The advent of touch interfaces was supposed to bring a new era of computing, and while they have certainly achieved that as devices for content consumption, I'm not so sure when it comes to content creation.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad 10 years ago, the laptop suddenly became an endangered species: not as powerful as its desktop siblings, and not as mobile as the newcomers.

We were promised the future, but the future never came. At least not yet.

I love laptops: I haven't owned a desktop computer for more than 15 years. I've done all my work since then, as a developer first and as a photographer / videographer later, on a laptop.

My first laptop was an iBook, and it was love at first sight - that thing was so small! I haven't looked back since.

That is, until recently. The current iPads seem to be as powerful (if not more) than laptops, and software only keeps getting better. They bring big promises with them: more portability, longer battery life, and potentially even higher productivity.

The iPad is not a computer

I really wanted the iPad to be the future of computing. I've tried to make it my sole content creation device more times than I can count, but I always gave up shortly after.

"I'm trying to think of a good analogy. When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks. But as people moved more towards urban centers, people started to get into cars. I think PCs are going to be like trucks. Less people will need them." - Steve Jobs

iPads are great entertainment tools for kids, the perfect browser for unexperienced adults, a good-enough computer for many, and the new TV for everyone.

Literally every single task I can do on my computer will either take longer on the iPad or simply not be possible at all. It's not a matter of power, or about a few tweaks here and there on the OS. I believe now that touch screens are just not as good for productivity as most thought them to be, including me.

In my opinion, a keyboard + trackpad is still the best way to interact with a computer-like device: they are right there, under your hands, and they don't get in the way. You can interact with an app's interface without having to move your hands all over the place.

Even though you can use external keyboards and even a mouse with an iPad now, they make it heavier and bulkier, erasing one of its biggest advantages. Also, the keyboard and mouse work much better on an OS that was designed with them in mind; they don't work on an iPad because most apps -not even the OS- were built counting on them as the main source for input.

In sum: iPads are much better than regular computers for a few very specific tasks and most content consumption, but much worse for everything else.

Laptops are a compromise, but a good one

Compared to desktop computers, laptops still have the edge that made me fall in love with them 15 years ago: you can grab them and go.

I don't work from an office, I don't even work from the same place at home: sometimes I'm on a desk, sometimes on the couch, sometimes on the dining room. I like to go to coffee shops, I like to work from libraries. Laptops give me that freedom, plus the flexibility to connect external monitors, keyboards, trackpad... if I really wanted to.

The only real disadvantage is their performance: the smaller size, the heat they generate and having to power from a battery means they have to be less powerful devices, there's no denying it.

Laptops still get the job done, though: sure, my Macbook could render those 4k videos a bit faster and open that RAW file in half the time, but it's a compromise I'm willing to take because all of the upsides that they offer.

My next computing device

When I bought my current MacBook Pro, I thought it was going to be my last laptop: surely, I'd be switching to an iPad once Apple had figured out the ins and outs of productivity on these post-PC devices. Almost three years later, that hasn't happened -and I doubt it will happen any time soon.

The harder Apple tries to make the iPad as functional as a computer, the more obvious it is that it wasn't meant to be that.

The opposite, though, might be the future: a computer that gets closer to the iPad. As far as I'm concerned, Microsoft's Surface is the best example, one that Apple should imitate. Take your iPad Pro, make it run MacOS and pair it with a detachable, professional grade keyboard and trackpad. That's it.

My current Macbook Pro is a 2017 model, and despite its many flaws, it gets the job done. I'm hoping it'll last for at least another 2-3 years. Then it'll be time for me to look for a new machine for my work. Another laptop? A tablet? A hybrid? Who knows!