Mark Crump: Slamming Into Walls

The thought process behind this current post, was a long decision made quickly. It was a difficult decision as I spent a lot of time reconciling where I believe the future of computing to lie, and the reality of where computing is. The hard fact is, I can’t currently do everything I want to on an iPad. Updates to iOS or the iPad Pro hardware may well ease some of the frustrations I have with iOS, but I need to solve problems with today’s solutions; not hoping for tomorrow’s.

And:

There are a few things I do that I need a Mac for: working in AutoCad; Lightroom; and programming iOS and macOS apps. I’m not expecting to be able to do these tasks on an iPad for at least 2-3 years.

The notable thing about this post is the published date: 2017. Discussions of the iPad 8 years ago sure look a lot like the discussions we're having today.

The takeaway for me is that while the iPad is great for many people, if you're someone who feels you're being limited by what the iPad offers, you might really want to look at getting that Mac (or Windows or Linux) device sooner rather than later. Those gaps you have in functionality are always "2-3 years away", whether it's 2025 or 2017. The iPad does indeed keep getting more capable by the year, but there just seem to be some fundamental things it just isn't going to do.