My MacBook Pro is old. I purchased it in 2010. It’s slow to boot and often, while waiting, the infamous rainbow ball appears and spins.
The iPad Pro is much faster. In fact, there is no lag with the iPad Pro and it’s the first generation released in 2015. I use it every day as my main computer and can’t remember the last time I turned it off. Unless I’m using Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator on my desktop Mac at work the iPad Pro is always by my side ready for action.
The fact is, in addition to a desktop Mac, I use the iPad Pro for much of my photo editing tasks at work. Pixelmator is my app of choice and it’s been great. But when I have to go back to legacy files that can be edited more quickly on the Mac I’ll use Adobe. It’s incredible how much work I’ve done using Adobe software.
But the iPad Pro often offers flexibility and speed the Mac can’t match. Why? Because I can get work done on the train with it or pull it from my bag as soon as I arrive home and finish something immediately rather than wait to boot a computer.
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files also open on my iPad Pro.
Will the new MacBook Air be my last computer? Maybe. I have not used my old MacBook Pro for over six months – since working from home that day and needing Adobe.
But if I purchase a new MacBook Air I’m not sure I’d even load Adobe software onto it at all… or even anything from Microsoft. There are excellent options from Pixelmator, Procreate and Affinity to cover my graphic design needs and Apple’s very own Pages, Numbers and Keynote cover Microsoft. In fact, Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides also cover Microsoft’s offerings and I use them often because my office mates do too.
I know I must replace my aging MacBook Pro from 2010. I’ll probably purchase a new MacBook Air in a few weeks, load all of my software and let it sit unused beside my night table in a carry bag. Perhaps I’ll use it once in a while for updating WordPress websites or retouching something in Photoshop. But for that, I’ll miss using the Apple Pencil – and an iPad Pro.