Can you do real work on an iPad?
I recently purchased a new iPad Pro 9.7" with the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil. Previously I had an iPad Air that was still functional but starting to get a little slow in places. As it works out, the timing couldn’t have been better as my main computer had to go in for a screen repair. So I had no choice but to ask the question “Can you do real work on an iPad?” And had a 24 hour window in which I was going to find out.
My Reluctance
It’s my own fault that I had some reluctance going into this as my iPad had been relegated to primarily a media consumption device… I would get into bed at the end of the day and watch a few videos or read a few articles. I’ve only occasionally used it for what I would classify as real work in the past and had ever used the screen as the interface.
What’s Real Work?
My day job consists primarily of project management with a few technical tasks throughout the day as required. I don’t program at all anymore. I spend most of day doing these sort of tasks:
- Responding to emails from customers
- Planning tasks for people
- Writing technical documents
- Working with some specific apps that we have specialist knowledge in, which only run on windows
- Editing Kentico websites (just using the browser)
- Messaging with the team on slack
- Audio/Video conferences with Skype
My Friday
Having handed in my MBP on Thursday afternoon at the Apple Store I spent most of Thursday evening setting up my new iPad. Installing the apps that I knew about and looking for a few new ones that might be needed.
First thing Friday morning I had a scheduled video conference with some people in Sydney, Perth, and Sacremento (CA). It was managed using zoom which I’d never used before. Thankfully they had an iOS app which I installed 15 mins before the meeting.
Video Conference
This really was a breeze, others had no idea that I was on an iPad and I didn’t volunteer that information either. I clicked on the link in my calendar and few moments later the zoom app opened up and I was being connected to the conference. The app had an interface that either showed who was talking at the time, or the ability to see a dashboard of all users on the call. I have a good internet connection at home and as far as I know my image was crystal clear.
Interruptions and Notifications
I did notice a few times throughout the day that the Skype call I might have been on is easily interrupted when I get a call on my iPhone. I know I can turn the function off, but hadn’t got around to. I find this feature really kinda frustrating where everything within an arms length rings when you get a phone call.
When I was on a Skype call I found that the call I was on got muted and basically my screen was overtaken with the accept/decline buttons to answer or ignore the call. After dismissing the call on my iPad I didn’t instantly realise that my microphone had been put on mute.
Again this was easy. In fact I discovered a few things throughout the day that I didn’t realise. For example on OSX in Apple mail I use the shortcut key Command+Shift+D to send the message I’ve finished typing. I did this purely out of habit on iOS and it worked! That was a bonus.
Windows Apps
Becuase I use a Mac throughout the day I’m used to using a Remote Desktop client to be able interact with Windows apps anyway. I installed the Microsoft RD Client app on my iPad and was able to interact with the three remote systems I needed through the day. This involved writing a bit of SQL and working in a CRM app that we have specialised knowledge in. Again, no real challenges.
Word Processing
I didn’t need to spend any time in Word throughout the day apart from reading a few things that I had to reference. It looks solid but I haven’t spent enough time in it on my iPad to comment… Yet.
Success?
I had one issue that cropped up a few times throughout the day, however it’s not something that annoyed me too much. We use a particular CMS that doesn’t seem optimised for use on iOS. Most of the things I could throughout the day just fine in this browser app, however on a few occasions I found that I couldn’t scroll down in a few screens that I would have expected to be able to.
Generally I’d say that the day was a success, however due to some very specific elements:
1. The Apple Smart Keyboard is a great keyboard. It has a nice feel and doesn’t need batteries and Bluetooth syncing.
2. Learn a few shortcuts. For example using Command+Tab works to switch between apps on the iPad like it does on OSX. Also using Command+Space to search for something works kind of like OSX in that you can at least get a search box and type in an app you want to find.
3. Split screen was also great throughout the day to be able to reference an email and a website.
Would be interested to hear your thoughts.
