Hi, I used to use MacBook Pro for video conferencing several years ago. Now I only have a M1 iPad Pro 12.9" and a PC which has no webcam. For important work related video meetings, are there disadvantages in using an iPad Pro 12.9" rather than a MacBook Pro or Windows desktop PC? Perhaps my image will not be centered given the location of the camera on the M1 iPad Pro?
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iPad Pro Is iPad Pro as good as Macbook Pro or a desktop PC in terms of video meetings?
- Thread starter hajime
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I frequently use the iPad Pro with center stage for meetings and it works fine, both in Teams and Zoom. The camera will always centre on you (as it crops in from a wide angle lens). Your eye gaze won’t centre on the camera, so it depends on whether this will bother you or not.
I pretty much exclusively use the IPP 12.9 for Teams meetings. Works great, including center stage. Once they move the camera to the top it will be perfect.
It works with FT, zoom and Teams for sure. You can switch it off though.
I use video meetings very often on my iPad Pro 11" and have center stage disabled as I don't like the effect. It's easy to disable in any app that is using video calling.
No. You can do it fine, but no, it’s not as good as on a traditional computer. Whenever I‘m on Zoom or similar platforms, if I swipe to use Control Center, swipe up to go home, resize the app, or view Notification Center, my camera turns off which looks super unprofessional. In other words, people can tell you’re doing other things during the call. The software feels a lot more restrictive and rigid on iPad.
Additionally, the camera placement on all models but the new 10th Gen iPads are not flattering or ideal. I know you said you have Windows, but I’m answering generally, if you have the latest version of macOS and an iPhone on iOS 16, you can also use all your iPhone cameras as your camera on your Mac for much better video quality. You can’t do this with iPad.
Additionally, the camera placement on all models but the new 10th Gen iPads are not flattering or ideal. I know you said you have Windows, but I’m answering generally, if you have the latest version of macOS and an iPhone on iOS 16, you can also use all your iPhone cameras as your camera on your Mac for much better video quality. You can’t do this with iPad.
For me, main limitation is sharing content. You can share your screen with Zoom on iPad, but it‘s a lot easier on a laptop / desktop to share an individual app window and to flip back and forth between the zoom app - chat, participant windows, and the content that you’re sharing (e.g. Keynote / PowerPoint presentation). For me, this is mostly an issue if I’m presenting stuff to a group. If I’m just having a video conversation, no problem.
I far prefer the iPad to my Macs, the iPad has a much better camera for meetings. It does limit your multitasking far more than a computer as mentioned above… but I just use a separate iPad or Mac if there’s some other task I want to perform.
For me it's clearly inferior to a laptop for many reasons that have mainly been mentioned already. Poor camera placement, poor multitasking. I could see me using it to attend a meeting passively, but definitely not when I give a class via Zoom.
I prefer my iMac if I have to actively participate. That webcam is pretty nice too.
If its just a passive meeting it’s nice, and then i like to use quick note to make notes during the meeting. that’s the only multitaksing that doesn’t cut the video, unless that’s changed now.
I guess it depends on the kind of Mac you have as well. The webcam on all Intel Macs and on the M1 Gen MBA and pro are 720 p and therefore pretty rubbish. 1080p webcams are pretty nice
If its just a passive meeting it’s nice, and then i like to use quick note to make notes during the meeting. that’s the only multitaksing that doesn’t cut the video, unless that’s changed now.
I guess it depends on the kind of Mac you have as well. The webcam on all Intel Macs and on the M1 Gen MBA and pro are 720 p and therefore pretty rubbish. 1080p webcams are pretty nice
If you are not hosting a meeting and not expected to share your screen, it is okay especially if in split mode or with stage manager. However, in general if you do need to share your screen and are okay with the iPad then turning off your webcam then it is fine but takes some time to getting used to how it works.
If you have a iPhone you could always use it as a webcam for your PC. Camo app is a fantastic app https://reincubate.com/camo/#downloads to help with this. I in general use my macbook with continuity camera as find zoom functionality is better on the desktop rather than IOS.
If you have a iPhone you could always use it as a webcam for your PC. Camo app is a fantastic app https://reincubate.com/camo/#downloads to help with this. I in general use my macbook with continuity camera as find zoom functionality is better on the desktop rather than IOS.