But this... this might convince me to actually get my first iPad.
Then one day I saw a stock clearance offer and bought an Ipad because the price was so good it was a steal.
Then another day I added three pdf books to ibooks so I could read it on vacations, then three more, then ten, then twenty.
I also use it for note taking and sketches. The pencil and the ipad is an old model now but I love it.
Then I stated using it for programming with my own side loaded apps that connect with a big computer.
Then for minor things like controlling my 3D printers, for showing something to someone(work colleagues) you can do it while walking which is very useful.
So the thing only does three things for me, but in those things the thing is essential.
But I personally find reading on a Kindle (or other e-ink devices) to be a far, far better and more comfortable experience than on an LED device like an iPad - honestly, it's as good as reading from paper books (and I say that as a lifelong bookworm).
The battery life, form factor and weight are also firmly in the Kindle's favour when compared to an iPad.
Now a Remarkable or other larger e-ink device would probably be better than the iPad, but last I checked they cost the same or more than an iPad Pro that can do so much more they feel like a waste of money.
I've never even tried to read a technical book on a Kindle, largely for the reasons you outline, but also because I tend to read such books in a different way. With a novel, you're relaxing and reading large chunks at a time, whereas with a technical book I'm usually simultaneously taking notes, coding or looking up related stuff in a browser, so I use a laptop or desktop PC for that (a tablet wouldn't work well for me here)
I'm a little surprised that you are able to do all that so well simultaneously on a PC though. Whenever I've tried to do it the context switching between reading the book or other documents and whatever I'm trying to do with it kills me. Maybe it is because I've only tried to do it on laptops (I don't have a desktop PC) but I also prefer just browsing the web on my phone than on my laptop so maybe I'm just weird.
My general rule of thumb when I'm (normally) traveling a lot is that I bring one laptop-like device (MacBook, Chromebook) and one tablet-like thing (Kindle, iPad).
The reason I (and probably others) tend to use community maintained software is because I absolutely hate fighting with my computer over something I shouldn’t have to (like wanting to install a compiler.) This is what people mean when they say the iPad is a big iPhone; you have to fight it to make it do anything just like on the iPhone.
Try reading the comment.
But, I really love our iPads for enjoyment purposes. Apple Arcade is a really nice gaming deal and you can pair Xbox/PS controllers. It's also obviously nicer than a phone for reading and watching things.
It's nicer than a laptop for reading some things, thanks to the option to switch to a vertical orientation.
The speakers on the iPad Pros are actually quite impressive as well. Not as good as the 2019 16" MBP (which are REALLY impressive) but they are very enjoyable for watching videos.
iPads are also nice for kitchen use - watching videos or looking at recipes. No worries about things getting into the keyboard, like with a laptop.
iPads are far from essential. I could easily live without one. But in our house they've finally carved out a very solid niche.
I think it's annoying that it has such a powerful CPU but the software won't let me run my usual development tools directly on the machine, and that Safari is missing features like allowing webpages to take advantage of the 120Hz display. It kind of reminds me of being a Sony user in the early 2000s... amazing hardware, absolutely crap software. Apple's software is not crap and is generally pretty okay, but it does feel a lot like that situation to me. If the iOS ecosystem were open-source, Intel-based laptops would be dead on the floor. But it's not, so you have to either suffer a hot underpowered laptop that runs good software, or a quick and light device that only runs dumbed-down versions of software. Even though the iPad has more raw CPU power.
The big things I miss are mouse support (way better device than my fingers, for manipulating web pages designed with mice, anyway), the ability to talk to random USB dongles (I run into lots of things with UARTs that I want to talk to from my "laptop"), and the inability to run things like Fusion 360. (I'm willing to change CAD software if there is something that runs equally-well on iPads and Windows/Linux, though.)
(I do think it's funny that to make money, all I need is a terminal connected to a Linux box and the Internet... but for hobbies and recreation, I need software that is written by thousands of developers all working on the same codebase.)
When writing this I wrote some phrases like "It's just not good at many of the tasks people use laptops for", then had to try and rewrite that a few times. The thing is there are a whole slew of tasks that sound like they are the same, but how and where you do them makes a huge difference. How you do them on an iPad is completely different to how you do them on a laptop, and that breaks some people's work flow or simplifies and streamlines otherwise very painful work flows for others. I use my iPad heavily for writing and scripting, but I do a lot of that on the train or in all sorts of ad-hoc situations where a laptop would be a real nuisance. Hence I don't use a keyboard case either. It works for me but absolutely would not work for a lot of others.
I don't own a personal laptop anymore. I use my iPad Air for video-editing, for Google Docs as well as for media consumption when I travel or when I'm at a coffee shop. It's so light that I can whip it out in 3 seconds, do stuff, and put it away. Because it's designed as a mobile device, battery usage is enhanced so I can use it all day without recharging -- else I can plug it into a small Anker battery pack.
You can do that with an MBA too, but that's a more expensive device plus there's just a little more fuss. Power consumption is higher so you are always hunting for an outlet and there's the added weight of an AC adapter (none with the iPad) -- though I suppose these days you can charge MBA's with a larger battery pack.
Caveat: programming doesn't work so well because the iPad (even with the keyboard/trackpad) has a "one-app at a time" interface, whereas with programming you need multiple windows open simultaneously. (iOS has a multi window interface but it isn't that great)
But the e-ink screen and battery time are definitely better on Kindle.
Before we had kids, I would get her hand-me-down iPads. I tried integrating them into my workflow, going as far as leaving my laptop at home for a week long trip where I would be working remotely (we had a small bluetooth keyboard even).
And I still couldn't find a good place for it in my workflow. When I need to type long things or write code, I prefer my laptop. When I need to do sysadmin work, I prefer my laptop. And for everything else, my iPhone is more than sufficient.
At this point the kids have taken over the last two hand-me-downs, so there is none left for me to try again. Eventually my wife will get an upgrade to her iPad Pro, and then I'll perhaps have access to a decent iPad again.
I'll try once again to add it into my workflow and see if there is a place for it, now that they've done a better job with synchronizing between Apple devices. I guess we'll see how it goes...
It's primarily a consumption device of which it's one of the most enjoyable to consume content in, so it's not going to be as appealing to creators, although it's starting to get used more with designers, writers and photographers.
I'll see the occasional post of devs attempting an iPad workflow with SSH and vi/emacs/etc but I doubt I'll ever see it as a general purpose dev device, maybe Apple can extend Swift playground to be useful for some limited GUI Apps composed mostly by dragging UI Components, changing props & writing little event code snippets.
But I really don’t see the purpose of buying a Mac for personal use. I have a work provided laptop, I mostly do “consumption” at home besides the occasional resume update with Word and some personal spreadsheets.
The iPad has better battery life than a laptop, instant on , built in cellular, it’s more consistently responsive and first and foremost, I can install any random crap trusting the sandbox and the permission system.
But as far as a “bigger phone”, having a larger screen is a godsend not to mention working with multiple apps at once and pip video.
I had the first gen iPad and it was just a bigger iPhone, the iPad has come a long way since then.
But for my mother, who has never touched, nor wanted to touch a computer, it has opened whole new worlds for her. She now loves that iPad and uses it for email, facebook, web browsing etc.
There are a whole lot more people out there like my mother than those who read hacker news.
If you've never felt the need for an iPad, you probably don't need one.
I use it to take notes during meetings, to keep daily work logs, for replying to emails, checking up on slack, reading PDFs and ebooks, task management, web browsing and watching video as a third monitor to my two display desktop setup.
Yes it is extremely limited in a lot of ways, but having an instant on device that is one tap and less than a MS away from all those tasks really does change the way you work. And being able to pick it up and walk around with it comfortably means you can do those tasks anywhere. And if you are like me and work remote from places like coffee shops - it basically takes up barely any more room in your laptop bag.
I read more on the iPad than I do with physical books or my Kindle. In particular, pair it with an O'Reilly Learning account and it opens up a whole new pedagogic world I did not realize I was missing out on.
It makes me wish Oyster was still around too.
I’m replying to you using my 7th iPad.
With a SIM card for internet connectivity, it’s hard to beat for keeping grandparents connected with their grandchildren with a steady stream of photos and the occasional video call.
Obviously it's for people who want a bigger screen.
Any you'll get a MacBook Air where you're not allowed to run a significant part of productivity/development software and absolutely nothing that wasn't approved by some californian.
Losing your ability to ever build a product that might compete with your hardware manufacturer is a massive loss of freedom no matter how much you're trying to call me a "contrarian".
Remember, in Apple's world, software like Firefox which fights for privacy against corporations is not allowed to exist. That's the major difference between the iPad world and macOS world.