iPhone vs iPad — A CIO/CTO’s Buyer’s Guide
I recently went back and read some of the original reviews of the iPad when it was released in 2010. My favorite was from Walt Mossberg. You can read his whole review here. The premise of his review is setting up the iPad as the ultimate laptop replacement.
It’s qualitatively different, a whole new type of computer that, through a simple interface, can run more-sophisticated, PC-like software than a phone does, and whose large screen allows much more functionality when compared with a phone’s.
Looking back 10 years later I think this premise is still up for debate. While the iPad by all measures has been a massive success it has struggled to find it’s place in our life and our work. When Beloved Robot got started, more than 5 years ago, all of our customers saw the iPad as the perfect device for their new digital workflows. It was clearly the device you bought to get “work” done. But of late we’ve seen more and more of that work move to the iPhone.
So here it is, all of the lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years on how these devices hold up in the industrial setting. Along with all the things that you, as a decision maker for your company, should take into consideration before making your next device purchase. There are potential headaches and potholes along the way and I’m going to do my best to help you avoid all of them.
There are 10 differentiation points between the iPhone and iPad that I feel are the most important.
iPad vs iPhone Scorecard
We’ll break this down point by point and chose a winner for each category. Let’s get into it.
Portability
This might seem like a less important consideration to start on but it’s actually really important. If your team members work in tight or compromising environments, this needs to be one of your top considerations. At a basic level when a technician is 70ft in the air in a bucket or climbing on an overhead crane to perform an inspection, lugging around a 10” iPad is too cumbersome. The pocketable size of the iPhone makes for a safer and more convenient tool in this situation.
Portability Winner - iPhone
Durability
This one is obvious right? Bigger screen means more glass, resulting in more surface area to bounce off the concrete and shatter. But of late, Apple has made huge strides to make these devices more durable. And once you take into consideration the case, from our experience, both of these devices are very durable. And trust me, we’ve seen it all.
Durability Winner - Draw
Screen Size
For both devices the screen size options are a little bit all over the place. Resulting in a large set of options to consider. On the iPhone you have options from 4.7” to 6.5”. While the iPad ranges from 7.9” to 12.9”. So a lot of this comes up to personal preference. But at the end of the day, if getting the most screen real estate as possible is important there’s a clear winner.
Screen Size Winner - iPad
Cost
Apple has set a wide range of price options for the iPhone and iPad. But in general the phones are just more expensive. So you have to weigh this cost along with the trades offs in other categories. Keeping in mind that your budget might be tight or you are trying to gain the most bang for your buck, it’s hard to beat the $329.00 iPad. This low-end iPad offers a great screen, days long battery life as well as Apple pencil Support.
Cost Winner - iPad
Data Entry
Since we are making all of these recommendations and considerations within the industrial setting. Ease of use when it comes to data entry is really important. Think through what your workflow will look like. If there is a lot of note taking or typing involved you might want to consider the iPad. For other types of data collection and data entry the iPhone might be a more effective tool. For this case we’ll go with the bigger keyboard.
Data Entry Winner - iPad
Wireless / Data
Managing the connection on these devices is one of the major potholes that we’ve seen over and over again that we can hopefully help you avoid. At a high level when it comes to connectivity the iPhone is the winner by far. It’s the ultimate “it just works” solution. If your team is remote and working in the field it’s hard for me to recommend choosing the iPad. If you are stationary at a facility with great high speed internet then the iPad is a good choice.
Research how your data plans work with your carrier and make sure and assess the cost. If you want to add LTE iPad’s to your device fleet you’ll need to account for the cost of adding them to your carrier plan.
Wireless / Data Winner : iPhone
Cameras
The innovations that Apple has produced in the area of camera technology is truly incredible. They have become the most innovative camera company in the world. All of that innovation is in service of the flagship iPhones. It’s a major selling point and these high end devices are always a couple years ahead of the iPads. If high quality photos or videos are an important part of your workflow then you only have one option. Plus you don’t want to be this guy.
Cameras Winner: iPhone
Lifetime Value
If you are in the initial stages of this decision you might not have thought about what the replacement cycle will be for these devices. 2 years? 4 years? With this in mind looking at the LTV of these devices is important. Overall Apple devices are durable and they often support software updates for over 5 years after purchase. But in general, the iPhone is a more powerful device at the time of purchase, so it take this category by a hair.
Lifetime Value Winner: iPhone
Software
I feel bad leaving this one so far down the list because it might be a deal breaker for you. Before you make your final purchasing decision, make sure and check if the software you are currently using is available on either platform. If one of your mission critical apps isn’t available then you are probably stuck with that device. Across the board the iPhone has a more rich app ecosystem, so it takes this category.
Software Winner: iPhone
CPU Power
For all of you feeds and speeds nerds out there, you are probably wondering why I left this as the last option. Mainly because it doesn’t matter. Modern iOS devices are so powerful that it won’t effect or limit your workflow in any way. So we’ll call it a draw.
CPU Power Winner: Draw
The Bottom Line
So much of this decision comes down to your team’s specific use case. If your team is working in the field then the ability to slip their iPhone in the pocket would be clutch. Whereas the maintenance team performing weekly inspections might require more screen real estate to get those inspections done in a snap.
Our hope is that this overview gave you some insights and ideas on which device fits your needs best. In reality, while there are some drawbacks, you can’t really make a bad decision here. The iPhone and iPad has reached a maturity on the hardware and software side that have proven they’re both industrial strength.
Let’s get back to work.
PS: Below is an empty version of the checklist graphic we created. You can download it here.
