Apple has marketed its iPad, or more specifically, the iPad Pro as ‘the ultimate PC replacement’. We will definitely be talking more about the performance these sleek slates bring to the table. However, on the subject of tablets and devices that tout touchscreens and are meant to bring a whole lot of productivity to the table, Apple’s VP software, Craig Federighi referred to such pieces of mobile computing as ‘experiments’, during an interview where he talked about why Apple would not entertain the idea of a touchscreen on a MacBook.
However, his recent statement given below somewhat refutes Apple’s claims that the iPad Pro is a laptop replacement.
“We really feel that the ergonomics of using a Mac are that your hands are rested on a surface, and that lifting your arm up to poke a screen is a pretty fatiguing thing to do.”
Hook up an iPad Pro to a keyboard accessory and moving from one place to the other within the screen real estate of that slate will require you to poke the screen to accomplish just that. Would that not mean that the iPad Pro is just as fatiguing to use as Federighi described notebooks with touchscreens? It definitely is; the lack of a cursor adds to any additional frustration when you want a whole lot of work done. However, we are not undermining the iPad Pro in any manner as it is a great piece of portable hardware and its business alone is more than Microsoft’s Surface lineup business.
We’d just like to point out that Federighi may have unknowingly refuted Apple’s claims that the iPad Pro is a laptop replacement. After all, if lifting your arm up to a screen while attempting to work on an iPad Pro is not fatiguing enough then I do not know what is. For whatever reasons you may have purchased Apple’s tablet, it is great for media consumption, it is great for playing games, web browsing, checking emails and a light amount of word processing, but if you want to ramp up the pace of your workflow, it is best to stick to a MacBook or a Windows 10 alternative.
What Could Apple Have Meant When it Called the iPad Pro a Laptop Replacement?
If you want evidence that an iPad Pro packs a lot of power, just take a look at these benchmarks, and you’ll know. In terms of performance, these tablets need no introduction. However, if Apple is calling its tablet a laptop replacement, we believe that some in-depth and considerable explanation must be executed by the company. The iPad Pro certainly packs a wallop, but its iOS platform and the way it is made can never replace your notebook if and when you are short of time, and need to finish up a bundle of tasks.
For tasks that require a more casual form of tackling rather than going berserk and crunching words and numbers via a keyboard and trackpad combo, an iPad will do just fine. For everything else, we’d stick to a notebook right now.
Do you think Craig Federighi’s statement has ultimately proven that Apple’s touchscreen-touting iPad Pro is far from a laptop replacement? Tell us down in the comments.
