Switched back to a MacBook Air from an iPad Pro w/Magic Keyboard

[StageMomma]

I am a tech addict and previously had a MacBook Pro (2017) which I sold when I upgraded to an M1 MacBook Air. As a teacher, I have a windows work laptop that I used daily but hated the experience. I used my Mac for teaching and graduate work which was basically just word documents, powerpoint and web browsing. Around December 2022 I convinced myself that I could just use my iPad Pro for most of these tasks and take notes, mark up papers, study etc. I sold my M1 Air and began my journey with going iPad mostly (still had my work computer and super old 2014 Mac mini with 4GB of Ram at home)

I tried really really hard to convince myself that using an iPad was sustainable. However, I realize now all I did was try to convince myself that using the iPad and Magic Keyboard would be enough, but it never was. While I COULD do everything necessary with the iPad Pro, I did not ENJOY working on it. As much as Apple tries to tell us it's a productivity device, it just wasn't one that worked for me. I'd take notes on it and forget to look at them or never refer back to them. Uploading and downloading files could be hit or miss depending on the website or program I needed to use and forget working with Office 365 apps. I ended up using the browser for those more often than not. Multitasking was a tiny bit better with stage manger but despite how much I tried, I just could not get my brain to interact with the iPad the same way I would a computer.

We are starting school in a few days and I have had a lot to get done in the pre-planning phase. I was dragging my feet on getting some stuff started because I dreaded having to coax the iPad to do what I needed quickly and efficiently. My husband has listened to me complain about this for the last few months and told me to pick up a MacBook Air yesterday. I came home with a Starlight model and bumper case, got it set up with a work profile/personal profile and was able to complete 6 things that normally would have taken me several days (procrastination) within two hours. This whole experience has taught me that I just function and work faster with a traditional computer. The Air is sleek, fast and fun to use.

I'm making this post for those of you who might be on the fence like I was. Just get the computer. The iPad has a place in your workflow but it might not need to be center stage. Keep it in the wings for the things it does well and let the Mac take the lead.

I am fully aware that there are plenty of people who are efficient and productive using an iPad only set up and would have thrived using the set up I had. It just didn't work for me.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Did the same especially when you factor in price. The little things are so much more annoying on an iPad and I even prefer consuming media on a MBA as well so I don’t have to hold anything or worry about it tipping over/being at limited angles.

iPad is truly for those that LOVE a touch experience or draw. MBA get twice as much battery life and are just as light as iPads with accessories.

 

[Rnd-chars]

That mirrors my experience.

My iPad Pro is delightful as a consumption device, but dreadful (for me) as a productivity one.

Plus, I much prefer using a keyboard and trackpad over a pencil and touch, which is why I bought the Magic Keyboard. But at that point I’m trying to turn the iPad into Mac and not playing to its strengths.

I can’t imagine why I’d buy another iPad, but I am looking forward to the Vision Pro as a complement to my MacBook Pro

 

[senttoschool]

I can’t imagine why I’d buy another iPad, but I am looking forward to the Vision Pro as a complement to my MacBook Pro

Same. I tried the iPad as a second screen for my Macbook Pro. It's ok if you're desperate but it's suboptimal in experience. I'm looking forward to the Vision Pro.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I enjoyed using my M1 iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard as my main laptop. But, eventually realized I was just compromising too much. It got to the point where I was supplementing it with Shadow PC (a cloud Windows PC) running on the iPad. I figured at this point, I might as well go back to a MacBook. I was using the iPad 100% as a laptop anyway.

I ended up selling the iPad and buying an open box excellent M2 MBA. Best Buy had it for $100 off, plus another $130 off for the open box.

I was kind of hoping iPadOS 17 was going to be that magical update that fixed all my issues with it. While some things are nicer, to me it just feels like a product on life support. Apple is clearly putting their focus on other products now.

For both my job and my hobbies, the iPad worked good enough all these years. But, I forgot how much faster and efficiently I can get those same things done on the Mac. I’ll miss the iPad’s speakers and display, but I gain so much more.

 

[Rnd-chars]

I was kind of hoping iPadOS 17 was going to be that magical update that fixed all my issues with it. While some things are nicer, to me it just feels like a product on life support.

I’m inclined to agree, but I think it’s more likely that we’re just not its target audience. There are some folks who are delighted with their iPads and live and love in that touch and scribble paradigm. For them, an iPad fits perfectly into their flow and helps them do their best work. (I have a hunch this crowd skews younger, but that’s purely anecdotal)

But for folks who are looking for a Mac alternative and don’t want a tablet-first-and-nearly-always experience, it’s an unreliable but sometimes still delightful product.

 

[spiderman0616]

The original Apple Silicon MacBooks were what pulled me back off of the iPad Pro. I started with the M1 Air and then later upgraded to an M1 Pro 14" MBP. But I don't look at it as a failure on the iPad's part. I look at it as the iPad Pro filled in really nicely for a MacBook during the bad Intel/butterfly keyboard years and helped me get all my stuff done just fine, and now it doesn't need to be my laptop anymore because Macs got good again. Now my iPad can just be my iPad and not be trying to be two machines in one.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I use M1 Max MBP 16 inch with my iPad Pro 12.9. Both are equally important for my work flow. If you are trying to replace a notebook with iPad, it could not be for you.

 

[StageMomma]

I enjoyed using my M1 iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard as my main laptop. But, eventually realized I was just compromising too much. It got to the point where I was supplementing it with Shadow PC (a cloud Windows PC) running on the iPad. I figured at this point, I might as well go back to a MacBook. I was using the iPad 100% as a laptop anyway.

I ended up selling the iPad and buying an open box excellent M2 MBA. Best Buy had it for $100 off, plus another $130 off for the open box.

I was kind of hoping iPadOS 17 was going to be that magical update that fixed all my issues with it. While some things are nicer, to me it just feels like a product on life support. Apple is clearly putting their focus on other products now.

For both my job and my hobbies, the iPad worked good enough all these years. But, I forgot how much faster and efficiently I can get those same things done on the Mac. I’ll miss the iPad’s speakers and display, but I gain so much more.

Right, I feel similarly. I gained a lot more and enjoy working on "boring" tasks now because it won't be a painful experience. I'm currently trying to sell my iPad Pro, keyboard and pencil to recoup some of the cost of the iPad. I'll pick up an iPad mini or regular iPad to have around if needed but for the most part I use my phone for anything I don't use the computer for.

 

[StageMomma]

I’m inclined to agree, but I think it’s more likely that we’re just not its target audience. There are some folks who are delighted with their iPads and live and love in that touch and scribble paradigm. For them, an iPad fits perfectly into their flow and helps them do their best work. (I have a hunch this crowd skews younger, but that’s purely anecdotal)

But for folks who are looking for a Mac alternative and don’t want a tablet-first-and-nearly-always experience, it’s an unreliable but sometimes still delightful product.

Yeah, I think I'm just a tad bit older than that generation. I grew up computing on full computers, not the tablet experience. I find tablet more of a novelty that I wish could be my full computing experience but it just can't work for my life.

 

[Isamilis]

I am a tech addict and previously had a MacBook Pro (2017) which I sold when I upgraded to an M1 MacBook Air. As a teacher, I have a windows work laptop that I used daily but hated the experience. I used my Mac for teaching and graduate work which was basically just word documents, powerpoint and web browsing. Around December 2022 I convinced myself that I could just use my iPad Pro for most of these tasks and take notes, mark up papers, study etc. I sold my M1 Air and began my journey with going iPad mostly (still had my work computer and super old 2014 Mac mini with 4GB of Ram at home)

I tried really really hard to convince myself that using an iPad was sustainable. However, I realize now all I did was try to convince myself that using the iPad and Magic Keyboard would be enough, but it never was. While I COULD do everything necessary with the iPad Pro, I did not ENJOY working on it. As much as Apple tries to tell us it's a productivity device, it just wasn't one that worked for me. I'd take notes on it and forget to look at them or never refer back to them. Uploading and downloading files could be hit or miss depending on the website or program I needed to use and forget working with Office 365 apps. I ended up using the browser for those more often than not. Multitasking was a tiny bit better with stage manger but despite how much I tried, I just could not get my brain to interact with the iPad the same way I would a computer.

We are starting school in a few days and I have had a lot to get done in the pre-planning phase. I was dragging my feet on getting some stuff started because I dreaded having to coax the iPad to do what I needed quickly and efficiently. My husband has listened to me complain about this for the last few months and told me to pick up a MacBook Air yesterday. I came home with a Starlight model and bumper case, got it set up with a work profile/personal profile and was able to complete 6 things that normally would have taken me several days (procrastination) within two hours. This whole experience has taught me that I just function and work faster with a traditional computer. The Air is sleek, fast and fun to use.

I'm making this post for those of you who might be on the fence like I was. Just get the computer. The iPad has a place in your workflow but it might not need to be center stage. Keep it in the wings for the things it does well and let the Mac take the lead.

I am fully aware that there are plenty of people who are efficient and productive using an iPad only set up and would have thrived using the set up I had. It just didn't work for me.

That also my experience. My MK is just collecting the dust now. I still use iPad for reader tablet and light notes taking.

 

[Zest28]

I use M1 Max MBP 16 inch with my iPad Pro 12.9. Both are equally important for my work flow. If you are trying to replace a notebook with iPad, it could not be for you.

Even Tim Cook uses an iPad 80% and iMac 20% of the time.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

That mirrors my experience.

My iPad Pro is delightful as a consumption device, but dreadful (for me) as a productivity one.

Plus, I much prefer using a keyboard and trackpad over a pencil and touch, which is why I bought the Magic Keyboard. But at that point I’m trying to turn the iPad into Mac and not playing to its strengths.

I can’t imagine why I’d buy another iPad, but I am looking forward to the Vision Pro as a complement to my MacBook Pro

This is exactly what I've kept saying in every iPad Pro thread on why the iPad Pro should have the ability to dualboot macOS. The guts of a Mac, but does a lot less than a Mac, and is more expensive than a Mac. The only reason to get an iPad Pro for productivity is if you're an artist because while it fails as a pro machine for the majority of users, it succeeds as a drawing tablet, replacing Wacom tablets for a lot of artists.

I was gonna get an iPad Pro myself...but then I thought what's the point when I hardly use even my vanilla iPad anymore. The money spent on an iPad Pro, I'd rather just spend on the consumer model Apple Vision when that eventually comes out.

 

[Rnd-chars]

I find tablet more of a novelty that I wish could be my full computing experience but it just can't work for my life.

I hear you. Part of the reason I bought the iPad was for the Pencil’s potential (eg, drawing/sharing architecture diagrams, note taking/journal writing with less environmental impact, etc.) But after experimenting with it a bit, none of those scenarios were quite as smooth as I expected and I still prefer writing on pen and paper.

And I can see how an iPad can be a nice complement for a person who primarily works on a Mac (eg, I sometimes use it as an additional display when I’m coding), but what I’ve found most useful is being able to download shows on Netflix, Hulu, etc for a long flight. Of course, I could buy and download a lot of content on Apple TV for the price of an iPad.

And I still get tempted by a mini, but I wonder if it’s (for me) a solution looking for a problem that my Max sized phone or existing e-reader don’t already solve.

 

[eicca]

This is exactly what I've kept saying in every iPad Pro thread on why the iPad Pro should have the ability to dualboot macOS. The guts of a Mac, but does a lot less than a Mac, and is more expensive than a Mac.

A prime example of how Apple has lost their focus on function and is instead pushing “we say it’s good so it’s good.”

The only reason I have an iPad Pro instead of a MacBook is laptops aggravate my carpal tunnel. (Had to sell my M1 Air for my iPad Pro).

If I could dual-boot macOS on my iPad it would be the most perfect device. Might even ditch my desktop. But nooooooo…

 

[TechnoMonk]

This is exactly what I've kept saying in every iPad Pro thread on why the iPad Pro should have the ability to dualboot macOS. The guts of a Mac, but does a lot less than a Mac, and is more expensive than a Mac. The only reason to get an iPad Pro for productivity is if you're an artist because while it fails as a pro machine for the majority of users, it succeeds as a drawing tablet, replacing Wacom tablets for a lot of artists.

I was gonna get an iPad Pro myself...but then I thought what's the point when I hardly use even my vanilla iPad anymore. The money spent on an iPad Pro, I'd rather just spend on the consumer model Apple Vision when that eventually comes out.

Heat will kill iPad Pro if it is running Mac OS. Too compact for full fledged OS. I see that with my base MBA M2. Anything sustained temperature rises, not an issue for something on desk. iPad, doesn’t have larger case nor more volume to dissipate heat.

 

[Isamilis]

I hear you. Part of the reason I bought the iPad was for the Pencil’s potential (eg, drawing/sharing architecture diagrams, note taking/journal writing with less environmental impact, etc.) But after experimenting with it a bit, none of those scenarios were quite as smooth as I expected and I still prefer writing on pen and paper.

And I can see how an iPad can be a nice complement for a person who primarily works on a Mac (eg, I sometimes use it as an additional display when I’m coding), but what I’ve found most useful is being able to download shows on Netflix, Hulu, etc for a long flight. Of course, I could buy and download a lot of content on Apple TV for the price of an iPad.

And I still get tempted by a mini, but I wonder if it’s (for me) a solution looking for a problem that my Max sized phone or existing e-reader don’t already solve.

Agree. ipad experience as tablet is still exceptional. Problem is ipad as laptop replacement.

 

[StageMomma]

And I still get tempted by a mini, but I wonder if it’s (for me) a solution looking for a problem that my Max sized phone or existing e-reader don’t already solve.

I am the exact same. I really don't need a mini iPad when I have a Max iPhone.

 

[Rnd-chars]

This is exactly what I've kept saying in every iPad Pro thread on why the iPad Pro should have the ability to dualboot macOS.

I'm still not convinced this is the answer from a usability perspective and, even if it were, it's something Apple would never do. Plus, there's a high ongoing cost to make that "work" (e.g., hit targets would be too small, engineering and testing complexity increases significantly since they're now supporting significantly more SKUs, etc.) which they'd never recoup on sales.

I believe Apple's opinion is: "let the tablet be a tablet and let the Mac be a Mac (and the iPhone an iPhone (so no Apple Pencil for it))," and I agree with them. I think they're right in trying to find ways that each of these paradigms complement each other, and I think there are still some folks for whom an iPad (or Pro) can be their main computing device.

I also suspect that the iPad will continue to become more feature and app rich (e.g., Final Cut Pro, Swift Playgrounds being able to publish apps, etc.), but it will remain first and foremost a tablet (ie a touch device without a keyboard or maybe even a pencil). I'm sure there's a Venn diagram somewhere in Apple which highlights how each computing paradigm and form factor overlap and complement each other, which guides their product strategy and helps keep them from building a "spork."

 

[thefourthpope]

If you are trying to replace a notebook with iPad, it could not be for you.

But if you are trying to replace a notepad, it could be. This is the niche my iPad mini has settled into. It’s my primary meeting device.

(It used to be my iPad Pro 12.9”, but once the Silicon MacBook Airs came out and I got one, i found I was just carrying too much around during my day.)

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I believe Apple's opinion is: "let the tablet be a tablet and let the Mac be a Mac (and the iPhone an iPhone (so no Apple Pencil for it))," and I agree with them. I think they're right in trying to find ways that each of these paradigms complement each other, and I think there are still some folks for whom an iPad (or Pro) can be their main computing device.

Is that why the Mac is making more revenue and selling better than the iPad lineup, and the M2 iPad Pro sold so badly in it's launch that after a week it had to get discounted $100 off?

Apple's opinion isn't always the right one. Originally they thought iPhones shouldn't have an app store, then a year later they launch the app store and it makes the iPhone explode in popularity. They also thought iPhones shouldn't be bigger than 5 and a half inches, then when the iPhone 7 showed up they introduced the 7 Plus and that also exploded in popularity that it's size became the default. They also thought the iPad shouldn't have a stylus, then low and behold 6 years later they make the Apple Pencil and that turns the iPad into a godtier drawing tablet.

But they keep selling accessories that make the iPad more laptop like, marketing it that it can replace your Macbook in the infamous "What's a computer?" ad. In practice it fails in every regard except for artists. If they want the iPad Pro to actually be a Macbook replacement it needs to have the ability to dualboot macOS when a keyboard is plugged in. There's no reason it shouldn't since it has the hardware to do it. After all the Mac and Apple Vision can run iPad apps, but the iPad despite having a Mac chip in it and multiple keyboard and mice accessories cannot run Mac apps or macOS.

 

[JamesMay82]

My wife is a teacher and has the same experience. It’s great for personal use but when it came to work it was just a bit clumsy. More so with side by side documents and attachments with email

 

[Zest28]

Is that why the Mac is making more revenue and selling better than the iPad lineup, and the M2 iPad Pro sold so badly in it's launch that after a week it had to get discounted $100 off?

Apple's opinion isn't always the right one. Originally they thought iPhones shouldn't have an app store, then a year later they launch the app store and it makes the iPhone explode in popularity. They also thought iPhones shouldn't be bigger than 5 and a half inches, then when the iPhone 7 showed up they introduced the 7 Plus and that also exploded in popularity that it's size became the default. They also thought the iPad shouldn't have a stylus, then low and behold 6 years later they make the Apple Pencil and that turns the iPad into a godtier drawing tablet.

But they keep selling accessories that make the iPad more laptop like, marketing it that it can replace your Macbook in the infamous "What's a computer?" ad. In practice it fails in every regard except for artists. If they want the iPad Pro to actually be a Macbook replacement it needs to have the ability to dualboot macOS when a keyboard is plugged in. There's no reason it shouldn't since it has the hardware to do it. After all the Mac and Apple Vision can run iPad apps, but the iPad despite having a Mac chip in it and multiple keyboard and mice accessories cannot run Mac apps or macOS.

The iPad sells currently the same as all Mac's combined. According to the latest results.
- 7.5% revenue comes from Mac (3months)
- 7.0% revenue comes from iPad (3months)

But if you look over a 6 month period:
- 7.0% revenue comes from Mac (6 months)
- 7.6% revenue comes from iPad (6 monts)

So not sure where you get this idea that Mac is outselling iPads.

 

[Zest28]

Agree. ipad experience as tablet is still exceptional. Problem is ipad as laptop replacement.

Why is it a problem as a laptop replacement? When you are in a park with a laptop on your lap, using the trackpad is a worse experience then using a big touch screen.

Laptops only offer a better experience as a desktop with a proper mouse.

 

[Isamilis]

Why is it a problem as a laptop replacement? When you are in a park with a laptop on your lap, using the trackpad is a worse experience then using a big touch screen.

Laptops only offer a better experience as a desktop with a proper mouse.

Please read other posts in this thread first. The issue is not the hardware, but the software.