That's all great options for hubs, but I was looking for something that was AC powered like the surface dock. Also, it would be nice if it has a longer USB C cable so it isn't hanging
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad as a laptop replacement
- Thread starter Omar Comin' Yo
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
For the hanging issue, I use a 90-degree USB-C adapter - no hanging when using with my MKB.
Oh, I think I know what you’re talking about! I’m thinking about eventually getting one of those as well. 👍🏻. I currently only own smaller hubs like the ones I discussed, so unfortunately I can’t offer much in the way of recommendations. Though I can recommend some good brands that might make a good hub for what you’re wanting. I’d recommend Anker, Belkin, and OWC, all make fantastic hubs. 👍🏻
I like the Microsoft Audio Dock. It was like $200 when it came out but is regularly in the < $50 range on Amazon now, and gives you HDMI and several USB ports in addition to a (pretty decent!) speaker and microphone and I think 65W charging.
Fair warning, I've never actually used the microphone with the iPad, but I assume it works.
Got mine today and I like it - a keeper. It is somewhat heavy but not bad at all and functionally is great. It also seems very well made. Nice find.
I'm not sure what you mean by AC powered nor am I familiar with the Surface dock, but the USB C hub I use does have AC power. It plugs into an Anker wall power supply. It powers the Samsung T7 External SSD and charges the iPad at the same time, connects my iPad to an external monitor, plus gives my iPad access to any external storage I have plugged in to it.😉
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Definitely a keeper! And yeah, the weight took me by surprise particularly for the size of it. Only used it a few times so far... but I like it.
I was about to make a comment of being shocked that there's not another product out there like this... but I just stumbled upon this.
Not a fan of the flap though.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Not available for the 13" M4, either.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I sent the link for the previous iPad Pro model... it's available for the 13" M4. It's $5 cheaper than the TineeOwl model and I'm able to attach a 10% coupon.
But I'm good with what I have.
This MacWorld lineup may be useful for you. Most of these docking stations should be compatible with the iPad Pro as well. 👍🏻. (I’m not sure if Stage Manager supports multiple monitors though, though I think this is more of a hardware thing as Apple Silicon Macs didn’t support multiple monitors without using a smart hub until more recently).
Best Thunderbolt and USB-C docking stations for your MacBook
Use your MacBook Air orPro just like a desktop by adding multiple ports in an easy-to-connect setup
www.macworld.com
My iPad Air 2 is still wheezing along, getting relegated to ever lighter tasks. It's basically only a chord chart reader now that engineer's PDFs are getting too big for it to handle. I plan to upgrade by next October, and I've basically decided on the 13" iPad Air. I'm looking forward to checking out how Stage Manager works on it, and I reckon there's a pretty good chance I'll end up using it for the majority of my non-work computing, and it'll be super useful in my work too, but only in an auxiliary capacity. AutoCAD and my energy rating software aren't iPad apps.
I mean, there is a mobile version of AutoCAD, but it is too limited for what I need.
I mean, there is a mobile version of AutoCAD, but it is too limited for what I need.
Awesome! I really like Stage Manager! Even for one-app-at-a-time workflows, it’s really nice for faster switching between recently opened apps via the side panel. But the multi-windowing is incredibly useful for several workflows. SplitScreen was ok, and I was very productive with it before Stage Manager, but it’s nice that now I can have four apps in the same workspace for things like reference. I actually prefer the implementation of Stage Manager on iPadOS over the way it works on macOS. The automatic snap grid keeps things cleaner and more visually aligned, which as a designer used to precise alignment, is a nice added touch. I think you’ll like it! 👍🏻
I've had the Belkin dock 5-in-1 for over a year... use it specifically for the iPad and portable monitor. Even have a case to travel with the Belkin dock, haven't found a case to travel with the portable monitor yet (typically have it loose in a bag).
Now that you mentioned it... it would be awesome if the automatic snap grid came to the iPad, once Stage Manager is enabled and we move a window/app to far left or right side then it snaps in place to predetermined destination.
And you have a 11 inch iPad... how do you have Stage Manager set up? Do you disable the dock and app recent area? Do you keep 2 or more windows/apps active on screen? From the videos I've seen on 11 inch iPad users... they never use Stage Manager due to the screen real estate.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
That dock looks nice! Belkin makes some really nice hubs and docks. I have their 7-in-1 hub, and it’s worked great for me. I actually currently have it set up at my desk. 👍🏻
I think something like the window tiling feature they just added in macOS Sonoma would make sense on the iPad as well. Perhaps they’ll add it in iPadOS 19. What I was referring to there is the normal window behavior in Stage Manager on iPadOS where windows kind of move and click on an invisible background grid. It allows me to easily align app windows with the center of the screen, or relative to each other. It’s a small thing, I know, but I like the better visuals of that setup than the infinite moving and scaling on macOS windowing where once you bump the app window it feels like you’ll never get it precisely centered ever again. 👍🏻
I decided to keep the app dock and side panel enabled. They both will automatically hide if you drag an app window over them, so I figured I might as well keep them enabled. I almost never hide the app dock, but I do often end up spreading my app windows such that the side panel is hidden. I think the multi-windowing experience on the 11” iPad is actually pretty good. I was skeptical about how well it would work on the 11” model when they first announced Stage Manager, but I was pleasantly surprised. Having tried 13” display models, I think there can definitely be a bit more space on the 13”, but the 11” isn’t too bad at all in that regard, at least in my opinion. I also did enable “More Space” scaling on my 11” iPad, and that made quite a difference, I think it’s fairly close to the 13” without “More Space” enabled, at least judging from my experiments with 13” display models. I average 3 windows in the stages that I multi-window in, I don’t tend to multi-window my design software’s unless I nest one underneath another. But typically I like to use those full screen to maximize my workspace since I’m not generally hopping between a bunch of apps when I’m working on something like a design project or a 3D model. But my Mail app, Safari, Notes, Photos, etc are another story. Those I do tend to keep several windows in a single stage. Often I’ll have a Safari window with a Notes app window and a messaging app window tucked under it. For four app windows to all be completely visible at the same time, they are smaller app windows, but for some apps like Weather, Calculator, Mail, etc. I have no problem with the smaller windows. 👍🏻. I think the 13” is probably better overall for Stage Manager, but I think some people sell the Stage Manager experience on the 11” short. 👍🏻
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
This one only supports 4k 30 hz. I would get a model that supports 4k 60hz.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Some days have passed and the experience has being amazing! Stage manager is very useful, needs some practice to use it right. For example, when you open one app that is already open in external display, it changes to the ipad. That is weird...
About using the ipad as a laptop, haven't need one yet. Using synchthing (Mobius in iOS) I can sync my files with my Android phone. And using Sync Folders I can maintain a backup with my external SSD.
About using the ipad as a laptop, haven't need one yet. Using synchthing (Mobius in iOS) I can sync my files with my Android phone. And using Sync Folders I can maintain a backup with my external SSD.
Awesome! 👍🏻. I’m glad to hear it’s working well for you! Several iPad apps don’t support multiple windows yet, so that might be why some of your app windows are shifting between them. 👍🏻
Yeah, when I switched over to the iPad I found I never needed to pull out my MacBook anymore. I’m glad that you’re having a similar experience!
Remember that if you have any questions or need help with anything, feel free to ask! 👍🏻
Just thought I would share this here.
Never thought of using a tiny game controller to trigger shortcuts within apps.
I guess I lied. Today is the last day I'm going to use my MacBook for any work or hobby related work. My M4 11" iPP and MKB should be in today. Looking forward to being a full time iPad user again later!
I just have to figure out what to do with my MacBook 😅 I'm not sure I want to get rid of it just yet, I'll probably see how much I actually use it in the next few months. Might just become an AltStore server or something. There's a chance I might want to get into development projects again in the future (that's why I bought the MacBook in the first place), but with lots of other things going on recently, that hobby has been on hold indefinitely.
Last edited:
Awesome! 👍🏻 I don’t know when the last time you used the iPad was, but I think you’ll really like the improvements that have been made in recent versions of iPadOS. 👍🏻. I’m really liking the customizable Control Center so far! And the Magic Keyboard case for the M4 iPad Pro is great! The aluminum feels much nicer, and it has a bigger trackpad. I hope you enjoy hopping back in on the iPad! 👍🏻
PS, you could use your MacBook docked at your desk, and use it to manage some external storage drives. I use my Mac Mini that way, kind of like my own private cloud storage. I don’t use my Mac Mini for much else, basically everything I do I use my iPad for. 👍🏻
Thanks! I believe I switched over during the iPadOS 17 beta cycle last year. My partner has my old 2020 iPad Pro, so I’ve been able to play around with some of the iPadOS 17 (and 18) features since then. He knows I’ve been eyeing the M4 iPad Pros since they came out, I just couldn't ever justify getting it. It's partially a Christmas present, so that's pretty much why I’m able to get one.
I might just keep my MacBook docked at my desk. I have an application on it that can adjust my monitor's brightness and volume levels. Comes in handy when I’m working early in the morning - wish the iPad could manage this on third party monitors some how, but I lived with it for years beforehand anyway.
I like your idea of local backups. I like iCloud, but I swear there's been times where some unimportant files just sort of disappeared over the years. If I started using something like Time Machine again, I think that'd help. I’d like to have a local backup of all of my photos as well.
I can’t really imagine my MacBook getting much use other than that though.
Cool! 👍🏻. I think that the iPad supports adjusting the brightness levels of external monitors. I think the options are in the Display & Brightness section in the Settings app. Hopefully that works and is helpful. 👍🏻.
Thanks, for me, I like the idea of native storage for some things, especially my 3D assets. Having some local copies can be more convenient, and I don’t have to pay for as much cloud storage as I otherwise would have to. 👍🏻
Yeah, that’s basically exclusively what I use my Mac Mini for. 👍🏻 I also emulate some Windows games on it, but I’m planning on eventually getting a console. So then it will basically be strictly for testing some macOS features, and comparing to iPadOS features for my SubStack, and managing some external drives. 👍🏻
A little more than a month ago, I reevaluated my use cases for all my tech gadgets and in an effort to simplify my setup (as well as seriously clean up my desk), I did another trial run of using my iPad (now a 6th gen mini) in place of my M2 MBA.
The last time I tried that, I used both a 5th gen mini and an older iPad Air with no peripherals which was a mistake and that lasted maybe a week and a half.
This time though, I whipped out a Magic Keyboard 2 and then experimented with both an OG Magic Trackpad and MX Master 3. It took a bit to get used to the smaller screen size of the mini, but for playing a movie or music in the background while I gamed, or just sitting down to respond to a quick email, it did a solid job.
Considering I already have a gaming laptop than can handle beefier/more complex tasks, the fact I'm not WFH anymore (my new job is 100% in office) and the fact that I don't spend as much time in front of the computer anymore in general, the MBA was pretty much superfluous (though having the external monitor, CalDigit hub and a few various cables around might come in handy elsewhere down the line).
So I did a trade-in through Apple, got enough back for it to get a refurbished 5th gen iPad Air (11") and haven't looked back (I use an Antbox leather case/stand with it too).
The flexibility of being able to pair up bluetooth peripherals to devices even more portable than laptops (like my iPhone 13 Pro Max and now my iPads) and still be able to do/accomplish nearly all of the same tasks is absolutely phenomenal and has been a game changer for me.
The last time I tried that, I used both a 5th gen mini and an older iPad Air with no peripherals which was a mistake and that lasted maybe a week and a half.
This time though, I whipped out a Magic Keyboard 2 and then experimented with both an OG Magic Trackpad and MX Master 3. It took a bit to get used to the smaller screen size of the mini, but for playing a movie or music in the background while I gamed, or just sitting down to respond to a quick email, it did a solid job.
Considering I already have a gaming laptop than can handle beefier/more complex tasks, the fact I'm not WFH anymore (my new job is 100% in office) and the fact that I don't spend as much time in front of the computer anymore in general, the MBA was pretty much superfluous (though having the external monitor, CalDigit hub and a few various cables around might come in handy elsewhere down the line).
So I did a trade-in through Apple, got enough back for it to get a refurbished 5th gen iPad Air (11") and haven't looked back (I use an Antbox leather case/stand with it too).
The flexibility of being able to pair up bluetooth peripherals to devices even more portable than laptops (like my iPhone 13 Pro Max and now my iPads) and still be able to do/accomplish nearly all of the same tasks is absolutely phenomenal and has been a game changer for me.
Awesome! 👍🏻. I really do like that aspect of flexibility that the iPad experience provides! I think the iPad is definitely hitting its stride! 👍🏻