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MacAztec

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 28, 2001
3,028
1
San Luis Obispo, CA
I’m starting a new job, and the company sent me a 14” MacBook Pro for work. I plan to hook this up to a bigger screen for work purposes.

I’d like to keep my personal computer activity, messages, and other items on a separate device.

While I work at the computer, I do tend to do some web browsing, iMessages, or other items throughout the day.

I’m debating what the best option would be for a secondary device in my office, with the primary use case of reading news, browsing, messages, etc?

One option could be an iPad of sorts, and leveraging Universal Control for ease of use. The other obvious option is a full blown laptop, but I’m wondering if that is overkill for what I would be using it for.

Does anyone else have a similar set up?
 
Agree with the others. I used my iPad in an inexpensive keyboard case as sort of a mini laptop to make brief forays into personal business during the workday.
 
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Way back when the first iPad was released, I bought one and sold it a few months later because I kept finding myself going back to my PowerBook. Fast forward to 12 years later and the iPad Mini 6 I recently purchased has been getting put to use non-stop! My iPhone doesn’t see much use here at the house now and even my MacBook Pro M1 Max has been sitting idle a lot more frequently (I use a Winblows device for work). For me, the iPad has come a long way and makes a ton of sense for general day-to-day activities such as browsing the web, messaging/email, and playing music. Based on your post, I think it would make sense for you too. You can always sell it and get most of your money back too if you decide it’s not the right fit ?
 
I’m starting a new job, and the company sent me a 14” MacBook Pro for work. I plan to hook this up to a bigger screen for work purposes.

I’d like to keep my personal computer activity, messages, and other items on a separate device.

While I work at the computer, I do tend to do some web browsing, iMessages, or other items throughout the day.

I’m debating what the best option would be for a secondary device in my office, with the primary use case of reading news, browsing, messages, etc?

One option could be an iPad of sorts, and leveraging Universal Control for ease of use. The other obvious option is a full blown laptop, but I’m wondering if that is overkill for what I would be using it for.

Does anyone else have a similar set up?
You have made no mention if you were going to consider your company's network for your second device to access the internet. If so, then you may want to consider VPN so that your communication is somewhat free of prying eyes (security).
 
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