What everyone gets wrong about the iPad Pro

I recently bought an iPad Pro and the Magic Keyboard. More on that in an upcoming post. But when I was making my decision to purchase, I did a lot of research. And I would always come across reviews like this one from Tom’s Hardware Guide that complains about how heavy/thick the Magic Keyboard makes the iPad. They compare it to a Macbook Air and point out how the iPad Pro/Magic Keyboard weighs nearly the same as a laptop and is as thick as a laptop. Tom’s Hardware even said repeatedly “not so cool”. But that’s missing the point.

Yes the basic iPad is a tablet. Yes the iPad Pro is a more expensive version of that same tablet. But according to Apple it can also be a laptop. And at $350, no one is accidentally buying the Magic Keyboard to make the iPad a better tablet. They’re buying it because it turns the iPad tablet into an iPad laptop. With the word laptop in mind, does it matter that the iPad Pro/Magic Keyboard is as thick or as heavy as a laptop? Of course not. No one complains that a laptop weighs as much as a laptop, or that a laptop is as thick as a laptop. It’s a laptop. Of course it does, and of course it is.

Does this hinder the portability?

Is your laptop portable?

In all seriousness, the iPad Pro/Magic Keyboard combo is more portable than a laptop because it can also be a tablet. But if you don’t want to use it as a tablet, then it’s exactly as thick and heavy as a laptop. Which bring me back to… do you consider your laptop portable? Of course you do. That’s why you bought a laptop. I don’t see Tom’s Hardware Guide or The Verge or Engadget complaining that the 13″ Macbook Air isn’t portable, so why is this mentioned when it comes to the iPad Pro?

If you consider the Macbook Air too thick and heavy to take with you to a coffee shop, you’re not going to like the slightly-thinner iPad Pro/Magic Keyboard. But if you consider the Macbook Air too thick and heavy to take to a coffee shop, I’m left wondering… what computer are you actually using?