iPad Pro at 10
When the iPad Pro came along five years later — it went on sale 10 years ago today — nothing much had changed. The Pro ran all the same apps, did all the same things, had pretty much the same things in pretty much the same places. It was just bigger. Its 12.9-inch screen made it the biggest iPad yet, and Apple seemed to think that might change something about how you used it. Nobody was sure what, exactly. Bigger documents, maybe? Apple’s Phil Schiller was excited about bigger documents.
Ultimately, that 12.9-inch screen looked a little too familiar. Apple wanted people to see a larger canvas they could hold and touch and create on, the mythical third device between your computer and your phone. But most people seemed to see a thing about the size of their existing computer, only with a much better screen and vastly fewer features. The iPad’s draconian security policies, underpowered browser, and minuscule ideas about multitasking made the device feel like less than the sum of its parts. Users wanted a new laptop, and Apple told them to kick rocks. The iPad was something else, it said, and if you wanted a laptop you should buy a Mac.
Ten years later, though, the iPad Pro has changed. Rather than try to make it into something other than a laptop, Apple made it… a laptop. The Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard lines, which launched with the first Pro, both continued to improve. The iPad’s multitasking got (slowly and chaotically) more powerful. The iPad Pro was one of Apple’s first devices to switch to USB-C. It began to support external drives, and devices like microphones and game controllers. Even the Files app got better. Slowly but surely, Apple’s tablet began to resemble a PC. Apple gave the people what they wanted.
But ten years ago, Apple got serious. It shipped the very first iPad Pro, and began a decade-long conversation about whether the iPad could be used for work and even whether or not it was a computer.
[…]
I’m someone who hates writing by hand, but the Apple Pencil even changed how I work. That’s because the Pencil didn’t just support drawing, but (after a few software updates) supported driving the iPad’s entire interface. I discovered that I loved using the Apple Pencil to edit podcasts. Using thoughtful iPad apps like Ferrite Recording Studio made even an inveterate stylus-hater like me into a true believer. The Apple Pencil is a great way to drive all sorts of apps. There’s nothing like it on any of Apple’s other platforms—and it all started with the iPad Pro.
[…]
The biggest change in the iPad Pro over the last decade has probably been where it sits within the iPad product line. The original iPad Pro started at $799—pricey! Today’s large iPad Pro starts at $1299… but there’s another option.
The iPad Air is now basically what the iPad Pro used to be. (The large model even starts at the same price, $799.) The iPad Air supports the Apple Pencil Pro and a Magic Keyboard and offers a pretty great value… just without that OLED display with Face ID, ProMotion, and a few other niceties.
Federico Viticci (2024, Mastodon):
Over the past six months, I completely rethought my setup around the 11” iPad Pro and a monitor that gives me the best of both worlds: a USB-C connection for when I want to work with iPadOS at my desk and multiple HDMI inputs for when I want to play my PS5 Pro or Nintendo Switch. Getting to this point has been a journey, which I have documented in detail on the MacStories Setups page.
This article started as an in-depth examination of my desk, the accessories I use, and the hardware I recommend. As I was writing it, however, I realized that it had turned into something bigger. It’s become the story of how, after more than a decade of working on the iPad, I was able to figure out how to accomplish the last remaining task in my workflow, but also how I fell in love with the 11” iPad Pro all over again thanks to its nano-texture display.
I started using the iPad as my main computer 12 years ago. Today, I am finally able to say that I can use it for everything I do on a daily basis.
Previously:
- iPadOS 26.1
- iPad Pro (M5, 8th Generation)
- iPadOS 26
- Apple’s Spin on AI and iPadOS Multitasking
- iPadOS 26 Announced
- iOS 19 More Like macOS?
- iPad at 15
- iPad at 10
