I’ve often said that my Mac is my most important Apple product: if I could only have one, that’s the one I’d choose. Partly because bigger is better in my view when it comes to screen sizes, and partly because of its flexibility. The combination of powerful apps, a proper file-system and windowing.

But last night I chose to reach for my iPad and Magic Keyboard when it came to writing a personal blog post and doing a few other things …

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I guess first impressions of the Magic Keyboard with trackpad can be thought of as layered. There’s the ordering experience, otherwise known as: did I really just pay £349* – more than the price of the entry-level iPad – for a keyboard?

*Usual reminder: In the UK, VAT (sales tax) is included in the list price. So the UK price is £291 without sales tax, which is the equivalent of $359. This compares with a US price of $349, to which sales tax needs to be added.

Then there’s the set up experience …

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Apple’s Magic Keyboard with trackpad for iPad may be the first of the company’s iPad keyboards to persuade me to switch from Brydge.

The company’s Smart Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio products didn’t impress me. The typing feel wasn’t good, they didn’t balance well on my lap and overall had the feel of something cheap and plasticky. That’s the reason I’ve so far stuck with Brydge keyboards.

But early indications are that the Magic Keyboard may be the one to win me over …

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I felt that the new-form-factor 12.9-inch iPad dramatically strengthened the argument for an iPad over a laptop for those with relatively basic needs. I did, however, feel compelled to make the case for an iPad-specific version of iOS, so that the software would do justice to the hardware.

While the iPad Pro isn’t trying to be a Mac, it is a grown-up device and it needs a grown-up operating system. Not macOS, but rather a tailored version of iOS, designed to take advantage of the additional capabilities of the iPad. What some people have termed padOS.

Apple of course finally gave us that with iPadOS 13, and I have to say it makes a huge difference…

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Way back in 2015, I looked at whether the iPad Pro of the time could be a Mac substitute. My bottom line then was “not for everyone, but for many, yes.”

The answer, of course, is the same one I give when non-techy friends ask me which laptop they should buy: It depends on what you want to do with it.

But once I’ve heard what they want to use it for, my answer to the question, ‘Which laptop should I buy?’ has often been, ‘You shouldn’t: Buy an iPad plus Bluetooth keyboard instead.’ So far, at least, everyone who has taken this advice has been happy with the result…

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It will surprise no-one that I was an early adopter of the Kindle, buying one almost the moment they went on sale back in 2007. I was doing a lot of business travel at a time, and absolutely loved the ability to carry a whole load of books with me at all times in essentially zero space.

My Kindle went literally everywhere with me, whether it was across town or to the other side of the world. That changed, however, when the first iPad came out …

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