Unlike @Lars I do a lot of photo management on my iPad Pro. Depending on how you work, the feature set may or may not be sufficient for you. I find Lightroom on the iPad Pro to be very useful. For doing selects and ratings, I think it is great. Also 90-95% of my editing I can get done right on the iPad itself. A few images may need Photoshop, and then I’ll just fire up the iMac (and I must admit I am getting slower at Photoshop, due to lack of routine…)
For an even faster workflow (and with images needing less precision) I still use SnapSeed. I have used it since before Google bought it from Nik Software, and I simply love the ease of use in selecting adjustments and swiping in the correct amount.
I don’t use my iPad Pro IN PLACE OF my MacBook Pro…but rather IN ADDITION to it (and my iPhone).
Different device serve different tasks in my life. My iPhone takes care of streaming music, taking photos, most of my text messaging and obviously, my phone calls.
My iPad gets more tasks such as reading, mobile image or video editing, storing downloaded media due to its larger storage capability, mobile document management and email, etc.
Then my Mac gets…well EVERYTHING you do on a home computer. All of my Adobe desktop apps, Microsoft Office, advanced email and document management, budgets, finance, taxes, etc.
Is there some overlapping capability? Sure. But I don’r really care. I enjoy the convenience of the different form factors in different situations.
I could read a ebook on Kindle on either my iPhone or my Mac…but the size and form factor of my iPad make it the most optimally suited for me personally.
But hey, to each their own. Apple makes enough different devices to allow you to customize you tech world as you see fit for your lifestyle. If an iPad doesn’t fit in your life, no problem…just don’t get one.
I’ve been basically iPad only, for my personal use, for about 2 years. Currently I am keeping my old 2011mini around to sync my iCloud, Google Drive, & Dropbox files to its hard drive for offsite backup via Arq to AWS. Once it dies I’ll probably replace it with a cheap Windows PC.
If you wanted to pay twice as much as BackBlaze CrashPlan for Business offers additional features like multiple backup sets, more privacy for your files, and customizable deleted file retention. $60/yr vs $120/yr. I chose BackBlaze but I know a couple of people who stuck with CrashPlan when it dropped its consumer business, pay more, and have been pretty happy with the service.
Honestly going iPad only isn’t hard and there isn’t a lot to do other than making sure the stuff on your make gets in the cloud. I really would like to hear an update in about 6 months to hear how you’re doing!
Apple must have significantly improved iCloud in the past two years.
I have been an iPhone user since the 4s was released, however I just migrated to the Mac platform and added my iPad Pro in the last two years.
I have read a lot of posts from users who seem very concerned with the reliability of iCloud…and I can only assume that is due to some bad experiences in the past. However I have been making pretty heavy use of iCloud since switching to an all Apple workflow and other than one occasion where the service was down for a couple of hours, it has performed flawlessly for me!
That said, I always want my data in at least two additional places for peace of mind! I just don’t consider my data is safe unless it exists in at least three different copies at two different locations. But iCloud has seemed pretty reliable for off-site file synchronization.
Yes, it does appear that something has changed. To be clear, iCloud has never lost any of my data. It has, for years, been a case of ignoring my files. I would add items to an iCloud folder, or to Apple Notes, etc. and . . . nothing. Files would rarely start to sync for several minutes, sometimes for hours, occasionally never. On those occasions I would try rebooting, signing out then back in to iCloud, etc. iCloud was an unreliable employee who only worked when “he” felt like it.
I did end up replacing my 2011 mini with a base model 2018 mini, but my problems with iCloud didn’t improve. Then earlier this year I noticed iCloud syncing appeared to have improved. After some testing I confirmed that syncing of files, apple notes, etc. was faster. It’s still not as quick as Google or Dropbox, but it has significantly improved and I am relying on for more things.
What changed? I don’t know. But since iCloud files are stored not only on Apple servers, but also on Google and AWS, I doubt it was hardware. I suspect Apple may have changed their syncing tech. Perhaps they updated something on their end and/or on our devices, and now syncing is a higher priority.
As do I. I’m still using Arqbackup but now am backing up to Backblaze B2. And I’m still backing up to Time Machine. And I have copies of some files on Google Drive and in 1Password.
I agree “. . . iCloud has seemed pretty reliable for off-site file synchronization.”
