Who needs a tablet these days? It’s a difficult question. Six years ago, when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, the device promised a future of “lean-back” computing². Then, curling up in an armchair with a slim slab³ of technology seemed an almost rebellious⁴ idea.

如今谁还需要平板电脑呢？这是个难以回答的问题。6年前，当史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)推出iPad时，这一产品承诺了“向后靠”的数字未来。在那时，窝在扶手椅中，手持一款薄薄的科技产品，仿佛代表一种叛逆。

Now, most of us own the largest smartphone we’ve ever had, making another big touchscreen seem redundant⁵. Like the proverbial best camera, the best screen is the one you have with you — which invariably means the one in your pocket or bag.

现在，我们大多数人拥有迄今屏幕尺寸最大的智能手机，这就让另一款大屏设备显得多余了。就像众所周知的最好照相机一样，最好的屏幕就是你随身携带的那块——也就是你口袋或包里的那块。

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

为了让平板电脑重获活力，苹果(Apple)正把iPad变得“专业化”，配上更高的配置和价格。这款平板电脑牢牢盯住传统PC的功能，其设计不是为了让人们向后靠着阅读文字或观看视频，而是为了帮人们身体前倾、完成工作。

November’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro¹ was joined last month by a smaller, more affordable⁶ 9.7-inch sibling⁷. I have been using the larger model, including its keyboard case and Pencil accessory, for some time now — in part to cover the launch of its successor at Apple’s event in Cupertino, where I also got to test one out.

继去年11月苹果发布新的12.9英寸iPad Pro之后，上月又推出了尺寸更小、价格更低的9.7英寸iPad Pro。现在，我使用12.9英寸iPad Pro（包括键盘和Apple Pencil）已有一段时间了，部分原因是为了报道苹果在库比提诺(Cupertino)举行的9.7英寸iPad Pro发布会。我还在那里试用了一下后者。

For me, neither iPad is quite there as a PC replacement⁸, although both come close for the everyday tasks of typing and research. Both offer meaningful hardware improvements over the iPad Air 2, including much better speakers and a very generous 4GB of Ram⁹ for the larger version.

对我来说，这两款iPad都不是PC的替代品，尽管它们都更接近于满足输入和研究等日常工作。相对iPad Air 2而言，它们的硬件都有了很大提升，包括性能好得多的扬声器，并为12.9英寸版提供了4G的大容量内存。

Yet more interesting than the tablet itself are the iPad Pro’s dedicated¹⁰ accessories.

不过，比iPad Pro本身更值得关注的是它的专属附件。

Apple’s keyboard case is lightweight yet robust¹¹, 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 lap during the Apple keynote speech, with a little help from autocorrect. The matt fabric¹² covering felt slightly odd at first but I did get used to it.

苹果的键盘又轻又耐用，跟去年新出品的MacBook有些类似的感觉。12.9英寸iPad Pro配有全尺寸键盘，十分好用，辅以“自动更正”功能，让我在苹果的主旨演讲过程中能在腿上飞快地键入。亚光的织物表面一开始令人感觉略怪异，但我的确习惯了它。

Crucially, the iPad Pro has a physical connector to attach its keyboard, so there were none of the 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 a recent Android beta pilot promises to add split-screen app usage, but the Google Play app store’s limited selection of tablet-friendly software remains¹³ a problem.)

至关重要的是，iPad Pro配备了一个连接键盘的物理连接器，所以就不存在我使用谷歌(Google)的Pixel C时遇到的蓝牙相关问题。我在2月对Pixel C进行了评价。（Pixel的部分键盘问题通过软件升级得到了解决，最近的Android beta试用版承诺增加分屏应用，但Google Play应用商店中适合平板电脑使用的软件选择有限，仍是一个问题。）

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

然而，9.7英寸iPad Pro的键盘就显得太过紧凑。尽管我就试用了几次，但对于一个盲打输入者而言，长时间写作不可能感觉很舒服。

On the other hand, at under 1lb, the smaller Pro is far lighter¹⁴ and more comfortable to hold for longer reading sessions than its big brother. Even though the 12.9-inch version is lighter than most 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要轻得多，而且更适合手持进行长时间阅读。尽管12.9英寸iPad Pro比大多数笔记本电脑轻，但它还是让人感觉太重，尤其当我整天用肩包携带它的时候。

Contemplating¹⁵ a choice between a proper keyboard and a lighter screen left me thinking that neither iPad Pro was quite ready for regular use in my workday.

在好用的键盘和更轻的屏幕之间做选择，让我觉得，这两款iPad Pro都不太适合在工作中经常使用。

Pencil to paper

从笔到纸

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

苹果在发布会上把iPad Pro定位为PC杀手，却放过了另一个机会：取代笔和纸。

I am no sketch¹⁶ artist but Apple’s new Pencil accessory is easily the best stylus I have used, for its ease of set-up and smooth, pressure-sensitive strokes across the screen.

我不是素描艺术家，但苹果的Pencil附件绝对是我用过的最好的触感笔，它容易设置，在整个屏幕上书写都很流畅而且对压力十分敏感。

Drawing and handwriting on a solid surface still lacks the friction¹⁷ of paper but it worked well for annotating¹⁸ documents (see Planet of the Apps) and jotting¹⁹ down notes. The Pencil’s main drawback is my own lack of familiarity with having one: I often forget to pick it up or take it out and about with me.

在坚硬的表面上写和画仍缺少纸面的那种摩擦感，但它已非常适合于给文档做评注（参见Planet of the Apps）和简要地做笔记。Pencil的主要缺陷是我自己对它不够熟悉：我经常忘记把它拿出来或者带在身边。

One computing accessory I did not miss when using the iPad Pro at work was the mouse. I loved tapping the screen to hop²⁰ between paragraphs or select text, which I found far faster and more ergonomic than clicking around.

我在使用iPad Pro工作时没有错过的一个附件是鼠标。我喜欢轻敲屏幕，在段落之间跳来跳去，或选取文字——我发现，这样做比到处点击更快，更符合人体工程学。

Verdict

结论

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

尽管三星(Samsung)和微软(Microsoft)出售配有键盘和触感笔的平板电脑有好多年了，但iOS和苹果应用商店提供的软件体验仍是最好的，如今苹果有了与之匹配的硬件。

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

计算能力的增强加上新的附件，确实让平板电脑在Netflix和报纸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 extra screen, rather than an essential one.

有一天，iPad或许会取代PC，但目前，它仍是又一块可选屏幕，而不是必不可少的屏幕。