MacBook iPad Kindle Pick Two

Screens. They’re everywhere. On your wrist. In your pocket. You name it. Could we do with maybe a little less? Probably. Let’s entertain Minimalism for a moment. Say you’ve got a laptop, a tablet, and an eReader. Nice. But now, one must go. Which one? For me, the answer is pretty easy.

An eReader is a single-purpose gadget. It basically does just one thing really well. But can’t I read well-enough on my tablet? A laptop is a multi-purpose device. It does all-the-things well. But can’t I do most of my tasks on my tablet?

Between my Kindle and MacBook, my iPad Air by itself meets almost all my needs. Plus it does what the others can’t: digital handwriting and sketching with Apple Pencil. Seems like I don’t need to pick two devices when one by itself can pretty much do the job. The tablet computer is great. Yet that’s the one device I’d let go. My two picks: MacBook and Kindle.

I’d pick my MacBook over the iPad because it can do 100% of my computing tasks, and I actually prefer its traditional desktop interface. The iPad is cool but can only do about 95% of the things I need despite its Pencil powers. And I’d pick my Kindle over the iPad because it does long-form reading better than the iPad, no doubt. And reading is more magical than tablet-computing.

MacBook — it computes better. Kindle — it reads better.

The iPad is a wonderful way to sketch, draw, and handwrite. I really like the Apple Pencil 2 with my iPad Air. But I could and would give up that unique capability in order to keep both my MacBook and Kindle (well, maybe I’d replace the iPad and Kindle with a Kindle Scribe).

Giving up the iPad, I’d be fine to sketch and write by hand on paper. But giving up the Kindle, I would not be okay reading analog paper books. And while the iPad is remarkably capable at everyday computing, it’s still not as good to me as “real” computing on my MacBook, sporting an excellent hardware keyboard for all my typing needs.

Here’s one more comparison. Next to the iPhone, the iPad looks awesome simply because it’s as simple and elegant as iPhone but with a giant display, which makes it kind of an amazing touch-based computer. But the iPhone fits in my pocket and has cellular data built-in by default. So what would kill the iPad for me would be bringing the Apple Pencil feature to an iPhone Pro Max or Plus.

Enter the iPad mini. Isn’t it small enough to tote around and read e-Books on? Plus it has a cellular option for mobile data. Tempting. But it still wouldn’t be as good for reading as an eReader. Crazy weeks-long battery life and an eInk display are killer for digital reading. And now that the Kindle comes in color, it’s — dare I say — perfect.

So yeah, the iPad is great for sure. It can definitely read books better than a laptop or phone, but not better than an eReader. Plus it can draw, sketch, and write. But overall, if I had to pick just two devices to live with and enjoy, I could easily be content with just my MacBook and Kindle.