Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad as a laptop replacement

Status
The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
Also, @bondr006 and @Ludatyk, you may find this Siri Shortcut I created for convenient cross-platform web page sharing useful for sharing web pages between your iPad and Android devices, I initially created it for a family member who has an iOS and Android device:
github.com

GitHub - KalCadle/Create-QR-Code-for-Safari: Generate a QR code for conveniently sharing web pages from Safari to other devices.

Generate a QR code for conveniently sharing web pages from Safari to other devices. - KalCadle/Create-QR-Code-for-Safari
github.com github.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ludatyk and bondr006
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
Silvestru Hosszu said:
Sorry, it seems that I was mistaking, here are the links:


Click to expand...
If you hold press or right click on the embedded PDF, do you get any option menu? Any option to open in new tab or copy? If so, you might be able to copy and paste it into a new tab to resolve the issue. That’s the only solution for this issue that I’ve been able to find. There are several options for Siri Shortcuts to extract contents and/or files out of webpages, so that also may work if I can find a page to test it on. 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: Silvestru Hosszu
Kal Madda said:
If you hold press or right click on the embedded PDF, do you get any option menu? Any option to open in new tab or copy? If so, you might be able to copy and paste it into a new tab to resolve the issue. That’s the only solution for this issue that I’ve been able to find. There are several options for Siri Shortcuts to extract contents and/or files out of webpages, so that also may work if I can find a page to test it on. 👍🏻
Click to expand...
That way I can save the first page of the said pdf. Thats it sadly.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: Kal Madda
Silvestru Hosszu said:
Sadly no because I cannot even visualize more than the first page.
The good news it that right now, for this task, I can use Jumpdesktop for remote acces to my desktop computers which are staying in place for the predictable future.
Click to expand...
Oh, well, I guess at least the JumpDesktop option is working. 👍🏻. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: Silvestru Hosszu
Kal Madda said:
Oh, well, I guess at least the JumpDesktop option is working. 👍🏻. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. 👍🏻
Click to expand...
I had a similar issue with embedded PDFs when downloading procedures from an old university homepage used for a lab courses. Right click and copy or alternatively hold and drag and drop into a new tab worked initially. But this function was disabled when the website admin changed some settings for the website. My work-around is to right click and copy or alternatively drag and drop the displayed first page and paste it into the files app. Perhaps this fixes your problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Silvestru Hosszu and Kal Madda
TestName said:
I had a similar issue with embedded PDFs when downloading procedures from an old university homepage used for a lab courses. Right click and copy or alternatively hold and drag and drop into a new tab worked initially. But this function was disabled when the website admin changed some settings for the website. My work-around is to right click and copy or alternatively drag and drop the displayed first page and paste it into the files app. Perhaps this fixes your problem.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for sharing your input! 👍🏻. I’m not running into this issue, but was trying to help @Silvestru Hosszu. So maybe that could be helpful to him. 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: Silvestru Hosszu
TestName said:
I had a similar issue with embedded PDFs when downloading procedures from an old university homepage used for a lab courses. Right click and copy or alternatively hold and drag and drop into a new tab worked initially. But this function was disabled when the website admin changed some settings for the website. My work-around is to right click and copy or alternatively drag and drop the displayed first page and paste it into the files app. Perhaps this fixes your problem.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, I tried it but it only copies the first page.
Usually government web pages are awful, but sometimes you cannot avoid them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
Too many pages to read here but I have a family member that wants or says she wants a laptop but they only use it for youtube or instagram.. How would you convince them that a ipad would be enough for them? I would assume a laptop (lets says ipad 10th gen) is going to have a better battery life and less weight than a laptop. I mean you can even get a case with a built in keyboard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda and bondr006
PPCmike said:
Too many pages to read here but I have a family member that wants or says she wants a laptop but they only use it for youtube or instagram.. How would you convince them that a ipad would be enough for them? I would assume a laptop (lets says ipad 10th gen) is going to have a better battery life and less weight than a laptop. I mean you can even get a case with a built in keyboard.
Click to expand...
Well, an iPad can do a lot more than YouTube and Instagram. For someone with as simple needs as your family member...an iPad can easily replace a laptop. If you have an iPad...show them what it can do, especially in regards to their needs. And yes, there are many keyboard cases for the iPad. Personally, I would go for the Logitech Combo Touch. I have had one on my M1 iPad Pro 11 for over 3 years now, and it works like the day I got it. It has also protected my iPad through 3 falls. Just my 2 cents.😊

You are also welcome to show your family member the two links in my signature related to the iPad.😉

Don't know why the Amazon disclaimer is there. I don't work for or represent Amazon. Must be the links in my post.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
  • Like
Reactions: Ludatyk, PPCmike and Kal Madda
bondr006 said:
Well, an iPad can do a lot more than YouTube and Instagram. For someone with as simple needs as your family member...an iPad can easily replace a laptop. If you have an iPad...show them what it can do, especially in regards to their needs. And yes, there are many keyboard cases for the iPad. Personally, I would go for the Logitech Combo Touch. I have had one on my M1 iPad Pro 11 for over 3 years now, and it works like the day I got it. It has also protected my iPad through 3 falls. Just my 2 cents.😊

You are also welcome to show your family member the two links in my signature related to the iPad.😉

Don't know why the Amazon disclaimer is there. I don't work for or represent Amazon. Must be the links in my post.
Click to expand...
I second that. Also, the iPad is much simpler and more intuitive to use than a laptop OS. This could be a key selling point as well. 👍🏻.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
  • Like
Reactions: PPCmike and bondr006
PPCmike said:
Too many pages to read here but I have a family member that wants or says she wants a laptop but they only use it for youtube or instagram.. How would you convince them that a ipad would be enough for them? I would assume a laptop (lets says ipad 10th gen) is going to have a better battery life and less weight than a laptop. I mean you can even get a case with a built in keyboard.
Click to expand...
I would say there are several things that could make the iPad a better option. The iPad is definitely lighter than most laptops, and also has a smaller footprint. It also has better battery runtime than most laptops, though it is a bit behind some of the MacBooks due to them using the same efficient Apple Silicon chips with a larger battery capacity. But the battery runtime is better than most Intel/AMD laptops.

Another major selling point (at least in my opinion) would be iPadOS, the OS that runs on the iPad. It is more secure than Windows and macOS, and is nearly unbreakable. You can’t accidentally delete core OS files like you can on Windows and macOS. As far as the level of utility that iPadOS has to offer, I use my iPad as my primary computer, and I use it for my freelance graphic design work with the Affinity apps. I actually prefer working on iPadOS over working on macOS. iPadOS is much cleaner and more streamlined than macOS is in a number of ways. I hardly ever use Windows at all, I find it to be far less intuitive than macOS and iPadOS, and I don’t like the forced automatic updates, because they cause major bugs left and right. I’ve had several family members who I’ve troubleshooted Windows computers for, just for an automatic update to cause the exact same bug to reappear a day or two later in an infinite death spiral until they finally “fixed” it next year. Anyways, not supposed to be a rant against Windows, but I think iPadOS is definitely more intuitive and stable than both Windows and macOS (even though I’d say macOS is pretty close to iPadOS).

Another thing that can be a strong benefit of the iPad is that iPad’s offer cellular options. I don’t have a cellular iPad, but for those who are willing to pay for the data, that can be a major plus because you can surf the web and use productivity tools that require internet on the go. Or you could run Instagram and YouTube. 👍🏻

These are a few of the benefits I can think of off the top of my head. There are for sure many others I haven’t discussed here. I hope this helps. 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: bondr006 and PPCmike
bondr006 said:
Well, an iPad can do a lot more than YouTube and Instagram. For someone with as simple needs as your family member...an iPad can easily replace a laptop. If you have an iPad...show them what it can do, especially in regards to their needs. And yes, there are many keyboard cases for the iPad. Personally, I would go for the Logitech Combo Touch. I have had one on my M1 iPad Pro 11 for over 3 years now, and it works like the day I got it. It has also protected my iPad through 3 falls. Just my 2 cents.😊

You are also welcome to show your family member the two links in my signature related to the iPad.😉

Don't know why the Amazon disclaimer is there. I don't work for or represent Amazon. Must be the links in my post.
Click to expand...
I looking at picking up the 10th gen ipad tomorrow So Im hoping she would see this would be better off for her.. as for the keyboard cases I was looking at that logitech one but how is the feeling of the case? Is it smooth or does it have like a woven texture?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
  • Like
Reactions: bondr006 and Kal Madda
Kal Madda said:
I’m genuinely curious, what is the difference between desktop Safari and Safari on the iPad? Using both side by side, they both look nearly identical, and offer the same features on the surface as far as I can tell. I have a friend who does web development who has said that Safari on the iPad is a bit different for development, but I’m unaware of any major differences in surface-level user features. I’m not trying to come across as dismissive or anything, I just keep hearing people upset iPadOS lacks “desktop-class Safari” and I don’t understand. 👍🏻
Click to expand...
Last week I accidentally closed an iPad Sarafi window with a lot of open tabs. That's when I discovered that the iPad version of Safari does not have the same window recovery options as my Mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bondr006, SteveJUAE and Kal Madda
Webcat86 said:
Last week I accidentally closed an iPad Sarafi window with a lot of open tabs. That's when I discovered that the iPad version of Safari does not have the same window recovery options as my Mac.
Click to expand...
I didn’t even know there was a window recovery option. That might be useful to know 👍🏻
 
  • Like
Reactions: bondr006
PPCmike said:
I looking at picking up the 10th gen ipad tomorrow So Im hoping she would see this would be better off for her.. as for the keyboard cases I was looking at that logitech one but how is the feeling of the case? Is it smooth or does it have like a woven texture?
Click to expand...
Let's not forget what's she is used to. Regardless how intuitive and IPad may or may not be. Like many who choose one phone os over another its simply familiarity.

IPads once 1st on weight and battery endurance are largely a thing of the past with latest laptops MacOS or Windows. Some windows laptops have cellular connectivity unlike Macs. Also hot-spot of your mobile is probably more practical for most.

I see no overly compelling argument for IPad over laptops even for someone with modest requirements and especially so if they are use to laptops.

My wife would curse me if I forced an iPad on her and she like the OP family member is a modest user of just a few dailies and VC. She simply knows where everything is and just flips it open on her lap and does what she does lol and no new OS to learn.
 
  • Sad
  • Like
Reactions: bondr006 and PPCmike
SteveJUAE said:
Let's not forget what's she is used to. Regardless how intuitive and IPad may or may not be. Like many who choose one phone os over another its simply familiarity.

IPads once 1st on weight and battery endurance are largely a thing of the past with latest laptops MacOS or Windows. Some windows laptops have cellular connectivity unlike Macs. Also hot-spot of your mobile is probably more practical for most.

I see no overly compelling argument for IPad over laptops even for someone with modest requirements and especially so if they are use to laptops.

My wife would curse me if I forced an iPad on her and she like the OP family member is a modest user of just a few dailies and VC. She simply knows where everything is and just flips it open on her lap and does what she does lol and no new OS to learn.
Click to expand...
My mom is up in age (shes using a 7+ still) and to this day she's still confused on some items.. however shes starting to notice more apps if she logs in says it's outdated (part of the reason for me to do this) and for others said above she can't really mess things up.

She is happy that the icloud backed up her stuff, that saved me about 2 hours of time setting up, she did say that it will take some time to get used to it.. I ended up getting two ipad 10th gens and the Logitech touch combo.

One thing I noticed is the wallpaper on the ipad you can't have it rotate photos like the iphone at least that I've noticed so far.. it's my first time using an ipad myself so I don't really know all the settings yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SteveJUAE, bondr006 and Kal Madda
PPCmike said:
My mom is up in age (shes using a 7+ still) and to this day she's still confused on some items.. however shes starting to notice more apps if she logs in says it's outdated (part of the reason for me to do this) and for others said above she can't really mess things up.

She is happy that the icloud backed up her stuff, that saved me about 2 hours of time setting up, she did say that it will take some time to get used to it.. I ended up getting two ipad 10th gens and the Logitech touch combo.

One thing I noticed is the wallpaper on the ipad you can't have it rotate photos like the iphone at least that I've noticed so far.. it's my first time using an ipad myself so I don't really know all the settings yet.
Click to expand...
Oh, you mean switch between photos in an album as your wallpaper so they’ll change each time you wake it up? I can try to get some screenshots of how to set that up later and show you. Unless you’re talking about something else?
 
  • Love
Reactions: PPCmike
Kal Madda said:
Oh, you mean switch between photos in an album as your wallpaper so they’ll change each time you wake it up? I can try to get some screenshots of how to set that up later and show you. Unless you’re talking about something else?
Click to expand...
Yeah that's it.. It was pretty easy to do on the iphone but like I said maybe I missed something on the ipad
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal Madda
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back