iPad as a laptop replacement

[Kal Madda]

I’ve been using an iPad as my primary computer for professional and personal work for about the past 5-6 years now. It works great for me, and a Mac couldn’t replace it. I’ve had no issues with Files… I think many YouTube videos are done by Mac people who don’t even try to adapt to the iPad and the way it handles some things, and then claims the iPad doesn’t do stuff that it very obviously does for anyone who actually regularly uses one… And many of these content creators have even talked about how they dislike the iPad in prior videos, so they’re going in biased against the iPad…

YouTube videos aren’t “objective proof” of anything. It just means x individual holds x opinion about x subjective issue… What really matters isn’t what some content creator thinks about x device, but it it works for the individual. If it works, that’s really what matters… For some, the Mac works better, and that’s fine. For others though, the iPad works better. For me, moving to a Mac would be a major downgrade, and beyond that, wouldn’t actually work for much of my workflow…

 

[StoneJack]

There are also may YouTubers who DO use the iPad as their only device for professional work. Just remember Youtube feeds you what you look for and watch. So probably you are only getting the negative videos because thats the first couple you watched.

The Neo Taught Me I Never Needed an iPad

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[StoneJack]

The Neo Taught Me I Never Needed an iPad

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Steve Adams]

Ok since we are playing that game......

 

[sparksd]

The Neo Taught Me I Never Needed an iPad

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more...

forums.macrumors.com

Great - if it's a laptop you want. The 13" M5 has been a great replacement for my laptop. And one person's experience - good or bad - does not in any way extrapolate to all.

 

[Fr. Guido Sarducci]

Am I the only one who didn’t know that the Magic Keyboard & Mouse works with an iPad? Pretty slick for sitting at my little desk, but I won’t travel with them.

 

[bondr006]

Am I the only one who didn’t know that the Magic Keyboard & Mouse works with an iPad? Pretty slick for sitting at my little desk, but I won’t travel with them.

View attachment 2628588

I’ve used it with my iPad Pro and Magic Trackpad.

 

[Beefbowl]

Am I the only one who didn’t know that the Magic Keyboard & Mouse works with an iPad? Pretty slick for sitting at my little desk, but I won’t travel with them.

View attachment 2628588

Apple doesn’t really market the Magic accessories for iPad use, and it used to be kind of a pain to pair them, so I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. 🙂

Actually for all I know it might still be a pain.

For my iPad desk setup, I use the Magic Keyboard (Extended) and a Magic mouse. It works really well but like you say it’s not super travel friendly. I have a foldable keyboard for coffee shop use etc.

Does touch ID work on that keyboard? I recently changed how I have my desk laid out and my iPad is just far enough away that face ID is really hit or miss now.

 

[Fr. Guido Sarducci]

Pairing them was as simple as turning them on and they paired automatically. If I move to a different part of the house, I just switch them off. They do require a manual reconnection when I return to my desk and switch them back on, but that’s easy enough.

The Touch ID doesn’t seem to work, I would assume because of the Face ID in my iPad.

I’m diggin’ this, and not having a computer is working out much better than I ever expected.

 

[Basic75]

The files managment in iPadOS 26 is very similar to a Mac now.

I'd argue that macOS ships with two file managers, the Finder and the Terminal. Of course the Terminal is more than just a file manager, but whenever a file management task goes beyond what Finder can do I will use the Terminal for it.

 

[puckhead193]

Anyone using those pass through shells with their magic keyboards for iPad Pro ? (which ones are using)

Do you have a second case when you're not using the keyboard. Ideally I'd love to just to grab the iPad with the shell and stick it in a normal folio style case with adjustments for a viewing angles for movies etc if that makes sense.

thanks

 

[Ludatyk]

Anyone using those pass through shells with their magic keyboards for iPad Pro ? (which ones are using)

What do you mean by pass through shells? Care to provide a photo.

Do you have a second case when you're not using the keyboard. Ideally I'd love to just to grab the iPad with the shell and stick it in a normal folio style case with adjustments for a viewing angles for movies etc if that makes sense.

thanks

This is what I use as a second case when I'm not using the Magic Keyboard, its by TineeOwl (have had it for over a year)... both goes with me when I'm away from home.

 

[puckhead193]

What do you mean by pass through shells? Care to provide a photo.

https://www.spigen.com/products/ipad-pro-series-enzo-aramid?variant=42632782413871

This is what I use as a second case when I'm not using the Magic Keyboard, its by TineeOwl (have had it for over a year)... both goes with me when I'm away from home.

 

[sparksd]

https://www.spigen.com/products/ipad-pro-series-enzo-aramid?variant=42632782413871

I've been using a Pitaka with my M5 13" Pro & MKB - works great. They're redesigning them to improve fit with the new MKB though I haven't had any issues with fit/closing.

 

[Kal Madda]

Anyone using those pass through shells with their magic keyboards for iPad Pro ? (which ones are using)

Do you have a second case when you're not using the keyboard. Ideally I'd love to just to grab the iPad with the shell and stick it in a normal folio style case with adjustments for a viewing angles for movies etc if that makes sense.

thanks

Unfortunately, I can’t be of much help on that. I just use the iPad itself without a case pretty often (I like the feel of the aluminum in hand), and for writing and such, I use the Magic Keyboard Case. The Magic Keyboard Case and the padded sleeve I carry my iPad in are the only cases I use for it, other than that I just use the iPad without a case. For my situation, that’s worked pretty well for me, though I have considered getting a simple magnetic folio case for some situations. 👍🏻

 

[Ludatyk]

I've been using a Pitaka with my M5 13" Pro & MKB - works great. They're redesigning them to improve fit with the new MKB though I haven't had any issues with fit/closing.

And this is the Pitaka Air case right? I'm curious... did you pick up that case before you bought the M5 iPP? Because if I'm not mistaken you had the M4 iPP.

Reason I ask... is there any noticeable difference between the M4 iPP and M5 in terms of how the case fits?

Unfortunately, I can’t be of much help on that. I just use the iPad itself without a case pretty often (I like the feel of the aluminum in hand), and for writing and such, I use the Magic Keyboard Case. The Magic Keyboard Case and the padded sleeve I carry my iPad in are the only cases I use for it, other than that I just use the iPad without a case. For my situation, that’s worked pretty well for me, though I have considered getting a simple magnetic folio case for some situations. 👍🏻

Same here I don't use a traditional case as well... prefer the feel of the aluminum. The TineeOwl product I use is technically not a case (since it doesn't cover the entire iPad). And when I'm at the desk, I have a magnetic stand to place the iPad on.

 

[sparksd]

And this is the Pitaka Air case right? I'm curious... did you pick up that case before you bought the M5 iPP? Because if I'm not mistaken you had the M4 iPP.

Reason I ask... is there any noticeable difference between the M4 iPP and M5 in terms of how the case fits?


Same here I don't use a traditional case as well... prefer the feel of the aluminum. The TineeOwl product I use is technically not a case (since it doesn't cover the entire iPad). And when I'm at the desk, I have a magnetic stand to place the iPad on.

This is the Pitaka case for the Pro, not the Air. I jumped from the M4 13" Pro to the M5 13" Pro because I wanted more storage. I asked Pitaka why the case for the 13" Pro was no longer available -

The MagEZ Case 2 for the 13” M5 iPad Pro (2025) has been discontinued because it couldn’t achieve a perfect closure with the Magic Keyboard. We are currently developing a new case that will solve this issue, and plan to launch it in the near future once the problem is fully resolved.​

I had heard there were issues with closing the new MKBs (hinge design changed) and Pitaka had put out a new version, which I have and it closes fine. Not sure on why they need another mod.

I like the Pitaka because I find the bare iPad to be slippery in my hands and it also works with my magnetic folio case. And it's protective - I dropped my iPad and it landed on its corner. The corner of the Pitaka broke but the iPad was undamaged - why I inquired about getting a new one.

 

[Meedoss]

This is the Pitaka case for the Pro, not the Air. I jumped from the M4 13" Pro to the M5 13" Pro because I wanted more storage. I asked Pitaka why the case for the 13" Pro was no longer available -

The MagEZ Case 2 for the 13” M5 iPad Pro (2025) has been discontinued because it couldn’t achieve a perfect closure with the Magic Keyboard. We are currently developing a new case that will solve this issue, and plan to launch it in the near future once the problem is fully resolved.​

I had heard there were issues with closing the new MKBs (hinge design changed) and Pitaka had put out a new version, which I have and it closes fine. Not sure on why they need another mod.

I like the Pitaka because I find the bare iPad to be slippery in my hands and it also works with my magnetic folio case. And it's protective - I dropped my iPad and it landed on its corner. The corner of the Pitaka broke but the iPad was undamaged - why I inquired about getting a new one.

They don't seem to have it for 11" M4, does the M5 fit the M4 do you know?
Will be using with MGK too.

M5 version says coming soon too.

 

[sparksd]

They don't seem to have it for 11" M4, does the M5 fit the M4 do you know?
Will be using with MGK too.

M5 version says coming soon too.

Send a question on that to PITAKA Support <support@ipitaka.com> - they responded to me within a day or two.

 

[Steve Adams]

I have been using my iPad a bit more the past couple of days and it's a great little device. In all honesty, all OS'es and most devices are decent now for overall user experience. It all depends on what you want to do. Basic surfing, productivity work and content consumption a 200 dollar windows pc will work fine for you, any ipad thats 5 years old or newer, or a basic macbook will do. Need gaming, then it's either iPad or a gaming pc with some sort of OS and steam games. For creativity work, an iPad Pro or higher end PC or Mac/ book, will do the job. There are no wrong answers, only opinions. You know how that goes, Opinions are like ******s, everybody's got one.

 

[Meedoss]

Picked up another MGK on sale, it really is a nice case.
$200AUD off.

 

[Steve Adams]

Whats an MGK?

 

[Kal Madda]

Whats an MGK?

Probably Magic Keyboard Case would be my guess if I’m understanding correctly. 👍🏻

 

[transmaster]

I do this with my Keychrons. I just drag the cursor from the Mac Studio across to the iPad. Where ever the cursor is, is where my keyboard is.

 

[rampancy]

So I'm approaching the iPad as someone who's typically been a Mac-first, Mac-only guy. Originally my use case was having a desktop/desktop-replacement laptop at home, and a laptop as my mobile computing and work device.

But now that my lifestyle has changed to be more nomadic, I've found myself wanting something even lighter and more mobile that my MacBook Air (which has evolved into my "home base" desktop replacement) - hence, an iPad, specifically an M4 Air with 256 GB storage.

Part of me feels a little perlexed by the social media (specifically YouTuber) criticism of the iPad Air. Much of it seems to centre around anger around it not being the iPad Pro. But the price delta between the Air and Pro is just way too much for me in CAD, and I simply don't care about it not having a 120 Hz ProMotion display, or Face ID. Face ID on my iPhone doesn't work for me anyway when I wear my N95 ("mask support" notwithstanding).

I see and use my iPad Air as something like an AlphaSmart on Steroids (which I find funny, since the AlphaSmart was invented by Apple engineers and Apple passed on developing and producing it). For my ADHD, it's actually worked really well for me as a system that focuses me solely on writing, especially when using an app like IA Writer, 1Writer or iWriter Pro.

My current setup is my iPad Air in a folio case, which I have propped up on a metal folding tablet stand to elevate for ergonomics, alongside my ProtoArc XK04 (one of the best portable bluetooth keyboards I've ever used), which it shares with my MacBook Air. Maybe it's because I'm still in my Apple honeymoon phase, or maybe it's because I'm reminded of my lost love, the 11" MacBook Air, but I absolutely love working on my iPad.

I'd love to find something like the MOFT Dynamic Folio, which would allow me to save weight and bulk by not needing my tablet stand, but it doesn't offer full side protection, and from what I've seen in the reviews, it's actually not very structurally stable.