iPad as a tool

Two happy things coincided this week. Apple released a new iPad that you can use an actual keyboard with, and i had a meeting with my Apple SMEs. So i voiced an earlier thought i’d had, “can you get any actual work done with this?”. So the other one asked “Do you want to try?” Yes! Absolutely! Shure dang! (just as soon as i return the MacBook i borrowed from them :) ¹

So what do i need to do work? Not much, i’d assume. A terminal and a browser. A proper keyboard. And git. A proper editor would be nice. Do they have Atom for iPad? Or vim? ²

Opening my goodie bag, i realise it’s not a 10" 7th gen iPad, but an iPad Pro. Boom! Stoked! Not only does that mean a lot more oomph, but that i can charge it with a proper (USB C) charger anywhere i roam. I’m an Android guy and don’t have anything that requires a Lightning plug to charge. And that brings me to the next thing. I’ve actually never used an iDevice more than in quick passing. This is going to be a new endeavour for me.

Half an hour later.

Okay. It’s cool. It’s shiny. The iPad sort of magically sticks to the keyboard-cover. The pencil sticks to the side of the iPad with a satisfying click. The keyboard doesn’t need charging at all, it just connects to the iPad and off you go. The pencil charges by induction when it’s snapped to the iPad.

Oh that pencil. I just tried it quickly with the Notes app. It’s smooth. It’s responsive. It’s… instant! I’m going to like this experiment.

Update! After some help from my colleague, i even found how to get the Nordic characters ÅÄÖ on the hard keyboard. It wasn’t totally obvious. Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards. Add Swedish or Finnish keyboard. Settings > Keyboard > Hardware keyboard > Swedish (or Finnish) > `Swedish

• Pro` (or Finnish). Then, while in text input mode in an app, press the globe key at the bottom left of the keyboard, which usually lets you select between your default keyboard (whatever your install language was) and Emoji. Whop and behold, there’s a new option there! Swedish (or Finnish)! And now you can type with your favourite character set!

Of course, the spell checker goes all boinkers and assumes your English writing now is misspelled Swedish… I suppose. In this sense, the Android system is a bit more clever, as it figures out i’ve changed languages mid-sentence if need be.

I still miss a “Home” key, so i can get back to whatever home screen there is without lifting my hands from the keyboard. Cmd-Space works³, which is neat, and it’s possible that’ll cover the lack of a Home key. An Escape key there is not.