iPad Pro為何取代不了PC

Who needs a tablet these days? It’s a difficultquestion. Six years ago, when Steve Jobs unveiledthe iPad, the device promised a future of “lean-back”computing. Then, curling up in an armchair with aslim slab of technology seemed an almost rebelliousidea.

如今誰還需要平板電腦呢?這是個難以回答的問題。6年前，當(dāng)史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)推出iPad時，這一產(chǎn)品承諾了“向后靠”的數(shù)字未來。在那時，窩在扶手椅中，手持一款薄薄的科技產(chǎn)品，仿佛代表一種叛逆。

Now, most of us own the largest smartphone we’ve ever had, making another big touchscreenseem redundant. Like the proverbial best camera, the best screen is the one you have withyou — which invariably means the one in your pocket or bag.

現(xiàn)在，我們大多數(shù)人擁有迄今屏幕尺寸最大的智能手機(jī)，這就讓另一款大屏設(shè)備顯得多余了。就像眾所周知的最好照相機(jī)一樣，最好的屏幕就是你隨身攜帶的那塊——也就是你口袋或包里的那塊。

To reinvigorate the tablet, Apple is taking the iPad “professional”, with higher specs — andpricing — to match. With the traditional PC firmly in its sights, this is a tablet less for leaningback and reading or watching, and more like leaning in to get things done.

為了讓平板電腦重獲活力，蘋果(Apple)正把iPad變得“專業(yè)化”，配上更高的配置和價格。這款平板電腦牢牢盯住傳統(tǒng)PC的功能，其設(shè)計不是為了讓人們向后靠著閱讀文字或觀看視頻，而是為了幫人們身體前傾、完成工作。

November’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro was joined last month by a smaller, more affordable 9.7-inch sibling. I have been using the larger model, including its keyboard case and Pencilaccessory, for some time now — in part to cover the launch of its successor at Apple’s event inCupertino, where I also got to test one out.

繼去年11月蘋果發(fā)布新的12.9英寸iPad Pro之后，上月又推出了尺寸更小、價格更低的9.7英寸iPad Pro。現(xiàn)在，我使用12.9英寸iPad Pro(包括鍵盤和Apple Pencil)已有一段時間了，部分原因是為了報道蘋果在庫比提諾(Cupertino)舉行的9.7英寸iPad Pro發(fā)布會。我還在那里試用了一下后者。

For me, neither iPad is quite there as a PC replacement, although both come close for theeveryday tasks of typing and research. Both offer meaningful hardware improvements over theiPad Air 2, including much better speakers and a very generous 4GB of Ram for the largerversion.

對我來說，這兩款iPad都不是PC的替代品，盡管它們都更接近于滿足輸入和研究等日常工作。相對iPad Air 2而言，它們的硬件都有了很大提升，包括性能好得多的揚(yáng)聲器，并為12.9英寸版提供了4G的大容量內(nèi)存。

Yet more interesting than the tablet itself are the iPad Pro’s dedicated accessories.

不過，比iPad Pro本身更值得關(guān)注的是它的專屬附件。

Apple’s keyboard case is lightweight yet robust, with a similar feel to last year’s new MacBook.The larger iPad has a full-sized keyboard that was good enough to type furiously on my lapduring the Apple keynote speech, with a little help from autocorrect. The matt fabric coveringfelt slightly odd at first but I did get used to it.

蘋果的鍵盤又輕又耐用，跟去年新出品的MacBook有些類似的感覺。12.9英寸iPad Pro配有全尺寸鍵盤，十分好用，輔以“自動更正”功能，讓我在蘋果的主旨演講過程中能在腿上飛快地鍵入。亞光的織物表面一開始令人感覺略怪異，但我的確習(xí)慣了它。

Crucially, the iPad Pro has a physical connector to attach its keyboard, so there were none ofthe Bluetooth-related issues I suffered with Google’s Pixel C, which I reviewed in February. (Some of the Pixel’s keyboard problems have been resolved with a software update, and arecent Android beta pilot promises to add split-screen app usage, but the Google Play appstore’s limited selection of tablet-friendly software remains a problem.)

至關(guān)重要的是，iPad Pro配備了一個連接鍵盤的物理連接器，所以就不存在我使用谷歌(Google)的Pixel C時遇到的藍(lán)牙相關(guān)問題。我在2月對Pixel C進(jìn)行了評價。(Pixel的部分鍵盤問題通過軟件升級得到了解決，最近的Android beta試用版承諾增加分屏應(yīng)用，但Google Play應(yīng)用商店中適合平板電腦使用的軟件選擇有限，仍是一個問題。)

The smaller Pro’s keyboard, however, is much more compact. While I have tried it out only afew times, it feels unlikely to be comfortable to a touch typist for long-form writing.

然而，9.7英寸iPad Pro的鍵盤就顯得太過緊湊。盡管我就試用了幾次，但對于一個盲打輸入者而言，長時間寫作不可能感覺很舒服。

On the other hand, at under 1lb, the smaller Pro is far lighter and more comfortable to hold forlonger reading sessions than its big brother. Even though the 12.9-inch version is lighter thanmost laptops, it still feels too heavy, especially when I carry it in a shoulder bag all day.

另一方面，不到1磅重的9.7英寸iPad Pro比12.9英寸iPad Pro要輕得多，而且更適合手持進(jìn)行長時間閱讀。盡管12.9英寸iPad Pro比大多數(shù)筆記本電腦輕，但它還是讓人感覺太重，尤其當(dāng)我整天用肩包攜帶它的時候。

Contemplating a choice between a proper keyboard and a lighter screen left me thinking thatneither iPad Pro was quite ready for regular use in my workday.

在好用的鍵盤和更輕的屏幕之間做選擇，讓我覺得，這兩款iPad Pro都不太適合在工作中經(jīng)常使用。

Pencil to paper

從筆到紙

By positioning the iPad Pro as a PC killer at its launch event, Apple is underplaying a differentopportunity: replacing pen and paper.

蘋果在發(fā)布會上把iPad Pro定位為PC殺手，卻放過了另一個機(jī)會：取代筆和紙。

I am no sketch artist but Apple’s new Pencil accessory is easily the best stylus I have used, forits ease of set-up and smooth, pressure-sensitive strokes across the screen.

我不是素描藝術(shù)家，但蘋果的Pencil附件絕對是我用過的最好的觸感筆，它容易設(shè)置，在整個屏幕上書寫都很流暢而且對壓力十分敏感。

Drawing and handwriting on a solid surface still lacks the friction of paper but it worked wellfor annotating documents (see Planet of the Apps) and jotting down notes. The Pencil’s maindrawback is my own lack of familiarity with having one: I often forget to pick it up or take itout and about with me.

在堅(jiān)硬的表面上寫和畫仍缺少紙面的那種摩擦感，但它已非常適合于給文檔做評注(參見Planet of theApps)和簡要地做筆記。Pencil的主要缺陷是我自己對它不夠熟悉：我經(jīng)常忘記把它拿出來或者帶在身邊。

One computing accessory I did not miss when using the iPad Pro at work was the mouse. Iloved tapping the screen to hop between paragraphs or select text, which I found far faster andmore ergonomic than clicking around.

我在使用iPad Pro工作時沒有錯過的一個附件是鼠標(biāo)。我喜歡輕敲屏幕，在段落之間跳來跳去，或選取文字——我發(fā)現(xiàn)，這樣做比到處點(diǎn)擊更快，更符合人體工程學(xué)。

Verdict

結(jié)論

While Samsung and Microsoft have sold tablets with keyboard cases and styluses for years, iOSand the App Store still provide the best software experience and now Apple has the hardware tomatch.

盡管三星(Samsung)和微軟(Microsoft)出售配有鍵盤和觸感筆的平板電腦有好多年了，但iOS和蘋果應(yīng)用商店提供的軟件體驗(yàn)仍是最好的，如今蘋果有了與之匹配的硬件。

The combination of increased computing power and new accessories does open up the tabletto many more new uses beyond Netflix and newspapers.

計算能力的增強(qiáng)加上新的附件，確實(shí)讓平板電腦在Netflix和報紙之外增加了更多的新用途。

Some day it might replace the PC but, for now, the iPad still remains an optional extrascreen, rather than an essential one.

有一天，iPad或許會取代PC，但目前，它仍是又一塊可選屏幕，而不是必不可少的屏幕。