I'm Happier Without an iPad
I’ve used iPads extensively, starting with the iPad 2 in 2011, then the 3, the Air 2, the first iPad Pro, the iPad Mini, and finally the iPad Pro (11 inches). I worked on building an iPad app at Google1.
Last year, I bought a TV. It’s cinematic and immersive, and HDR Ultra HD masterpieces come to life on it like on no other device, not the Macbook Pro with the Mini LED 1600-nit screen or the iPhone 15. I can see details I can’t see on other devices, and it’s more emotionally satisfying. So I’ve shifted my video watching to the TV. As I did, I used my iPad less and less. Even when I did watch a video on it, the experience felt second-rate. I soon gave away my iPad. I thought I’d miss it, but to my surprise, I’m happier without it.
I used to use my iPad in bed before going to sleep. Now, without one, I’m adopting a more relaxing posture rather than one dictated by the iPad. I’m closing my eyes. I’m no longer bombarded by constant visual stimulation — doing nothing, or listening to a podcast or ambient sounds is less exciting. With both better posture and less mental stimulation, I’m falling asleep sooner.
Not having an iPad also made space for something better: reading a book. I read just a few pages yesterday, and it was such an intellectual joy — unhurried, focused on profound ideas rather than clickbait. The medium is the message.
The iPad is also not suitable for content creation2 — iPadOS is crippled, with anaemic apps, no proper multitasking, and no command line. I’m forced to use Apple’s second-rate apps like Safari instead of Chrome, where I’m productive. The 11-inch screen size is small. There’s no keyboard or mouse, essential tools for productivity. It doesn’t have enough ports to connect these and charge at the same time. It doesn’t drive my 27-inch monitor well — the extra space helps me get work done. Window management is weird and limited3. Trying to do something productive on an iPad is swimming against the current.
What works best on an iPad is mindless content consumption. And we do what’s easier. I’m embarrassed to that I once watched car crash videos for 7 hours straight. That’s the biggest lesson Facebook and the other social media companies taught us — if you want people to do more of something, make it easier. If there were a chocolate dispenser on your desk, you’d eat more chocolate. Whether you want to is irrelevant. Willpower is an exhaustible resource. Our reptilian brain overpowers our thinking brain. What social media companies use to manipulate users I’m using to manipulate myself, for my own good, by ditching the iPad and switching to a real OS, Mac or Windows4.
Though the project was cancelled before launch.
Unless you’re an artist.
I don’t mind learning a new way if it’s better, but on the iPad, after you put in the effort to relearn, you end up with something less productive.
I wouldn’t mind trying a 13-inch Surface Pro.