iPad Pro Capacity of iPad Pro M4 for full use in place of Macbook

[Zapdoc]

What capacity for use as only computer - internet/ e mail/ photos / documents and report writing/ pdf storage etc
Currently have MB Air 2 Tb with 350 GB used - want to change to iPad Pro M4 for small size and portability - documents typed in Word a couple of Excel sheets and over 20000 photos so far - needs cleaning up .
Not interested in the nano screen or speed but like look of the Pro M4. just having storage anxiety - I prefer to store my docs on site and not in cloud as they have sensitive personal- medical - legal information on them and not sure how secure I cloud is for this although had 2 TB storage there but not filled "just in case"

 

[sparksd]

Would external storage that you can attach to the iPad work for you, e.g. an SSD? I don't use the cloud for storage but an SSD is great as I can share it amongst my devices.

 

[marmiteturkey]

Sounds to me like 512gb would be fine, with cloud and an ext ssd if you need it in future?

 

[Isengardtom]

I had 256 GB on my M1 and upped it to 512 GB on the M4 - even though I had about 1/3 left on the M1

I would say 512GB is enough - apps on the iPad tend to be smaller in size than on the Mac

 

[Zapdoc]

I had 256 GB on my M1 and upped it to 512 GB on the M4 - even though I had about 1/3 left on the M1

I would say 512GB is enough - apps on the iPad tend to be smaller in size than on the Mac

Thanks everyone hadn’t realised that SSD could be used to off load files from iPad - I’d prefer this than the cloud which works faultlessly with my photos just not happy about the documents /reports etc being on it even though its supposed to be encrypted and secure.
Guess the 512 may be OK as whlie I’m tempted by 1TB (2TB too much) I noticed that trade in values for iPhones, iPads etc don’t reflect the extra paid for the additional storage usually only about £20 difference between one size storage and double the size against a difference of £200 paid new

 

[richpjr]

Thanks everyone hadn’t realised that SSD could be used to off load files from iPad - I’d prefer this than the cloud which works faultlessly with my photos just not happy about the documents /reports etc being on it even though its supposed to be encrypted and secure.
Guess the 512 may be OK as whlie I’m tempted by 1TB (2TB too much) I noticed that trade in values for iPhones, iPads etc don’t reflect the extra paid for the additional storage usually only about £20 difference between one size storage and double the size against a difference of £200 paid new

If it matters to you, you get 16GB of memory vs 8 and an extra core if you go the 1TB route.

 

[MisterMillz]

Assuming you want to keep the device for some time, and budget permitting, I would recommend 1TB. A general rule for storage is take whatever you’re using now and double it. That would put you at a theoretical 700GB. No storage anxiety to worry about.

 

[profdraper]

256GB base model here, works just fine with slap-on USB-C SSD (short cable, magnetic, whatever). Kingston 1TB data traveller works very well, fast; ditto the LaCie 2TB Mobile SSD.

 

[ericwn]

I absolutely do not enjoy attaching external storage to my iPads. I’d go for the 1TB version in this use case considering the OP’s storage footprint will probably increase.

 

[Abazigal]

I absolutely do not enjoy attaching external storage to my iPads. I’d go for the 1TB version in this use case considering the OP’s storage footprint will probably increase.

Agreed. The whole draw of the iPad is its portability, and I generally don't like the idea of external storage hanging off my iPad's charging port while I am using it.

 

[sparksd]

Agreed. The whole draw of the iPad is its portability, and I generally don't like the idea of external storage hanging off my iPad's charging port while I am using it.

When I want to go small, I use a small uSD card with a 512GB uSD card -

 

[WU27f1xcCs]

I absolutely do not enjoy attaching external storage to my iPads. I’d go for the 1TB version in this use case considering the OP’s storage footprint will probably increase.

Could you not setup some sort of NAS sever.

 

[JamesMay82]

Assuming you want to keep the device for some time, and budget permitting, I would recommend 1TB. A general rule for storage is take whatever you’re using now and double it. That would put you at a theoretical 700GB. No storage anxiety to worry about.

I’d follow this advice and go with with the 1TB.

I‘ve had issues with using SSD on iPad and it corrupted my drive so it wouldn’t work and I lost all the data. I thought I was Unlucky bit I’ve read a few reports of it happening to other people so i don’t really trust it for that now.

 

[Puonti]

Currently have MB Air 2 Tb with 350 GB used - want to change to iPad Pro M4 for small size and portability ...
... just having storage anxiety - I prefer to store my docs on site and not in cloud as they have sensitive personal- medical - legal information on them ...

If you're looking to move from a Mac to an iPad and don't want to use cloud storage, you should also consider how you're going to back up your local files.

 

[JamesMay82]

If you're looking to move from a Mac to an iPad and don't want to use cloud storage, you should also consider how you're going to back up your local files.

I was wondering this. There isn’t a Time Machine option is there? So you’d have to manually back up each time?

 

[ericwn]

Could you not setup some sort of NAS sever.

You could but having the data available locally is my preference. You could go all out with a NAS but I’d be surprised if you get the native iPad apps like music and photos play nice with scenarios where media is not available on device.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

report writing

Excel?

The only work related thing I cannot do is my excel reports, due to the lack of something like ODBC. Everything else, my iPad Pro is more than capable.

I would advise the additional storage if you go down this route. Never hurts to have more, except for the initial spend.

 

[Puonti]

I was wondering this. There isn’t a Time Machine option is there? So you’d have to manually back up each time?

No Time Machine, no. I haven't looked into what options there might be, but doing it manually is one way, or perhaps a Shortcuts automation.

 

[jdb8167]

If you haven't used the iPad version of whatever business software you use, you definitely need to check out what you are going to get. The iPadOS versions of software with the same name as macOS software (i.e. Excel) are usually missing some features. If those features are something you need, then switching to an iPad might not work. Just a heads up.

 

[brofkand]

iPadOS is frustrating to use for productive tasks. Test the iPad thoroughly within the return window. If it doesn't meet your needs now, it never will - Apple has shown absolutely no interest in expanding the capabilities of iPadOS to any great extent over the years, despite calling the device "Pro" and charging more for it than a Mac.

16GB of RAM is overkill for an iPad, especially to run Word. There's no real multitasking on iPadOS and the apps are all mostly blown up iPhone apps. 512GB of storage is plenty. But it's your money.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Test the iPad thoroughly within the return window.

Best advice here. Apple gives you a 14 day return window. Use every single day if you can help it and use it hard. If you hit a snag at any point, and can't find a reasonable easy solution, return it.

You'll know straight away if it won't work for you.

 

[Populus]

Sounds to me like 512gb would be fine, with cloud and an ext ssd if you need it in future?

I had 256 GB on my M1 and upped it to 512 GB on the M4 - even though I had about 1/3 left on the M1

I would say 512GB is enough - apps on the iPad tend to be smaller in size than on the Mac

The problem I see with the 512GB size, is that if you can stretch a bit more on the price ladder, you would get 16GB of RAM with the 1TB size.

However, if I had to buy one, I’d choose the base model. I can make do with 256GB and an external SSD.

 

[marmiteturkey]

The problem I see with the 512GB size, is that if you can stretch a bit more on the price ladder, you would get 16GB of RAM with the 1TB size.

However, if I had to buy one, I’d choose the base model. I can make do with 256GB and an external SSD.

I considered it, briefly, but ‘a bit more’ is still several hundred quid. I’ve never had a ram issue on an 8gb iPad and though my 1tb MacBook Pro is 75% full, I rarely go over 256gb on my iPad. It’d be a waste for me.

 

[brofkand]

The problem I see with the 512GB size, is that if you can stretch a bit more on the price ladder, you would get 16GB of RAM with the 1TB size.

However, if I had to buy one, I’d choose the base model. I can make do with 256GB and an external SSD.

Base model is a great choice.

There are like two apps on the App Store that can even use that much RAM, and even they run just fine with 8GB. 16GB is completely unnecessary on an iPad at this point (and that will probably be true for the useful lifetime of the device).

 

[Populus]

Base model is a great choice.

There are like two apps on the App Store that can even use that much RAM, and even they run just fine with 8GB. 16GB is completely unnecessary on an iPad at this point (and that will probably be true for the useful lifetime of the device).

Yeah, I have 8GB of RAM on my M2 and it works flawlessly. The only fear I have is with whatever is coming with iPadOS 18. If the AI features will need plenty of RAM and on base devices it will rely on swapping memory (I know swap works differently on iPad vs Mac, but this could change with iPadOS 18).

Or, let’s say Apple blesses us with a whole new experience on iPad when it’s docked with an external display. Not likely, but still, in that case I’m not sure if more RAM would be beneficial…

But yeah, today 8GB is more than enough on iPad Pro, and it’s unlikely that it changes.