Can iPad replace my Mac?
Yes, maybe, probably… It depends, is probably the best answer.
BACKGROUND
I am a long time Mac user, but I’ve been an iPad lover as long as it’s been possible. No other product announcement has captured me like when the original iPad was announced. I was a college student at the time and the idea that one small, thin and light device could potentially replace my laptop was an amazing proposition. And of course, I purchase the very first iPad. I LOVED it, but it definitely could not replace my computer. Not even close. I used the hell out of that iPad, and even year I upgraded. When the mini came out, I remember thinking that maybe the iPad isn’t supposed to replace my computer it’s supposed to supplement it. So the mini became my go to iPad for quite a few years.
Soon Apple would update the iPad and, yes, I would upgrade, but the excitement had left, both from Apple’s attempts and in turn my own excitement about the product. It was almost as if they had refused their energy away from the iPad. My initial dream of having an iPad to replace my laptop faded into the past.
I felt those feelings of excitement return when Apple stated using the “pro” moniker to describe their new line of iPads. I got my hopes up. While I was completely disappointed, I also still felt like Apple only committed partially. In 2018 I upgraded to the 12 inch iPad Pro. Since then I would say for the first time the iPad has become my main computer. About 90% of the work that I do, I have figured out a way to make work on my iPad. There are even some stand out uses that I find better than my Mac, but ever since there have been a few critical reasons why I needed to keep the Mac around.
Now we jump into today. Apple has not only released a new iPad (which I do not have yet), but they have completely changed their stances on multiple issues, which makes today’s iPad more of an iPad than ever. A few of these things came out during the last update, but for me it’s the culmination of these things that matter.
WHAT DO I LOVE
iPad now has a real, usable file system. At least most of the time it is usable. I do have a few drives that no matter what I do they do not work with the iPad what so ever, which is extremely frustrating because they are my long term back up drives. All my more modern solid state drives work quickly and simply.
iPad is now how I edit almost all of my photos. This is really credit to Adobe and not to Apple, but having Lightroom and Photoshop directly on my iPad has been a game changed for some of my creative work. I love the ability to use the pencil to touch the exact parts of the photo that I am trying to adjust.
iPad now has mouse support. I like it, most of the time. Some of the apps I use often do not work like a mouse should work, looking at you adobe… But it is much better than the previous accessibility iteration that Apple did last time. I do struggle to decide when it makes the most sense to use the mouse or track pad vs touching the screen. I think it most likely has to do with my own muscle memory and how I am used to using an iPad. I like that it’s an option, but I am not convinced I need or want it yet…
All day battery life.
Amazing screen.
It’s the perfect size.
SO WHY DO I STILL HAVE MY MAC?
Two main reasons. Final Cut Pro and Keynote.
I have two workflows in my life, that no matter how hard I try, I can not do them without my Mac. The first is video editing. I have tried it all. Vllo and lumafusion can both work in a pinch, but to be honest the work flow with both of them feel clunky and slow. They are usable and workable, but I think anyone would one hard pressed to edit a video as well and as quickly in any of those programs as they would in final cut. It’s really the best piece of software that Apple has ever created. It would be nearly impossible for me to give it up.
The second reason is strange and definitely a user specific reason. I am a pastor and I speak weekly on Sunday. I run my slides through keynote on my Mac and control them with my iPhone. I can run keynote on my iPad, but there is currently no way to control the slide on an iPad through a phone. Seems like an overbite to me, and hopefully someone at Apple will realize this over site soon. I will say that this is a very specific use case, so completely ignore this section if it does not apply to you.
So where does that leave us? I am sure there are a few other use cases that would get in the way for people tryin to use an iPad to replace their Mac other than the two that I listed, but I have not run into them. So if you don’t need to control your keynote slide with your phone and you are not a dedicated Final Cut Pro user, then the iPad may be the only computer you need. For me it’s the only computer I need about 90% of the time. I have since stopped bringing my MacBook Pro with me every day. I just pack my iPad Pro. Do I wish I didn’t have to own a Mac, or that I could just have an iMac at home? Absolutely. That is the dream. In the meantime I’ll use my Mac a few times a week and my iPad every single day.
A video version of this article will be up on my youtube channel shortly. If you’d like more content like this please jump over there and subscribe.
