Opinion
The iPad turns 10: The most useless piece of technology celebrates itself
by Dominik Bärlocher
10 years, 1 day: The Swiss and their iPads
28.1.2020
Translation: machine translated
Useless? Not at all! Digitec users love their iPads. They talk about their life with the device that has become a permanent fixture in the world within ten years.
It is the 3654th day in human history since the iPad was launched. Yesterday, the tablet celebrated its tenth birthday.
My accusation of the uselessness of the iPad and tablets in general has caused quite a stir. The comment column has drawn people out of the woodwork who have made one thing clear: I need an iPad and don't want to do without it.
This is what you think of the iPad.
From the construction industry
I work in the construction industry. Without iPads, nothing would work for us. Always having all plans and 3D models up to date is simply a must for our workers.
It's people like Anonymous who are building our world.
Thanks to the iPad, the company Anonymous works for saves money. The iPad can be used to take pictures, adjust plans on site and send emails. In the past, the construction industry had to rely on long communication channels. Someone left the office, went to the construction site, looked at a situation, documented it in pictures or text, went back to the office, analysed the data there, then discussed it with others, then found a solution.
Today: Drive to the construction site, take a picture with iPad, make adjustments with stylus, synchronise data in the office, hands-free system in the car - the problem is solved on the way back. Less effort, more efficient use of time, more free time for hobbies and family.
From media competence
I agree... very disconcerting. Giving me as a buyer the feeling that I've bought something bad is unnecessary and simply unprofessional. If you simply have to write something, then write something about the weather in future.
User Gintoxin addresses an aspect that I would like to mention - apart from the iPad. If you allow yourself to be so impressed by the internet - be it digitec.ch, Blick, The Verge, Facebook or Instagram - that you have to question an informed decision on your part, then you are too deep in the net.
The decision as to whether you buy or do something good is up to you. You don't live your life according to external validation, I hope. Nobody has to like what you like, even if your filter bubble always validates you. One of the most important skills in our world of information overload is being able to qualify and prioritise information. Otherwise, you'll crash on yourself and nobody wants that.
Even if you buy something that objectively doesn't "bewitch", one thing counts in the end: do you enjoy it? If you can answer "yes" to this question, then I hope nobody can make you feel bad about it. Was it too expensive? Counter question: How expensive is joy?
Even Apple doesn't want you to be crushed by digital abundance and the opinions of others, by the way. Because my screen time shows me quite alarmingly how much time I spend on social media.
Of the art
I'm a digital artist myself, I draw portraits and illustrations and I have to say, there's hardly anything better at this price and I'm really not an Apple fanatic.
The iPad has had a significant impact on the creative industry. Fabio.Simeoli is one of those who make their art on the iPad's high-resolution display. Where I draw half-bad cartoon otters, Fabio and others make a career out of the iPad and a pen.
An example: Zurich tattoo artist Maurizio Feraco, aka Mau Dit, usually only draws his tattoo designs on a tablet in his studio Hautrock. Although he misses the slightly doodly feeling of drawing on a piece of paper, he still doesn't want to be without his iPad:
"I simply have everything with me: pens, brushes, lightbox, colours... I always had to carry all that with me before the iPad," says Maurizio, "But now, as long as the power is on, I can let my creativity run free. And no more trees die, which is also really nice."
Update: Mail from Fabio
Fabio, you are a hero! Here are two pictures that Fabio sent me by email over lunchtime. Great work!
Of hate
A really sad Apple hater article.
and
We should know by now that Mr Bärlocher doesn't like Apple products.
Apple polarises. Ynckk and SwissCrow85 jump to the conclusion that the author of the article he just read - me, in that case - hates Apple. How do you know that?
A look into a journalist's bag of tricks: I can either write in my readers' faces and not get any great comments like the one from Anonymous from the construction industry. But if I write a little polemic, the readers become a little more aware of themselves. They notice the iPad they work with every day or watch YouTube on in the toilet. A polemic can serve to put something mundane in the spotlight.
How often does a service employee think "Oh, how useful is my iPad?" when there are ten tables that are thirsty and hungry? I'd rather provoke the thought "Hey, I work with this thing every day and I think it's good!" on the way home.
On my own behalf: This morning, this is what it looked like on my workbench at home. These are the devices that are currently dominating my everyday life.
On media literacy II
What? Well, I find it handy for reading the newspaper and surfing in bed. Much more convenient than my mobile, which constantly beeps with WhatsApp and emails.
It's the little things that make up everyday life. User Anonymous wants to switch off from time to time. She or he does it with an iPad. Good work
This is exactly why Apple has introduced things like Screen Time. The project, just like Google's Digital Wellbeing, tries to make you aware of how you spend your screen time and thus reclaim some quality of life in the age of never-ending notifications. Because life isn't just about screens. And sometimes life is one without notifications. In bed. With newspapers.
Tip on your own behalf: try switching off the notifications on your work email address. This has worked wonders for my well-being.
Of the usage
iPad Pro performance is better than iPhone 11 Pro. In addition, the iPad now has its own software → iPadOS.
An important aspect of humanity is that we don't always find the best best. Nothing demonstrates this better than the performance of the iPad mentioned by alemilano. Is the iPad better than the iPhone? Yes? No. Does it matter? No, because the world is obviously more fond of iPhones than iPads. This is shown by the Pornhub statistics, which show that only 7.1 per cent of users accessed the site on a tablet. By comparison. The smartphone reigns supreme: 76.6 per cent of users used a smartphone to watch their sex films. Incidentally, Apple iOS outperforms Android on Pornhub. 52.8 per cent of users use the Apple operating system, 46.6 per cent Android.
It doesn't matter which performs better. For alemilano perhaps, but the world seems to rely more on practicality and availability than on performance. To borrow a saying from photography: The best camera is always the one you have with you.
Of accessibility
We live in a modern age in which the housewife watches a bit of Wilma TV while cooking, the craftsman listens to his favourite radio station on his iPad and slightly better speakers in his craft room - or even better: operating his SONOS system, children can take their first steps on the Internet in an (at least partially) secure environment and use apps suitable for children, sales representatives have their reports and customer data with them without a great deal of specialist knowledge.... this list could go on and on...
The expert speaks. PC-Doc knows the users of iPads better than digitec.ch ever could. By giving others access to the Internet, he opens up a whole new world for them.
Tablets, even if productivity suffers, give access to the internet to those who would otherwise avoid it. Suddenly, smart tech like speakers are no longer something that other people have, but are part of their own household. The tablet shortens information and service routes on construction sites or generally for those who work in a decentralised manner. It saves money and nerves.
From the resolution
Dear Mr Bärlocher, please solve the mystery and admit that you are a fan, even if only a secret one, of the sinfully overpriced Apple products.
Okay. But there's one thing I don't agree with. The word "secretly". Secretly? Rookiecookie, I am unashamedly a fan of Macbooks. I never want another laptop that isn't a Macbook. My iPhone annoys me in two or three places, but it's a beautiful device. The iPad collects dust as a home hub, but gives me the weather report every morning via Siri. She speaks English with an Irish accent and that amuses me every morning.
So no more talk of being sneaky.
So once again: Happy Birthday, iPad! Here's to ten more years!
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
Smartphone
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
29 comments
later