I love my new MacBook. It is 12 inches of Retina goodness, and it weighs next to nothing. For what I do — write, email, read stuff on the web, sometimes lightly edit photos — it is plenty good. I love that there isn’t any fan noise. However, I dislike that I need to keep it plugged in all the time (the battery isn’t anything to write home about), and the new touchpad doesn’t do anything for me. But did I mention that it weighs next to nothing? That’s why it goes everywhere with me. And yet it might be heading for the retirement home soon.
“Why?” you might ask. My computing devices need to have the following features:
- Retina display
- Battery that lasts a full working day (8 hours)
- Connectivity
- A fantastic sense of lightness
- Awesome keyboard
The MacBook checks three out of those five boxes. But the forthcoming iPad Pro does it one better. From the looks of it, the iPad Pro will check all five boxes. It comes with a luscious 13-inch Retina screen. There is a brand-new keyboard (which to me is an x factor on this device), and it delivers more oomph than the MacBook.The battery of this new iPad is also more robust than the MacBook’s. It has a built-in LTE connection, which makes it ideal to use anywhere. It is lightweight, and, most importantly, I don’t have to take it out every time I go through security at the airport — a big deal, since I travel all the time.
It is perfect for watching Netflix and HBO and of course doing those basic tasks like reading email, browsing the web and reading and writing blog posts. My biggest worry is the photo-editing aspect: How can I take photos from my beloved Leica and edit them on the iPad Pro? The iOS devices don’t deal with RAW files just yet, and Lecia sort of blows when it comes to JPGs. Despite all of that, I am excited to upgrade to a new one after using the old one for quite a long while.
Updated, November 10, 2015:
Apparently, Apple is counting on people like me!
“Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones.” Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Inc.
