iPad Pro 11” or 12.9” IPP with external monitor?

[pedregosa]

I’ve been using my 2018 11-inch IPP today with an Apple trackpad, Apple desktop keyboard, and an external 21-inch LG UltraFine USB-C 4K monitor. Makes for a pretty good desktop set-up, even though external monitor support could still be better. I have been thinking of getting a 2020 12.9-inch but am wondering about the following:

1. Does the aspect ratio of the 11-inch scale better if connected to an external monitor so that it fills the screen with less black area at the sides?
2. Would the 12.9-inch result in better image quality on the external monitor? (Not that what I get with my 11-inch is in any way poor.)

I’d be curious if anyone has any insights, especially someone who currently uses a 12.9 with an external monitor.

 

[PortoMavericks]

1. If there’s a difference it’s simply insignificant.

2. It does not, Apple needs to fix how iOS handles external display. Right now the 4k video output is not real 4K for the interface, it’s upscaled from the internal resolution and who knows if it’s lower or not, since it’s how iOS handles display output since iOS 6.

 

[AutomaticApple]

1. Does the aspect ratio of the 11-inch scale better if connected to an external monitor so that it fills the screen with less black area at the sides?

Why would that matter?

 

[pedregosa]

Why would that matter?

Because in an ideal world, the mirrored iPad screen fills the external monitor as much as possible, minimizing the black areas to the left and right. It's partly a matter of aesthetics and partly to do with making the fullest use of the external display. This means that the vertical-to-horizontal ratio of the external monitor should match that of the iPad as much as possible. One day, Apple might introduce automatic scaling so that the image adjusts to fit on the external monitor, as when you connect a Mac laptop, but that doesn't exist at present.

 

[PortoMavericks]

Because in an ideal world, the mirrored iPad screen fills the external monitor as much as possible, minimizing the black areas to the left and right. It's partly a matter of aesthetics and partly to do with making the fullest use of the external display. This means that the vertical-to-horizontal ratio of the external monitor should match that of the iPad as much as possible. One day, Apple might introduce automatic scaling so that the image adjusts to fit on the external monitor, as when you connect a Mac laptop, but that doesn't exist at present.

What you seek is how macOS handles display output and I'm not sure Apple will ever support the option to turn the main display off or making it scale to the same aspect as the external display.

What I think they'll introduce with time is a virtual desktop. The external display will get it's own arrangement of apps when connected, functioning like in extended mode on macOS.

 

[pedregosa]

What you seek is how macOS handles display output and I'm not sure Apple will ever support the option to turn the main display off or making it scale to the same aspect as the external display.

What I think they'll introduce with time is a virtual desktop. The external display will get it's own arrangement of apps when connected, functioning like in extended mode on macOS.

Yes, I see what you mean. And thank you for your comments above and in your earlier response.

I actually think working with an external monitor right now is not a bad setup. Especially if it a USB-C one where the monitor will charge the iPad while it’s connnected. You are probably right that there won’t be much difference between the 11 and the 12.9 in terms of the black areas at the sides, but maybe the proportions of the 11 are a little more aligned with those of most most monitors than those of the 12.9 which has a slightly taller and less wide ratio.

For anyone reading this who is thinking of using an external monitor, I can report zero lag and really nice, crisp image quality on my LG 4K monitor. I’d been using this setup with the somewhat clunky Assistive Touch mouse support since last September, and that was OK — but with the new trackpad support, it really is pretty good.