# The iPad's Creative Awakening: Apple Embraces a New Audience

- Author: @gurupanguji
- Date: 2024-05-07
- URL: https://gurupanguji.com/blog/2024/05/07/the-ipads-creative-awakening-apple-embraces-a-new-audience/
- Categories: essay
- Tags: event, ipad, technology

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<p>Apple's "Let Loose" event unveiled a flurry of new iPads, some packing fancy new chips, others not so much. But amidst the typical Apple fanfare, a realization struck me: the iPad just isn't for me anymore. Those gorgeous new displays are tempting (seriously, I'm intrigued), but iPadOS's locked-down nature clashes with my tinkering tendencies. However, Apple also clarified a new audience it's courting: creative producers (audio, image, and video).</p>
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<p>Apple clarified the iPad's raison d'être today, providing a cohesive update for the said audience while pitching to a new, distinct one.</p>
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<p>The iPad is a touch-forward, simple (and simplified) intuitive user interface that prioritizes security. As a result, it's an excellent general-purpose computing platform for those seeking a straightforward computer.</p>
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<p>With today's announcements, Apple targeted a new audience: creative professionals who work with images, audio, and video – and believe Mac's openness makes it too complex.</p>
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<p>Storytelling has always been a critical part of the human experience. The prevalence of YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok attests that image, audio, and video storytelling are slowly becoming the de facto communication modes.</p>
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<p>Apple seems to be iterating the touch-forward, intuitive (and locked-down) iPad to be an able computing platform for those engaged in these creative endeavors.</p>
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<p>This is evident in the now solidified three (technically four) iPad tiers:</p>
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<li>iPad (price drop to $349): a great starting device prioritizing price (via previous-gen hardware) or where computing needs are minimal.</li>
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<li>iPad mini (no updates today): prioritizes size.</li>
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<li>iPad Air: with today's M2 updates, Apple's positioning this as the iPad once you know you want one. It's capable enough to handle newer creative production capabilities but cheaper due to older-gen silicon and hardware.</li>
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<li>iPad Pro: with today's M2 and new accessory updates, Apple's highlighting this primarily for creative professionals who don't want a Mac's open system.</li>
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<p>To me, this clarity in the lineup is the clearest sign yet that the iPad is not a device intended for me. A Mac not only serves the necessary creative utilities I seek but also provides a more open operating system (at the expense of higher administration costs) that allows me to do more. It enables development and tinkering that the iPad locks down.</p>
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<p>I think I finally accept that the iPad isn't a device for me: Development mandates opening up access to the operating system and its subsystems. This opening up is and will be in tension with a simplified, secured, locked-down operating system.</p>
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<p>One could argue that this openness and the required complexity are also at odds when pursuing said creative endeavors.</p>
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<p>It might be because of the starting point with iOS, or maybe it's a philosophy Apple believes in. However, today was the first time it clicked for me <strong>why</strong> despite trying, I could never adopt the iPad as my primary computing device.</p>
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<p>This still leaves a part of me disappointed. I am the sucker for the new displays announced today. In a previous world, I'd have been trading in my older iPad to purchase the OLED iPad Pro on Day 1. However, I am glad I am saving that money and putting it into $AAPL today.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Miscellaneous</h2>
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<li>A steady state of 1000 nits brightness across the 11" / 13" is still a remarkable technical achievement and I am very excited to see this in action 🤤</li>
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<li>Pro App updates to <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/05/logic-pro-takes-music-making-to-the-next-level-with-new-ai-features/">Logic</a> and <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/05/final-cut-pro-transforms-video-creation-with-live-multicam-on-ipad-and-new-ai-features-on-mac/">FCP</a> allow them to be first class iPad apps - finally</li>
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<li>I am still flummoxed that Apple's not building better audio subsystems into iPad Pro to allow iPads to be out-of-the-box podcasting machines</li>
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<li>Using machine learning to tease apart various components from an audio stream is a neat application and I am hoping it will come to not just the iPad version of the Logic app / limited to M4.</li>
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<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/05/final-cut-pro-transforms-video-creation-with-live-multicam-on-ipad-and-new-ai-features-on-mac/">FCP Camera</a> is very exciting and I am very interested in checking it out</li>
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<li>The iPad Air is now heavier than the iPad Pro 😅</li>
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<li>Looks like there’s more binning at work: 1TB and 2TB Pro models have more RAM (16GB) and one additional GPU core.</li>
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<li>$299 for the Magic Keyboard is still so steep. Glad they make it in more durable material now but I hope it’s lighter. Also personally I’ve found the magic keyboard kill battery life in the 11” version.</li>
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<li>Lastly, here's a tip I picked up once you lose access to HDR playback of certain titles in Mac OS. This especially works for Disney+ titles. What a workaround. </li>
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