Carrying a laptop is not really a problem for me. The iPad Pro is expensive as a laptop (and may be even more expensive depending on the model). Although the iPad is lighter, it can become as heavy as a laptop if you add the keyboard and pencil. And it is a less capable device in productivity terms (because of software, not hardware).
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iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
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I always find this question such a paradox. I have 2 iPads and a MacBook. Personally I have little use for a laptop but I like to keep one around for things like organising my iTunes library and anything else which may come up. I probably use it a few times a month but could easily use it once or twice a year. So in theory if I could only have one device an iPad would suit me better as it’s the more enjoyable device for me to use. However in reality if I had say £1000 to spend and had no prospect of buying the other device at a later date I’d rather buy a cheaper iPad and an older MacBook. I have an iPad Pro with magic keyboard and Apple Pencil but if for price reasons I could only permit myself to buy one device I wouldn’t spend £1,000 on an iPad when I could get a more capable laptop for the same price. I’d rather split the money and get both.
Well this puts the nail in the coffin for the 12.9 pro for me. I have the 11 inch pro which I preferred to the 12.9 which I would find too cumbersome and big. I also have a 13 inch MBA and that’s the limit for me in terms of a portable device. I actually preferred the 11 inch MBA and still have it around.I can't find the height and width of the M1 MacBook Air display anywhere. Sure, the iPad has some 30% more pixels, but is the screen actually larger? (I'm thinking the typical user cannot see a significant difference between 264 and 227 ppi anyhow.) I could do the math based on the specs I do have, but it's late and I want to go to bed.
Sorry I did not mean "carrying a laptop" to imply a weight issue. I just meant simply "vs. using a laptop".
Yeah, the 12" PowerBook G4 and 11" MacBook Air are probably my all-time favorite Apple products.
Now after using my M1 12.9 iPad Pro for a few weeks I found the right Apps to move all my workflows to the tablet. With Lightroom, Affinity Photo and Designer I can do everything I did with photos on my MBP. Even better, thanks to the pencil. The magic keyboard offers a super smooth typing experience when writing stuff for my job.
And when I am on set shooting, I just put the iPad in another case an have with Scriptation all my drafts with all annotations with me. For me in my special case it’s the best and most versatile replacement for my bulky MBP.
My MBP sits in the table all day, connected to my TV or Beamer for streaming. That’s all it does since I own this powerful tablet! I really love it and for working with photographs or graphic stuff the miniLED display is insane.
And when I am on set shooting, I just put the iPad in another case an have with Scriptation all my drafts with all annotations with me. For me in my special case it’s the best and most versatile replacement for my bulky MBP.
My MBP sits in the table all day, connected to my TV or Beamer for streaming. That’s all it does since I own this powerful tablet! I really love it and for working with photographs or graphic stuff the miniLED display is insane.
I have a 2019 27" iMac, a 2015 13" MBP with a 1TB OWC SSD, and a 2017 entry-level 128GB iPad. An iPad Pro could never replace a Mac for what I do -- however, when it comes time to replace my MBP and iPad, I'm thinking of replacing them with a 1TB 12.9" iPad Pro, Keyboard, and Pencil. The total cost would be about the same as a 16GB/1TB MacBook Air, an entry-level 256GB iPad, and a Pencil.
For me the original attraction to the iPad was the large screen and instant on ability of its SSD etc but now all laptops have ssd and are equally as quick plus can do more I.e spreadsheets etc and yes they do cost more, but I think their added features offer better value for money than the iPad.
Yes! If inDesign or Affinity Publisher would port to the iPad, I would have no reason to own a MacBook anymore.
I’ve been test driving iPad Pro 12.9 as I mentioned previously, but now for a full week. Other peripherals: Logitech K380 keyboard, Logitech MX3 mouse. External display is a 15.6” 4K monitor with a quick release VESA mount and a proper portable monitor stand elevating it to proper height. This is a travel set up Only.
I have to say it’s been surprisingly good; really the main problem is the small display. With the MX3 mouse, it’s very easy to quickly switch back and forth between full-screen Citrix session on the 4K display and the iPad screen. So you can be doing your Windows stuff in Citrix, click a button, and you’re in iPad land (app switching), where you can change music, use Safari, trade stocks, chat app, etc. Whatever you want. Task switching is very fast, and there are no issues with Citrix full screen.
Issues include sound only playing through display speakers (they sound crap), although you can plug headphones into display and then it’s ok. I did not see a way to switch audio to iPad with display plugged in. With BT keyboard connected, some sound break up occasionally if you use AirPods due to interference (just turn keyboard off while in your telecon/zoom).
Also, while you can assign other commands to MX3 buttons with Assistive Touch in iPad, this screws up clicking in the Citrix window, so I leave it off (leaving back/forward and middle click buttons unused).
Yes, all of this could be done with a MacBook and then you’d have true dual display instead of just one. There is just something easy about an iPad however, making everything kind of seamless (e.g. zoom calls). Again, if my corp email did not go directly on iPad (which would not work on a Mac) through the Mail app, I’m not 100% sure I would get it.
I have to say it’s been surprisingly good; really the main problem is the small display. With the MX3 mouse, it’s very easy to quickly switch back and forth between full-screen Citrix session on the 4K display and the iPad screen. So you can be doing your Windows stuff in Citrix, click a button, and you’re in iPad land (app switching), where you can change music, use Safari, trade stocks, chat app, etc. Whatever you want. Task switching is very fast, and there are no issues with Citrix full screen.
Issues include sound only playing through display speakers (they sound crap), although you can plug headphones into display and then it’s ok. I did not see a way to switch audio to iPad with display plugged in. With BT keyboard connected, some sound break up occasionally if you use AirPods due to interference (just turn keyboard off while in your telecon/zoom).
Also, while you can assign other commands to MX3 buttons with Assistive Touch in iPad, this screws up clicking in the Citrix window, so I leave it off (leaving back/forward and middle click buttons unused).
Yes, all of this could be done with a MacBook and then you’d have true dual display instead of just one. There is just something easy about an iPad however, making everything kind of seamless (e.g. zoom calls). Again, if my corp email did not go directly on iPad (which would not work on a Mac) through the Mail app, I’m not 100% sure I would get it.
I’m not really the person to trust on this, because I’m typing this with a bluetooth keyboard for an iPad 6, but keyboards do generally work fine. I wouldn’t say that you should replace your laptop, but if you do, buy a Magic Keyboard or the Logitech version.
I’m experimenting this week and solely using my ipad for work-related tasks instead of my MacBook Air. I’ve been finding my use redundant lately and my ipad is essential for art and design. So far the new multitasking and quick note features in iPad OS 15 are working seamlessly and I don’t find myself getting stuck. We’ll see how this goes. I also use a Windows desktop in the office.
Look at Jump Desktop for remoting in to your PC and your Mac for the things your need that kind of computer for and you may never put your iPad down again!
Will do, thanks! This may be a dumb question, but can you remote in to a MacBook in clamshell mode?
I don’t know, I actually wondered as I was writing the post, I use a Mac Mini.
Well, I got my iPad Pro 12.9 as an experiment too, similar to you I imagine. I realised I couldn’t do without a mac (I need lightroom classic and an equivalent doesn’t really yet exist on the iPad).
I sold my MacBook and got a Mac mini for that purpose (and the odd other thing the ipad is not great at, torrents, for example - or leaving tasks working for ages in the background, I’m a photographer so wetransfer uploading many photos etc).
Since then I have been in iPad heaven with macOS as an app. Love it. The iPad is a much better tool for me as a laptop, than a laptop can ever be. Plus its mega secure. You do have to realise that its a different way of working though, and there is a learning curve for some stuff when compared to a mac.
In my experience, you cannot. At least, not with the M1 MacBook Pro. I’m fairly certain it’s worked in the past, with my 2015 MacBook (using Screens Connect in both cases) but I don’t think it’s even worked on the MacBook since before Big Sur …
I don’t have a PC or Mac and use my 12.9” M1 iPad Pro with Logitech Keyboard as my main computer. For my use case there is nothing significant I miss out from using iPadOS compared to PC/MacOS software, so iPadOS even is it‘s current form is enough for me (the improved multitasking is greatly appreciated). There are a few minor things I miss, but the portability, touch screen, and the mini-LED screen with quad speakers (love watching HDR content), more then make up for this so have no incentive to buy a PC or Mac. Having said that it does greatly depend on your circumstances and respect that not everyone is in my position, as iPadOS does have limitations.
Well, I have just noticed that this thread started on October 30, 2014, almost seven years ago. People have been debating whether the iPad can replace a laptop for a lot of time now.
If, after seven years, the iPad still cannot replace a laptop, it is doubtful whether it will one day. Of course, the iPad can improve over the years to fully replace a laptop. But do not hold your breath. Do not buy an iPad now thinking it will be able to replace your MacBook Air/Pro (or whichever laptop you are currently using) in the near future. It will not. It will improve at a slow and steady pace, and your iPad will be long outdated before it is able to meet any expectations which are not already met.
It is frustrating for someone who wants to use the iPad for productivity to see the pace of software improvement. I have bought two iPads (in 2012 and 2016) hoping that one day I could be able to carry them with me instead of a laptop. However, I was never able to because the iPad cannot do all the office productivity stuff that I need.
If I ever buy an iPad again, it will be to use it merely as a tablet, for content consumption and without any hopes to see it turn into a laptop replacement. I will not wait forever to see it become something it was never meant to be.
If, after seven years, the iPad still cannot replace a laptop, it is doubtful whether it will one day. Of course, the iPad can improve over the years to fully replace a laptop. But do not hold your breath. Do not buy an iPad now thinking it will be able to replace your MacBook Air/Pro (or whichever laptop you are currently using) in the near future. It will not. It will improve at a slow and steady pace, and your iPad will be long outdated before it is able to meet any expectations which are not already met.
It is frustrating for someone who wants to use the iPad for productivity to see the pace of software improvement. I have bought two iPads (in 2012 and 2016) hoping that one day I could be able to carry them with me instead of a laptop. However, I was never able to because the iPad cannot do all the office productivity stuff that I need.
If I ever buy an iPad again, it will be to use it merely as a tablet, for content consumption and without any hopes to see it turn into a laptop replacement. I will not wait forever to see it become something it was never meant to be.
I pretty much agree with this. I have tried to make an iPad my primary computer for productivity, and it has always led to frustration. When I bought my iPad Air 4 , it was to be used purely as a tablet (with pencil). Great for casual use: books, PDFs, mark-ups with pencil, watching video, browsing the web.... It also makes a good mobile secondary screen with side-car and soon universal control. But, when I need to get productive and actually create documents or spreadsheets, I grab my MBA and get to work.
But it does have the one advantage of being the only Mac "laptop" with a touchscreen.
I don't think iPads are a computer replacement. However, computers are not ipad replacements either. There are just certaint asks much more enjoyable to do on your tablet like surfing the web, playing games, doing crosswords.
Let's be honest, people were buying $$$ laptops before just to surf fb. why not do the same with an iPad which costs about the same?
Let's be honest, people were buying $$$ laptops before just to surf fb. why not do the same with an iPad which costs about the same?
Well, it’s definitively not the pencil making it heavy, isn’t it? ?