My 2019 iPad Pro ran pretty well, all things considered.

Apparently, the nearly 5-year-old Apple tablet is in good shape. The Magic Keyboard still makes for a useful mini-laptop, especially with the magnetic pencil. Yet on the inside, its heart feels heavy (literally heavier with this Magic Keyboard compared to the 2019 iPad Pro keyboard). The battery is still functional, but drains overnight if I don't plug it in, even with the PowerHog “background refresh” feature turned off.

It doesn't feel like it Planned obsolescence, Absolutely not. Like a tired horse whispering in my ear: “I've had a good life. It's all right if you take me out to pasture now. Maybe you'll get a good trade price, you know.” ”

And just in time, here comes Apple with its thinnest, lightest, most powerful iPad Pro yet (unveiled, mercifully, at the company's shortest event yet). Now here I am, lust after The iPad Pro 13-inch, which just got significantly lighter. Compared to its 12.9-inch predecessor, and faster. I'm wondering how many digital comics I can store in the 2 TB version. I am very curious about New Squeezable Pencil Pro. Who doesn't want to squeeze their pencil?

Here I am, in other words, seriously considering an iPad Pro package that will top out at over $3,000 (including the Pencil Pro and the newer, lighter Magic Keyboard). For comparison, that's $2,000 more than you'd pay for a 13-inch MacBook Air, and $700 more than last time we called. Apple shocks its flagship iPad Package planning.

Some owners may balk at such upgrades, regardless of the trade-in credit. (For the record, Apple's Trade Estimator Say I might have $285 for my old workhorse). But let's just say that creating and feeding such owners is not how Apple became the richest tech company on the planet.

iPad's best ally and Always has been Aspirational creativity – which I described in the previous one. iPad Pro Analysis As “living your best life.” You might not actually use this tablet to make movies at the climbing gym, like we saw in this 40-minute Apple event, but you can. can do. It probably makes more sense to do this on a Mac if you're using an audio editor like Logic Pro, but you'll see Cooler Hanging out in the home studio, editing your future hit track on a tablet.

You might not always use the high-end art app that earned star billing at the event, Procreate, but surely when you do, Penci Pro will squeeze some Picasso-like genius out of you. And if you're already tossing a MacBook Air in your bag for the sake of your stomach, you don't really need that super-powerful M4 chip for a device that's often used for reading digital comics or magazines. Or a new Magic Keyboard. (No, I'm not calling myself here, why are you asking?)

But you might! The extra screen real estate and faster load times might be just what you need to help you finish that novel, and wouldn't you feel bad if inspiration struck and all you had was yours? There was an iPad and you had to type on an original. Screen? Horror!

And there's this: Apple knows our income is always a little more disposable if it can appeal to our genius. Life is short; Who doesn't want to unleash their inner artist/musician/climbing gym videographer? Credit card debt is nothing next to living your best creative life.

Whispers, but the old workhorse doesn't stand a chance.