I tried, Steven Sinofsky, I really tried
Since 2010, iPad has been expected to kill laptop business. “Laptop replacement”. That’s actually not how Steve Jobs positioned it during his famous presentation. It was not (only) about new form factor, but rather about platform paradigm shift — a move from “open” operating systems to “closed” ones — with limited file system access, sandboxing, different multitasking approach, curated app store and true app model. That was a great start that brought us security, maintainability, connectivity, performance and friendly user interfaces.
Bottom-up approach to operating system is probably the right one. You start with core values (security, maintainability, clearly defined app model) and add “productivity” features gradually. Features like side-by-side multitasking, between-app communication, friendly (but disappearing) file management or advanced clipboard.
It was a clear opposition to top-down approach that Microsoft was introducing with Windows 8 and now with Windows 10. Having such a huge legacy, you just can’t leave Win32 software behind. That’s why next to Win32 runtime, we got WinRT (now often called UWP — Universal Windows Platform) — more secure runtime and app platform very similar to what Apple (or Google with Android) did in the past. Such transition is never easy and you can hardly innovate when you have backward compatibility always in your mind before making any important decision.
But let’s get back to Apple. iPad sales are declining, but one can argue about reasons. It’s safe to assume that hardware and OS quality is not the cause. iPads are still great devices in terms of both HW and SW. Maybe even too good. Market saturation and long device life cycle (longer than in smartphone market) are probably two main reasons of sinking sales. It’s even more clear when we realize than as of October 2015, iPad 2 was the most popular iPad in terms of usage, edging close-second original iPad mini by two percent points.
So tablet market is not dying, it just has matured. The question remains however — is iPad the future of personal computing? Do people still believe that tablet is a laptop killer, especially considering growth in 2 in 1 and Ultrabook segments?
“My tablet has stickers”
This blog post was provoked by very thought-provoking article and podcast from Steven Sinofsky. The oversimplified conclusion: “iPad replaced my laptop and new workflow feels better in many ways”. There are few important assumptions, which I carried after ingesting these content:
- Yes, there are still use cases/jobs when you need “old” x86 software. (But for how long?)
- iPad can replace a laptop for majority of your work for majority of people.
- Your workflow will change (and the way people work is already changing).
- There are still minor inconveniences of switching to iPad from PC/Mac.
I was always skeptical when someone was claiming that iPad can be a work machine or main computing device. It was me who called it a “toy” or “consumption device”. I was wrong. Partially. It is a matter of definition. If you define work as sitting at your desk for 8 hours using Excel’s macros, coding or using x86 software in general — yes, iPad is not the device for (your) work then. But let’s take a step back. If there was an easier way, a better way to do your task, wouldn’t you prefer using a device that doesn’t attach you to the desk and choosing software with higher abstraction level? Wouldn’t you prefer natural language queries or visual “programming” with ready-made blocks over raw formulas, functions and manual formatting?
More and more work tools go to the web or to mobile apps — and new partnerships (1, 2, 3) show the direction of these changes. Our work will be more mobile, less manual and we won’t focus on tools or software skills, but rather on ideas, problem solving and efficient communication. There is no virtue in sitting 8–10 hours at the desk or inserting complex formulas to your Excel sheet. It’s all about having the work done. Efficiently. The less you think about software in that process, the better.
My workflow — professional
I was finally convinced that mobile operating systems (such as iOS and Android) are the future of work. A lot has to be done to change status quo, but it feels inevitable. My “examination of conscience” before switching included analyzing my workflow, apps and tasks to check how much can I do on a tablet+keyboard (and how efficiently). I have been trying to be open minded, quickly realizing that I should focus not on the tools, but on the tasks. Because switching devices and operating systems requires changing the way you work — it’s not about finding mobile equivalents of legacy x86 apps.
Let’s start with main digital tasks I have to do every day in my full time job (analyst and risk engineer in insurance company):
- Making reports (with diagrams, pictures),
- Using decision support software tools,
- Answering emails,
- Browsing web for information and using web services (internal and external).
In theory, all these tasks can be done on a tablet ARMed with keyboard. In practice, insurance industry just upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 and to Office 2010. Forget about Slack, Delve, PowerBI, etc… — you communicate using e-mail/phone, print your reports and exchange files on shared network drives. Your reporting software doesn’t work on tablets. Your report templates use Form controls, VBA and ActiveX (x86/Windows only). Your intranet tools require Flash (sic!). And yes, text input on a cramped mobile keyboards is far from optimal while clipboard and clipping/screenshot tools remain too basic.
Of course, there is no technical limitation that prevents these companies from approaching mobile-first mindset and deploying modern workspace tools by changing from legacy to mobile. From x86 to ARM. From hardware-dependent to web. But it won’t happen anytime soon. Expectations meet reality. It’s not Silicon Valley. Writing about future of workspace from a perspective of a startup employee, IT consultant or a tech company director probably gives the best insight, but it’s not how the rest of the world works and will be working in next five years. No iPad for me in the office in the nearest future. Or at least not as a primary device. I still need a PC. Not because it’s impossible to perform such tasks on a tablet, but because current IT infrastructure requires totally different workflow (whether you like it or not).
My workflow — after work
Ok, so how about iPad as my only device for my personal needs? Let’s look again at the main tasks and use cases after work:
- Social media/communication,
- Internet/content consumption,
- E-mail,
- Adobe tools (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign),
- Visual Studio (mobile apps development).
First three points are winners for iPad — more convenient, quicker, always up to date, easy to organize. I would say, that 80–90% of my daily PC use (time wise) can be done smoother on a tablet. But there’s always these 10–20%. Let me start with Adobe tools. Suite of Adobe apps for iPad is phenomenal, but not even close to be a PC-version replacement anytime soon. For some of my work I really need very precise input (touch is either not enough or too inefficient), backward compatibility with all file formats and a lot of computing power. Not sure if/how input “problem” can be solved, but in the future, files compatibility and performance issues… won’t be issues at all. For now, however…
Bitter reality
Tablets are often more user friendly, efficient, secure and enjoyable for your daily computing tasks. OS features will come. Apps will come. Multitasking will be even better. They will finally figure out copy and paste. Will tablet replace my PC in the future? Probably. When? I have no idea. But as long as I need these 10–20% of things and precise input that I won’t get from an iPad, I’ll stay with my x86 “tablet” that replaced my laptop. Sometimes it’s best of both worlds, sometimes worst. But it lets me have my work done. Sometimes not in the most enjoyable way, but often in the only possible way (hell, you need PC and Adobe AIR to settle taxes online in Poland).
I think I’m not alone in such situation — both in work and personal computing. For majority of people (especially outside US) is too early to quit PC. There’s always this “one app”, “one use case”… Switching to iPad or to other mobile tablet is not about switching to different form factor. It’s all about choosing new platform. Secure, easy to maintain, reliable, fast. And this is the bright future. Future that is not there yet for a lot of us.
