I Replaced My Mac With an iPad… and I Don’t Wanna Go Back!

Before I took up writing full-time, I used to make YouTube videos for a living. Along with scripting and shooting, making videos also involves editing — one of the most challenging aspects. Not only does video editing require an eye for detail but it also demands your work machine to be powerful. Owing to this, I bought a capable gaming laptop with a high-end CPU and GPU. While it worked well, the biggest issue was its weight. I would have a hard time carrying the laptop in my backpack when traveling — simply because of its weight. Before I knew it, I ended up selling the laptop to buy a MacBook.

The main reason for getting a Mac at that time was its excellent performance in a small form factor — something that isn’t too common on the Windows side of things. That’s how a lifelong Windows user transitioned to macOS.

Fast forward to a few years later, I don’t edit videos anymore. And I travel more often. So, at this point, my rather compact 14-inch MacBook Pro has also become a liability in terms of size and weight.

So, I thought of going lighter. I switched to an iPad and ditched my Mac for a week. And boy was I surprised. I initially expected to miss certain aspects of my Mac but after a week — I think it’s time to sell my MacBook. If you too — like me — are planning to jump ship, here’s everything you need to know about using an iPad as your main computer.

Why I Switched to an iPad

Apart from the aforementioned reason, I was always intrigued by Apple’s positioning of the iPad. They tout it as a computer that can replace a PC or laptop in some scenarios. This was only strengthened by the fact that the latest iPad Pros run on the same processors as MacBook Airs. While the hardware is certainly there to be able to do that, I always found the iPadOS lacking in several departments.

Which iPad Did I Get?

As a hardcore tech enthusiast, it’s unfair to comment on a piece of tech without actually getting my hands on it. And so, I bought an 11-inch iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard attachment. If you’re wondering, the 12.9-inch variant didn’t make sense to me since I specifically wanted something smaller and lighter. The entire combo cost me $1,098 + tax which is lower than my $2,000 MacBook Pro.

If you’re a student, you can further bring the cost down by up to 10%. Moreover, Logitech makes its version of the Magic Keyboard — Logitech Combo Touch — which retails for a fraction of the price of Apple’s own keyboard case.

Effectively, you can get an iPad Pro + keyboard for around $800 which is a fantastic deal. Moreover, switching the iPad Pro for an iPad Air will shave off a few extra dollars without compromising on too many features. The point I’m trying to make is that you can get a mini laptop-like setup for less than the cost of an entry-level MacBook.

The primary reason why I got the iPad Pro was the smooth 120Hz display. Given the iPad was going to be my new content consumption (and part-time gaming) device, I wanted the best screen to watch my favorite shows and movies. If you opt for the 12.9-inch variant, you even get the luxury of a mini-LED display with punchier colors and deeper blacks.

What Kind of Work Do I Do?

One of the major challenges before switching to an iPad is trying to understand your workflow and if the same type of work can be achieved on an iPad. Let me give you a brief of what type of work I do daily and what I use my Mac for. Then, I will draw parallels with the iPad and explain whether I could achieve the same results using the iPad. This way, you too can decipher how well the iPad can fit into your workflow.

Here’s what a typical workday looks like: wake up in the morning and go through tech trends, look for topics to write about, write an article, and then edit a few articles written by my colleagues. In simple words, I type all day for a living.

What Apps Do I Use?

To execute all the tasks I mentioned above and to do everything I do on my Mac, here are all the apps and programs I use –

• Google Chrome
• Basecamp
• Slack
• Google Keep
• YouTube
• WhatsApp
• FaceTime
• X/Twitter

Was the iPad Able to Do All the Work I Do on My Mac?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. All the apps I mentioned above are available to download on the iPad via the App Store or are available as web apps via a browser like Chrome/Safari. WhatsApp, for example, doesn’t have an iPad app. But, I could easily use WhatsApp Web on a browser tab.

Other apps like Chrome and YouTube simply behave like desktop apps on the iPad. This makes the migration extremely simple since you’re already familiar with the layout. We use WordPress to publish articles on the website. So, all I had to do was fire up Chrome, head to WordPress, and start typing — just the way I would on my Mac.

Although there is a learning curve in terms of navigation, it wasn’t too difficult to get over. Don’t get me wrong, most of the Mac’s trackpad gestures are carried over to the iPad when using the Magic Keyboard. But, I often found myself using the touchscreen of the iPad just because I found it more intuitive.

Owing to this, I was left confused a couple of times. I used to perform touchscreen gestures on the trackpad or vice-versa. At times, I ended up closing an app instead of going to the multitasking tray. But, these are teething issues that you can expect to get over in a few days.

Can the iPad Multitask?

Lots of times, I reference other articles, YouTube videos, or my notes when writing an article. I do so by running a small instance of the app on my screen while I keep writing on Chrome. Initially, I thought this was going to be difficult on the iPad. But, to my surprise, the multitasking features aren’t that bad.

Of course, you cannot open any number of instances of an app like you can on macOS. But, you can run two apps side-by-side and a third one too as a floating window.

I found this floating window feature to be quite helpful. I could bring up my notes app quickly by swiping from the right edge, and then tuck it behind when I’m done glancing at it. I liked the idea so much that I wish a feature like this existed on my Mac every time I use it. YouTube also supports picture-in-picture so that’s helpful. Stage Manager is another new addition to iPads and Macs that aims to improve multitasking. But in all honesty, I found it to be too cluttered and clunky to use it regularly.

How Is the Typing Experience?

I would be lying if I said my fingers got accustomed to the iPad’s magic Keyboard instantly. The keyboard for the 11-inch iPad is obviously much smaller than my Mac’s full-fledged keyboard spread across a larger area. Owing to this, my first few articles had a lot of typos. I had to go on a Grammarly correction spree that night before submitting my article to my editor. Or else, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to write this article.

The main issue I observed was concerning the ‘A’ and ‘S’ keys. I’m a touch typist so my pinky finger naturally rests on the ‘A’ key. But, due to the slightly odd layout of the Magic Keyboard, I found myself hitting the ‘S’ key 6/10 times while trying to hit ‘A’. That was quite annoying since I would then have to hit backspace to erase the word and then type it again. At the end of the first week of this experiment, this number came down to about 2/10 times. So yes, it does get better with time.

Magic Keyboard vs MacBook Keyboard

Undoubtedly, typing on my Mac is a much more comfortable experience. The keyboard is spaced out better, the function keys are helpful to control volume and brightness levels, and there’s ample space next to the trackpad to rest my palms when I’m typing. That’s not to say the Magic Keyboard is bad. In fact, it’s much better than I expected. The key travel is amazing for a keyboard this size. I love the backlighting since I type a lot in the dark. And it’s super-thin to complement the iPad’s thinness.

Notably, the Magic Keyboard is surprisingly heavy for its size and thickness. It ends up adding a considerable amount of weight to the iPad. It’s understandable given the back of the iPad doesn’t have any support so it’s held down by its weight.

Logitech’s keyboard is lighter if you’re wondering. The trackpad is also much smaller than the one on my Mac so it’s slightly harder to perform gestures. But, these are compromises you voluntarily sign up for when you’re switching to a smaller form factor.

As someone who types for a living, I can easily get adjusted to the Magic Keyboard in a few days. So, if you’re a student, you should be able to do your homework, type documents, and browse the web with ease.

What Can’t the iPad Do?

Of course, everything isn’t rosy when you switch to a device that’s not truly a computer but more like a makeshift one. For starters, I miss the wide array of ports on my Mac. My 14-inch MacBook Pro has three USB-C ports, an HDMI port for display-out, and an SD card reader.

I take a lot of photos with my camera so the SD card reader is rather useful. With the iPad, I’ll have to purchase a separate dongle. Moreover, the iPad — by default — only has a single USB-C port. The Magic Keyboard does add another one but it’s extremely slow to charge the iPad.

An important thing to note is however advanced iPadOS has become over the years, it’s still a fork of iOS — a mobile operating system. As a result, you won’t be able to sideload apps, access the terminal, or truly multitask the way you would on a Mac.

In fact, several apps would perform better on macOS compared to the iPad version of the same app. That’s simply because a desktop app can utilize a lot more resources and hence, provide more functionality.

What Are You Missing Out on?

A great example of this is Final Cut Pro. You can now edit videos on an iPad using Apple’s FCP app but the iPad version is limiting in a lot of ways compared to the full-fledged Mac version. Enthusiasts would also miss out on some edge cases like software to unlock the bootloader of phones, or a flash tool to install firmware on some devices.

I have a 3D printer and the slicing software is only available on Windows/Mac. Not to forget, games from Steam will work on a Mac but not on an iPad. You can still play games from Apple Arcade on the iPad, though.

There is a bit of a workaround for these tasks which is to use a remote desktop connection if you happen to have a Windows PC or a Mac at home. You can keep that computer running all the time and access it remotely using the iPad to perform some tasks. But, this is more of what we Indians like to call a jugaad than a practical solution.

Miscellaneous Features

I didn’t talk about day-to-day aspects a lot because I wanted to focus primarily on the ‘work’ aspect of the iPad. But for those of you who are concerned, the displays on both my Mac and iPad are superb. There’s very little to tell them apart so I love consuming content on both of them.

As for the speakers, the MacBook is just unmatched. But I don’t really care about this since I mostly watch media with my headphones on. The iPad hits right back with better battery life though.

This is in comparison to my MacBook Pro 14. A MacBook Air would give you better battery life than the iPad. Another advantage — if you care about it — is the iPad has cameras on both the front and rear. Both of them are of better quality compared to my Mac’s camera.

Should You Replace Your Mac With an iPad?

For me, the biggest advantage of switching to an iPad is my backpack feels much lighter. My shoulders don’t feel stressed while traveling anymore. Plus, it’s also easier to use an iPad on an airplane’s tray table compared to a Mac. Sometimes, I head to a coffee shop to work and with an iPad, I can simply carry it in my hand and leave my backpack behind — something I can’t do with my Mac. These are all welcome changes.

I’m also missing out on a few things like better multitasking, a more polished OS, and some niche use cases like installing a third-party app that’s only compatible with Windows/Mac. However, I’m gaining more than I’m missing out on by switching to an iPad. The convenience outweighs the drawbacks which allows me to switch to an iPad as my everyday work machine. The fact that I also have a Windows PC at home that I can use for edge cases further helps the cause.

But, like most people, if you’re only going to have one computer, a Mac or a Windows PC is still the more practical option. If your workflow aligns with mine, you won’t have any issues with the iPad. In fact, you’ll love the seamless experience.

Anything more than that though — like programming, gaming, or video editing — and you might feel the iPad is a bit limiting. As for me — I’m headed to list my Mac on a marketplace — hoping I can recover the money I spent on the iPad.