14 DAY TRIAL // Describing the iPad Pro as “a magical piece of glass,” Apple claims this particular device is much better than a PC, mostly because “it’s so fast most laptops can’t catch up.”
And while some people don’t agree with these claims, the iPad Pro can easily play the role of a desktop computer, as former Windows boss Steven Sinofsky himself demonstrated recently.
Sinofsky, who is the one that brought us Windows 8 before he left the company in late 2012, built a “new desktop PC” using an iPad Pro with 256 GB of storage, as revealed in a post on Twitter.
The setup also includes a dedicated stand, which was purchased for just $70, as well as a Magic Keyboard, a trackpad, the Apple Pencil, and a right angle cable. A 7 in 1 dongle is also use for the desktop PC, as such an accessory has become mandatory in the Apple ecosystem.
The iPad Pro project
And while the iPad Pro being used as a desktop computer is something that for users committed to Windows sounds impossible, Sinofsky says the iPad Pro won’t become his main PC anyway.
“Use case I am looking forward to is as a second screen for video meetings. I got a Blackmagic ATEM Mini and will use this as a second video source and mix in picture in picture at source rather than share a desktop. Super nice!” he explains.
Apple is one of the companies that didn’t originally believe in the 2-in-1 form factor. Shortly after Apple launched the original Surface RT in 2012, Apple bosses themselves laughed of the pairing of a tablet with a keyboard and compared it to a mix of a refrigerator and a toaster.
The iPad Pro, which is essentially a 2-in-1 product as well, is now one of the best alternatives to Microsoft’s Surface lineup, also coming with a pencil and other accessories.