iPad Pro iPad Pro (2021/Mini-led) to replace Macbook Air 2018(?)

[HerbertDerb]

Hi,

So i have been looking at the rumours of mini-led ipad pro since 2019. Now it seems likely that 2021 will be the year we (finally) get one.

Currently my setup consists one Win10 gaming pc and 24" monitor above my gaming pc's-monitor. This 24" is plugged into 2018 Macbook Air and controlled by Symless Synergy. (Also it has external monitors). This is used this way for watching twitch streams, youtube etc.

Also, the Macbook (And the iPad) is and will be used as an portable device when i go somewhere and when i listen to music in my lounge chair with external dac/amp etc. To my aknowledge, current iPad's can output USB audio signal via adapter to external dac. Is this correct? (With dongle)

Also, (with dongles) this ipad pro can replace my macbook air as secondary media-device. I just want to plug it HDMI-cable, Power and 3.5mm audio plug. Apperantly these things can be plugged to iPad Pro's without an issue?

My reasoning for switching to iPad Pro is that i can get anywhere from 600-800€ (easily) from my current Air and tbh the current intel cpu that has in it is just not good enough for my needs anymore. Even the current iPad pro would be much faster and (appart from the Symless Synergy control app) i don't really need MacOS for my use. I have powerful Win10 device for those needs.

Thanks!

 

[AutomaticApple]

Hi,

So i have been looking at the rumours of mini-led ipad pro since 2019. Now it seems likely that 2021 will be the year we (finally) get one.

Currently my setup consists one Win10 gaming pc and 24" monitor above my gaming pc's-monitor. This 24" is plugged into 2018 Macbook Air and controlled by Symless Synergy. (Also it has external monitors). This is used this way for watching twitch streams, youtube etc.

Also, the Macbook (And the iPad) is and will be used as an portable device when i go somewhere and when i listen to music in my lounge chair with external dac/amp etc. To my aknowledge, current iPad's can output USB audio signal via adapter to external dac. Is this correct? (With dongle)

Also, (with dongles) this ipad pro can replace my macbook air as secondary media-device. I just want to plug it HDMI-cable, Power and 3.5mm audio plug. Apperantly these things can be plugged to iPad Pro's without an issue?

My reasoning for switching to iPad Pro is that i can get anywhere from 600-800€ (easily) from my current Air and tbh the current intel cpu that has in it is just not good enough for my needs anymore. Even the current iPad pro would be much faster and (appart from the Symless Synergy control app) i don't really need MacOS for my use. I have powerful Win10 device for those needs.

Thanks!

Definitely go for the iPad Pro then. If your MacBook Air is beginning to slow down, then you’re ready.

 

[Deliro]

Temper your expectations on the iPad experience. I sold my MacBook and use the iPad Pro w/MK as my mobile computing device. It definitely can fill most of what the Mac could but there are still several annoyances, limitations of IPadOS, and watered down apps that make it not a seamless transition.

Hooking the iPad to an external monitor can be done. But it’s far as elegant of an experience as the MacBook. It merely mirrors the iPad. It can’t be used as an extended display. You can’t change resolution and since aspect ratios are not the same you will be stuck with two ugly black bars most of the time. External monitor support needs work.

Personally I enjoy my iPad with the touch screen and MK. However once the new Apple based ARMs are in the new MacBook and running stable I’ll likely switch back to the MacBook. IPadOS is not as a robust OS, yet.

 

[HerbertDerb]

Temper your expectations on the iPad experience. I sold my MacBook and use the iPad Pro w/MK as my mobile computing device. It definitely can fill most of what the Mac could but there are still several annoyances, limitations of IPadOS, and watered down apps that make it not a seamless transition.

Hooking the iPad to an external monitor can be done. But it’s far as elegant of an experience as the MacBook. It merely mirrors the iPad. It can’t be used as an extended display. You can’t change resolution and since aspect ratios are not the same you will be stuck with two ugly black bars most of the time. External monitor support needs work.

Personally I enjoy my iPad with the touch screen and MK. However once the new Apple based ARMs are in the new MacBook and running stable I’ll likely switch back to the MacBook. IPadOS is not as a robust OS, yet.

Thank you for your answer!

Can you explain a little where do you find limitations Mac vs. iOS in your use? Currently in Mac my ussage is very limited, i use 90% on my work in more powerful Windows desktop.

One concern is the external display support for sure and the black bars.

 

[FranApple]

Temper your expectations on the iPad experience. I sold my MacBook and use the iPad Pro w/MK as my mobile computing device. It definitely can fill most of what the Mac could but there are still several annoyances, limitations of IPadOS, and watered down apps that make it not a seamless transition.

Hooking the iPad to an external monitor can be done. But it’s far as elegant of an experience as the MacBook. It merely mirrors the iPad. It can’t be used as an extended display. You can’t change resolution and since aspect ratios are not the same you will be stuck with two ugly black bars most of the time. External monitor support needs work.

Personally I enjoy my iPad with the touch screen and MK. However once the new Apple based ARMs are in the new MacBook and running stable I’ll likely switch back to the MacBook. IPadOS is not as a robust OS, yet.

I might go the same route. iOS is too much of a hassle in working around the file management. I just want the iPad to work like the Finder app on a Mac. I want to save all of my iCloud files offline on my iPad. I can’t. Really simple things like that make it not nearly as easy to use as a Mac.

And once Mac apps can run iPad apps too, I guess there really isn’t a reason to use an iPad unless you absolutely have to have the touch screen.

 

[Deliro]

Thank you for your answer!

Can you explain a little where do you find limitations Mac vs. iOS in your use? Currently in Mac my ussage is very limited, i use 90% on my work in more powerful Windows desktop.

One concern is the external display support for sure and the black bars.

File system management. There are some pretty good (paid) apps that expand on this, but again it's not as robust as MacOS.

Little annoyances like various links forcing you into the app experience rather than the web version. I was doing an online notary, and the link they would send me would not work properly on the iPad because it was forcing me to open their app without proper handshaking of the content. I've run into other minor things like this that just make you work harder and take more time if I just did it on a PC or MacOS.

Multitasking in general. While iPadOS continues to improve, it's just not nearly as good as true floating windows. Split screen view doesn't always allow seamless interaction between the two apps.

For the most part it does 90% of what I need for mobile computing. But when you take a 12.9 Pro with a MK, we're getting well into the MacBook Pro price range. Really it comes down to how much value you put into using an iPad, like an iPad. This is where I find the value. The iPad is a great tablet and a mediocre laptop replacement, even with the MK.

The only reason I sold my current Mac was I feared the intel based second hand market would plummet so I sold it while I felt I still could get a decent price.

I too have a powerhouse PC that I do my heavy lifting on, so my recommendation would be to try out the iPad Pro w/ a keyboard solution and see how it fits in your use cases. There's always the ability to return it. I personally opted to keep it until the newer Macs become stable. I rarely jump into new first gen of anything.