I used to be an Apple hater. Of the few Apple products I owned in the mid-2000s - 2 iPods, 1 Mac Mini - none of them had worked properly. Syncing music to my iPod was a pain, and my Mac Mini barely lasted a year before breaking down. In 2011, after much hesitation, I made a gamble and bought the 32 GB iPad 2. Contrary to my previous experiences with Apple, it surprised and delighted me in so many ways. It's the gift that kept on giving. It's the best device I've ever owned.
What miracle transpired during the second half of the 2000s which caused the massive stride forward? Well, iOS happened. Until now, it's the most intuitive OS in the market. Idiot-proof and lightweight, it made interacting with devices a joy. The iOS App Store was a holy-grail milestone for Apple, where it found the perfect balance between the divergent approaches of walled-garden and openness.
When I got my iPad in late 2011, I made an experiment. I would live a PC-free existence and take on the post-PC lifestyle. It went so well that I questioned whether I would ever need a PC again. I read news and articles on Flipboard, then saved them to Pocket and Evernote. All my emails became instant and accessible through the Mail app. To my delight, most video websites also supported iPads, giving me an abundant trove of shows and movies to watch on top of the ones I could watch within apps. I downloaded the latest games, mostly just to see the mechanics and while away my free time. I could do almost everything I needed on my iPad save for file organization.
To further deepen the usage of my iPad, I got two new accessories, a stylus and a keyboard. The stylus allowed me to take full advantage of Paper and revive my sketching habits. The keyboard transformed my iPad into a mini-touchscreen laptop. It served as an excellent stand and case while empowering me to write notes and articles anywhere. In a previous post, I raved about how the iPad plus keyboard combo was the ideal computing solution for me. And it really was, at that time.
The wonderful thing about my experiment was that it fully immersed me in the world of apps and easy computing. It made me want to take part in the revolution. While I was happily living my post-PC life, I knew I eventually needed something more powerful to go into hardcore computing. In the last few months of my experiment, I waded the PC waters to see what could be good buys. The Lenovo Yoga convertible laptop came the closest, but Windows 8 really put me off no matter how much I tried to like it. On the other hand, the Macintosh was becoming ever more convincing. The non-intuitive components of my old Mac Mini were replaced with iOS elements, making Mac OS almost like an iOS-plus of sorts. I grew even more convinced to make the jump after seeing firsthand me and my brother's respective Acer laptops die one after the other while my dad's Macbook continued to hum along. And the best part, the price points of Apple laptops were comparable with their Windows counterparts even as it provided a superior form factor and of course bragging rights.
When the new Macbook Air came out in the middle of this year with battery life (one of my most prized features) even longer than my iPad, I knew it was finally time to pull the trigger. Last week, the stars finally aligned. I had acquired enough savings, the gall to flush it all down the drain, and the chance to buy my most coveted gadget - the 2013 Macbook Air.
Shortly after getting my new laptop, I got an offer from my cousin to buy my iPad. I needed to make the decision fast since I didn't have much time at home. The iPad was at the center of my gadget mix, the device I spent the most time on. Originally, my plan was to slowly ween off my iPad dependence by having both iPad and Macbook with me at the same time. I can use one or the other depending on the task at hand. But I only have so many hours to spend on my gadgets, the Macbook Air is going to have to be at the center now. As a bonus, it's going to force me to create more rather than to consume more. I knew that in between my smartphone, my Kindle, and my new laptop, the iPad is a nice-to-have yet ultimately redundant device. I decided to make another experiment. After 1 year and 9 months, I will try to live an iPad-less life.
Today is Day 3 of the experiment. I knew it was going to be hard to adjust without my regular companion for almost two years. Coming from the iPad, the Macbook Air has its share of good and bad. I am elated by the fact that I now own the best laptop in the world (according to most reviews). The blade-like device gives me a sense of power, as though it could slash through any task I ask it to do. The trackpad is surgically-precise; it's so good that I hardly miss my iPad's touchscreen. Reloading tabs are no longer a problem. I can finally use USBs again. Multitasking is a breeze, yet monotasking is also easy with full-screen apps. I could have my cake and eat it too.
Nevetheless, there were things I still missed a lot about my iPad. The Air is a very handsome device, but it borders on intimidating sometimes. Unlike with my iPad, I feel that I have to be very careful when handling it. The general playfulness of iOS is also replaced by the cold brushed metal of Mac OS. The App Store here looks like a sparse high-end department store compared to iOS which looks like a bustling shopping mall. I miss the handy portrait form factor. I miss all the fun games and the joy of downloading a new app. I miss Flipboard and Paper, two of my favorite apps which are close to impossible to replicate on the Air.
Out with the old and in with the new will always be a bittersweet experience. For now, I would have to split the load my iPad carried in the last two years. My Kindle will handle books and long-form content. My phone will do even more social updates and gaming. My laptop will take on web browsing, online videos, writing, and all the wonderful things my iPad couldn't do. It's going to take some getting used to, but I believe it would be a big step forward in terms of my workflow. I'm still planning on fulfilling my ultimate gadget mix with a Retina iPad Mini in the near future, but for now, it's goodbye iPad, and hello Macbook Air.
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