Happy 10th birthday to the iPad.
It was 10 years ago today (27th January 2010), that Steve Jobs first announced the iPad.
I remember it as time when each new Apple announcement was met with feverish expectation.
However, as can sometimes be the case with new Apple products, it was initially met with a shrug (but so were the iPod and the Apple Watch). Some regarded it as nothing more than a big iPhone. Some saw it as a device for consuming media only; rather than creating anything on it.
But like most things Apple design, it soon became part of the fabric of our everyday lives. Particularly for the young and old. It was the first computer they were comfortable using on their own. I know of grandparents who were finally able to Face Time family abroad without the exasperated help of their ‘digital native’ younger relatives.
I pre-ordered the first iPad and have had one ever since. Initially I used it in the evenings and weekends. After spending all day on a computer, this was the dividing line between work and play. It ws indeed a device for consuming content, but that suited me fine. It was ideal for catching up on social media, browsing the internet and answering emails while lounging on the sofa.
I then started using it for meetings instead of a laptop. It was lighter, faster and easier to use. It also meant I could replace my laptop with a more powerful, bigger and longer-lasting iMac as my workhorse computer.
Nowadays, I use my iPad more and more. I have the 12.9 inch iPad Pro and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s portable, powerful and a joy to use.
I can edit most of my photos on Lightroom, write blog posts using IA Writer, save notes using Notes, edit websites using the Squarespace app, run a workshop using Keynote, read saved articles on Instapaper... I could go on, but you get the idea.
Yes, for more complex tasks a computer is still required, but I’m amazed at how much I can now do on the iPad. I would find life that little bit more complex without one, so many happy returns to the iPad!
