in the last four years, you saw that iPad “external hardware” means encasing (“protect your investment and make sure your iPad has a stand to watch videos”). But now there is an industry growing around a new sort of hardware attachment. Like attaching tripods or adapting powerful microphones — even attaching other cameras. But current hardware workflows are still tricky to solve: here’s a good resource for some iPad setups.
4. Specialists who train organizations about iPad workflows between apps and attaching additional hardware. Imagine a video journalist looking to turn around a segment of breaking news. The iPad can literally save hours of time when you sidestep editing bay bottlenecks. There are many great apps to assist in the flow but most users have no idea of where to start. Experts will emerge who train professional content creators how to manage great iPad workflows.
5. Better iPad file management. Still tricky in iOS7 on the iPad Air is general file management. Apps like DropBox, Documents and Box help — but moving video assets from a DSLR into the iPad and through a series of editing apps is still tricker than it needs to be. Surely Apple is aware and I expect improvements later in 2014.
6. Connected iPads for real-time collaborative creation. Imagine recording video using two or three iPads at once for better coverage of a subject — a standard practice of most cinematographers. Instead of having to sync the video footage in post-production, imagine an iPad app that can automatically compile the material and allow a producer to edit in real-time. Imagine a graphic artist being able to compose and ship a graphics package from their iPad to that of a colleague’s who is off in the field. Or maybe musicians composing and recording together while stuck on different sides of the world.
7. Live broadcast. Very soon — as compression technology improves — iPads will become a great tool for live, personal broadcasts (for both audio and video). And to call iPads “untethered webcams” would be unfair — the quality will be better due to the gloss added by apps managing the feeds.
8. Precision Editing. Pixel-perfect image editing is firmly entrenched as a PC-type activity. Photo editing with the iPad Air still can’t compete with Photoshop running on a MacBook Pro. This opportunity seems to hinge on more precise touch controls (or apps being able to track a remote stylus or mouse with an on-screen cursor — something writing apps do with bluetooth keyboards and a typing cursor). Be patient: I’ve tested the Panasonic 4k tablet with a stylus and it’s precise enough for anyone in the medical or architectural fields. The iPad will eventually reach this level of resolution and touch sensitivity.
9. Brains behind musical instruments. The Artiphon (which works with an iPhone) is a great example of how new musical instruments are emerging. The iPad already serves as a connected device to traditional instruments as a mixer and effects synthesizer. Now imagine an electronic show where a band member (managing an iPad) layers effects on other instruments, loops live tracks and even serves the beat. Many bands do this already with MacBooks but iPads will take over in time.
10. Student expression. Steve Jobs spoke to the following when he concluded the unveiling of the first iPad: at the heart of the Apple mission is the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. Tim Cook repeated something similar on the 30-year anniversary of the Macintosh. The Apple business was built on serving educators and those learning the liberal arts. The commitment remains as Apple works to get iPads in schools. Student-prepared content created with iPads offer hundreds of educational opportunities. Students not only engage with lesson plans but develop 21st Century digital literacy skills as they prepare their presentations. Here’s how teachers have embraced TouchCast, a free iPad app that I manage.

If you want more about the coming age of the mobile broadcaster, please read https://medium.com/brave-new-tv/43f4b12b8f31

For more about media and journalism in 2014 and how it’s changing, try: https://medium.com/thoughts-on-journalism/bb07e9350373