In the end I burst. I bought the cheapest iPad and quickly found out that it is better than more expensive computers

If you are looking for a cheap laptop, stop searching and look at the iPad. Even the cheapest iPad is now unexpectedly good equipment, which has much more sense than the cheapest laptops.

My editorial colleagues have been praising iPads for years. I, in turn, treated tablets as an unnecessary product category that had its five minutes, but today it works only as the ultimate weapon of helpless parents who have to take care of the child in the car.

I had the idea of ​​buying a tablet a few times, but reason always won. I work on a computer, travel on a laptop, play and watch TV series, and for all mobile applications I have a smartphone. Where is the place for a tablet here?

I used to buy iPad Pro several times, which theoretically could replace the MacBook. Switching to an iPad would mean 1 kg less luggage on the back, and with a backpack full of photo equipment it makes a big difference. The software promised, because iOS is iA Writer, in which I write all the texts, there are Lightroom and Affinity Photo, where I process the pictures, and in the end is very promising Luma Fusion for film editing.

However, when I analyzed my workflow quietly, I knew that on a mobile system in a few places I would hit a wall that could not be jumped. Thus, the iPad Pro would not be able to replace my computer applications.

In the end I burst.

Some time ago I came across Amazon for promotion, in which the current generation of basic iPad cost 1200 PLN. Without thinking long, I clicked "Buy Now". I did not expect much from this equipment, because it is the weakest model on offer. I will not even mention the design out of pity, because the project remembers 2013. I bought an iPad out of pure curiosity. I focused mainly on entertainment, having somewhere in the back of my head watching Netflix on the go.

Some time later, Apple showed on WWDC iPadOS . As soon as a public beta appeared, I immediately installed the system. It was a hit. Beta for now has a lot of mistakes, but it can be used every day. You can see a very big breath of freshness in it. Let's get to the bottom of it.

What do I do on the iPad?

I'm constantly discovering new uses of the iPad and I can not get over how well the tablet works in different scenarios.

I started with the video. Both YouTube and Netflix look great on the iPad. Sure, the proportions make the black bars intrinsic to the films, but in practice they stop noticing them after about five seconds. A large screen gives a much better viewing experience than a smartphone screen, and I say it as a smartphone user with a 6.4 inch screen. It will not replace the TV in any way, but can the TV be taken to the kitchen?

The next discovery was ... photos. Showing friends and family photos on the iPad is literally a new quality of presentation, especially if we are at home and we do not have the ability to connect to the TV. The photographs look great. The mobility of the iPad is almost the same as the smartphone, and the screen is incomparably larger. In turn, the service is much more convenient than in the case of a laptop. Rotations or enlarging photos are perfectly smooth, and at the same time remain natural and comfortable.

Later, I went to read. The iPad is an ideal format for reading magazines, which I learned by using the application Publico24 , or "Netflix for the press." Later I discovered that books on the Kindle app look just as good on the iPad, especially after setting the black background and white letters with a very low text brightness. With this setting, reading does not strain your eyes completely.

Games were even more surprising. Before me, Civilization VI, and for now, when I have a moment, I start the Remote Play application on the iPad and play Spider-Man streaming straight from the PlayStation 4 in the living room. Recently, I even played ... in the bathtub.

I also put the iPad into work. I've written several texts in iA Writer, the same application that I use on a Mac. When I attached the keyboard to the iPad Magic Keyboard, which I use on a daily basis, I give a word that writing on the Linux did not differ from writing on a laptop. What's more, the text after writing can be prepared for publication. The Safari in iPadOS is presented as a desktop browser, so I can do it on my computer.

I also try to use iPad for photos. For now, I have been very surprised by the Affinity Photo application, because it seems that it actually has the same capabilities as the desktop program. Today, from the level of iPad, I prepared a miniature for Łukasz on Spider's Web TV. I also started to check the Luma Fusion application for film editing, but I can see that the program will not work for me. I will write more about him on another occasion.

The iPad is today a real competition for cheap laptops. A little demanding user simply should not choose a laptop.

When using iPad 6, I can not believe how well this equipment works. Apps look great (well, maybe off Instagram), they work fast, and Safari has finally become a desktop class browser.

The iPad has become an alternative to a laptop. I know a lot of cases of people using the computer only from the rush. They used old computers that barely worked, or new, cheap laptops that ... barely worked.

If you can have an iPad for PLN 1200, what is the point in buying a laptop for up to PLN 1,500? iPad gives incomparably better work time on charging, much higher comfort and work culture, a very solid metal housing, smaller size and lower mass, and a touch screen with a much higher quality. Seriously, even the basic iPad model covers 97.5 percent. sRGB color space, and thus more than ultrabooks with Windows costing 5,000. zł. In this matter, there is even a comparison to cheap laptops for PLN 1500.

A laptop costing PLN 1,500 will be crackling, plastic, barely working hardware that will arouse user's frustration. A cheap laptop has two real advantages: a set of traditional ports and Windows. Windows for many people will not be a better system, but it is still a desktop system. So we have compatibility with all standards.

Even so, if I were to buy a computer for my parents, I would buy them an iPad. The tablet would meet all their needs: communication, access to social media, entertainment, a good browser, banking, and if necessary the use of office suites (both Office and Google Docs, which work very well in Safari on iPadOS). Do you need something more? No, but the icing on top of the cake is the security of the iOS / iPadOS system. If you too have enough phone calls Fri "I clicked something and a strange strip appeared, what should I do?", You know what I am writing about.

I see no reason to not have an iPad.

First of all, tablets still make sense, maybe even bigger than ever. Today, they are suitable not only for entertainment, but also for light office work, especially the remote one.

Secondly, the cheapest iPad in the current generation of Apple hardware is a great, fast, very successful and ... not very beautiful device. The equipment uses the full potential of the iPadOS, has all the gestures to handle it (ah, it's a new copy and paste!) And has guaranteed updates for many years. For PLN 1,200 there is no reason not to buy it.

Thirdly, the iPad will not replace your computer with more advanced work. Not yet. For now, it can only support it, but looking at the development of the iOS / iPadOS system, it is clear that Apple has big ambitions here. I would not be surprised if in a few years iPads have completely replaced the cheapest laptops.

In the end I burst. I bought the cheapest iPad and quickly found out that it is better than more expensive computers