The iPad Professional 12.9 has reworked how I work

I’ve at all times been a fan of the iPad, and within the final 4 years, I used a number of iterations of the iPad Air extensively. My use case facilities round studying, taking notes, and streaming movies often, and the iPad Air M1 manages to do these items extremely nicely.

In the beginning of final 12 months, I wished a conveyable gadget that will permit me to be productive on the go, and whereas the ten.9-inch panel on the iPad Air was first rate sufficient, I wanted one thing bigger, so I switched to the 12.9-inch iPad Professional. On the outset, I did not suppose there could be quite a lot of distinction between the 2 apart from the bigger display screen; each fashions have highly effective {hardware}, an identical design, and the identical software program.

However I used to be mistaken. The iPad Professional 12.9 is noticeably higher than the iPad Air; the mini-LED panel will get brighter and has significantly better distinction, and HDR content material seems wonderful on the gadget. Whereas I did not take note of this on the time, the quad audio system on the iPad Professional sound significantly better.

The most important distinction is the display screen refresh, with the iPad Professional getting ProMotion tech that permits it to go as much as 120Hz. The iPad Air is proscribed to 60Hz, and it’s instantly evident when utilizing each gadgets subsequent to one another. And due to the bigger measurement, there is a greater battery that lasts noticeably longer.

The principle cause for utilizing the iPad Professional is for productiveness, and it has been terrific in that regard. For a lot of the final decade, I adopted the identical schedule: stand up at 6am, end the day’s writing duties, after which get began with my day. That is not the case now; my spouse and I had a child final 12 months, and I write at any time when I discover the time — my ten-month-old dictates my schedule.

So I needed to be taught to do one thing I am not excellent at: flexibility. I could not simply lock myself away in my residence workplace and write for hours on finish, so I wanted one thing moveable. I’ve quite a lot of Home windows machines, however I wished one thing that had a touchscreen and a modular design with loads of equipment, and that led me to the iPad Professional.  

Within the final 10 months, a full 40% of my writing was carried out on the iPad Professional, and I did not suppose I might use the gadget wherever as a lot. The display screen is the perfect measurement — it is virtually the identical measurement as most 13-inch notebooks — and because it has Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, I used to be in a position so as to add a docking station and join my mechanical keyboard with none trouble.

However an enormous a part of why I used the iPad Professional to the extent I did was the Magic Keyboard; the $349 keyboard accent prices greater than most mechanical keyboards, however it’s terrific. It attaches securely, has good adjustability, and the keyboard itself is first rate; the scissor keys have 1mm journey and are backlit, and so they’ve held up nicely after practically a 12 months of use. The trackpad additionally is useful, and it is simply simpler to make use of.

Principally, the iPad Professional 12.9 is ideally fitted to my use case. Whereas iPadOS does not have wherever near the productiveness options which can be accessible in macOS, that hasn’t been a difficulty — multitasking is not one thing I am on the lookout for in a conveyable machine. For the duties I do day by day — writing, modifying pictures, and studying — the iPad Professional is a stellar possibility. The finest Android tablets have related {hardware}, however most of those choices are restricted to Samsung, and whereas I tolerate One UI on telephones, I haven’t got any intention of utilizing it on a bigger gadget. 

There have been weeks once I used the iPad Professional solely, and the one problem in doing so was the convoluted file entry inside iPadOS; apart from that, it proved to be a dependable powerhouse. The Magic Keyboard particularly unlocks the complete potential of the iPad Professional, however the one quibble with it’s that the material design does not fairly match as much as its premium asking worth. Fortunately, it seems like that is going to vary with the 2024 iteration of the iPad Professional.

Whereas this can be a secondary consideration, the iPad Professional is nice for inventive use circumstances. There is not any analog to Procreate on Android or Home windows, and the drawing utility is unbelievable. I dabble in music manufacturing, and iPadOS has an in depth assortment of synths and drum machines, and the bigger display screen undoubtedly makes a distinction on this regard — as does the power to attach equipment.