with the iPad. But as we’ve been seeing for the
past few years, achieving this goal has been a little
GL̇FXOWZLWKRXWJLYLQJXSWKHL3DG¶VHVVHQWLDO
iPadness.
Along with the decline of the tablet, we’ve seen
the rise of the 2-in-1—laptops that function as
tablets, too. The ultimate example, of course, is
Microsoft’s Surface lineup, but that’s where tablet
makers such as Acer and Asus have largely gone,
with considerable success. If Apple is going to
grow the iPad market, it needs a bite of that.
That’s the point of the iPad Pro, but the low-cost
iPad could have a role to play there as well.
There’s a big market for sub-$750 laptops. We
review them all the time. The $329 iPad, plus
keyboard, is Apple’s lowest-cost laptop, and
Apple wanted to make it crystal clear that iPadOS
is an OS that lets you get your work done. That’s
true, to some extent—I use an iPad as my travel
writing computer, and Apple has improved its
work friendliness with multiple window support
DQGD¿OHPDQDJHULQUHFHQW\HDUV%XWL3DG26
ZRUNVVRGL̆HUHQWO\WKDQWKHWZRPDLQVWUHDP
productivity operating systems, macOS and
Windows, that it’s been hard to get people to
PRYHWKHLUIXOOZRUNÀRZVRYHU
In schools, meanwhile, Chromebooks still rule.
They’re cheap, manageable, and most of all,
rugged. Apple has built comprehensive education
software to help manage iPads and create
beautiful multimedia lessons on them, but
schools don’t seem to be rising to the challenge in
terms of creativity. Most of them just want to give
NLGVDFKHDSGHYLFH\RXFDQ¿OORXWZHEIRUPVRQ
S
a
s
c
h
a
S
e
g
a
n
@saschasegan
