iPad as a laptop replacement

[bondr006]

Well, I just like tech in general...and I am darn sure glad that my experience with Windows isn't as dark, bleak, and dreary as the Apple camp makes it out to be. Mac OS has had it's problems too, and in my 30 years with it....I have had some frustrations with it. My top 3 OS's are iPad OS, Mac OS, and Windows....in no particular order, and all 3 give me what I need and want. The Windows update thing doesn't bother me in the least, as I can do the actual updates when I want...and I'm assuming that they are needed just like any other OS that has updates. As for the fun or ease of use in any given OS, is something that will rely on each users experience with the OS they prefer to use. Me, I love and have fun with my top 3, and can accomplish anything I need or want with each of them. I will admit that iPad OS has the edge with me for its ease of use and supreme flexibility. It pulls double duty as a desktop/laptop and tablet OS easily for me. Now, I realize we all have our own preferences...including me, but I stay out of the biased camps and equally spread my OS enthusiasm. Hardware and software are nothing more than tools to me. If it gets what I need done, then I like it.😉

 

[bondr006]

Heresy!!! 😉👍🏻😂. In all fairness though, while the Mac Studio is a box (kind of, more a squircle), it is very inspiring. That beautiful aluminum finish, the squircle-shaped design, and the shiny Apple logo on the top just make it look next level! I haven’t seen a Windows computer that looks as good. Most Windows mini PCs tend to look very dull, drab, and basic, often they don’t even have metal shells, let alone shiny aluminum ones. 👍🏻. I wouldn’t say that it’s as dull and uninspiring as you can get. But that’s obviously hugely subjective preference and visual taste. 👍🏻. It’s nice being able to dock my iPad as a desktop though, it’s very handy for my workflow. 👍🏻

Many of the aluminum "squircles" in the mini pc world...😉

 

[subjonas]

Well, I just like tech in general...and I am darn sure glad that my experience with Windows isn't as dark, bleak, and dreary as the Apple camp makes it out to be. Mac OS has had it's problems too, and in my 30 years with it....I have had some frustrations with it. My top 3 OS's are iPad OS, Mac OS, and Windows....in no particular order, and all 3 give me what I need and want. The Windows update thing doesn't bother me in the least, as I can do the actual updates when I want...and I'm assuming that they are needed just like any other OS that has updates. As for the fun or ease of use in any given OS, is something that will rely on each users experience with the OS they prefer to use. Me, I love and have fun with my top 3, and can accomplish anything I need or want with each of them. I will admit that iPad OS has the edge with me for its ease of use and supreme flexibility. It pulls double duty as a desktop/laptop and tablet OS easily for me. Now, I realize we all have our own preferences...including me, but I stay out of the biased camps and equally spread my OS enthusiasm. Hardware and software are nothing more than tools to me. If it gets what I need done, then I like it.😉

Just because one prefers one over the other doesn’t mean they are biased though, as long as one gives both a fair chance. If one thinks a Toyota car is better than a Ford after having ample experience with both, then that’s not bias, but if one thinks Toyota is better based only on the fact that it’s Japanese and Ford is American, then that would be bias. These are all tools, but not all tools are created equal. Some tools are objectively worse than others, but as you said some just have different advantages/disadvantages which may work for some people but not others. If someone finds a Toyota and a Ford are completely equal in value, then that’s great for them because they have more options. But those brands having a lot of both aesthetic and functional differences (maybe less on the surface but more as you get deeper into UX), it’s more likely that one will gravitate more toward one than the other. Again, that alone doesn’t make them biased.

 

[subjonas]

Many of the aluminum "squircles" in the mini pc world...😉

Are these real? How come I’ve never seen or heard of these computers/brands? They look very similar to Mac Mini/Studio. Did they come out before or after?

 

[bondr006]

Just because one prefers one over the other doesn’t mean they are biased though, as long as one gives both a fair chance. If one thinks a Toyota car is better than a Ford after having ample experience with both, then that’s not bias, but if one thinks Toyota is better based only on the fact that it’s Japanese and Ford is American, then that would be bias. These are all tools, but not all tools are created equal. Some tools are objectively worse than others, but as you said some just have different advantages/disadvantages which may work for some people but not others. If someone finds a Toyota and a Ford are completely equal in value, then that’s great for them because they have more options. But those brands having a lot of both aesthetic and functional differences (maybe less on the surface but more as you get deeper into UX), it’s more likely that one will gravitate more toward one than the other. Again, that alone doesn’t make them biased.

Kinda like me, as I just like them all. But believe me, and I am sure you know....there is plenty of bias to go around when it come to OS and brand, especially in the tech forums.

 

[bondr006]

Are these real? How come I’ve never seen or heard of these computers/brands? They look very similar to Mac Mini/Studio. Did they come out before or after?

These are real. I actually have a MinisForum mini PC. They have been around in different finishes for years.

Amazon.com: Silver Mini Pc

Amazon.com: silver mini pc

www.amazon.com

 

[Ludatyk]

Are these real? How come I’ve never seen or heard of these computers/brands? They look very similar to Mac Mini/Studio. Did they come out before or after?

Yup! I currently have AceMagic MiniPC… previously was using Beelink, I think the latest M4 Mac Mini was influenced by these products.

 

[subjonas]

These are real. I actually have a MinisForum mini PC. They have been around in different finishes for years.

Amazon.com: Silver Mini Pc

Amazon.com: silver mini pc

www.amazon.com

Oh ok, I see MinisForum is Chinese. I’m not familiar with Chinese brands. How do you rate the computer all around?

 

[bondr006]

Oh ok, I see MinisForum is Chinese. I’m not familiar with Chinese brands. How do you rate the computer all around?

It's my first mini pc and I've had it for 2 years now. I did a lot of research before buying it. There were 3 brands I was interested in that seemed to be at the top of the mini pc food chain. MinisForum, Beelink, and AceMagic. It was a tough decision between the three of them but I ended up with a great deal on the MinisForum and went with that. I would buy any of the three though. I have not had a single problem with mine and very happy with its performance. When I bought it I had no experience with mini pc's, except for the Mac Mini that I had. I have always like that small form factor, so I thought I would try one from the Windows world...and I am happy I did. All my computers (Mac Mini, Mini PC, and iPad) all communicate just fine with each other. I really like my setup and will continue to live in both the Mac and PC world in harmony.

My Mini PC

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2BWMQMD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

[Kal Madda]

Many of the aluminum "squircles" in the mini pc world...😉

Yeah, but they don’t have the beautiful, shiny Apple logo… 🙁😉👍🏻. I have seen some of these before, but I think many of these changed to this aesthetic more recently influenced by the Mac Mini and Mac Studio. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think Apple kind of pioneered that look, the Mac Mini has been delivering beautiful shiny aluminum squircle vibes for the past 2 decades since 2005. 👍🏻. And I didn’t really start to see the aluminum Windows Mini PCs until the last couple years since the Mac Studio. Before that, all the ones I saw were plastic. Maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right places, I am definitely not an expert on Mini-PCs or anything. And also, I am not trying to be too hard or critical on Windows PCs, I know they have their places, and I don’t really have anything against them, I just don’t like Windows as much as iPadOS and macOS. Also, for me, I couldn’t perform my entire workflow on Windows without making major changes and compromises, because many of the apps I rely on on a daily basis for my productivity and workflow are either only available on the iPad (not even available on the Mac) or are only available on iPad and Mac and have no Windows versions. 👍🏻. I think Windows is perfectly viable for many people, and probably even a better choice for some. 👍🏻

As to the automatic updates, I think the biggest problems I run into aren’t caused by the security updates, or even the feature updates. Usually the issue is that Microsoft packs all of these generic driver updates that are installed automatically, and Windows will often overwrite the specific drivers for hardware developed by the OEM specifically for that hardware with their generic drivers that don’t fully support the hardware properly, and so it causes issues. I’ve had this happen several times now on my Asus Ally. For a while, Windows updates kept overwriting and replacing the driver for my Bluetooth hardware with a generic driver, which caused issues with my Bluetooth earbuds not wanting to connect to the Asus, and every time Windows would update it and change that driver, I would have to go back and grab the one for the Asus and reinstall that driver to fix the issue. Not the end of the world, but it was annoying. I know plenty of people have a better experience, and don’t run into these issues as often, so I’m not saying that nobody should use Windows or anything, just for me, I prefer iPadOS and macOS. And I think for certain kinds of gaming, Windows is currently better than iPadOS and macOS, though I am hopeful with the improvements coming with the Game Porting Toolkit, and Proton. 👍🏻

Sorry for the very long comment, but I wanted to explain that I’m not trying to hate on Windows or anything, I think it definitely has some advantages for some things, but I just don’t prefer it, iPadOS is my go to, and if I had to use a desktop, I would gravitate towards a Mac because it’s more like iPadOS than Windows. 👍🏻

PS, I also did look at buying a MiniPC for Windows gaming, but ended up landing on the Asus Ally because of its portability and I got a really good deal on it. The nice thing with the Ally is that I can still dock it like a mini PC if I want, but I can also take it with me for some PC gaming on the road if I wish. But mini PCs definitely have some advantages over the Ally, and the Minisforum looks like a very nice option for mini PCs. 👍🏻

 

[Kal Madda]

One thing I’ve noticed is that simplifying my desk setup, and finally making use of one of the extra inputs on my desktop monitor to connect to a hub for quick docking, is that I’m using my iPad docked at my desk probably the majority of the time that I work at my desk now, and I’m working at my desk a little bit more often (still not the majority of the time, but a bit more than I did before). Most of my work I end up doing away from my desk anyways, but I’ve noticed that I’m using the Mac Mini far less often, to the point it’s essentially only used for remote file access as my own kind of personal cloud. I’m at a point where I have seriously considered the possibility of buying a “desk iPad” which would just stay docked at all times at the desk. The main downsides to this would be I would probably want to see if I could replicate the remote file access capabilities or not, presently I’m using a VNC app to access the files on the connected drive (it has a direct file feature which behaves nearly like a cloud storage app, but sadly doesn’t provide thumbnail previews of the files, so you have to know the name of the file you want), and so I would probably need to find a different method (which I wouldn’t be opposed to looking for a better solution for that anyways). In fact, I’ve considered just carrying a portable storage drive for that purpose, especially now that I have a nicer iPad sleeve with better pockets on it. So I may just end up moving away from that remote file access system altogether. The biggest downside to going completely iPad desktop route would be I wouldn’t have access to a Mac at that point if I entirely replaced it with an iPad. On one hand, I don’t think that would necessarily be a huge deal, because as I said before, I find myself not particularly needing the Mac for any of the things I’m doing on a regular basis. But I would probably miss it. Also, it is very helpful to have an up-to-date Mac on hand for comparison purposes for my SubStack for software reviews and such, but also for helping people troubleshoot issues and such. So I don’t know that I would want to completely do away with having a Mac on hand.

So if I went with a “desk iPad”, I would likely still keep a Mac Mini on hand as well. But for most of my productivity, I would end up using my iPad desktop unit. It’s an interesting concept to me, but I would have to wait on buying a desktop iPad since I just upgraded my daily driver. I would probably opt for a used and inexpensive M2 iPad Air or something, since it would be connected to a monitor anyways, screen size/quality wouldn’t be as important either.

But anyways, that was probably a long and rambling thought, but I keep thinking about the idea of a “desktop iPad” lately. 👍🏻

PS. The more I think about it, a 17”-20” or larger iPad would be the perfect “desktop iPad” for many creatives. Kind of like a Cintiq, but running iPadOS with the Apple Pencil! Sadly, I don’t know that we’ll see an iPad this size outside of a foldable possibly. But maybe we’ll see a 15” or 16” at some point. 👍🏻

 

[Ludatyk]

So if I went with a “desk iPad”, I would likely still keep a Mac Mini on hand as well. But for most of my productivity, I would end up using my iPad desktop unit. It’s an interesting concept to me, but I would have to wait on buying a desktop iPad since I just upgraded my daily driver. I would probably opt for a used and inexpensive M2 iPad Air or something, since it would be connected to a monitor anyways, screen size/quality wouldn’t be as important either.

But anyways, that was probably a long and rambling thought, but I keep thinking about the idea of a “desktop iPad” lately.

Help me out here… what exactly is a “desk iPad?”

The biggest downside to going completely iPad desktop route would be I wouldn’t have access to a Mac at that point if I entirely replaced it with an iPad. On one hand, I don’t think that would necessarily be a huge deal, because as I said before, I find myself not particularly needing the Mac for any of the things I’m doing on a regular basis. But I would probably miss it. Also, it is very helpful to have an up-to-date Mac on hand for comparison purposes for my SubStack for software reviews and such, but also for helping people troubleshoot issues and such. So I don’t know that I would want to completely do away with having a Mac on hand.

I believe you overthinking it. Keep both… even though the iPad is my primary device I think it’s better to use the two platforms in tandem.

 

[Kal Madda]

Help me out here… what exactly is a “desk iPad?”


I believe you overthinking it. Keep both… even though the iPad is my primary device I think it’s better to use the two platforms in tandem.

An iPad that would stay permanently at the desk, docked to the display and such, like a desktop, but a “desk iPad”. 🙂👍🏻 Then if I forgot to take my iPad to my office, I would still have an iPad there and handy for doing some tasks when I’m at the desk. Probably a bit overkill, but it could be handy.

And I would plan on keeping a Mac Mini handy as well at the desk, since I wouldn’t want to entirely lose the ability to tinker with macOS from time to time, and I would still want one available for things like software comparison/review, etc. The “desk iPad” would be an additional desktop accessory/computer. I would still plan on keeping the Mac Mini for the foreseeable future, I guess mostly what I would potentially consider at some point is keeping another iPad in addition to my primary daily driver iPad as a desktop accessory/computer. I’ve thought of doing just that with the iPad 11th Gen., the only main downside to that would be it only mirrors on external displays. But I may end up still deciding to use the iPad 11th Gen. that way. I guess having a secondary iPad now, and exploring some different ways of working it into my workflow has me thinking more about some novel iPad combos, lol! 😂 👍🏻

And I most definitely am probably way overthinking this. 👍🏻🙂

 

[bmustaf]

Still, even with iPad OS 26, the only way my iPad can actually be a computer is by, well, having another _actual_ computer that sits somewhere (my home, the cloud, etc) that I then use the iPad to connect to.

Just. Let. It. Run. VSCode.
Just. Let. It. Run. Terminal/CLI.

 

[Kal Madda]

Still, even with iPad OS 26, the only way my iPad can actually be a computer is by, well, having another _actual_ computer that sits somewhere (my home, the cloud, etc) that I then use the iPad to connect to.

Just. Let. It. Run. VSCode.
Just. Let. It. Run. Terminal/CLI.

VSCode already runs on the iPad, there’s an official web app for VSCode which runs on the iPad. And there are also several terminal apps like iSH. Hopefully that could be helpful for you. 👍🏻

 

[bmustaf]

VSCode already runs on the iPad, there’s an official web app for VSCode which runs on the iPad. And there are also several terminal apps like iSH. Hopefully that could be helpful for you. 👍🏻

Web delivered VSCode & iSH aren't anywhere close to what actual VSCode & actual shells are used for, they are both "faking it".

Neither claim is correct nor helpful until you can show:

1. VSCode running _actually on the iPad_ (versus Codespaces, Coder, GitPod, or any web hosted subset of the actual full application, etc) launching `npm run dev` in, say, even the most basic React webapp (just b/c parts of VSCode are a web app at its core does not mean it's VScode, and this is a very basic part of most dev's daily work the stripped down web-only components don't do/can't do)

2. VSCode running a terminal with `docker compose up` of even a basic express/fastapi backend with a little local db like PG

3. An actual terminal that _actually_ is running zsh/bash that can actually do things a full POSIX OS can do, say, `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code`, and then `claude`, and have it make changes to said web app, have the hot reload server you ran in #1 reload changes in a web browser serving on local.

4. Expose said local host with `ngrok` so you can now process webhooks or just show a peer.

This is an incredibly basic dev workflow, and it can't do any *one* of these let alone all four.

These things do not exist, not because they cannot, but b/c Cupertino has a walled garden (and has managed to fool people like you that things like VSCode or a real shell run on the iPad, which they objectively do not).

The iPad Pro M4 has more RAM and CPU/GPU power than many people's laptops. It's a complete shame Apple (still) has not enabled these types of use cases for people who want them.

 

[Kal Madda]

Web delivered VSCode & iSH aren't anywhere close to what actual VSCode & actual shells are used for, they are both "faking it".

Neither claim is correct nor helpful until you can show:

1. VSCode running _actually on the iPad_ (versus Codespaces, Coder, GitPod, or any web hosted subset of the actual full application, etc) launching `npm run dev` in, say, even the most basic React webapp (just b/c parts of VSCode are a web app at its core does not mean it's VScode, and this is a very basic part of most dev's daily work the stripped down web-only components don't do/can't do)

2. VSCode running a terminal with `docker compose up` of even a basic express/fastapi backend with a little local db like PG

3. An actual terminal that _actually_ is running zsh/bash that can actually do things a full POSIX OS can do, say, `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code`, and then `claude`, and have it make changes to said web app, have the hot reload server you ran in #1 reload changes in a web browser serving on local.

4. Expose said local host with `ngrok` so you can now process webhooks or just show a peer.

This is an incredibly basic dev workflow, and it can't do any *one* of these let alone all four.

These things do not exist, not because they cannot, but b/c Cupertino has a walled garden (and has managed to fool people like you that things like VSCode or a real shell run on the iPad, which they objectively do not).

The iPad Pro M4 has more RAM and CPU/GPU power than many people's laptops. It's a complete shame Apple (still) has not enabled these types of use cases for people who want them.

It is a fact that VSCode has an official web version that runs on the iPad. That’s a fact, period.

It is also a fact that there are many third party terminal apps on the iPad, including iSH.

 

[bmustaf]

It is a fact that VSCode has an official web version that runs on the iPad. That’s a fact, period.

It is also a fact that there are many third party terminal apps on the iPad, including iSH.

Like I said, those web hosted versions are running the actual workload on remote machines, not on the iPad. By that rationale I can train AI models requiring tens of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs on my Apple Watch because I can push a button on it that triggers that training run.

 

[Kal Madda]

Like I said, those web hosted versions are running the actual workload on remote machines, not on the iPad. By that rationale I can train AI models requiring tens of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs on my Apple Watch because I can push a button on it that triggers that training run.

That’s what web apps do. I didn’t say that VSCode has a native iPad app, though there is a native iPad app using VSCode’s engine called Code. I merely pointed out there’s a web version which may be helpful…

iSH runs natively on the iPad. It creates a virtual Linux terminal that can be used. There are several other similar alternative third party terminal apps as well.

 

[Meedoss]

15" MBA M4 and a iPad mini 7 is working out best for me.

 

[xxFoxtail]

One thing I’ve noticed is that simplifying my desk setup, and finally making use of one of the extra inputs on my desktop monitor to connect to a hub for quick docking, is that I’m using my iPad docked at my desk probably the majority of the time that I work at my desk now, and I’m working at my desk a little bit more often (still not the majority of the time, but a bit more than I did before). Most of my work I end up doing away from my desk anyways, but I’ve noticed that I’m using the Mac Mini far less often, to the point it’s essentially only used for remote file access as my own kind of personal cloud. I’m at a point where I have seriously considered the possibility of buying a “desk iPad” which would just stay docked at all times at the desk. The main downsides to this would be I would probably want to see if I could replicate the remote file access capabilities or not, presently I’m using a VNC app to access the files on the connected drive (it has a direct file feature which behaves nearly like a cloud storage app, but sadly doesn’t provide thumbnail previews of the files, so you have to know the name of the file you want), and so I would probably need to find a different method (which I wouldn’t be opposed to looking for a better solution for that anyways). In fact, I’ve considered just carrying a portable storage drive for that purpose, especially now that I have a nicer iPad sleeve with better pockets on it. So I may just end up moving away from that remote file access system altogether. The biggest downside to going completely iPad desktop route would be I wouldn’t have access to a Mac at that point if I entirely replaced it with an iPad. On one hand, I don’t think that would necessarily be a huge deal, because as I said before, I find myself not particularly needing the Mac for any of the things I’m doing on a regular basis. But I would probably miss it. Also, it is very helpful to have an up-to-date Mac on hand for comparison purposes for my SubStack for software reviews and such, but also for helping people troubleshoot issues and such. So I don’t know that I would want to completely do away with having a Mac on hand.

So if I went with a “desk iPad”, I would likely still keep a Mac Mini on hand as well. But for most of my productivity, I would end up using my iPad desktop unit. It’s an interesting concept to me, but I would have to wait on buying a desktop iPad since I just upgraded my daily driver. I would probably opt for a used and inexpensive M2 iPad Air or something, since it would be connected to a monitor anyways, screen size/quality wouldn’t be as important either.

But anyways, that was probably a long and rambling thought, but I keep thinking about the idea of a “desktop iPad” lately. 👍🏻

PS. The more I think about it, a 17”-20” or larger iPad would be the perfect “desktop iPad” for many creatives. Kind of like a Cintiq, but running iPadOS with the Apple Pencil! Sadly, I don’t know that we’ll see an iPad this size outside of a foldable possibly. But maybe we’ll see a 15” or 16” at some point. 👍🏻

A desk iPad is an interesting idea. I've been back and forth on using my MacBook permanently docked at my desk, but decided again just to use only my iPad again. I like my MacBook, but with OS26, apart from a couple things the experience is almost identical in every app I’d normally use. The added benefits of the iPad is I can run my mobile apps natively instead of having to mirror my iPhone over. The mobile versions of Office, iWork, and whatever else fit my needs just fine.

After using iPadOS 26, I'd actually be pretty interested in a Surface Studio-like iPad that stays at my desk all the time that I can swivel up and down to draw and hand-write on. I wonder if we'll ever see this os move away from just being a tablet.

 

[Ludatyk]

After using iPadOS 26, I'd actually be pretty interested in a Surface Studio-like iPad that stays at my desk all the time that I can swivel up and down to draw and hand-write on. I wonder if we'll ever see this os move away from just being a tablet.

I’ve always wanted a Surface Studio… that massive screen would be a joy to use, I just couldn’t justify the cost.

But Apple probably have a iPad-sized Surface Studio in their lab… most likely costly now. It would be years down the line before they bring it to market.

 

[richpjr]

I’ve always wanted a Surface Studio… that massive screen would be a joy to use, I just couldn’t justify the cost.

But Apple probably have a iPad-sized Surface Studio in their lab… most likely costly now. It would be years down the line before they bring it to market.

I'd take a 14" iPad Pro.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I’ve always wanted a Surface Studio… that massive screen would be a joy to use, I just couldn’t justify the cost.

But Apple probably have a iPad-sized Surface Studio in their lab… most likely costly now. It would be years down the line before they bring it to market.

You’re right. I wasn’t even considering the cost. That would not be a cheap product!

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I’ve had the Surface Studio 2. It was a truly remarkable device. A joy to use.
A little bit underpowered but a dream for graphic artist and also spectacular for photo editing (which was my use case).