ipadOS 26 makes me more productive than MacOS 26. Does anybody else feel the same?

[Mrbiggestman]

IpadOS 26 has made me way more productive than MacOS and windows combined. I feel like everything is way less of a distraction on ipadOS while MacOS is filled with UI bounce and genie animations plus ipadOS 26 has the small quality of life updates that has just made the ipad better as a productivity tool to MacOS.

It feels weird for me to say because it should be the other way around. Does anybody else feel this? Feel free to disagree, I’m open to debates.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

YMMV.

It’s still a tablet OS and it won’t fully replace a proper desktop OS for me.

That said, it’s a lot more useful now than it was before.

 

[Mrbiggestman]

YMMV.

It’s still a tablet OS and it won’t fully replace a proper desktop OS for me.

That said, it’s a lot more useful now than it was before.

yeah, if you have desktop apps that you have that cannot be installed on ipad, then stick to Mac.

For me Most of apps on my Mac i can download on my ipad plus the OS now is capable enough for me to do the work i want it to do. So now I’ve fully replaced laptop and going all in on ipad. I’m only using a Mac to bring up the Metal HUD along with playing some games that I can’t play on my ipad.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

yeah, if you have desktop apps that you have that cannot be installed on ipad, then stick to Mac.

For me Most of apps on my Mac i can download on my ipad plus the OS now is capable enough for me to do the work i want it to do. So now I’ve fully replaced laptop and going all in on ipad. I’m only using a Mac to bring up the Metal HUD along with playing some games that I can’t play on my ipad.

It's not just the desktop apps. Working with files is still a lot faster and more convenient on the desktop. Especially if I have to move them around or synchronize folders.

Also there's the form factor and cost. I prefer an 11" iPad Pro for portability, but it is rather small to replace a "proper" laptop full time. If I get a 13" Pro and add Magic Keyboard, it's going to be about as portable as my Air, probably more expensive, and still limited. Apple has the hardware specs to turn iPad into a proper laptop replacement, but they won't cannibalize their own laptop sales, so iPadOS remains pretty limited. Just a little less limited than it used to be.

 

[Mrbiggestman]

It's not just the desktop apps. Working with files is still a lot faster and more convenient on the desktop. Especially if I have to move them around or synchronize folders.

Idk, they look so similar, I think the touch display and the simplification of the files apps might just give it the edge.

Also there's the form factor and cost. I prefer an 11" iPad Pro for portability, but it is rather small to replace a "proper" laptop full time. If I get a 13" Pro and add Magic Keyboard, it's going to be about as portable as my Air, probably more expensive, and still limited. Apple has the hardware specs to turn iPad into a proper laptop replacement, but they won't cannibalize their own laptop sales, so iPadOS remains pretty limited. Just a little less limited than it used to be.

Well here’s your problem, your paying a Magic keyboard which is way to expensive because of the brand. you could go for logitech, ESR or any third keyboard brand.

I mean even I bought a magic keyboard esq case (inateck brand keyboard case) for my ipad A16 which just sticks magnetically to the back and its like £50 and it works fine with a few issues which can be easily fixed. Is it going to be as good as the magic keyboard case apple offers? no not really. but its better than spending £200+ on just a keyboard case.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Idk, they look so similar, I think the touch display and the simplification of the files apps might just give it the edge.

They may look similar but they don't work similarly. Syncronizing files in two separate locations is still a chore on iPad. Copying or moving them takes longer too.

Well here’s your problem, your paying a Magic keyboard which is way to expensive because of the brand. you could go for logitech, ESR or any third keyboard brand.

It won't provide the same experience, though. Logitech comes close but it's still $160 give or take.

A 8Gb RAM / 512Gb 13" M4 iPad Pro is $1,350+$160 for Logitech kb = #1,510.
A 512 16Gb RAM / 512 Gb SSD M4 MacBook Air is $1,073. And it has Apple keyboard and trackpad, and more memory.

Throw in the Magic Keyboard instead of Logi, and the difference is even more.

I mean even I bought a magic keyboard esq case (inateck brand keyboard case) for my ipad A16 which just sticks magnetically to the back and its like £50 and it works fine with a few issues which can be easily fixed. Is it going to be as good as the magic keyboard case apple offers? no not really. but its better than spending £200+ on just a keyboard case.

You could also buy a cheap Android tablet and save money. Is it going to be as good as an iPad? No, not really...

I mean, everyone's different. If an iPad replaces a proper laptop for you, that's great. But for me, it's not yet there in performance, and then there's cost on top of it if I want to get a similar experience.