Is it worth it to own a Macbook AND an iPad?

[akimoriRyuuji]

I did a cursory search before posting this, but I did not see anything recent.
I'm a bit late to the game, but I've never owned an iPad before. And until recently, neither a Macbook or any Apple device. It's been a year now since I got my Macbook Air and I'm loving it.

Sometimes, however, I can see myself enjoying an iPad for some tasks I do on my laptop. Such as watching videos/anime, reading books and manga, etc.
Furthermore, I'm aware that there are numerous applications available for the iPad which may even exceed the amount of applications available to me on my Mac. And it might even be fun to use an iPad.

Albeit, it's purely speculation on my behalf. Because I really don't know what it's like to own an iPad and use the iOS ecosystem.

So, first, I ask, What's it like to own an iPad; what applications do you like to use (particularly ones you enjoy that you can't do anything on your other computing devices) on your iPad, what's better about the iPad experience compared to any other devices you use?

Second, if you own a laptop (particularly the Macbook Air), do you find there any worthwhile reason to own both a Macbook and an iPad?

I'm interested in the iPad Mini 2 (as the 3 isn't that much of an upgrade).

 

[silverblack]

Most definitely yes.
The mini is best for those that are using it on-the-go. I much prefer the Air when I am using my iPad while sitting down at home or at office, especially for movies and web browsing.

 

[IrishVixen]

I've just finished using a Mini and then a Mini 2 for a little over two years. The Mini is terrific for books, OK for surfing and video, less than ideal for graphic novels/manga/comic books/PDFs with drawings, and really less than ideal for anything photography based due to the reduced color range it can display. Its real strength (and it's a big one!) is how portable it is; you get used to having to always zoom in to see things as a trade off for being able to take it just about anywhere easily.

I'm now on an Air 2. By comparison, the portability is mediocre, though better than previous generations. This thing is only pocketable if you're wearing cargo pants. But here's the thing: in the two weeks I've had it, I haven't had to zoom in once to read anything. As much as I adored the Mini, having the bigger screen now makes me even more aware of the tradeoffs I made all the time in using it. That doesn't make the Mini a bad device, but it is something to think about ahead of time.

Can't really say if it's worth it or not if you already own a laptop--around here, you'll find a pretty good mix of people ranging from those who have made the iPad into a laptop replacement to those who have an iPhone, an iPad, and a Mac and use them all, to those who bought an iPad and eventually sold it because they found it useless. Really depends on how you like using it and what you're using it for.

 

[Devyn89]

I have a MacBook Air and an iPad Air 2. I love and use both of them, I love reading books (particularly manga) on my iPad and find the experience way better on the iPad than on my mac. I also love browsing the web more on iPad, it's just more fun. Video is also great for times when I don't want to watch my tv. There was a point where I thought about selling the air 2 because it's certainly not a need, but I decided against it after I took it on vacation for a weekend instead of my MacBook Air and found it a great travel companion. I also find myself reaching for it instead of my MacBook Air at home usually unless I need to work with files specifically (or the iPad battery dies). I'm not too much of an app person so I can't really share my experience there, though I imagine with the hundreds of thousands of iPad apps there's something that'll interest you.

 

[CellXor10]

I've had a MacBook Pro for 3 years or so and just got my first iPad a month ago (to the day even!) with the iPad Air 2. Also have an iPhone 6, just to throw that out there, I'm guessing most here have iPhone's but whatever... LOVE them both. I've found myself using my MacBook less- perhaps obviously- and spending a great deal of time on my iPad throughout the day. I by no means could phase out my MacBook in favor of entirely using an iPad, but the two are most definitely worth owning in my case.

 

[Codeseven]

I've owned the same MacBook Pro for 7yrs now, just got my first iPad (Air 1) to travel with. I'm just now realizing that I may not have ever needed an expensive high powered laptop to begin with. For my use, I don't use it for work, no intense software or video editing or the like and I'm not much of a gamer. So far the Air 1 has been a pleasant surprise. Nicely mobile (not anywhere near the heavy and bulky mass of my MBP), capable of doing the things I've always used a laptop for, i.e. internet surfing, mail, guitar amp modeling and recording software. I liked knowing the MBP had seemingly tons of power in reserve (just in case, I guess), I just don't think I ever maxed it's capabilities out. Your usage/demands could be totally different.

Now I'm thinking of ditching laptops all together in favor of the upcoming iPad Pro because it's sounding more and more like a blend of both. That may or may not work for you though.

 

[s2mikey]

I used to have both and ended up selling the MB. My Air suffices for consumption and games. Bought a cheaper windows Laptop for the times I needed a real computer per se. Eventually I could get a new MacBook and perhaps get away from having a tablet. If the laptops ever came with cellular support..... it'd be done already.

Portability isn't a huge deal. A light weight laptop is very "portable" to me.

Hmmmm.....

 

[akimoriRyuuji]

Thanks for your replies everyone!
I had no idea that the iPad could cover so many of your computing tasks, and it seems a fair amount of you found the experience more satisfactory on the iPad than a Macbook.

As for the mini vs full-size iPad, I guess that comes down to preference. But I will definitely take into account if the screen is too small for reading manga or browsing most websites I like to use.

Based on what I've read so far, I may very well buy one and try it out. There's a 14-day return policy at Best Buy so I can play it safe and if I don't like it, return it, or just keep it. I would only be getting the Mini, though, unless I find the screen too small. I happen to like my Macbook Air and I don't want to cut it out of my life in favor of a new toy. I still need it for stuff like programming and such, but it'll be nice to not have to disconnect it from my external monitor every time I want to go mobile. And I imagine it'll be much more comfortable to hold.

If you have any more iPad experiences you want to tell, don't hold back. This thread could be beneficial for other prospective iPad purchasers.

I'll let you know how things go once I get my next paycheck.
Thanks everyone thus far

 

[CellXor10]

I happen to like my Macbook Air and I don't want to cut it out of my life in favor of a new toy. I still need it for stuff like programming and such, but it'll be nice to not have to disconnect it from my external monitor every time I want to go mobile.

I hear ya, and like I mentioned in my previous post, I too have/had no desire to replace my MacBook Pro with my iPad. Sure, that could change over time and down the road, but don't be reluctant to get an iPad in fear of your MacBook Air losing it's worth. There's enough time in the day to play with both I know that you're not in this situation since you're sounding like you've settled on making the purchase, but just thought I'd mention it!

Can people use an iPad to shed themselves of a laptop? Yep. Is it inevitable that your laptop will start collecting dust/lose value/become obsolete/not get used/etc? Nope!

 

[case2001]

I have MacBook Air and IPad Air 2. I find each has their own uses. The MacBook Air can do it all. Great keyboard for data creation, nice screen, very fast, several ports and great battery life. The iPad is perfect for consumption. Reading in bed at night, surfing the web, highly portable, no moving parts, great battery life. I have a stylus for my iPad and I use it for note taking and PDF mark up as well. At this point, I operate paper free with the combination and due to the combined battery life I can go days without needing to recharge. Although, I usually recharge nightly.

So to answer your question yes it can be "worth it" to own both a MacBook and an iPad.

 

[0983275]

Yes and no.

I think it's worth it but it depends on which MacBook you have, how you like to carry around things and how you like to do things.

When I had a 11" MacBook Air, I thought having an iPad was pointless, the Air is light enough to carry around, but now that I have a 13" retina MacBook Pro, I can see the appeal in having an iPad.

 

[smooth]

Yes and no. My family and I are pretty entrenched in an Apple ecosystem. While not necessarily a laptop, I do need a computer. I currently have a MacBook but for my uses, it could be an iMac. My laptop serves as a media/iTunes/iPad hub. I download and stream TV shows from my laptop. My iTunes is also used for 2 iPhones and 3 iPads that I sync different albums, playlists and apps to.

One of the iPads is mine and I use it for just about everything else as it's my main device. If it weren't for the television or iDevices that are not mine, I wouldn't need my MacBook. I have banking, financial, church-related, news and sports apps as well a few games. I also use Calendar, Photos and iBooks quite a lot as my iPad serves as my planner, photo album and e-reader.

 

[capathy21]

I do think it is worth it to have both. I have a 13 MB Air that I use when I need to do a lot of typing or working with spreadsheets. My iPad Air 2 is used for casual browsing, reading, movie watching etc. I am very much looking forward to iOS9 and the true multitasking capabilities that the iPad has lacked since it was introduced. Simple things like being able to pull up a calculator beside a list of numbers and be able to calculate without double tapping on home button and going back and forth will drastically improve the productivity of my iPad. Up until this point I viewed my iPad as a huge iphone. But with iOS9, I should be able to do the majority of my stuff on my iPad.

 

[Rusty33]

An excellent thread. At one point I had both - a MBP (2010) and iPad (3rd gen). I ended up selling my iPad within a year. I purchased it primarily for reading/annotating PDFs (academic papers), and whilst good at the task, was too heavy and dimensions too awkward to really be comfortable to use for any extended period of time. By the time I also carted around a smart cover, a case, keyboard etc. (for the occasional writing session), I actually found it all a lot more cumbersome than the MBP. Years later, I must admit that I don't miss that iPad at all - it never found a comfortable place in my workflow. That is, until...

One evening I was visiting my parents, saw my sister's mini 1 on the counter. I picked it up and wow, was I impressed with its form factor. I felt that its size, portability and weight really hit the spot for my usage. The smaller screen was certainly a substantial tradeoff, but well worth it in my case. I 'borrowed' it for a few weeks, and found myself using it significantly more than I had ever used my 3rd gen. I was reading, writing, and doing all the things I had envisaged with the 3rd gen. Since returning the mini (she 'borrowed' it back), I have been seriously flirting with the idea of taking the plunge again. I suspect that I will be amongst the first to own the iPad mini 4 when/if it is released in Sept/Oct. Until then, the MBP will press on in all its glory!

Should I take the plunge, I must admit that I am not sure how i'll reconcile my ongoing issue with all the added bulky paraphernalia (a topic that is rarely canvassed in these threads). Being a cheaper 'mini' device, I may very well elect to boldly go where no self-respecting fanboy has gone before - sans a case). There goes the neighbourhood...

 

[mwhetnall]

I did a cursory search before posting this, but I did not see anything recent.
I'm a bit late to the game, but I've never owned an iPad before. And until recently, neither a Macbook or any Apple device. It's been a year now since I got my Macbook Air and I'm loving it.

Sometimes, however, I can see myself enjoying an iPad for some tasks I do on my laptop. Such as watching videos/anime, reading books and manga, etc.
Furthermore, I'm aware that there are numerous applications available for the iPad which may even exceed the amount of applications available to me on my Mac. And it might even be fun to use an iPad.

Albeit, it's purely speculation on my behalf. Because I really don't know what it's like to own an iPad and use the iOS ecosystem.

So, first, I ask, What's it like to own an iPad; what applications do you like to use (particularly ones you enjoy that you can't do anything on your other computing devices) on your iPad, what's better about the iPad experience compared to any other devices you use?

Second, if you own a laptop (particularly the Macbook Air), do you find there any worthwhile reason to own both a Macbook and an iPad?

I'm interested in the iPad Mini 2 (as the 3 isn't that much of an upgrade).

I have owned a MacBook Pro for years, and it's been good to me even now. I've been yearning though for something similar to the Surface Pro but made by Apple, and it looks like the iPad is as close as we'll get (although these iPad Pro rumors are interesting). As such, I took the plunge and got an iPad Air 2 and the Typo keyboard case to go with it. Yes, the keyboard case is overpriced but after putting it on, I'm trying to find more ways to not use my Macabook and use my iPad instead. I especially love the magnetic keyboard hat detaches and that it's BLE so it is energy efficient. Anyways, I also like that I can take my iPad anywhere and have a connection as I opted for the cellular version so I wouldn't have to tether for Internet. iOS 9 is what made my decision for me though. I took the plunge to buy the iPad after seeing the multitasking features offered to the Air 2, and they're as great as I'd hoped although long overdue. As long as I start to see third party support for multitasking once iOS 9 launches I'll be super pumped! There are limitations that'll probably never let me get away from my MacBook fully, but I'm fine with that. Oh, I amost forgot to mention that I use my iPad as a second portable retina display for my MacBook with an app called Air Display 3! Nice when you want multiple screens with you on the go!

 

[Zxxv]

I sold my iPad as I just didn't use it as I spend more time on my macbook air.

You sound bored with money burning a hole in your pocket.

 

[mwhetnall]

I sold my iPad as I just didn't use it as I spend more time on my macbook air.

You sound bored with money burning a hole in your pocket.

Not at all... Well, maybe a little bored, but ultimately I want the surface experience, which is the full OS in a portable touch screen interface and with a thin, detachable keyboard. My iPad is now as close to that as Apple will allow, at least until iOS 9 releases and then I jailbroken so I can run ifile again and use an external HDD. I will probably never go back to Windows outside of running it in a VM on my Mac, but I give Microsoft credit for the Surface as it's not as bad as Tim Cook would have you believe.

 

[Zxxv]

Not at all... Well, maybe a little bored, but ultimately I want the surface experience, which is the full OS in a portable touch screen interface and with a thin, detachable keyboard. My iPad is now as close to that as Apple will allow, at least until iOS 9 releases and then I jailbroken so I can run ifile again and use an external HDD. I will probably never go back to Windows outside of running it in a VM on my Mac, but I give Microsoft credit for the Surface as it's not as bad as Tim Cook would have you believe.

I was replying to the OP

 

[nj-morris]

I use an iPad as my daily driver. Don't have a Mac or any PC. I have an iPod Touch which I don't use much, and a BlackBerry Z10 which I only use for phone calls. I have never really wanted a laptop. However, I did borrow a MacBook Air for a week, and while it was much better than I thought it would be, and it was nice to have some of the things that I couldn't have on the iPad, I still prefer iOS. However, I still feel like the iPad has the potential to reach the level of the MacBook. I've had iOS 9 for a day, and it is a lot better, but I want them to take it further. I'm not asking for OS X and Intel processors, I just want them to make that final step.

 

[mwhetnall]

I've been running iOS 9 since it released on beta on my air 2 and I love it. The native iCloud app is nice to have so I can access my files without going through the share sheet of another app, split view is awesome (although it is in desperate need for third party support and the ability to enable/disable which apps present themselves when you slide over), the picture in picture option I tried just last night and I really like it more than I thought I would, and the two-finger cursor option for the onscreen keyboard makes me feel like I *almost* have trackpad support. The most recent update to allow 4x4 folder icons in the folders is nice but not a deal breaker either way. I agree with wanting iOS 9 to go even further though. I really wanna go to a tablet only but I'm still just a little bit too limited on the iPad to do that just yet.

 

[Abazigal]

I have both an iPad and macbook air and while there is definitely some overlap, I use them each for different tasks by and large.

Granted, I am a teacher who uses the iPad to teach in the classroom. But at home, my iPad is my sofa-device of choice. I listen to music and podcasts, and game on it (and prefer it to my iPhone because of the longer battery life).

My macbook is more my traditional workhorse computer where I get my job done.

 

[Rusty33]

the two-finger cursor option for the onscreen keyboard makes me feel like I *almost* have trackpad support.

This is actually the single feature that excites me the most about iOS 9, and is certainly a driving force behind my wanting to give the iPad another chance...

Can you elaborate upon why you say *almost*??

Thanks!

 

[perezr10]

Akimori - This doesn't answer your question directly but might help you see alternative uses.

http://www.perezonomics.com/1/post/2015/07/the-ipad-pro-has-two-big-problems.html

 

[akimoriRyuuji]

I sold my iPad as I just didn't use it as I spend more time on my macbook air.

You sound bored with money burning a hole in your pocket.

Not quite. I want to reward myself just as encouragement to keep up the good work. And I have wanted to get one for a while. I just didn't know if it would be that great. But more and more, I'm seeing use cases where it very well would be.

 

[Trickhot3102]

I did a cursory search before posting this, but I did not see anything recent.
I'm a bit late to the game, but I've never owned an iPad before. And until recently, neither a Macbook or any Apple device. It's been a year now since I got my Macbook Air and I'm loving it.

Sometimes, however, I can see myself enjoying an iPad for some tasks I do on my laptop. Such as watching videos/anime, reading books and manga, etc.
Furthermore, I'm aware that there are numerous applications available for the iPad which may even exceed the amount of applications available to me on my Mac. And it might even be fun to use an iPad.

Albeit, it's purely speculation on my behalf. Because I really don't know what it's like to own an iPad and use the iOS ecosystem.

So, first, I ask, What's it like to own an iPad; what applications do you like to use (particularly ones you enjoy that you can't do anything on your other computing devices) on your iPad, what's better about the iPad experience compared to any other devices you use?

Second, if you own a laptop (particularly the Macbook Air), do you find there any worthwhile reason to own both a Macbook and an iPad?

I'm interested in the iPad Mini 2 (as the 3 isn't that much of an upgrade).

It really depends on your use for each. I thought about the same thing. I thought about getting an iMac, but I realized that I don't have a need for one with the iPad! The iPad does everything at I would do on a Mac, but in my hands while sitting on the couch!