That sweeping generalisation ignores the thousands of posts made here already. Get the tool that best works for you.
There’s a ton more use cases for iPad than what you present here.
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iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
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That sweeping generalisation ignores the thousands of posts made here already. Get the tool that best works for you.
There’s a ton more use cases for iPad than what you present here.
Agreed, if I really wanted a laptop, I would've gotten one instead of my iPad + Mac Mini combo.
Pre-M1 I would have strongly disagreed here. Post-M1, I really just want my iPad to stay an iPad and my Mac to stay a Mac. Each is better when they just stay in their own lane. I'm not a good artist and don't take a lot of handwritten notes anymore, so I'm back on Mac full time and iPad or iPhone when I'm away from my office. My M1 MacBook Air really stays in my office most of the time and acts more like a desktop computer.
I agree with this too. I use my iPad mini "as a computer" all the time. I just no longer care what anyone else thinks is a "computer". Sometimes my iPad mini is the best computer for the situation. Sometimes my Apple Watch is. They're all computers. Mac fits my workflow better now, but a few years ago, it was iPad.
Things change, workflows change, we have several options for those situations, and Apple is firing on all cylinders right now with this architecture change. You really can't go wrong no matter what device you choose to work on.
Those just new to or consider iPad Pro as a replacement should really do a few days deep dive into Christopher Lawley’s YouTube videos on just this subject. Lots of solid info even outside of product reviews he does here and there.
Hey guys.
I've had a 1st generation MacBook Air w/Retina Display since launch (Fall 2018) and with this week's iPad Air announcement, I consider it as a potential replacement for my existing machine.
What I like about the tablet:
- Form Factor (obviously) and ultra-portability
- Apple Pencil support
- Magic Keyboard support
- Netflix and chill
What I'm not quite sure of:
- I work in game industry with Blender on a near-daily basis, and with M1 on-board, I think it could be just a matter of time Blender hits iPad
- I also have to use Photoshop and several other utilities for PBR Texturing. I have Creative Cloud active, but I'm not sure about the Photoshop's performance and haven't had the opportunity to work with PS on iPad yet.
Why I want to replace the MacBook:
- The i5 chip heats quickly, Blender's performance isn't the best here, so I have to work on my PC instead.
- Same could be said about Photoshop
- I think the battery on macOS Big Sur drains faster than on my previous 2014 MB Air.
- iCloud fills up my local storage so fast, incremental OS updates take hours because I have to remove apps and personal data in order to have at least some free space.
And yes, I do game development on my workstation PC, so iPad/MB is being considered mostly as a sidekick machine.
I've had a 1st generation MacBook Air w/Retina Display since launch (Fall 2018) and with this week's iPad Air announcement, I consider it as a potential replacement for my existing machine.
What I like about the tablet:
- Form Factor (obviously) and ultra-portability
- Apple Pencil support
- Magic Keyboard support
- Netflix and chill
What I'm not quite sure of:
- I work in game industry with Blender on a near-daily basis, and with M1 on-board, I think it could be just a matter of time Blender hits iPad
- I also have to use Photoshop and several other utilities for PBR Texturing. I have Creative Cloud active, but I'm not sure about the Photoshop's performance and haven't had the opportunity to work with PS on iPad yet.
Why I want to replace the MacBook:
- The i5 chip heats quickly, Blender's performance isn't the best here, so I have to work on my PC instead.
- Same could be said about Photoshop
- I think the battery on macOS Big Sur drains faster than on my previous 2014 MB Air.
- iCloud fills up my local storage so fast, incremental OS updates take hours because I have to remove apps and personal data in order to have at least some free space.
And yes, I do game development on my workstation PC, so iPad/MB is being considered mostly as a sidekick machine.
Get one and test it during the return period to see if it fits into your specific workflow, to be on the safe side. Return it if it doesn’t work out for you.
Same thing for the Magic Keyboard- it’s a substantial additional cost so make sure you want to use that and that it adds enough value. I use a simple case, for example, and mostly use the pencil.
I get really good results from the Affinity apps on iPad with Apple Pencil, but I have a feeling you're a much higher caliber graphic designer/photo editor than I am. I will say I much prefer touch+Pencil for those types of projects over keyboard+mouse. Your mileage will definitely vary. I would give those a try first before committing to anything.
All the rest of your reasoning though? Same basic reasons I originally ditched Mac for iPad Pro: heat, performance, battery, fan noise. M1 destroyed all those barriers, so I moved my laptop work back to the M1 MacBook Air about as soon as they released, and my iPad tasks went back to an iPad. I was staunchly iPad-only for everything all the way up until M1.
Long story short, I am still absolutely enamored with my M1 MBA, and am enjoying my new mini 6 FAR more than I ever thought I would, possibly more than any other model I've ever owned.
Not sure when you’re thinking of planning on the iPad Air 5 being your replacement device but …
Blender … you need it use it now, not what a potential hypothetical ‘when it comes to iPadOS‘ will occur.
You’re unaware of performance of Adobe’s creative suite available on iPadOS - don’t purchase on unknown’s, ever, PERIOD! (Just a waste of $$$)
For now you should either consider a desktop Mac (M1 Mini, Studio, or iMac) and if you already have an iPad Air M1 or iPad Pro M1 it’ll be your extra screen.
Alternatively you can pay for a hosted macOS solution and securely remote connect to it with iPad + KB + Mouse/TrackPad and do your work via the iPad’s screen. Just be prepared for a lot of pinch in/out zooming.
Reach out to both those with experience on iPad Pro’s for :
remote connections using just the iPad as a screen for input/output and get critical information/experiences.
ICloud storage is filled up regardless of iOS/iPadOS/macOS device you use to access it. The content is there not on the device.
As I mentioned in my OG post, I’m not looking for a desktop, since I have a workstation with RTX3060 on board (the game is GPU-heavy, so a Mac is sadly a no-go for in-engine work - at least from my experience with 27” iMac, where I was lucky enough to work at up to 20fps).
I want this device more as a sidekick machine for certain situations. Since the game is an open-world, last night I even thought of using it as a secondary display for use with Google Street View.
My 2 cents: the M1 iPad Pro I use is ridiculously powerful, but the software isn't there yet. It has Lightroom, Photoshop, all the things, but these are all mobile ports not comparable to the desktop applications.
Serif shows how it CAN be done with Affinity, but I don't know if that would be enough for you.
Love the Affinity apps and love LumaFusion. I’ve made some pretty professional looking stuff with both of those on iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
Just got my Black Magic TrackPad for home use on my iPad Pro … wow! What a game changer. Love this and VERY happy Apple brought this back as the Space Grey was discontinued and being charged over $300 used on local Kijiji listings or worse $600 on eBay.ca.
I almost took a bite on either of those listings and I’m super glad I didn’t.
Still have to learn gestures, especially for editing the home screen as I removed an app and not sure yet which one.
I almost took a bite on either of those listings and I’m super glad I didn’t.
Still have to learn gestures, especially for editing the home screen as I removed an app and not sure yet which one.
I actually picked up the Space Gray Magic Trackpad open box at BB as soon as reports were that Apple was discontinuing the product. I had my eye on getting it (replacing the Magic Mouse 2), but reports of discontinuation motivated me even more. I use that in tandem with my K2 Keychron… I actually prefer using that set up over the Magic Keyboard.
Primarily, because the size of Magic Trackpad… it’s crazy how Apple hasn’t made any chances to it since 2015.
Picked up an iPad Pro 12.9 this week for 929€ on Amazon.es. I haven’t used an iPad since 2017 and I missed having a portable tablet to surf the web and use messaging apps.
I’m loving my experience paired with a Logitech combo keyboard case! Definitely enjoying using Remote Play on the PS5 to play some Elden Ring during my work trips and spending some time a friend’s house.
I do gotta say without an access to a native terminal like in the MacOS, it’s kinda frustrating to get any system admin work done.
I can remote connect to my Mac and my Citrix machines but it’s a hassle to try and multi task on this thing. For now I’ll keep using the iPad for my hobbies, because as the software stands right now it’s not useable at all for any power user.
I’m loving my experience paired with a Logitech combo keyboard case! Definitely enjoying using Remote Play on the PS5 to play some Elden Ring during my work trips and spending some time a friend’s house.
I do gotta say without an access to a native terminal like in the MacOS, it’s kinda frustrating to get any system admin work done.
I can remote connect to my Mac and my Citrix machines but it’s a hassle to try and multi task on this thing. For now I’ll keep using the iPad for my hobbies, because as the software stands right now it’s not useable at all for any power user.
Perfectly valid, as far as I'm concerned. Gaming on the iPad is truly awesome, before I got my Mac, I would often stream my Steam games and use Stadia on my iPad. It's definitely decent for hobbies, that's for sure.
Though, speaking of remote use, another fun thing is using your iPad to markup images and PDFs with your stylus of choice.
Makes sense. When I had a 27" iMac my 12.9" iPad Pro worked great as a supplement, but not a replacement.
I was waiting for a new iMac 27" but since Apple discotinuted it i've bought iMac 24 inch and magic keyboard for my iPad. I'm lucky that i have a remote code server so i'm fine with not having amazing multi-core performance on the desktop but the setup works great. If someone is looking for an app to remote to your mac from the iPad then "Jump Desktop" works great with magic keyboard although I did have to use SwitchResX on the Mac to get 4:3 resolution.
I’ve been happy with using my 12.9” iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard as my main computer. For someone who only needs the power of an M1 but wants the high contrast 120Hz display, it’s the best value. I also just prefer the form factor and modularity of the iPad. I don’t know if the Apple Silicon Macs feel that much different, but my 2018 15” MBP sure feels a lot clunkier, outdated, and less enjoyable to use compared to my iPad, even though its performance is still good. The iPad feels more fun, fluid, and futuristic, and it’s nice only having to upgrade one device every 4-5 years rather than two. However, there are definitely some iPadOS improvements I’m craving:
- True external display support that fills display and allows for free-form windows
- Not having audio stop playing because an app or webpage starts playing a different audio
- More macOS-level apps. For instance, why can’t I manage my Apple Music or Spotify library and add local files to those libraries on my iPad? Why doesn‘t Spotify show song play counts on iPad?
- Multiple users/accounts. It would be nice to create a separate account/user to do work-related stuff so I could do work on my iPad but keep it separate from my personal stuff.
A valid wish but I can't see this happening due to Apple's greed. Why make it easy for a family to share one iPad when they now need to purchase four?
For the first one, is there not an iPadOS app that can handle this?
I have similar issue with the second listing. I’m using an HP Thunderbolt 3 G2 120W Dock with my iPP M1 (same issue with 2018 iPad Pro I had on this dock), where playback of certain videos in Safari I cannot AirPlay to my Sonos Roam. Playing ATV+ videos, the iPad will push the video playback to the 34” LG screen and controls remain on the iPad‘s screen, sometimes I’m unable to AirPlay. Sometimes I cannot use Control Center to route sound. I think the dock is the issue since it has a 3.5mm headphone jack that iPadOS recognizes with icon in status area top-right hand corner.
1 home wireless network, AirPlay2 Sonos, Apple Music works via AirPlay2 so why does some videos play others don’t? Also I’d like to play music via AirPlay2+AMusic while also watching a YouTube video (in Safari or the app) directly on the iPad speakers - separately from AirPlay2 playback.
No way! Ipad can never replace the efficiency and the user comfort of the laptop! At least I can't do my PC task on iPad! So for me Big No!?☹️