I would kill for a good Linux tablet with low latency pen input. Xournal++ and Krita would be completely sufficient.
Most apps and ideas I initially liked on the iPad, would be much better FOSS. So many apps ultimately fail for me because the developers trying hard to wall some garden, instead of implementing export/import of an open standard.
Oh and ofc, horrible file management and no code execution.
Fuck this shit. Stallman was right...
- reading pdf and books
- import and watch photos
- write notes and draw sketches and plans with the pencil
- bring along in the shop
I also use it as a laptop sometimes, with an external keyboard. As a linux/vim user, anything with an ssh client is good enough to get work done anyway. I still find it preferable to a windows machine.
Same, and this is how the iPad really shines, except for one huge drawback: limited RAM means I either have to reduce my art to sub-4k quality or limit it to 30-ish layers.
Both options suck. It was very disappointing to see no mention of RAM anywhere in this announcement. Maybe for some applications processing speed is a limiting factor, but it certainly isn't the bottleneck for artists, so this announcement is a bit of a letdown.
- Draw. This is the big one. I'm no fine artist, but I do a bit of calligraphy now and then, and Procreate is amazing.
- Make memes. It might not be more "productive" to caption funny pictures on my iPad than it would be to do it on desktop, but it's more fun. It feels more natural to manipulate images on a tablet.
- Read PDFs. the 12.9" iPad is carefully sized to make US letter and A4 documents readable. I'll load a PDF up in one of the zones of my wide monitor if I'm using it as a reference for a slide deck or whatever, but if I'm just reading it, it's the iPad for me.
- Edit video. I doubt I would stick with this work flow if I were a dedicated content creator. But I'm not, and stitching some footage off my mirrorless camera together, putting a soundtrack to it: the iPad makes this pleasant.
- Look at photos. Also, showing them to other people. A couple weeks ago I took my iPad with me to the mechanic to show some pictures I had taken of my front bumper, lamentably separated from the rest of the vehicle in a fender bender. A phone might have sufficed, but a tablet is obviously better and I have one. When I'm in the mood to scroll through my memories, the iPad is the place to do it.
- Twitter. This is the inflection point! I had a phase of taking my Twitter time on the tablet, and went back to using my laptop. Scrolling with a flick of the pencil is nice, but inputting text is very much not its strong suit, and there are ads. I don't like ads.
Edited to add: I'm heavy on the gizmos. If I had to ditch one, it would be the iPad, and I have no interest in upgrading my 3rd gen whatsoever. But I'm glad I don't have to ditch it! For what it's good for, it really shines. I'm fond of it.