will have a try later but even still its not efficient. I was trying to import my entire photo library from finder folders on an external hard drive to the iPad photos app. there are multiple folders within folders etc so would of been a nightmare to do it. I tried to import via usb c via finder on my iMac and that worked but it downgraded all my raw files to JPEG
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iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
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will have a try later but even still its not efficient. I was trying to import my entire photo library from finder folders on an external hard drive to the iPad photos app. there are multiple folders within folders etc so would of been a nightmare to do it. I tried to import via usb c via finder on my iMac and that worked but it downgraded all my raw files to JPEG
It may be true that you can't export whole folders into the Photos app on iPadOS, but the same is true that you cannot export whole folders into the Mac OS Photos app or the Windows Photos app either. You can however, import whole folders of photos along with all the sub folders into the files app and view your photos just like you do on your Mac or PC with Finder or Windows Explorer. You can also right click on any photo file, and open them in any number of apps on your iPad right in the Files app, just like on Mac or PC. I guess I am not understanding the problem here. People seem to be creating an issue when in reality there is none.
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I have all my photos and videos in a folder named after the year and then sub folders by month and in each sub folder there might 10 files or 500 files.
When I import on a Mac, I can just select import then the year folder and it will import all the subfolders into the photos app on my Mac.
On the iPad its making me click on each sub folder and then having to select each file thats in the subfolder and then save it the photos app. So rather than just one click of the year folder to add the photos I'm in theory having to click on each of the 12 sub folders to import my photos in for that year.
You do know that when you open them in the Photos app on the iPad, you can look at them by years, months, days, albums, or just all photos? You do not have to sort them, it is done automatically by the OS.
yes but I'm talking about when I initially set up my iPad and tried to import them from an external hard drive on the files app. I have them set up in finder folders by year and then month but when I plugged in the external hard drive to my iPad the photos app wouldn't recognise the hard drive to allow me to import them in the app itself. it would let view the folders in the files app but then I would have to manually select and then save the photos to the iPad photos app.
I don't get your point. It is the same on a Mac or PC. You cannot import files directly into an app. You have to import to the file system, and then open in an app. All organizing is done in the file system whether on Mac, PC, or iPad. Up until 2017 when the Files app was introduced, we didn't even have a way to work with files on the iPad, and it sure has come a long way since then.
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For the 2nd point, I use an entry-level Windows laptop when I need to do something that needs a computer (like iPad backups), which isn't often. I'd gladly take an iPad for 99% of tasks and use a laptop for the 1%, than always use a laptop. Using that thing for extended periods is pretty annoying since it's so heavy and yet so weak, whereas you can lift up an iPad Pro with relative ease, and yet it is an absolute powerhouse.Being retired now for a little over 2 years, I could make for an iPad-only person.
I mean, with hardly any "serious" work to do, more time for media consumption... and other arguments that I picked up from this thread.
As it now seems to turn out, this may not be the case for me.
Here's what I've been wondering:
- If I were to attach a keyboard to my iPad (which I never did BTW), it would look like I was trying to turn it into a would-be laptop. So then, why not just go with a laptop?
- Many iPad-only adventurers acknowledge that they still need a laptop/computer for certain jobs, occasionally. So why not just go with a laptop?
- My laptop, when opened, has the keyboard part to put my table or my lap, and the screen always steadily upward at a nice viewing angle. All very comfortable, with no extra accessories needed.
- I love the macOS so much more than the iPadOS, not to mention the overall availability of software.
- A few of my main usages for the iPad were note taking and attending meetings. I still do both, albeit on a smaller scale, and 100% analog. Nothing beats my beloved fountain pen and my Travelers notebook
At this point in time, I haven't touched my iPad for about a month and haven't missed it at all.
My recently acquired MacBook Air and my iPhone (as my communicator) are the only devices I really need.
TBH, a bit surprised myself that I can do without my iPad - but I hope to keep it that way.
Actually you do not have to copy the photos/images into Apple’s Files on the iPad. You just open Apple Photos and Files in Splitview, navigate into the folder with the images of interest on the external drive, select all images you want there, and drag them into the Photos-view (you can’t drag the folder icon directly onto Apple Photo). Photos will then import and add them to the iPad photo-library.
For the protocol: this works in Stage Manager too.
If you want to manage and edit photos on external drives without importing to the internal photo-library (while managing the internal as well) you have to use e.g. RAW Power (it offers a trial so you can check wether it fits you).
In that case I strongly recommend to use an APFS formatted external SSD (which you have to format on a Mac because the iPad can’t 🙄🤓) to store you photos - APFS on a SSD because of the file system reliability and the read/write speeds.
For the protocol: this works in Stage Manager too.
If you want to manage and edit photos on external drives without importing to the internal photo-library (while managing the internal as well) you have to use e.g. RAW Power (it offers a trial so you can check wether it fits you).
In that case I strongly recommend to use an APFS formatted external SSD (which you have to format on a Mac because the iPad can’t 🙄🤓) to store you photos - APFS on a SSD because of the file system reliability and the read/write speeds.
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There were ways to simulate having a file manager on the iPad. Prior to the files app, I had my files stored in dropbox, then synced to my iPad via the documents app. This allowed me to access them directly and work with them as needed.
unfortunately that way downgraded all my raw photos to jpegs so it was a no go.
In the end I just loaded all my photos into apple photos on my Mac and turned on the iCloud option and then that synced them across as raw photos. this worked fine but I didn't really want to use the cloud because of monthly subscription and because I just wanted to be old school and manage the data myself on external drives.
Yeah, I was talking about natively. I have FileBrowser, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, and Box all on my iPad Pro. But, they all incorporate into the native Files app, which gives me one central place to manage all my files now. It even lets me access all my files on my desktop computer. Like I said, the native Apple Files app has come a long way from its introduction in 2017.
@entropyfl - and any other interested 🤓- here is a short info on how RAWs are handled when sync them on iOS/iPadOS and macOS.
And while it is written at times of iOS 12 this article on how Apple Photos on iDevices and Mac handles edits, when it creates JPEGs, handles RAW, et cetera, is still valid and IMHO an excellent read - the author is the former Apple Aperture lead and developer of RAWPower.
This should help to avoid any unwanted surprises like e.g. ending up at some point with JPGs instead of RAWs, et cetera.
Besides that: as already pointed out by several people here, the solutions to manage files and photos have come a long (still improvable 😁) way on iPads. And as long as only one imaging application or Photos extension edits an image, you should find a probably quite nice solution which integrates nicely with external storage - like using FileBrowser’s integration with Apple’s Files together with either RAWPower, Photos, Pixelmator Photo, Lightroom, Snapseed, or … to mange your digital photo library on iPadOS/macOS (other file manager and photo editor apps for the platform(s) are available 🤪😁)
nota bene: if you keep in mind how Apple’s Photos handles imaging - as Nik Bhatt points out in his article above - you can of course use any number of imaging apps to create your personal editing/management work flow on iPadOS or between iPadOS and macOS avoiding any „surprise”.
And while it is written at times of iOS 12 this article on how Apple Photos on iDevices and Mac handles edits, when it creates JPEGs, handles RAW, et cetera, is still valid and IMHO an excellent read - the author is the former Apple Aperture lead and developer of RAWPower.
This should help to avoid any unwanted surprises like e.g. ending up at some point with JPGs instead of RAWs, et cetera.
Besides that: as already pointed out by several people here, the solutions to manage files and photos have come a long (still improvable 😁) way on iPads. And as long as only one imaging application or Photos extension edits an image, you should find a probably quite nice solution which integrates nicely with external storage - like using FileBrowser’s integration with Apple’s Files together with either RAWPower, Photos, Pixelmator Photo, Lightroom, Snapseed, or … to mange your digital photo library on iPadOS/macOS (other file manager and photo editor apps for the platform(s) are available 🤪😁)
nota bene: if you keep in mind how Apple’s Photos handles imaging - as Nik Bhatt points out in his article above - you can of course use any number of imaging apps to create your personal editing/management work flow on iPadOS or between iPadOS and macOS avoiding any „surprise”.
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I've been using my new iPad Pro for a few days now and I love it, but I have a question. Shouldn't it be theoretically possible for it to run Mac apps with the M2 chip? The M2 Macs can run iPad apps because they have the same chip. I'm not asking for MacOS on the iPad, that would be a very poor user experience IMO, but it would be handy to run the occasional Mac app.
this would only happen if Apple made a way for some Mac software to run on iPad, which does not seem to be their intention at the moment....
I really wouldn't mind if attached to a keyboard, trackpad, and monitor if my M1 iPad Pro could run MacOS. What I really wish, is if we could run a virtual machine like Paralleles on the Apple silicon iPads. As a tablet though, definitely iPadOS all the way. I love the tablet experience with iPadOS.
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I've given it a couple weeks of solid use but I just can't get use to it as a replacement for my laptop.
I'm going to relegate it for personal use such as media consumption, reading magazines and photo editing.
its great and it is capable but I just feel like I'm too stuck in my dinosaur ways lol
I'm going to relegate it for personal use such as media consumption, reading magazines and photo editing.
its great and it is capable but I just feel like I'm too stuck in my dinosaur ways lol
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It’s not necessarily you. Apple never intended for Mac users to abandon ship for an iPad. For us, it’s meant to be more of an adjunct computer, particularly for on-the-go.
Apple markets iPad to novice PC users as a simple and fun alternative to the complicated and confusing Windows OS.
Very true! I think it seems to be perfect for my daughter whose 8 as the school use a lot of iPad apps for her homework. The teachers can see her work and send messages through the apps.
its also great for my parents who are technophobes and just like it for reading the news and as a kindle.
Because I bought mine as a whim, mainly for magazines and for editing and viewing my photos I felt like l wasn't using it to its full potential which is why I've been really trying to get my moneys worth out of the device but I just can't seem to stick with it as a daily machine.
I agree, if it was up to Apple... they would want customers to have some form of a desktop Mac, MacBook Pro/Air and an iPad accompanied by a iPhone and Apple Watch. Don't forget the AirPods as well, throw in that Apple TV too.
Understand this is Mac forum... but I wouldn't describe WindowsOS as complicated and confusing. I use Windows on the daily... and I personally like the changes Microsoft did with Windows 11.
And I like macOS as well, I find it odd in order to compliment OS 1... we have to dismiss OS 2. Why can't both OS 1 and 2 be worthy choices?
I agree 100%. I refuse to pitch a tent in one camp or the other. Been using PC's since the mid 80's, and Macs since the early 90's, and both exist completely at peace with each other in my house. A full computer OS, be it MacOS or Windows, may be complicated and confusing to novices, the technically challenged, or technophobes if you will, but neither one are complicated after daily use for years. Heck, even iPad OS has a learning curve for the novice. This may be a Mac forum, and I personally favor Mac OS at this point in my life as part of my Apple ecosystem, but that is no reason to dis on an operating system that runs 74% of the worlds computers. If you want to dis a computer OS that is difficult to use, and has a steep learning curve, I'll dis on Linux with you all day long.
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If you want to dis a computer OS that is difficult to use, and has a steep learning curve, I'll dis on Linux with you all day long.
I installed Linux for the first time ever just a couple of days ago and am really impressed.
I personally like it better than Windows 11 (and 8 and 10 too) if you can live with the kind of limited choice of apps in some areas, that is.
Yeah, I played with different distro's of Linux for years, and really made an effort to like it. I concluded in the end that Linux is made for technophiles, hobbyists, rebels, and those that just hate Mac or Windows. It will never have any meaningful market share, and imo, it's basically useless for the normal computer user.
I'm also comfortable with Windows 11, but only use it when required by my clients. However, I did say novice PC users ("PC" taking the generic meaning "personal computer"), and you have to admit that Windows is not something computing novices can just pick up and use (which happens pretty often with iPads).
The annoying thing about the current situation is they don't offer an ultra portable laptop the way they used to. Apple used to offer an 11" MacBook Air, and then a 12" MacBook. If you want something that style of portable these days, you're probably looking at an 11" iPad and Magic Keyboard.
The 11" iPad and Magic Keyboard is in a way even less portable than the 12" MacBook as it's heavier:
- 12" MacBook, 2lbs
- 11" iPad and Magic Keyboard, 2.34lbs
- 11" MacBook Air, 2.38lbs
And today's lightest MacBook, the M2 MacBook Air, 2.75lbs
The M2 MacBook Air is a light laptop, but it's a separate class of device to those examples above. And if you want that ultra light class of device today, you're putting up with limitations that the previous two occupiers of this device class didn't have. You weren't saddled with a wonky external monitor experience, weren't saddled with just webkit browsers, and no driver compatibility for things like DisplayLink docks.
The idea that you could bring a laptop that portable with you and dock it into a bigger experience at a work desk is something that Apple's lineup used to serve, and now doesn't. Whether they bring iPadOS forward so that the iPad Pro can do this, or release a new ultra portable laptop, I wish they would hurry up.
Addendum - If you want even a portable (let alone ultra portable) device from Apple that has a nice screen, you're also limited to the iPad Pro. That's why I hope they do a 12" MacBook again, with a 120hz display and the kind of niceties you get with the iPad Pro. It's quite annoying that the only laptop with a nice screen Apple sells is the bulkier MacBook Pros. Why do I need a bulky laptop to get 120hz?
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