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I ended up getting a 9th gen iPad and using it with an old Smart Keyboard that I had for my 10.5" Pro. Understand this isn't exactly an M4 Magic Keyboard combo but functionally it is the same. I almost feel like I am forcing myself to use the keyboard when I could just fire up my MacBook next to me and have a better "laptop" experience. I think I'd feel like I wasted money if I ended up getting an 11" or 13" M4 combo and would force myself to use the Magic Keyboard.

Curious in everyone's day to day living, what makes you gravitate toward the iPad and Magic Keyboard combo? When I am in bed, on the toilet, at the gym, I'm using the iPhone for one-handed use. When I need to get serious work done, I fire up the MacBook. When I am in bed but not quite in "almost sleep mode" and I am sitting up in bed, I use the iPad for media consumption. Can't really fit the keyboard and I feel like I'm using it because I bought it with my 10.5" Pro a number of years back and it just sits there.
Propping up the fireplace 😂 Oh and to collect dust I suppose.
 
I also have another KB which I bought a couple of years ago (brand new and sealed) for my iPad 2.
The iPad just sits in the groove.
Nothing newer than my iPad 2 will run Lost Treasures of Infocom.

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Use iPad Pro with MKB for Code review/coding, test bed for my MBp and Linux workstation. And I pretty much do my invoicing, billing and other stuff on iPad Pro. I use Apple Pencil a lot too, for notes and documentation.
 
I have 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro and 13” M4 iPad Pro plus Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.

I use the iPad primarily for “contemplative work” — researching (using Safari and Perplexity), brainstorming (FreeForm and Paper), prototyping (Swift Playgrounds), planning and project/task management (NotePlan) and collaboration (Teams and FaceTime). I use my Mac for “production work” — software development, process modeling and simulation, complex spreadsheets, cranking out large documents — i.e., “lean forward” work.

For contemplative work I prefer, enjoy and am most productive using the iPad while sitting on the couch in a “lean back” posture with just the soft keyboard and/or Apple Pencil.

I use the Magic Keyboard almost exclusively as a stand when collaborating and easy access charging dock when I’m not using the iPad. I use it occasionally as a keyboard as I am more focused, fluid and productive using the soft keyboard for my iPad use cases. It’s an expensive stand and dock but it’s the best I’ve found. I wish Apple would make a “magic dock” — a Magic Keyboard without the keys!
 
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"What do you guys use your keyboard for?"

Banging by skull on, in response to the latest head-scratchers they think we're gonna love... 🤪🤦‍♂️
 
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Well… I don’t🤣
If I had one of the new iPads that support it I still wouldn’t use it. It ruins intention of the iPad – a touchscreen simplecomputer.

When I was writing my Bachelor and Master thesises it was the only time when I connected physical keyboard to iPad. But it was a 5 dollar usb keyboard so idk if it even counts.

For this reason I try to limit myself from buying stuff I won’t ever need or use. Gear acquisition syndrome is a real issue, no joke. I bought Launchpad and Launchkey recently just to end up having no inspiration to make music anymore, controllers now kept in storage and take space
 
If I can find one cheap enough will get one, but not at $500AUD.
Have tried them and like the trackpad, that's all I use on my 24" iMac.
 
I like the iPad because it’s more robust, you don’t have to worry about scratching or damaging the screen like you do with the Mac. And if used in bed you don’t have to worry about blankets blocking fans etc.
 
It doesn't really make any difference if I'd rather be typing on a laptop/desktop, because either way I'm using the iPad at that moment and have a reason to start typing something. So I'd rather it be quicker, more tolerable, not take up half of the screen space, and get less fingerprints all over it in the process
 
I like the Magic Keyboard for typing longer passages of text while sitting on the couch in front of the fire and also for watching a movie while on the couch--iPad in MK sitting on the coffee table. It's also useful for holding the iPad for Zoom calls. Yes, a laptop would do the same thing but the screen on the iPad Pro is so amazing.
 
the biggest specific use case aside from, you know, typing stuff, is remote desktop. I dispensed with the weighty, overpriced and functionally meh cover however and got myself a $15 flat bluetooth trackpad-keyboard that works nearly as well but is TONS lighter. I also got rid of an also heavy folding stand and designed / printed one instead (should have done this ages ago)
 
I have the 11” M2 IPP and MKB and I basically use the keyboard during the day as a laptop replacement that I have in my home office right next to my work computer. So I can respond to chats, browse the web/reddit, stream video. The MKB makes it a lot easier to type than simply using the on-screen keyboard.
 
When I need an 11" device that I can type and use a trackpad on. Sometimes on the couch, or on a plane, when travelling I might take it as the main device if I'm travelling really light.

It's rare, but it's enough that I don't regret the purchase. Like you, I typically use my other devices. 16" MacBook Pro for computer stuff and some gaming, iPhone for phone stuff, the iPad just in a folio case when in bed. But I still think there is space for an 11" laptop-like device in my life.
 
My iPad has replaced my laptop. And my laptop has replaced my desktop.
I'm on my way there. When I retire (hopefully a few months from now), the plan is:
My iPad will replace my laptop.
My laptop will replace my desktop.
My desktop (M2 Mac Mini) will replace my Plex server (it won't need a monitor).
 
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Hate to be that guy, but I use mine to type. I hate on-screen keyboards with a passion (even on iPhone).
You'll love this then! I personally have one, if you can get over the extra length, bulkiness, and awkwardness; it's a pretty neat case. I'm usually back and forth on using it all the time though.

I'm on my way there. When I retire (hopefully a few months from now), the plan is:
My iPad will replace my laptop.
My laptop will replace my desktop.
My desktop (M2 Mac Mini) will replace my Plex server (it won't need a monitor).
I'm likely going to get an 11" iPP M4 with MKB in the next few months, planning on it being a full on laptop replacement. I'm still undecided what I'd do with my MacBook. I'd like to keep it, but at the same time I think it's pretty redundant with lots of overlap with what I'd use it for. Photography being one of my favorite hobbies, I kind of dropped that over the last year or so after I replaced my M1 iPP with the MacBook. A lightweight, portable computer with an OLED screen is kind of my dream machine, just wish it was a little cheaper. There's nothing I currently use my Mac for that couldn't be done on the iPad, apart from iPhone Mirroring.
 
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I'm likely going to get an 11" iPP M4 with MKB in the next few months, planning on it being a full on laptop replacement. I'm still undecided what I'd do with my MacBook. I'd like to keep it, but at the same time I think it's pretty redundant with lots of overlap with what I'd use it for. Photography being one of my favorite hobbies, I kind of dropped that over the last year or so after I replaced my M1 iPP with the MacBook. A lightweight, portable computer with an OLED screen is kind of my dream machine, just wish it was a little cheaper. There's nothing I currently use my Mac for that couldn't be done on the iPad, apart from iPhone Mirroring.
That sounds like a solid plan.
Even in retirement with a different set of workflows I couldn't replace a desktop/laptop with an iPad (any iPad). But that is based on what I currently know and what is currently available from Apple.

I had a long-term incremental plan to exit Appleland, and I'm currently positioned to do that, but then they started discounting the hardware that I was interested in to the point where they were actually bargains... 😂
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