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iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
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However, it's a different story if you have the 16" MacBook Pro (as I do). Then the 12.9" iPad Pro becomes a great small travel computer.
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I probably use my iPad Air more than my MacBook Pro at this point. And I have a 2019 MacBook Pro with high specs, it wasn't cheap. I can't even play an HDR video on YouTube without Safari coming to a crawl. It's amazing how big of a difference it makes using one of Apple's own processors vs Intel. I'm actually going to upgrade to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Looking forward to it.
Side note, it's amazing how much these trade-ins rip you off. I get they have to make money from it, but I put my iPad Air on eBay just yesterday and I'm already getting offers higher than what Apple offers. Granted, I'm bundling a couple accessories with it that would be incompatible with the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, but you can't trade-in those accessories.
Another side note, I highly recommend paying $10 on eBay for promoting your listing if it's a high value item like an iPad. I already have 20 watchers after just a day. Looking forward to the bidding war lol.
Side note, it's amazing how much these trade-ins rip you off. I get they have to make money from it, but I put my iPad Air on eBay just yesterday and I'm already getting offers higher than what Apple offers. Granted, I'm bundling a couple accessories with it that would be incompatible with the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, but you can't trade-in those accessories.
Another side note, I highly recommend paying $10 on eBay for promoting your listing if it's a high value item like an iPad. I already have 20 watchers after just a day. Looking forward to the bidding war lol.
I dropped my iPad Pro 12.9, the MK took the impact on the front right corner. The iPad remained unscathed, but the MK split open a little on the corner (something that would likely get worse over time). I have AppleCare+ on the iPad and Apple replaced the MK for free. I wonder what Logitech would have said…
I do like the function key row on the LCT, though.
One difference - you aren't paying for any coverage for the Logitech so why would they do anything for accidental damage? Given the way the Logitech is built, it probably would have come through unscathed (I have both the Logi and the MK for my M1 12.9).
What are your personal experiences selling on eBay? I had a terrible experience last time I sold a high price electronic device. The guy came back and said the laptop stopped working and opened a case against me, and I had absolutely no protection from eBay even though I listed the return policy as “No refunds.” (You have no choice but to accept returns, as I found out).
I was forced to issue him a prepaid return shipping label. He ended up never returning the laptop and so the case was closed. But, yeah. Never again.
Just wanted to hear your experiences.
Certainly. The 12.9" was just slightly too big for me, but it and the 16" MacBook Pro don't make each other pointless.
My main complaint was the aspect ratio. If the thing is going to be that big and heavy, and the aspect ratio makes videos appear so small, the tradeoff was just all wrong. So much heft for that size video content wasn't worth it for me.
I would be interested in a 12" iPad Pro, one that had the same aspect ratio as the 11". I think that would be a cool sweet spot.
One other thing that I've heard basically nobody talk about - the magic keyboard for the 12.9" was so loud compared to the one for the 11". It took me by surprise. For some reason the sound of typing on it just reverberates and amplifies in a way that the 11", and the MacBooks doesn't.
I've sold a Smart Keyboard Folio before, and that went fine. This will be my first time selling an iPad. I actually just got it replaced last week under AppleCare because of a "ghost touching" issue, so it's good as new. As long as I do all the proper things to reset it and remove it from my Apple account, I think the risk is low.
I just have to be careful packing it because I don't have the original box. I'm going to put the iPad in a case, then put everything in a bubble envelope, then I'm going to put that in a box. I'll put some bubble wrap around the envelope too lol. Not taking chances.
I'm no longer trying to replace my laptop with an iPad, but I did appreciate it yesterday. Had to go home and into hospital with a loved one yesterday. It was somewhat sudden but not a true emergency, so I was going to still get some work done while all the tests and waiting was going on. Just before leaving for the hospital, I had the choice of my 14" MacBook Pro, or the iPad Pro 11" M1 with Magic Keyboard. Grabbed the iPad at the last second and I'm actually glad I did.
The 14" is big and clunky enough that i simply wouldn't have been able to keep it on hand and get work done as I was going between different waiting rooms and wards. It having its own cellular connection was great, as hotspot is unreliable at the best of times, and 8 hours of hotspot will significantly drain even an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The work VPN also stayed connected even when I put the iPad to sleep. On my Mac, you've got to reconnect to the hotspot and then the VPN every damn time you open the laptop. All in all, the iPad was actually more reliable in this scenario than the MacBook.
While I grew frustrated with trying to replace my laptop with an iPad full time, being able to use this thing on the go like that gave me a new found appreciation for it. While I'm not trying to replace my laptop, I certainly respect the iPad when I have to use it as a laptop replacement occasionally.
The 14" is big and clunky enough that i simply wouldn't have been able to keep it on hand and get work done as I was going between different waiting rooms and wards. It having its own cellular connection was great, as hotspot is unreliable at the best of times, and 8 hours of hotspot will significantly drain even an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The work VPN also stayed connected even when I put the iPad to sleep. On my Mac, you've got to reconnect to the hotspot and then the VPN every damn time you open the laptop. All in all, the iPad was actually more reliable in this scenario than the MacBook.
While I grew frustrated with trying to replace my laptop with an iPad full time, being able to use this thing on the go like that gave me a new found appreciation for it. While I'm not trying to replace my laptop, I certainly respect the iPad when I have to use it as a laptop replacement occasionally.
Agree 100%. The LCT doesn't have a mark on it after 3 drops in the 15 months that I've had it, and the iPad is fully protected.
Right. But if you weren't paying for the iPad, the MK would not have been replaced. You can't fault Logitech for not covering damage.
I thinking you got awful lucky with the MK replacement. You got to hit the right person to get that kind of generosity on an uncovered product.
It actually is a covered accessory under the Apple Care for the associated iPad. Would be the same for a Pencil. A good deal.
https://www.apple.com/support/products/ipad/
Ha! Yeah, definitely don't want to take any chances. Make sure that you document everything to cover yourself if any funny business were to occur. Some photos wouldn't hurt. Keep your shipping receipt from your chosen carrier as well. eBay appears to always side with the seller. Just remember that.
Good luck, and enjoy that great resale value.
Oh, I’m not faulting Logitech for not covering damage on a Logi keyboard attached to an AppleCare+ covered iPad. It’s just something to consider when comparing the two keyboard options.
Yep, I'm definitely going to take photos of how I pack it. That magic keyboard is pretty heavy duty, so that alone should protect it, but I'm taking extra precautions as well.Ha! Yeah, definitely don't want to take any chances. Make sure that you document everything to cover yourself if any funny business were to occur. Some photos wouldn't hurt. Keep your shipping receipt from your chosen carrier as well. eBay appears to always side with the seller. Just remember that.
Good luck, and enjoy that great resale value.
Interesting. Hadn’t noticed the difference in key noise between the 11’ and 12.9” Magic Keyboards. Will have to test this out with my wife’s 11” and my 12.9”.
While I happen to like the aspect ratio of the 12.9” (it’s great for viewing websites in vertical orientation, as well as for editing portrait-orientation photos) I do agree movie watching is hampered by those thick black bars on the top and bottom. (At least with the mini LED models those bars are actually BLACK.)
I also agree that the 12.9” is too unwieldy for relaxed e-book reading. That’s where my iPad mini 6 earns its keep.
Great example. I stopped wrestling with this question as well, and finally came to the conclusion that an iPad is a laptop substitute rather than a replacement.
I’m a high school teacher, so the majority of my work is in iWork, Google Suite, or Office. There are occasional forays into video or audio editing - mostly cutting clips together - that I’m way more comfortable on a Mac for, but I’m willing to try Lumafusion or whatever when I get more time.
My school district has draconian rules for the wifi, so I have to use a cellular iPad Pro. I could probably just use my iPhone if I could stand working on a small screen, but I’m getting older and need more space.
Lately, I‘ve been experimenting with using an external monitor with the iPad, and it’s been pretty great. It mostly feels like a desktop, with a few bugs and quirks. I keep tell myself I should just start my YouTube channel already and start documenting my experience, but I’ve got enough going on. Maybe one day.
Usually it's the iPad missing Mac features that's annoying, but lately my 14" MacBook Pro has been annoying me by missing iPad features.
Cellular - specifically not having to rely on hotspot. I don't know about the rest of you, but on the MacBook I'm lucky for my hotspot to show up in the Wi-Fi menu bar even 50% of the time. When it does, about 20% of the time it just fails to connect.
System level VPN (at least I think?) - I can connect to my work VPN in the morning, and the iPad will stay connected to it all day if I need it to, even if it goes to sleep, or changes to cellular/Wi-Fi. On the MacBook, the Cisco VPN just disconnects as soon as you close the lid or it goes to sleep. I have to reconnect every time, which involves two factor authentication.
The way it all comes together is often times I need to respond extremely quickly to work situations, and that requires me to be on the work network. If I'm off-site from work with my Mac, that means I have to get it out, fight with the hotspot nonsense which half the time means I have to take my phone out, then fight the 2FA to log in to the VPN (which again requires my phone). It's really annoying.
With the iPad, I take it out, it's already on the internet and on the VPN regardless of where I am, and I just get to work. It's way more reliable.
Usually Mac is supposed to be more work friendly and more full featured, so I found that interesting.
Cellular - specifically not having to rely on hotspot. I don't know about the rest of you, but on the MacBook I'm lucky for my hotspot to show up in the Wi-Fi menu bar even 50% of the time. When it does, about 20% of the time it just fails to connect.
System level VPN (at least I think?) - I can connect to my work VPN in the morning, and the iPad will stay connected to it all day if I need it to, even if it goes to sleep, or changes to cellular/Wi-Fi. On the MacBook, the Cisco VPN just disconnects as soon as you close the lid or it goes to sleep. I have to reconnect every time, which involves two factor authentication.
The way it all comes together is often times I need to respond extremely quickly to work situations, and that requires me to be on the work network. If I'm off-site from work with my Mac, that means I have to get it out, fight with the hotspot nonsense which half the time means I have to take my phone out, then fight the 2FA to log in to the VPN (which again requires my phone). It's really annoying.
With the iPad, I take it out, it's already on the internet and on the VPN regardless of where I am, and I just get to work. It's way more reliable.
Usually Mac is supposed to be more work friendly and more full featured, so I found that interesting.
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I use my Surface tablet, with a keybord atatchment, as a laptop. It's the most portable and easy-to-carry laptop I've ever used, and that suits my needs well. I can carry it with me wherever I go in the house, I can use it when at a restaurant.
That said, there is one key beteen a Surface tablet and an iPad: You have your choice of opating systems on an Intel-bassed Surface tablet. You can have Windoes, Android (the "FydeOS for You" distbution), or both if you'retech-savvy enoguh to run two operating sytems on the same computer. I have both Androud and Windows installed: I usully use Windows when useing my Surface as a laptop, and Android when useing it as a tablet.
You can't install MacOS onto an iPad, it's iOS only. For me, that means an iPad would make a poor laptop, because I like the desktop environment that Windows and MacOS offers. But that's me. If the tablet environment on a laptop suites your tastes, and you want a very portable laptop that will also be a tablet: By all means, get yourself an iPad with a keybord case! I hope you come to love it as much as I love my Surface.
That said, there is one key beteen a Surface tablet and an iPad: You have your choice of opating systems on an Intel-bassed Surface tablet. You can have Windoes, Android (the "FydeOS for You" distbution), or both if you'retech-savvy enoguh to run two operating sytems on the same computer. I have both Androud and Windows installed: I usully use Windows when useing my Surface as a laptop, and Android when useing it as a tablet.
You can't install MacOS onto an iPad, it's iOS only. For me, that means an iPad would make a poor laptop, because I like the desktop environment that Windows and MacOS offers. But that's me. If the tablet environment on a laptop suites your tastes, and you want a very portable laptop that will also be a tablet: By all means, get yourself an iPad with a keybord case! I hope you come to love it as much as I love my Surface.
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I have a 16GB i7 Surface Pro 7, an M1 12.9, and a Mini 6 and find that they complement, not supplant, each other.