I bout an iPad 2 air when then came out with a case and wireless keyboard with the full intent of using it for work.... Tried to integrate it into my work day for 2 months. It sits there only being used once in a blue moon...
Biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent work related, and not for lack of trying.
I know there are situations and use cases for the tablets but for the overwhelming majority of folks, it’s only use case is media cumsumption, so there is little argument to justify spending a lot on one, if owning one at all.
That’s the funny thing about having a pragmatic view of the world around us - our perception of the entire world is filtered through our own experiences.
I too use to think the tablet format (especially a pricy iPad or now several other $$$ tablets) would never be a truly “legit” work device. But after seeing many of my fellow ministers using them, often regularly leaving the laptop at home/office, and talking to folks from a wide swath who were moving that direction, I finally decided to try it - knowing that the risk was a high dollar “media device” as you put it.
It has taken a while - but I do a significant amount of work directly on/with my iPad, and use it for speaking/preaching several times a week. It also has served well for a study and research tool. I further know I don’t even scratch the surface of what CAN be done with it - as I have many friends who use their iPads in amazing ways... all well beyond my time to invest in learning.
Yes, for a lot of people - the iPad is nothing but a glorified, expensive media device. For general use - there are many devices that will get that job done, some quite well at a lower cost.
But when you get into those who really use such a device - you are very limited as to which ones can actually do WORK - at that leaves iPads and Surface tablets. Either will cost a pretty $. But if one does work that can be done with such a device - not toting a laptop or being anchored to a desktop is a great help.
Here in an area of our state with the biggest University (and the flagship of the system) - I see students all the time - and they too are downsizing to either the lighter MacBook Air model, or the iPad/iPad Pro (or other windows-based competitors). The ultra-portability and convenience of having what you need with you all the time is pretty compelling for them.
And seeing them used everywhere from retail, to food service, to the medical and equation realm - I don’t think the concept is going away any time soon.
I’m sorry you didn’t find the iPad to be helpful.