Since the iPad came out in 2010 I have been alternating between working at a Mac, iPad, and iPhone throughout the day. I used my Mac 45% of the time, my iPhone 30%, and my iPad the remaining 25%. Some days those numbers shift around, but on average those percentages are a fair assessment of where these devices fell.

In going full time with the iPad Pro I had expected the Mac and the iPad to flip spots — where the iPad moves up to around 50% of usage and my Mac down to the 25% category. In reality though, now roughly 6 months into it, the usage patterns look way different. The shift itself has been subtle, but in looking back at it — profound over the last few months especially.

What has actually happened is that my iPad has not only grown in usage, but it has dominated my overall computer usage. So instead of my Mac and iPad flipping places, my iPad has taken a large slice of the pie. My device usage patterns now look more like: 70% iPad, 20% iPhone, and 10% Mac. Thus not only has my usage of the Mac dropped, but so too has my usage of my iPhone.

And that’s on a day where I use all three devices. There are many days where I am on the iPad Pro for 90% of my computing and not even touching a Mac. ((Remote or otherwise.))

I had hoped at the outset that come the one year mark, I would not be using my Mac for anything other than testing out Mac software. I had assumed everything else would stay the same as far as my overall usage of my iPhone — perhaps even increasing as I became more comfortable working on iOS.

I seem on course for my hope of relegating the Mac as a test only device, but why am I using my iPhone less?

I don’t have a concrete reason for this, but I have three guesses at why this might be:

1. Most of the apps I use on my iPhone, I can also use on my iPad Pro. Because of that, and because they are typically better on the iPad Pro, I tend to reach for the iPad Pro over my iPhone.
2. The password on my Mac has always been very long, and as such this deters me from using my Mac as much for quick things — so that used to be tossed to my iPhone. With the iPad Pro, it’s just as easy (perhaps easier if my iPhone is in my pocket) as my iPhone to unlock and use the iPad Pro so I tend to opt for my iPhone for quick tasks less than in the past.
3. The nature of the iPad Pro itself means that it leaves my desk far more than my MacBook ever did. In the normal circumstances where I would have my iPad near by (couch) the iPad Pro is still near by. And since 1 and 2 are also true, prime iPhone usage time is cut back.

If I plop down on the couch for 10-15 minutes I tend to want my iPad instead of my iPhone these days. I don’t think this is a slight against the iPhone as much as it is a testament to iOS on a larger screen.

The convenience of the iPad Pro is not so diminished by the size of the device as to dissuade me from using it over my iPhone. So you typically find my iPad Pro following me around my house throughout the day, whereas before my iPhone used to be the only device I did that with.

All of this means that I am using my iPad Pro more on a daily basis than any computer I have had in the last six or so years.