iPad iPad everyday use + Mac via remote desktop

[woolypants]

Is it a usable setup to get an iPad Air 5th gen with BT keyboard+mouse, and use it for everyday stuff—but also remote desktop into a Mac for stuff the iPad just doesn't do, such as torrenting, or things that are just better on a desktop, such as working on larger spreadsheets?

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Long story:

I work as a journalist and use a MBP for work and leisure.

I've been an immensely happy user of a mid-2015 MacBook Pro for seven years. But alas, the battery has died—and I only just replaced it last year via iFixIt. Each battery is nearly £100 here in the UK so it's expensive if this is going to be a yearly tax (and I worry that the charging circuit might be dead, rather than the battery). I already replaced the battery three times.

My thoughts are that the iPad Air + BT keyboard and mouse will be fine for work and leisure day to day, in terms of using Microsoft Word, attending Teams Meetings, watching YouTube videos, and general browsing. It'd be fully portable too. For more complicated stuff at home, I can remote desktop into the MacBook Pro which I'll keep on a shelf in my office. I just put a 1GB SSD into this, so it's got enough storage moving forward but there's also a NAS in the household.

 

[darngooddesign]

You shouldn't have to replace your batteries regularly so it sounds like there is a larger issue with your Mac.

Fast internet is a must if you are planning on using Remote desktop a lot.

 

[woolypants]

You shouldn't have to replace your batteries regularly so it sounds like there is a larger issue with your Mac.

Fast internet is a must if you are planning on using Remote desktop a lot.

I've been experimenting with my old iPad Air 2 and VNC straight into the Mac's built in screen sharing, and it's very laggy. The Mac uses wired ethernet. The Air 2 uses 802.1ac. The issue might be simply because the Air 2 is slow nowadays—almost unusable, in fact.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I have been doing this for the past 3 years (iPad Pro 12.9 + Mac Mini intel)

There are pitfalls, especially when converting to a full time ipad over a laptop (look into it to make sure it’s for you), and especially if the internet is not fast. It’s helpful if you can use Sidecar on your mac model, as it works much better than RD - so long as your with the mac of course. Because of the weird limitation apple put on Sidecar, you’ll need to initiate it from the mac, so if you want to just leave the mac untouched on a shelf you’ll need to remote in and then start sidecar from there.

That aside, it works great for me, and i no longer need to lug around a laptop, and i feel like i have MacOS as an app on my iPad.

 

[woolypants]

I have been doing this for the past 3 years (iPad Pro 12.9 + Mac Mini intel)

There are pitfalls, especially when converting to a full time ipad over a laptop (look into it to make sure it’s for you), and especially if the internet is not fast. It’s helpful if you can use Sidecar on your mac model, as it works much better than RD - so long as your with the mac of course. Because of the weird limitation apple put on Sidecar, you’ll need to initiate it from the mac, so if you want to just leave the mac untouched on a shelf you’ll need to remote in and then start sidecar from there.

That aside, it works great for me, and i no longer need to lug around a laptop, and i feel like i have MacOS as an app on my iPad.

Thanks. My old MBP doesn't natively support Sidecar but can be hacked to do so.

Can you still use Sidecar if, say, you're downstairs and the Mac is upstairs?

 

[cupcakes2000]

Thanks. My old MBP doesn't natively support Sidecar but can be hacked to do so.

Can you still use Sidecar if, say, you're downstairs and the Mac is upstairs?

I’m not sure - I have a small apartment!

 

[rui no onna]

Is it a usable setup to get an iPad Air 5th gen with BT keyboard+mouse, and use it for everyday stuff—but also remote desktop into a Mac for stuff the iPad just doesn't do, such as torrenting, or things that are just better on a desktop, such as working on larger spreadsheets?

Torrenting, sure. You could likely even do this directly on NAS and just control it via web interface on the iPad.

For me, large spreadsheets is a no. For that, I simply need more screen real estate and 10.9-11” isn’t going to cut it. Even 12.9” (4:3) and 13.3” (16:9) are still too small. I had to work while on vacation recently and I used a 15.6” ThinkPad plus 12.9” iPad as extended display.

 

[DrCC]

Try https://jumpdesktop.com
From other users' reports it is the fastest and the recommended app to remote access a MAC from an iPad.

 

[sparksd]

Try https://jumpdesktop.com
From other users' reports it is the fastest and the recommended app to remote access a MAC from an iPad.

I use it with my iPP and Win11 devices and really like it - works great even between the Win11 devices as I have the Home edition without Remote Desktop.

 

[dasjati]

I had a mid-2015 MBP 15 inch and after the original battery died, I got a non-Apple replacement. That one went crazy in weeks, they exchanged it again, the same happened again, but I was over it and just used the MBP plugged in until I could buy one of these rumored MBPs with Apple‘s own silicon …

And that’s what I did, even after buying an iPad Pro 11 inch and also the Magic Keyboard for it soon after that. I am actually writing this on it.

But I am still glad that I have my MBP 14 inch now, because for me the iPad isn’t enough unfortunately or it is just cumbersome. I don’t blame just iPadOS, but also many poorly optimized apps.

I write a lot and that works pretty well with the iPad. Researching on the web, reading feeds and emails etc. as well. But as soon as I need to put together a website post, it all becomes difficult on the iPad. Maybe I could get used to it more. Maybe I’m not taking advantage of everything the iPad has to offer. But I think I really tried, because I thought about getting a Desktop Mac this time instead of the MBP. But after trying to use the iPad as my only portable computer, it just didn’t work well enough. It would be okay in an emergency, but if I’m away from the office for a while I will always take the MBP with me. I would not trust my Internet connection out and about to use Remote Desktop.

 

[Phil-from-Hamburg]

For me the iPad Setup wont work well. I write relatively large documents (around 150 pages) frequently and use side by side view of the same document nearly all the time. For me that works better with a Laptop than with my iPad. I mainly use my iPad to develop and create figures that, if I think they are nice, create in PowerPoint afterwards.

Concerning the remote desktop: that really depends on your connetion. I have a high end Desktop for simulations available. But accessing it via remote desktop from anywhere else as the office is sometimes really slow. I would recomment that you try if the remote access works for your specific setup. For me it does not, but it might work good for you.

 

[woolypants]

Thanks all. This has been a fascinating discussion.

I'm typing this right now using the Jump Desktop app to connect to my MBP from my old iPad Air 2. Both these two bits of hardware are over five years old.

And it works pretty well over the local wifi network (5Ghz ac). True, it's not like sitting in front of the Mac. But it's usable. And that's all I wanted for a setup of iPad day-to-day, Mac for certain tasks.

With a more powerful, more recent iPad like the 2022 model it might be even better. Plus, I've been meaning to upgrade our router to Wifi 6. With the MBP plugged into ethernet and Wifi 6 on the iPad Air 2022, this might minimise lag almost completely.

Like somebody said, working this way is like having a Mac as an app. I'm surprised it's not more popular.

 

[woolypants]

I just wanted to add a brief note that iFixIt replaced the MacBook Pro's battery free of charge, despite the fact it was one month outside of its warranty (or "guarantee period" as we say here in the UK). That was very kind of them. The MacBook Pro works fine now, with the battery showing up as charging, so it wasn't the charging logic at fault as I had feared.

This is now the fifth battery this seven-year-old MacBook Pro has had! And otherwise (touch wood) it's still going strong! So, while I think the iPad Air+Jump Desktop+MacBook Pro-on-a-shelf is a very workable solution, at the moment I can continue using just the MacBook Pro for my work and leisure (even today this mid-2015 top-of-the-line MacBook Pro benchmarks as the 22nd fastest Mac laptop, marginally slower than the 2019 MacBook Pro models).

 

[Digitalguy]

Like somebody said, working this way is like having a Mac as an app. I'm surprised it's not more popular.

On the one hand I think most people are not saavy enough to know it's an option.
On the other it's a matter of how good the connection is on the iPad... If the connection is not good, even if you have cellular, the experience will be lousy or not be at all... One thing is connecting from your office to your home, another is connecting from anywhere, especially inside certain buildings... You can still work with a poor/slow internet connection on a laptop, but not necessarily with remote desktop.

 

[woolypants]

On the one hand I think most people are not saavy enough to know it's an option.
On the other it's a matter of how good the connection is on the iPad... If the connection is not good, even if you have cellular, the experience will be lousy or not be at all... One thing is connecting from your office to your home, another is connecting from anywhere, especially inside certain buildings... You can still work with a poor/slow internet connection on a laptop, but not necessarily with remote desktop.

You're kind of right but I don't think you realise quite how good virtual desktop technologies have become recently. It's entirely possible to play AAA games over an internet connection, for example. this isn't the laggy old VNC experience of a decade or two ago.

As I've said, it's not perfect. But it's very usable.

 

[Digitalguy]

You're kind of right but I don't think you realise quite how good virtual desktop technologies have become recently. It's entirely possible to play AAA games over an internet connection, for example. this isn't the laggy old VNC experience of a decade or two ago.

As I've said, it's not perfect. But it's very usable.

I realize it more than you think. At home I have a 10Gb fiber line and I use remote desktop every day across my many computers and tablets (some of my computers are only accessed remotely, hardly ever otherwise, but I don't game, I have no time for gaming). And I use basically all the remote desktop solutions available (jump desktop, splashtop, realvnc, anydesk, google remote dekstop, teamviewer, screens, parsec)
What I was saying is a different thing. I was not speaking of how good the technology is, but of how bad the internet connection is in some areas... If you connect only from areas where the signal is strong, you probably don't realize this, but even in the best scenario (that is you have a cellular device, which gives more chances than using a hotspot when you have poor signal and no wifi), in some places the connection is slow as hell or just impossible. And I am not talking on an airplane, I am talking inside some buildings where the signal is extremely poor. And I have had several of these situations. And I had to give up trying to connect to my home pc and do work remotely because of that (I should have brought a laptop in that case, instead of a cellular iPad). The signal was low but I could still use the iPad with internet although slowly, but too low for any RD app to connect / be usable.

 

[woolypants]

I realize it more than you think. At home I have a 10Gb fiber line and I use remote desktop every day across my many computers and tablets (some of my computers are only accessed remotely, hardly ever otherwise, but I don't game, I have no time for gaming). And I use basically all the remote desktop solutions available (jump desktop, splashtop, realvnc, anydesk, google remote dekstop, teamviewer, screens, parsec)
What I was saying is a different thing. I was not speaking of how good the technology is, but of how bad the internet connection is in some areas... If you connect only from areas where the signal is strong, you probably don't realize this, but even in the best scenario (that is you have a cellular device, which gives more chances than using a hotspot when you have poor signal and no wifi), in some places the connection is slow as hell or just impossible. And I am not talking on an airplane, I am talking inside some buildings where the signal is extremely poor. And I have had several of these situations. And I had to give up trying to connect to my home pc and do work remotely because of that (I should have brought a laptop in that case, instead of a cellular iPad). The signal was low but I could still use the iPad with internet although slowly, but too low for any RD app to connect / be usable.

Ah I understand. I haven't tried it outdoors yet, but my use case originally (above) was only indoors. Outdoors is a bonus, to be honest.

What data speeds do you find it simply stops working below? Even free wifi you get in places like cafe nowadays (here in the UK) seems to be at least 5-10Mbits.

 

[Digitalguy]

Ah I understand. I haven't tried it outdoors yet, but my use case originally (above) was only indoors. Outdoors is a bonus, to be honest.

What data speeds do you find it simply stops working below? Even free wifi you get in places like cafe nowadays (here in the UK) seems to be at least 5-10Mbits.

I am not sure what you mean by outdoors, but what I meant is inside buildings that are not your house. Free wifi is not always an option. Let me give you some example. I am at the doctor waiting for 20 minutes, or even sometimes 1 hour depending on the place. And I have work to do. There is no such thing as free wifi and I can only rely on my 4G connection. In some places it's fine, in others remote desktop become impossible or so laggy that it's not usable. Maybe it's thick walls or whatever... So without a PC I am basically wasting my time waiting...
Other example, I am on holiday abroad. My roaming cellular is capped. Local wifi is 5Mb down / 1Mb up.... (very typical). Remote desktop is possible but it's a big laggy and video watching remotely is definitely not an option. Still streaming locally is possible at low resolution.

 

[pdoherty]

Is it a usable setup to get an iPad Air 5th gen with BT keyboard+mouse, and use it for everyday stuff—but also remote desktop into a Mac for stuff the iPad just doesn't do, such as torrenting, or things that are just better on a desktop, such as working on larger spreadsheets?

Totally do-able. I use my ipad to remote in using SplashTop to my Mac Mini, and my Windows PC, and Termius to SSH to my Linux server.