RE: The New(-ish) MacBook Pro with Touchbar - the Computer Apple Doesn't Want to Make
Like you, I want to live on my iPad - but there are some realities that Apple just hasn't come to terms with yet. When I'm programming, I don't want to have to move my hands that much. It's why we live on our command+tabs and hotkeys. Even putting the pathetic excuse for multi-tasking (if you can even call it that) aside, I've tried to use my iPad for coding and my hands end up doing so many things, I lose track of where I was. Switching windows is work, and everything that takes my hands off the keyboard is a failure, IMHO. Not to mention the issue of actually trying to test anything locally. But even if I had to spin up a dev box and push directly to that, I'd consider it, if my hands weren't constantly getting in the way of my screen so I can switch between Safari and my editor/terminal window.
I'd love to see the day when an iPad could be a solid replacement for my MBP, but I just don't see it happening any time soon. The fundamental premise of how people interact is problematic for me when trying o do my job. :(
PS - seriously, tho. Physical escape key. I could have gotten over everything else, but when I can't quit out of a remote terminal session because of a software bug, I get rrrrrrrragey.
I have actually used the silly split-screen multitasking thing to have a Safari window on one side, and another app in the other. It's adequate? Barely. I don't think I could really do serious work that way.
But, having the split-screen setup; I have actually gotten some stuff done. It's not ideal, but it's something.
It's something, but it's not enough. A stylus/Apple Pencil makes it almost usable for things that require a finer degree of precision than my big fat finger can provide, but let's say I'm trying to write some code and needed to look something up. Or several somethings. I can split that screen, sure, but what if I'm researching things across multiple windows. Each time I have to switch and dick around with tabs with my fingers, I'm losing time and more importantly, losing focus.
I'd be thrilled if they ever figured out how to make the iPad usable for a full-time dev, but I'm not holding my breath.