Image via CNET

You can hear the murmurings: Steve Jobs would never have let this happen. A massive iPad with a stylus? No way, not a chance. It looks like a Microsoft Surface. Maybe it’s just a me-too play.

It’s true that at face value, the iPad Pro might look and seem a lot like the Microsoft’s Surface. But the large iPad is not a copycat.

Look at what Jobs told Wired in 1996:

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design is how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”

##With the right tools, the iPad Pro is useful

I’ve lived with the iPad Pro for over a week. I was initially skeptical about where it would fit in my life – literally and figuratively. Because of the device’s 12.9-inch screen, I thought it was something I would use just around the office or at home. Why would I haul it everywhere?

Disclaimer: That was before I had my hands on any of the device’s accessories.

As luck would have it, I made a last-minute trip to Atlantic City for a conference. I swung by the Caesar’s Apple Store and lo and behold; I scored a keyboard case. All of a sudden, inputting text longer than a password was effortless.

Though the keyboard was a welcomed addition to my setup, the device was lacking something: the hard-to-find Apple Pencil (a.k.a., the stylus). I checked Apple Stores in New York City on a daily basis. Finally, I stumbled across one in Grand Central at 7 a.m. one morning.

It changed everything. The device was no longer just a big iPad. Together, the keyboard and stylus transformed how I thought about inputting information into applications.

##One week in, here’s how I’m using the iPad Pro#

After adding the stylus and keyboard, the device packed a greater punch. Here are five ways I use the iPad Pro:

###1. Overall productivity.#

It’s great for managing day-to-day tasks and clearing out my inbox. Outlook for iOS is a killer app. I use it religiously, and you can even attach files from Dropbox or Box, no more links! The device is also particularly useful to catch up on social media using Twitterific and Buffer. The screen size makes it simple to see your Twitter impact.

###2. Note taking. #

I love the new Apple Notes app, but the Apple Pencil excels in Evernote. I’m confident that I can leave paper notebooks behind and diagram what I need to during a meeting or brainstorming session. If only I had this setup during economics classes at business school—supply and demand charts would have been much easier to handle.

###3. Design thinking, prototyping, sketching, etc.#

The sensitivity, lack of delay, and balanced feel of the Apple Pencil make it a breeze to be productive (and creative…) with apps like OmniGraffle and Adobe Comp CC. They nailed it.

###4. Music notation.#

The iPad Pro works great with Capo, an app my dad found that scans songs in your library and pulls out the chord progressions. For catching up with Piano practice…it’s also easy to use Dropbox to download PDFs of musical scores.

###5. Gaming and entertainment.#

Gaming and entertainment aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think about a product billed as a “business productivity device.” But the iPad Pro is a fantastic device to play games on, from Asphalt to Candy Crush and everything in between. HBO Go and Netflix look great on the massive screen, too.

The bottom line? If you’re a fan of what Apple does, give the iPad Pro a go (or at the very least, put it on your holiday wish list).

Take my word for it: You won’t be disappointed.