iPad as a laptop replacement

[teh_hunterer]

you know… theres something I really really like about the ipad.. I just cant wrap my head around what it is precisely… I think, mostly it kinda reminds me of simpler times when computers were simpler as well.. For some reason and somehow it reminds me of windows 95 or 98, of MSN messenger, of HTML webistes, and MS FrontPage, and so on… OutlookExpress…. It just reminds me of theese simpler times when computers were simpler as well, but kinda worked better, for what they coudl do at least. I guess, iPad , has some of the simmilar reminescence of the past, and of theese simpler systems. For some reason, it just feels, very simmilar to how computers felt to me, the first time I was introduced to them and started exploring. Maybe - iPad is acctually keeping a promise of a truly smart device that just works, somoething I expected from computers, but they didnt completely deliver so far… I guess… maybe that has something to do with it..

theres something Honest about iPads.

I agree, but the biggest difference I find is the lack of great games and apps on the iPad vs computers back in the day. You can pretty much guarantee the iPad version of any cross platform game is going to be the worst version of that game. It won't work with mouse and keyboard, it will be behind on updates, abandoned, touch screen interface in the way, etc etc.

Similarly the iPad is missing a lot of great apps and straight up can't do a lot of things (peer to peer, emulation, pro apps missing or just bad versions).

I realy hope it changes.

 

[Ubele]

I’ve had my 12.9“ iPad Pro for over a month now. I was going to sell my 2015 Macbook Pro, but I only got one offer on it, far below my asking price, so I decided to keep it as a backup for my iMac. I absolutely love my IPP, but there are still some things that are easier to do on my MBP, thanks to macOS vs. iPadOS. So while my IPP could replace my MBP (as long as I keep my iMac), I keep my MBP by the sofa for tasks that are more cumbersome on my IPP, and when I don’t need the screen real estate of my iMac, which is in my home office. Spending money on a new MBP or MBA would be overkill, but given the low resale value of my aging MBP (which still works great), it’s worth it to me to keep it around for convenience.

 

[Isamilis]

I came from MBA. For me, iPP M1 gave the best experience for reading hundreds of journals and books. It’s much easier and more natural to read pdf using iPad. However I still do some writing stuff in macbook.
Someday, eventually I may use iPad for writing and replace the laptop, but not in the near future.

 

[pdaholic]

I’m getting closer to using my iPad primarily. I found an app that lets me edit mp3 metadata, and found a web based retro game emulator that works with game controllers. Documents by Readdle remains my GUI of choice. I still need a Mac for handbrake video compression, but I don’t feel a need to spend a couple grand to upgrade it (2013 MBP). I just have to figure out which iPad I like best (12.9, 11, or mini—they all have strengths and weaknesses!).

 

[UBS28]

How can the iPad be a laptop replacement when you cannot even use something basic like Microsoft Office on it?

If you think the MAC version of Microsoft Office is bad, wait till you try the iPad version. It is really a joke and totally unusable.

The iPad Pro is a complementary device, not a replacement device.

Yes I know, I can remote access into my computer at home on the iPad as a workaround. But you should not really be needing to do these type of things to just do basic things.

 

[Ludatyk]

How can the iPad be a laptop replacement when you cannot even use something basic like Microsoft Office on it?

Here we go with this. What "basic" tasks users cannot do with Microsoft Office on an iPad?

I'm fully aware that full Office suite is on Windows... however, Microsoft has provided Office apps for the iPad to do basic task on it... not sure where this statement is coming from. I understand that YOU cannot make the transition, but doesn't mean others cannot.

 

[Nhwhazup]

How can the iPad be a laptop replacement when you cannot even use something basic like Microsoft Office on it?

If you think the MAC version of Microsoft Office is bad, wait till you try the iPad version. It is really a joke and totally unusable.

The iPad Pro is a complementary device, not a replacement device.

Yes I know, I can remote access into my computer at home on the iPad as a workaround. But you should not really be needing to do these type of things to just do basic things.

I use Microsoft 365 on my iPad. It works fine for me doing Word documents, PowerPoint and even Excel. Do I do macros on my iPad - no, but heck, I don’t do them on my laptop either. LOL. If I have any real heavy lifting, I’ll use my laptop but 99% of the time use my iPad.

 

[UBS28]

I use Microsoft 365 on my iPad. It works fine for me doing Word documents, PowerPoint and even Excel. Do I do macros on my iPad - no, but heck, I don’t do them on my laptop either. LOL. If I have any real heavy lifting, I’ll use my laptop but 99% of the time use my iPad.

Microsoft Office 365 doesn’t work on iPad as it is not compatible with the real version (PC).

Stuff you worked on the real version can be broken on the iPad version. So it is bad.

 

[ericwn]

Microsoft Office 365 doesn’t work on iPad as it is not compatible with the real version (PC).

Stuff you worked on the real version can be broken on the iPad version. So it is bad.

Meanwhile, in the real world, office for iPad has received 25000 reviews with an average rating of 4.6.

 

[Nhwhazup]

Microsoft Office 365 doesn’t work on iPad as it is not compatible with the real version (PC).

Stuff you worked on the real version can be broken on the iPad version. So it is bad.

I use it 99% of the time on my iPad and I’ve had zero problems. I worked for a small company doing payroll and we had quite an intricate way of calculating pay. So I made quite intensive spreadsheets on my Lenovo PC laptop with a ton of multiple “what if” formulas. I had no problems opening them up on the iPad, making adjustments and going back and forth between the laptop and iPad. Not broken in my world.

 

[Nhwhazup]

Microsoft Office 365 doesn’t work on iPad as it is not compatible with the real version (PC).

Stuff you worked on the real version can be broken on the iPad version. So it is bad.

What exactly do you find not compatible or working well between the two? I’ve not seen this in my experience. Are some intense things easier to do on a laptop? Of course.

 

[sparksd]

Microsoft Office 365 doesn’t work on iPad as it is not compatible with the real version (PC).

Stuff you worked on the real version can be broken on the iPad version. So it is bad.

Provide examples of breakage - it's not something I've run into.

 

[UBS28]

What exactly do you find not compatible or working well between the two? I’ve not seen this in my experience. Are some intense things easier to do on a laptop? Of course.

I just bought Office 365 just recently for quick at home editing for documents I normally do on PC and I already run into these compatability issues. The document on the iPad looks nothing like how it does on the PC.

So for you "heavy iPad users" never running into these compatibility issues with the PC version is very hard to believe, when I run into it on my 1st day.

Office 365 on the iPad is definitely not recommended, especially if you have to share it with PC users.

I will continue editing this document on the MAC because on the iPad it is a joke.

 

[sparksd]

I just bought Office 365 just recently for quick at home editing for documents I normally do on PC and I already run into these compatability issues. The document on the iPad looks nothing like how it does on the PC.

So for you "heavy iPad users" never running into these compatibility issues with the PC version is very hard to believe, when I run into it on my 1st day.

Office 365 on the iPad is definitely not recommended, especially if you have to share it with PC users.

I will continue editing this document on the MAC because on the iPad it is a joke.

What looks different? I'm working on a 50-page Word document with various formatting and images in it and it looks the same on my iPP and Win11 machine. I switch back and forth between the two devices in Word & Excel and don't see issues.

 

[Conutz]

I just bought Office 365 just recently for quick at home editing for documents I normally do on PC and I already run into these compatability issues. The document on the iPad looks nothing like how it does on the PC.

So for you "heavy iPad users" never running into these compatibility issues with the PC version is very hard to believe, when I run into it on my 1st day.

Office 365 on the iPad is definitely not recommended, especially if you have to share it with PC users.

I will continue editing this document on the MAC because on the iPad it is a joke.

You “just“ bought Office 365: where did you edit your incredibly complicated documents beforehand? Does the “real“ PC version come free with your PC?

What in the world do you know about all the “heavy iPad users”? Are you checking over everyone’s shoulders? Maybe your documents have issues, it doesn’t mean everyone else’s docs do.

You’ll continue editing on your Mac – but I thought everything but the “real” PC version was junk.

 

[macdogpro]

I just bought Office 365 just recently for quick at home editing for documents I normally do on PC and I already run into these compatability issues. The document on the iPad looks nothing like how it does on the PC.

So for you "heavy iPad users" never running into these compatibility issues with the PC version is very hard to believe, when I run into it on my 1st day.

Office 365 on the iPad is definitely not recommended, especially if you have to share it with PC users.

I will continue editing this document on the MAC because on the iPad it is a joke.

So are you using the PC (Windows) version or the Mac version?
You still haven't provide compatibility issues example.

I use MS Office for iPad for more than a year for creating and editing documents. Zero compatibility issues with my Mac, my colleagues Macs, Windows, iOS, Android.
The basic function works well. Only advanced features such as macros, plugins, mail merge, etc, that doesn't work when we open it on the iPad version. Perhaps these were your 'compatibility' problems?

 

[UBS28]

The original document was created on a PC (with it's own seperate Office license). And I am not going to upload this document to MacRumors for obvious reasons.

Well, I can't even imagine doing VBA coding and using plugins in Excel on this iPad if a simple document already causes problems.

But if you guys want to believe Microsoft Office on the iPad is identical to the real version, feel free to believe so. I already see it is not the case after using it on the iPad less than a day.

 

[sparksd]

The original document was created on a PC (with it's own seperate Office license). And I am not going to upload this document to MacRumors for obvious reasons.

Well, I can't even imagine doing VBA coding and using plugins in Excel on this iPad if a simple document already causes problems.

But if you guys want to believe Microsoft Office on the iPad is identical to the real version, feel free to believe so. I already see it is not the case after using it on the iPad less than a day.

Nobody said it is identical, but you won't provide specific examples of the issues you're seeing. You're the outlier here, providing zero useful information.

 

[dumastudetto]

If the significantly cutdown Office for iPad does what you need, you don't need an Office license. Try Pages and Numbers.

 

[ericwn]

If the significantly cutdown Office for iPad does what you need, you don't need an Office license. Try Pages and Numbers.

If your workflow includes non Apple devices MS Office wins.

 

[dumastudetto]

If your workflow includes non Apple devices MS Office wins.

If you're using non Apple devices, you're doing it wrong.

 

[1BadManVan]

how is the magic keyboard for helping as a laptop replacement? I’ve been seriously considering getting myself one as I only have an iPad to go along with my phone.

 

[Mainsail]

MacBook and iPad are complementary devices that excel in different areas:

• MacBook: Coding, productivity apps (e.g. MS Office) and multi-tasking
• iPad: Reading, annotating, note taking, and drawing

This isn't to say that you can't run productivity apps on an iPad, but it isn't the optimal device for that purpose. Similarly, you can annotate documents with a MacBook, but an iPad with Pencil is usually a better option. Of course, both devices can easily perform general computing tasks, e.g.: Email, Messaging, Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, Photos, Files/Finder, Safari, etc.

Ideally, you own both devices and can use the best tool for the job. Sometimes a hatchet is best, and sometimes an axe is best. However, if you can only have one device, I suspect that most folks would be better off with something like the M1 MBA.

 

[ericwn]

If you're using non Apple devices, you're doing it wrong.

Spare me your corporate wording , look at the reality of the market shares between macOS and Windows. The majority of businesses use PCs hence Office is dominant and commonly used.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

If you're using non Apple devices, you're doing it wrong.

Would you like to explain to me how I use all my CAD and engineering related software on a Mac as it is currently unsupported? Without Windows machines, non of your Apple products would exist as nearly every automated process in the world of manufacturing is powered and managed using PC’s. That lovely case on your Apple Watch and iPhone were not machined by a Mac powered CNC machine and the robots assembling them also aren’t controlled with Mac’s either.