An M1 Pro / M1 Max Mac Mini is the strongest argument for an iPad as a laptop.

[el-John-o]

I was bummed like many of you were when the Mac Mini didn’t see an update. I’m hoping that next year when we see those final updates that we see an “intermediate” PC. Something with the guts of a high end MacBook Pro but without the battery and display.

My M1 iPad Pro is faster at a lot of tasks than my 2016 MacBook Pro. In fact it has taken over completely as my portable computer. If I’m leaving the house, it’s my iPad Pro that I take with me.

So my MacBook Pro is basically a desktop now, it hasn’t left its desk in months. The ideal replacement for it really is an M1 Pro/Max Mac Mini, not another laptop.

I know the whole “iPad as a laptop” is a belabored topic but I’m curious— does anyone else feel like they’d like to replace a Mac laptop with a Mac desktop?

 

[Gnattu]

I need to move between my office and home so a laptop is a must, you can argue a Mac Mini will do the similar though, but it is less flexible an hard to use when traveling.

The iPad Pros, I really hope Apple could take them seriously and give us a more powerful iPad OS than what it currently is. We have arguably the best SoC that fits into a fanless tablet ever, but the software is holding it back.

 

[andrewstirling]

I was bummed like many of you were when the Mac Mini didn’t see an update. I’m hoping that next year when we see those final updates that we see an “intermediate” PC. Something with the guts of a high end MacBook Pro but without the battery and display.

My M1 iPad Pro is faster at a lot of tasks than my 2016 MacBook Pro. In fact it has taken over completely as my portable computer. If I’m leaving the house, it’s my iPad Pro that I take with me.

So my MacBook Pro is basically a desktop now, it hasn’t left its desk in months. The ideal replacement for it really is an M1 Pro/Max Mac Mini, not another laptop.

I know the whole “iPad as a laptop” is a belabored topic but I’m curious— does anyone else feel like they’d like to replace a Mac laptop with a Mac desktop?

So why not an m1 laptop? Same processor as the iPad Pro with the computing flexibility of the laptop?

 

[cupcakes2000]

I was bummed like many of you were when the Mac Mini didn’t see an update. I’m hoping that next year when we see those final updates that we see an “intermediate” PC. Something with the guts of a high end MacBook Pro but without the battery and display.

My M1 iPad Pro is faster at a lot of tasks than my 2016 MacBook Pro. In fact it has taken over completely as my portable computer. If I’m leaving the house, it’s my iPad Pro that I take with me.

So my MacBook Pro is basically a desktop now, it hasn’t left its desk in months. The ideal replacement for it really is an M1 Pro/Max Mac Mini, not another laptop.

I know the whole “iPad as a laptop” is a belabored topic but I’m curious— does anyone else feel like they’d like to replace a Mac laptop with a Mac desktop?

That’s exactly what I have done. I have a maxed out 2018 Intel mac mini and an m1 12.9” - been running this type of system since 2018 when I bought a the mini and a then current iPad 2018 to test the viability of the idea. Coupled with jump desktop and sidecar it works extremely well. I don’t even have a screen plugged into the mini. It’s like having a mac app on my homescreen.

 

[el-John-o]

So why not an m1 laptop? Same processor as the iPad Pro with the computing flexibility of the laptop?

Because for me (and I realize that’s not everyone), I still need an iPad for some of what I do. I can make an iPad do what a laptop can do; but I can’t make a laptop do what an iPad does.

I use a desktop at work; I don’t think lugging a laptop back and forth. An M1 Pro/Max Mac Mini would be a SWEET desktop machine for those heavier workloads without the cost of a laptop.

I do the vast majority of my “heavy lifting” at a desk, so performance in a portable package isn’t really necessary for me. But the M1 iPad Pro is really capable for those very rare instances (editing videos in an airplane, for example. Which an M1 laptop can also do; but while it’s so cool to be ABLE to do that; it’s only something I do a couple of times a year and the rest of the year an iPad is a better fit.)