Thinking of the iPad redux

Back in 2019, I mused about whether the iPad was a viable replacement for my Mac. Back then I concluded it wasn’t, but it would do 80% of what I needed day-to-day. Four years on, what’s the state of play?

When I asked that, I was using the iPad mini 4, a 7” device, along with a Logitech keyboard. I’m now using a 10” iPad Air 4 with a Logitech Keyboard with an integrated trackpad. I also have an Apple Pencil 2. So this comparison is with a faster device with a bigger screen and a selection on non-touch pointing devices. iPadOS has moved on significantly since I last looked, and it’s fair to say that there has been a degree of alignment between macOS and iPadOS so the look and feel isn’t that different overall.

I’m already using the iPad for work - with authentication and the Microsoft iPad compatible apps (Office, Outlook, Teams), it’s a very viable work device. Yes, it’s still a bit behind the experience and flexibility of the Mac or the Windows PC, but the gap is significantly closer. I could certainly travel with this and not miss the laptop.

I’ve also got access to apps like Scrivener which are cross platform and perfect for writing long-form for non-work activities.

The Affinity suite is impressive; these are desktop grade apps. I don’t think I’d consider doing something major with them, but I could. I’ve already retouched a few photos and experimented with Designer. Publisher will be interesting when I have a project going (which I hope to soon). My main hesitancy in using them for something major is that my MacBook is a lot faster (MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro versus an A14 chip), and has a bigger screen. It’s better built for heavy lifting. But I could do a book’s layout on the iPad now, which is a world of difference to 2019.

The Pencil is useful for precision work, and the handwriting recognition is very good. The touchpad is brilliantly done; it moves like you’d expect, but whenever it crosses a touch target, it highlights subtly. 

The Files app now feels like a desktop experience for accessing files; sometimes a bit clunky, but very much a decent interface and experience.

All the barriers have gone. 

So to my question, could I replace my Mac with an iPad? The answer is now a conditional ‘yes’. There would be some compromises, but the state of the art has moved. I think the iPad can easily do 90% of what a Mac can. However, there are some power apps and flexibility it can’t do. I suspect that the convergence will continue over time (especially as the M-series Macs can run iPad apps). 

2 January 2023