iPad as a laptop replacement

[xxFoxtail]

i have been looking at the posts in this thread over the past months, and enjoy reading the different ways of thinking.

here is mine.

for my work, and for my work flow, iOS and iOS apps are ideal.
banking apps, maps, transportation related apps, etc etc. iOS can easily declare victory over macOS.
i dont want MacOS on an iPad. yuck.
i want a fully functioning and credible work related iPad devise that has a great keyboard and trackpad.
full iOS work device. no compromises. ditch MacOS entirely.

even if i would like to use only iOS and its apps, i still need three device sizes (display sizes):

- a work device: (something around a) 12.9 screen for excel, report creation, and heavy email usage (work device)
- a mobile device: iPhone (portable reading; info checking device; camera)
- a wearable device: Watch (payments; notifications on wrist; fitness; emergency)

i currently have a MacBook Air. it gets between 8 and12 hours of use per day.
i think an iPad would be fine for me.
but, the catch is input method. sorry, touch input for intensive work and number input cant win me over. ever.
but fastword to apple launching the Magic Keyboard.
revolutionary. heavy as heck; slightly unwieldy; but nice.
along with that, apple has slowly improved its trackpad input ability for iOS. s-l-o-w-l-y.
so, getting even more interesting.
but still, something extremely put-offing about that round ball cursor that apple uses for trackpad input. half-pregnant.

and now, a couple of weeks before the launch of new iPads (Pro and Air), and, here is the key point: a new keyboard/trackpad that somehow is better integrated (although still removable) is rumoured.
(no report to date has this new keyboard/trackpad being usable with the new iPad Airs, only the Pro)

i bet it is time to make the work device switch to iOS.

I might switch back to running an iPad Pro again as my laptop depending on these new models. I'd love to see a Surface Book like device. A nice aluminum keyboard instead of that material that collects dust, fingerprints and cat hair. A function row would be nice.

On the software side, I don't want macOS running on it. I like iPadOS for what it is, as limiting as it is. That might be the digital minimalist in me talking though. It's also nice having my 'laptop' running basically the same system as my phone, it keeps finding things easier for me - especially certain apps (like Finder vs Files for example), different system settings or something as simple as knowing they're both running the same version of iOS, I know they're both up to date. As you mentioned, banking apps, transportation, video streaming are all done through a browser on the Mac. I like to have dedicated apps for a lot of these things.

For some users, it would be nice if there was a way to run a macOS app on the iPad. Put a faux menu bar on the top of the screen for it and let users deal with whatever compatibility issues there are - if done right, there would probably be zero or very few, like running an iPad app on the Mac.

 

[owidhh]

Even being Unix machines, neither a MacBook, nor an iPad can run Linux, which is a pity, and also says something about those devices.

M1/M2, as well as the Pros and Max versions, can run Linux natively, when it comes to Macs:

https://asahilinux.org . There are some limitations for now but the work so far has been amazing.

 

[chmania]

M1/M2, as well as the Pros and Max versions, can run Linux natively, when it comes to Macs:

https://asahilinux.org . There are some limitations for now but the work so far has been amazing.

Oh, just one distro. No other Linux developer is interested.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Oh, just one distro. No other Linux developer is interested.

I am currently running Ubuntu, Kali and two instances of Windows 11 in VMware Fusion on an M3 Max. Works fine.

I am not that sure MS would go down that road, the ARM road. MS won't want to kill the goose that laid golden eggs -- the umpteen amount of computer/laptop manufacturers in the world.

What do you mean? Windows 11 for ARM works as expected, and runs all the x86/x64 apps I need just fine too.

 

[chmania]

I am currently running Ubuntu, Kali and two instances of Windows 11 in VMware Fusion on an M3 Max. Works fine.



What do you mean? Windows 11 for ARM works as expected, and runs all the x86/x64 apps I need just fine too.

VM is VM, not on bare metal. Win11 on M chip Macs work also on a VM, Parallels.

 

[DeepSix]

11" ipad pro + apple bluetooth magic keyboard is the perfect on the go device. Especially since this keyboard is feather light, I just wish it had backlit keys but thats okay since I would be using it in the bright daylight when out of the house.

Im not a YouTuber like everyone else is, so I have no interest in bringing a laptop with a full OS with me anymore as the ipad does it all. Plus having touch and being able to use the apple pencil at any time is very nice. For me, when on the go, touch is more useful to me than having a full OS that i dont need. If you just want to read, ipad is far more comfortable than any laptop. So the ipad to me is far more versatile of a portable device. Also touching the screen is quicker and more comfortable than using a trackpad. Also have a mouse that I can bring too if Im using it somewhere for a long period of time.

I will also take the ipads 4:3 aspect ratio over the 16:10 on macbook air and a lot of newer laptops. 11" is more portable, it's lighter and the screen feels much larger than it is because of the aspect ratio.

The only benefit of a laptop to me is longer battery life. For instance Macbook Air can last all day while on battery while the ipad can't and I bring my portable battery pack with me to prevent battery cycles on the ipad. Almost 2.5 years now of using the 11" ipad pro and I only have 6 battery cycles on the ipad battery. Its much cheaper to buy a new USB-C battery pack than it is to buy another ipad pro.

Even if I had a Macbook Air, Id still bring along my USB-C battery pack to prevent battery cycles on the laptop battery. Its much cheaper to replace the battery pack than the Macbook Air. Want your devices to last? Use a portable battery pack.

 

[alecgold]

11" ipad pro + apple bluetooth magic keyboard is the perfect on the go device. Especially since this keyboard is feather light, I just wish it had backlit keys but thats okay since I would be using it in the bright daylight when out of the house.

Im not a YouTuber like everyone else is, so I have no interest in bringing a laptop with a full OS with me anymore as the ipad does it all. Plus having touch and being able to use the apple pencil at any time is very nice. For me, when on the go, touch is more useful to me than having a full OS that i dont need. If you just want to read, ipad is far more comfortable than any laptop. So the ipad to me is far more versatile of a portable device. Also touching the screen is quicker and more comfortable than using a trackpad. Also have a mouse that I can bring too if Im using it somewhere for a long period of time.

I will also take the ipads 4:3 aspect ratio over the 16:10 on macbook air and a lot of newer laptops. 11" is more portable, it's lighter and the screen feels much larger than it is because of the aspect ratio.

The only benefit of a laptop to me is longer battery life. For instance Macbook Air can last all day while on battery while the ipad can't and I bring my portable battery pack with me to prevent battery cycles on the ipad. Almost 2.5 years now of using the 11" ipad pro and I only have 6 battery cycles on the ipad battery. Its much cheaper to buy a new USB-C battery pack than it is to buy another ipad pro.

Even if I had a Macbook Air, Id still bring along my USB-C battery pack to prevent battery cycles on the laptop battery. Its much cheaper to replace the battery pack than the Macbook Air. Want your devices to last? Use a portable battery pack.

Which 11” do you have? m1, m2?

 

[bondr006]

Which 11” do you have? m1, m2?

He has the M1 iPad Pro 11 listed in his signature.

 

[RLRabb]

For some users, it would be nice if there was a way to run a macOS app on the iPad. Put a faux menu bar on the top of the screen for it and let users deal with whatever compatibility issues there are - if done right, there would probably be zero or very few, like running an iPad app on the Mac.

I’ve seen other people mention the Menu Bar issue before, so in case some people aren’t aware, if you have a keyboard attached and you hold down the Command key, a menu appears at the bottom that essentially provides the same functionality as the Menu Bar, albeit with a different form. Just fyi.

 

[DeepSix]

Which 11” do you have? m1, m2?

m1 ipad pro. Works just like the day I bought it. One of the best tech buys ever.

 

[bondr006]

m1 ipad pro. Works just like the day I bought it. One of the best tech buys ever.

Same M1 Pro 11 here, and just as happy with it as the day I got it in Nov. 2021. Has made running my real estate business for the past 2 plus years, a real pleasure.

 

[JamesMay82]

I've been one of the serial complainers on here as I found it too limiting on the excel and word side and email.

I had the M1 iPad Pro which I gave to my wife and I upgraded to a m3 14 inch pro which is fantastic but I'm still in the honeymoon phase of keeping it clean and being gentle with it and it made me miss the iPads robustness!

so for me its great for media consumption and photo editing and now being robust.. I tried to get it back but she said NO lol

 

[Digitalguy]

Even if I had a Macbook Air, Id still bring along my USB-C battery pack to prevent battery cycles on the laptop battery. Its much cheaper to replace the battery pack than the Macbook Air. Want your devices to last? Use a portable battery pack.

That's not how batteries work, keeping them at 100% is worse for battery health than cycling them.

 

[owidhh]

Oh, just one distro. No other Linux developer is interested.

It's a big website with a lot of information so I'll forgive the uninformed reply

Asahilinux is a project to bring support of M-series Macs to mainline Linux.

Their previous "default" flagship distribution was Arch Linux ARM, now they switched to Fedora. Any distribution is welcome to use their work to make images and be able to run on M-series Macs. Some people still run Arch. I think some people managed to run Ubuntu and other distributions as well.

So, there's one distribution that's made a lot of effort to be the default, and it's great. And it works well. Others can/will follow suit at some point. Perhaps. If not, who cares? There's something at least

 

[chmania]

It's a big website with a lot of information so I'll forgive the uninformed reply

Asahilinux is a project to bring support of M-series Macs to mainline Linux.

Their previous "default" flagship distribution was Arch Linux ARM, now they switched to Fedora. Any distribution is welcome to use their work to make images and be able to run on M-series Macs. Some people still run Arch. I think some people managed to run Ubuntu and other distributions as well.

So, there's one distribution that's made a lot of effort to be the default, and it's great. And it works well. Others can/will follow suit at some point. Perhaps. If not, who cares? There's something at least

Ok, if you say so. But, it is still one Asahi Linux, even with a few iterations.

 

[bcortens]

I've been one of the serial complainers on here as I found it too limiting on the excel and word side and email.

I had the M1 iPad Pro which I gave to my wife and I upgraded to a m3 14 inch pro which is fantastic but I'm still in the honeymoon phase of keeping it clean and being gentle with it and it made me miss the iPads robustness!

so for me its great for media consumption and photo editing and now being robust.. I tried to get it back but she said NO lol

That's more of a Microsoft problem than an iPad problem.

 

[bondr006]

That's more of a Microsoft problem than an iPad problem.

Thinking you are probably correct, although Apple does tend to limit and control 3rd party apps. Just think FF, Chrome, and Edge.

Why is the iOS app updated so sparingly?

Just curious. Last app update was 3 weeks ago. Android app is updated much more frequently. Thanks!

community.brave.com

Web developers challenge Apple to allow other engines on iOS - 9to5Mac

A group of developers has launched a project called "Open Web Advocacy" that challenges Apple to allow other browser engines on iOS.

9to5mac.com

 

[bcortens]

Thinking you are probably correct, although Apple does tend to limit and control 3rd party apps. Just think FF, Chrome, and Edge.

Why is the iOS app updated so sparingly?

Just curious. Last app update was 3 weeks ago. Android app is updated much more frequently. Thanks!

community.brave.com

Web developers challenge Apple to allow other engines on iOS - 9to5Mac

A group of developers has launched a project called "Open Web Advocacy" that challenges Apple to allow other browser engines on iOS.

9to5mac.com

Apple is definitely at fault due to the way they control the App Store and the fact that something like Playgrounds Is only something Apple can make because they give themselves exemptions to the rules that everyone else must follow. In this specific case however I think most of the limits that don’t involve plugins are due to Microsoft not porting the full versions to iPadOS.

 

[DeepSix]

That's not how batteries work, keeping them at 100% is worse for battery health than cycling them.

I haven't noticed any disadvantages. I do this with all my devices and the battery cycles are very low on all of them. Battery cycles will kill your battery in no time.

 

[Digitalguy]

I haven't noticed any disadvantages. I do this with all my devices and the battery cycles are very low on all of them. Battery cycles will kill your battery in no time.

again, it's wrong, you can have a very healthy battery with many cycles and a very degraded battery with hardly any cycle

 

[DeepSix]

Same M1 Pro 11 here, and just as happy with it as the day I got it in Nov. 2021. Has made running my real estate business for the past 2 plus years, a real pleasure.

ipad is the perfect on the go device. It's just so much more versatile than a laptop. Use it as a tablet, use it as a reader, use it as a laptop in both landscape or portrait. Can't see myself going back and when I do need a full OS, Im always at home. The only benefit for me to having a full OS on the go is transferring data with external drives. But again I can easily do that at home.

I also don't travel anymore so I don't need to run desktop apps outside of home.

 

[DeepSix]

again, it's wrong, you can have a very healthy battery with many cycles and a very degraded battery with hardly any cycle

My battery health on the ipad is still 99%. If I did battery cycles all the time, it would be in the 80% range

 

[Digitalguy]

My battery health on the ipad is still 99%. If I did battery cycles all the time, it would be in the 80% range

I have batteries that are over 100% with hundreds of cycles

 

[bondr006]

I have batteries that are over 100% with hundreds of cycles

Is that 100% charged or 100% battery health? Just curious, because batteries with low battery health still show 100% charged.

 

[Digitalguy]

Is that 100% charged or 100% battery health? Just curious, because batteries with low battery health still show 100% charged.

A new battery is around 106% health, that is it's over nominal capacity. So for instance a battery at 99% health has lost around 7%.