iPad Why did you choose an iPad rather than a Laptop?

[Rafterman]

I'm a technical engineer. All I need for work is email, a web browser, Teams, a VPN client and Jump RDP for doing 99 percent of work. An iPad (especially 12.9) can do most of that. But it does lack in file management.

But I still chose to use a Macbook Pro simply because I'm used to using a "regular" computer.

 

[xxray]

I'm a technical engineer. All I need for work is email, a web browser, Teams, a VPN client and Jump RDP for doing 99 percent of work. An iPad (especially 12.9) can do most of that. But it does lack in file management.

But I still chose to use a Macbook Pro simply because I'm used to using a "regular" computer.

Genuine question: what makes the iPad lacking in file management? I see people say this very often but I don’t get it. Is it that you can’t see every file on the device like a computer? To me, you can do all the standard file management tasks you would need on a Mac (renaming files, moving files, copying files, tags, compress to zip, etc.)

 

[rui no onna]

Genuine question: what makes the iPad lacking in file management? I see people say this very often but I don’t get it. Is it that you can’t see every file on the device like a computer? To me, you can do all the standard file management tasks you would need on a Mac (renaming files, moving files, copying files, tags, compress to zip, etc.)

When searching based on filename, files are missing from the search results that are present in the folder.

Moving/copying files, it frequently doesn't ask what to do when it encounters filename collisions and defaults to rename.

On iCloud Drive, there's no way to easily sync folder hierarchies for offline access.

As of iOS 14, I still can't trust it not to corrupt FAT/exFAT formatted external storage. Also, can't format external storage. Dunno if either of those have been fixed on 15.

There's a bunch more but those are some of my main gripes off the top of my head.

 

[acorntoy]

90% of the time I don’t need a keyboard.

I got the OG iPad in 7th grade. I’ve used an iPhone/iPad interface to do projects twice as fast as my peers using “white books”. I’d get yelled at for using my phone and I’d show my teacher a complete project in pages that I could tweak easily via the cloud later on my tablet while other kids were still gossiping and f****** around. Most of the time the connected keyboard just slows me down or takes me away from the content. It’s not needed. iPad exels in creative presentation as opposed to a traditional essay.

All that was with A4/A5/A7. I can’t imagine what’s possible now. I don’t mind a digital keyboard because I wasn’t born before the 1990’s. I’ve -never- met anyone from my generation or later (apart from accessibility needs of course) that can’t adequately use a digital keyboard. Apart from those who a physical keyboard is an accessibility must it seems like a dying peripheral.

 

[ofarlig]

I prefer apps to websites for most things really, think they are more fluid to use. I also like how iPad OS handles multiple apps, when watching YouTube or similar and wanting to open another app side by side it works much better on the iPad Pro than on the MacBooks. And then all my messages, notes and smart home control lives in slide over so they are very easy to access.

I have a Windows laptop for work though, for work neither iPad OS or Mac OS is particularly useful.

 

[SpartaMAC]

I'm a technical engineer. All I need for work is email, a web browser, Teams, a VPN client and Jump RDP for doing 99 percent of work. An iPad (especially 12.9) can do most of that. But it does lack in file management.

But I still chose to use a Macbook Pro simply because I'm used to using a "regular" computer.

I am Tech support manager and use my 12.9 M1 iPad for the same reasons. I do also have an Intel MacBook Pro with a windows VM for the VERY small percentages of things my iPad cannot do. One very annoying thing I cannot do with my iPad is when using WebEx I cannot request control of the remote computer. Aside from that I carry my iPad everywhere I go.

 

[Coolpher]

For the immersive experience. It does everything a laptop does & more. I bought the very first iPad back in 2010 with the unlimited wifi plan from AT&T and am still grandfathered in. For the first few years I had both a laptop & an ipad. But i have been iPad only for years now. I don’t miss my laptop at all. I‘m an artist who not only uses my ipad to consume media on…but to create on as well. I use the Apple pencil for drawing, but I also edit photos & video on it too. My iPad pro blows thru 4k video faster than my laptop ever could. Plus I travel a lot, and the ipad is so much more portable. And it has cellular which is crucial while on the road. I still have an iMac at home, but I could never see myself getting a laptop ever again.

I am the same i have a 2020 M1 Mac mini at home if needed but 2021 M1 12.9 iPad Pro w/ cell always with me could never see myself getting a MBA or Pro every again the little i use mini for is perfect

 

[JM91Six]

Lack of fully-functional Office365 apps has been a sticking point for me for work activities on the iPad. I make heavy use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and the iPad implementations have shortcomings so I use a 16GB i7 Surface Pro 7 for working and the 12.9 iPad for consumption (mainly).

This x100 for me!!!

 

[outlawarth]

I use a windows laptop for work (mandated by my employer) but my iPad is an indispensable companion for Teams meetings, calls, reading of documents, etc.

Outside of work hours I use the iPad exclusively for personal use.

This set up works great for me.

 

[Rafterman]

Genuine question: what makes the iPad lacking in file management? I see people say this very often but I don’t get it. Is it that you can’t see every file on the device like a computer? To me, you can do all the standard file management tasks you would need on a Mac (renaming files, moving files, copying files, tags, compress to zip, etc.)

Apple makes you put the files on an iPad only where they allow. Unlike computers, where you can put them anywhere. Plus, manipulating zip files or other formats unknown to iPad is easier on a desktop.

 

[Geoff777]

I have used an iPad for several years for my job "in field". The 12.9 pro is almost A4 size and I use it all the time for taking notes with the Pencil (Goodnotes, Notability), marking up PDFs, scanning docs and plans etc. It's perfect and I couldn't do that with a laptop.
Another thing is when sat with a client, having the iPad on your knee and taking notes is much more friendly than parking a laptop on a desk and having a screen "wall" between you.
When I need to work with Office 365, the Magic Keyboard comes into play and it's fine although much easier on the iMac.
iPad won't suit all people but for some of us it's an indispensable tool and I would hate to have to take a laptop back "in field".

 

[Mahasamatman]

Apple makes you put the files on an iPad only where they allow. Unlike computers, where you can put them anywhere. Plus, manipulating zip files or other formats unknown to iPad is easier on a desktop.

Could you define what you mean my only where Apple allow? It may be because I have FileBeowser installed but I download zip files, unzip rhem and then copy the contents to my NAS or a USB connected device such as an SD card.

 

[Fluttershy462]

In my career I just don't need a laptop when my desktops are really good for the job.

iPads make excellent laptop replacements though

 

[Dented]

I would appreciate some input from guy/gals that use an iPad/Tablet for actual work, rather than just consuming media. My equipment has always been a desktop for power use and a laptop on the go. That said, I have owned the original iPad and another - a mini or some such that I still have. They were/are great for consuming as I said, to pass the time in a hotel room or doctor's office, but I never found a use other than that.

It seems to me that the purchase of, say, an iPad pro with a keyboard and a stand just gives you an ersatz laptop, with nowhere near the capability of an MB Air. Or does it? If you use a slab instead of a laptop for actual work, I would like to know why you chose one over the other.

It’s going to totally depend on the type of work you do. I work in an office, and for home I have a boring work-issued laptop which I plug into an extra screen and keyboard etc to basically use a desktop most of the time - the extra screen space and absolute duplication of the office Windows environment makes it best for that task.

Would I use that work laptop for literally anything else, hell no, my iPad Pro (lowly 2017 version with smart keyboard) is far more convenient for everything else I need or want to do outside that office job. It’s quicker at most things, it’s more portable and more comfortable to use away from the desk, and just a better experience all round. And that’s not just for consumption - I do all my home admin on it, I design and create stuff in Procreate with the pencil, edit photos, blog, you name it, it’s my primary computer. It also serves as a companion to the office machine - I can still use the Office apps on there when it’s convenient to do so, reply to any urgent emails, take a Teams call etc. The other week a piece of work overran and I ended up finishing off a report in Word while balancing my ipad on a bin at the side of my son’s under 9s football match. In short, the work laptop is best in its specific niche, but the ipad is really the far more capable and enjoyable device overall, and I’d never be without one now.