I agree that "real work" has different meanings for different people. OTOH I can see where the author is coming from when saying "real work" as in using the iPad in a productive manner in the device itself and not an accessory to another activity or consuming content.

I've owned 3 iPads (currently iPad Pro 12.9) and while I love them for reading and consuming media I've never been able to do any kind of work on it other than answering a quick email.