Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad Pro 13" iPad Pro with keyboard and trackpad VERSUS 12" MacBook

Hieveryone

Hieveryone

macrumors 603
Original poster
Apr 11, 2014
5,627
2,339
USA
Which would be better?

I'm thinking the iPad Pro + keyboard and trackpad

Right now I have a 2017 12" MacBook base model which I love, but I'm thinking of selling it and buying the new iPad Pro
 
  • Like
Reactions: SimonMScott
I think they do very different things... I also have a base 2017 12" MB and just got an 11" iPad Pro, the two devices serve very different purposes for me.

Personally I couldn't do most of my work without a full computer system (do a decent amount of Microsoft Office - Word/Excel/Powerpoint, plus need the file organisation system, plus multiple PDFs open, and a lot of multi-tasking), so just the iPad Pro wouldn't suffice for my needs.

But it really depends on what you need the iPad/MB for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mr_jomo
Hieveryone said:
Which would be better?

I'm thinking the iPad Pro + keyboard and trackpad

Right now I have a 2017 12" MacBook base model which I love, but I'm thinking of selling it and buying the new iPad Pro
Click to expand...

Hi,

I am/was in the exact same position as you. I still have my 12” Macbook, which I love for the portability etc, but I also now have the 12.9” 2020 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard.

Since I’ve been using the iPad Pro, I have barely touched my Macbook and since getting the Magic Keyboard, I have even more rarely used the external keyboard and trackpad that I have.

Also, I used to think that my 12” Macbook was “doing ok” speed wise and for editing photos and video, multi-tasking, etc, but I used it the other day for a couple of things and I noticed a severe lack of speed and performance compared to my iPad Pro.

As everyone is saying, it would really depend on your use case scenarios, but for me even the simplest of tasks it’s just so much faster and intuitive using my iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard. That, combined with the ease and speed of editing for me and the portability being almost identical, it’s a win for me for the iPad Pro.

I would disagree with the multi-tasking quoted above though, as the iPad really flies using basic applications like the Office suite and having multiple applications open (in both split screen and slide over) becomes so easy and intuitive that I found it clumsier on the MacBook. Maybe that’s just me though!

There are a few tiny issues or items I miss occasionally from using my Macbook 12” but for the most part I think iPadOS will catch up VERY soon to being in line with and fixing these.

If you can afford to, I would keep my Macbook 12” as a “backup” in case you need that true laptop experience for certain tasks as I have done.

There’s also the point that, if what you own does the tasks you need to do today and does them well, do you need the upgrade yet? For me it was time, but for you maybe not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wnorris
I have both the 10.5" iPad Pro 2017 and the 12" Core m3 MacBook 2017.

Before I changed jobs, I used to use PowerPoint and Keynote a fair bit, and the 12" MacBook was perfect for that. The iPad Pro, not so much. Also, Excel/Numbers kinda sucked on the iPad without mouse/trackpad support. However, even then, I used the iPad Pro about 90% of the time, because it was better for other stuff, esp. content consumption.

Now that I have a new job that doesn't require much MS Office usage on my mobile device, I use the iPad >95% of the time. The main problem is that my VPN - remote desktop setup doesn't work properly on the iPad.

It really depends on what you need to do with it. I must admit that on a occasional business trips, I've taken BOTH with me. Kinda defeats the point of low weight, but both are small enough to fit in my my small travel bag. (A single 13" laptop is too big to fit in it, and I don't like using 13" laptops on the plane.) Going forward, once I get an 11" iPad Pro with mini-LED and Magic Keyboard, and once my VPN software gets updated to support the trackpad, I will not have to use the MacBook anymore.
 
Hieveryone said:
Which would be better?

I'm thinking the iPad Pro + keyboard and trackpad

Right now I have a 2017 12" MacBook base model which I love, but I'm thinking of selling it and buying the new iPad Pro
Click to expand...
You are the best one to answer that question for yourself.

Do you prefer the iPadOS way of approaching tasks and media consumption or the Mac OS way?
 
12” MacBook is a full fledged computer, but I found it to be painfully sluggish. Can’t recommend it except for pretty light computing needs.
 
I just use my 12” for basic stuff.

I guess the best would be is try both and see what suits your needs better.

I have a feeling that the iPad software with multitasking features, files, and access to word documents and so on might be just enough to get by from a professional standpoint

I’m guessing iPad Pro can do most things MacBook can do?
 
  • Like
Reactions: SimonMScott
As others have said, it completely depends on what you need it for. For me, if I had to pick one device, it would be the iPad Pro, because the Apple Pencil is integral to my job (teaching online, writing on a whiteboard). For a couple years, I worked with two iPads and no Mac. Recently, I've been involved with a startup and wanting a bit more professional setup with more multitasking ability and have added a Mac mini. For me, that is perfect-- when I'm traveling, taking along my two iPads is great-- one for drawing, the other for looking at materials. That's really all I need. But at home, I'm really enjoying using the Mac mini with an iPP in Sidecar.

Other people can't imagine not having a Mac, with its software capabilities that aren't available yet on iPadOS. I just don't do anything that iPadOS can't handle, even if it is more fun to have my Mac mini + IPP setup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back