Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro as a PS4 monitor?
- Thread starter stevo8
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have a nice tv. But I also have a wife and kid that use it and would rather not create conflict by using it for gaming. I play some mobile games like Fortnite and such already but it would be nice to have all the benefits of a ps4 and controller.
Have you thought about a Nintendo Switch Stevo? Sounds ideal for your needs.
A nintendo switch besides being a plastic overpriced toy is a very expensive item to fully gear up. Besides the initial 300$ you need to buy a good case , microSD, quality protector screen , pro controller and purchase each game for 60$ a pop even indie games.
After doing the math it's really not worth , when you buy this new ipad you get the best gadget ever made , for gaming, multimedia consumption etc. you can't even watch netflix or browse on a switch just food for thought , gamer to gamer I have a big pet peeve against anyone recommending a half assed fischer price tablet like the switch.
Switch isn’t really a tablet. It’s a console. Also it achieves what you want for the PS4 and is cheaper than a $1,000 tablet that won’t do what you want. Also the games on PS4 are also $60 both have free2play games like Fortnite. You don’t need a pro-controller, nor would you use the pro controller in handheld mode anyway. I do recommend a screen protector though which you get two for $8 on Amazon, get the AmFilm one.
Without going off-topic too much you just can't compare a 720p docked console and 446p undocked to a ps4 in any situation and if you buy it only to go full mobile you just pay half the price for half the performance which is already gimped. Again you can watch any comparison between a ps4 / xbox / switch on any title on youtube to see how poorly it performs.
And when you add up all the options to gear it up which I mentioned above there you end up at nearly 600$ without any game , if you buy a decent sized SD card of atleast 128gb to run you a while. Also SONY holds up huge deals/discount on monthly basis plus free triple AAA titles for a 7.5 EURO a month , good luck finding a nintendo discount on any older title.
It’s 1080p docked and 720p undocked. I own both and both have their pros & cons. Nintendo does hold sales every week on the eshop and even include their 1st party titles from time to time. Stop believing everything YouTube trolls spin. Also the games have different compression rates so you don’t need 2TB like you do for PS4. As I stated before you don’t need to spend anywhere near $600 for a Switch to start out. $368 will get you the console, game, and screen protector. If you get a bundle that will include a game and carrying case to boot. But whatever no one cares what you do or choose.
But here is the problem with your argument of the iPad vs switch.....the iPad doesn’t play Zelda BOTW, Mario, darksouls remastered, diablo 3, and so forth. You are not the wrong in that the iPad is an incredible piece of tech... but iOS, while being the best mobile phone gaming os, does not approach the switch or any console in terms of quality games. It just got Stardew Valley....
Different classes of devices at this point. I am relocating and will be riding a train to work everyday. I’ll have my iPad with me (2nd gen 12.9) for work and consumption, and a switch in my bag for real gaming. I wish I had PlayStation exclusive on the switch, but the switch has a number of games that are well worth playing. With one game that is good as any game ever made. With my schedule I won’t have time to play god of war on my PlayStation at home, but I will have time on the train to play the switch.
What’s stoping you from owning 2 tv’s? If 3 people all in the same household are fighting over one I don’t see how buying another is a bad investment.
Nothing. It’s just not the right situation for me. I have a 4 year old who doesn’t need to see violent games, I don’t like the asthetics of another tv in the house, the areas I could potentially put it don’t have appropriate furniture. I could go on but none of it’s relavent.
I appreciate you guys trying to solve a problem I didn’t ask for help on, but really all I want to do is use a ps4 on a small monitor. I was hopeful the new iPad Pro could be such monitor but it looks like it can’t.
Check out R-Play on the App Store. It’s game streaming so not sure if that is of interest to you or not. Believe you can use the PS4 controller if on the local network. Haven’t used it myself, so I can’t speak to the quality.
You may have already considered this, but for your use case something like this seems appropriate to me:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/g...:20181103040706:s&activetab=pivot:overviewtab
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/g...:20181103040706:s&activetab=pivot:overviewtab
This. I play my PS4 on my 2nd iPad Pro with R Play and it’s works great. I use a Game Vice Controller but any MFi controller will connect. I believe the DualShock works as well but I haven’t tried.
I feel your pain mate, I have a 4 year old and a 1.5 year old myself!
I will echo what others have said tho, I bought a switch and it saved my gaming life the last year or so. Also I don't know how you feel about your kid gaming but my son can play Mario kart with me (it basically drives itself) and he loves the paw patrol game .Will be trying to teach him Pokémon lets go for Christmas as it has a two player mode.
Also the pick up and play nature of the switch is ideal for having small children, you know how it is for them interrupting you.
I am a PC gamer I have a "rig" and an ultrawide and the switch is by no means my first choice device but it's either that or nothing. And I can play on the train to work.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Just buy a monitor. They're cheap, and you can get great 4k options, or even 4k HDR if you want. It'll cost less than your iPad.