Yes and it seems to be the original intention of the iPad - per Jobs' "third device" characterization. For me, my main computer is my M1 MacPro. When I travel, my M1 iPad does everything I need.
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iPad as a laptop replacement
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Yes and it seems to be the original intention of the iPad - per Jobs' "third device" characterization. For me, my main computer is my M1 MacPro. When I travel, my M1 iPad does everything I need.
It took me years to get back to this conclusion, but that's where I now agree the iPad still fits. For me it's still the in-between chameleon device that I can use as a laptop, phone, TV, note/sketch pad. It's not just a different kind of laptop or a giant iPhone, it's a completely different way to get things done. If you approach the device that way, it makes a lot more sense. I've mentioned this many times before, but I have done full work days, including hosting meetings, taking notes for meetings, updating Office documents and project plans, etc. all from my mini 6 and Apple Pencil. I think that was the vision for iPad in general, whether you have the 299 base model or blow a couple grand on a Pro with accessories. It's not a tablet PC or a giant iPhone or Apple's version of a netbook. It's an iPad, and there's nothing else like it.
Yes, you can. Right now, the iPad screen is only mirrored but future (soon) public releases of iPadOS will fully support an external monitor for iPad models (M1 & M2 for sure, I'm not sure on the others that will).
With drivers now being possible in iPadOS, I'm cautiously, cautiously optimistic that DisplayLink drivers for the USB-C DisplayLink docks in use at many (most?) offices will be a thing.
I think you are confusing video output and extended display. The iPad does not need DisplayLink as it can already output to a monitor. And apps can already output at the resolution and aspect ratio that they want. But it's only Apple that can output the whole iPad to a different aspect ratio or change iPadOS UI to a desktop-like UI, like they are trying to do with iPadOS. And honestly I doubt Apple will backtrack also on extended display being M-series only...
I'm not confusing anything. Heaps of offices have a DisplayLink docking station + mouse/kb + monitors already - being compatible with DisplayLink would (hypothetically) mean you can plonk an iPad down on an existing desk setup, plug in one cable, and use Stage Manager on at least one screen.
What would be the advantage of a USB C DisplayLink dock (I have one at home) compared to a regular USB C hub/dock?
It's not about advantages. It's about the fact that these docks are already in place in so many offices, so it would be nice to be able to just put the iPad down and start using it with the setups that already exist.
Ok, so I misinterpreted you post, I thought it was about DisplayLink giving more options in terms of display output while you meant just them working with iPads as regular USB C docks
Hi there! Good to see you are still here @sparksd. Been on a hiatus, and very happy to be back. I am using the latest 16.2 public beta, and they did indeed bring back external monitor support for Apple M1 and M2 iPads. I like it. I know it has some maturing to do, but I am really happy that I can finally use my iPad as a desktop setup. I use a BT keyboard and a Magic Trackpad 2. Feels very natural and intuitive to use a touch device to control another touch device. My biggest complaint about the Stage Manager external monitor support is that sound defaults to the external monitor, whether the monitor has speakers or not. There are certainly workarounds for this, but I hope they just give us some sound settings soon so we can control where to output sound. Other than that, I am happy to have the external monitor support after waiting for years for it.
Welcome back! I'm no longer on Beta so I can't check mine - can you switch audio in Control Center?
Unfortunately Apple hasn’t included that functionality yet. There are some work arounds though. If your external monitor doesn’t have speakers, you can use the 3.5mm headphone Jack on the monitor to plug in headphones or to a stereo system. You can use BT headphones or a BT external speaker. You can also use a usb c hub with a 3.5mm jack to do the same as with the Jack on the monitor. I use the 3.5mm on the back of my monitor to hook to my Creative sound system. Hopefully Apple will include some sound settings to Stage Manager before too long. That would by far be the best way to control the sound.
Yeah, my 4K monitor doesn't have speakers but it does have the jack. I prefer monitors this way so I can use my own audio devices.
Yeah, it works out ok. The only place you can’t get sound when hooked to external monitor is the iPad itself, which is kind of strange imo.
It's always been the case unfortunately, even with previous versions of the OS....
I did not know that. You mean that even before stage manager, if you mirrored to an external monitor, you would lose the sound on the iPad? That is very odd behavior for the source device to lose sound when hooked to an external monitor, especially using hdmi. I wonder what is Apple's reasoning behind this. Seems like it would just be easier to leave the sound defaulted to the source device. Do the Samung tablets behave this way when using an external monitor?
ah, that's right - I now recall another thread that talked about this. Since I always used the monitor's audio out, I never really gave it any thought. So, it's a "feature".
Yeah! It's one of those, "Less is more" features....😄
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I am out now, but when I get home I'll test this on the Samsung Galaxy S8 ultra
Welcome back @bondr006
I've been exclusively using Stage Manager on my iPad and Mac since public release. Giving it a fair shot before making any final judgements around the feature. I feel this photo you've shown is a great sign of a potential future -- as an artist it would be lovely to be able to carry only an iPad and dock it to a monitor, keyboard and mouse when home. The limitations right now are software and app feature parity.
Off topic: The drawings on the walls are wonderful! Did you create them?
I tested it and Samsung tablets work like most regular laptops, they default to the sound on the tablet and you can go into the equivalent of control center and choose the media output that you want (monitor, tablet, earbuds etc.)
Good to see you @BhaveshUK! I have been using my iPad as my business machine for my Real Estate businesses since I got it last November, and true external monitor support is what I have been waiting for. It has some maturing to do but for the most part, I am happy with it.
Thank you! The drawings are from my son from when he was a little boy, up to the present. He is 20 now. He loves to draw, and I will take all the pictures he wants to draw for me. He is busy with college and work now, and unfortunately doesn't get to draw as much as he used to.🙁 I will tell him you appreciated his work.
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Thanks for taking the time! It figures. I hope Apple will include this functionality at some point. Maybe after they get Stage Manager worked out a little more. I have absolutely no experience with Samsung tablets or Android, but I'd be interested in your take on Stage Manager as compared to Samsung Dex.