Can I replace my Macbook Air with an Ipad Pro? Or is it still too soon?

June 8, 2017 6:25 AM

My ancient Macbook Air is dying and I am ready to replace it. I would love to do so with the newest Ipad Pro (the 12.9 inch) plus a keyboard and case. I am leaning toward thinking it's too soon, but I only upgrade about every 5-8 years, so if it will be 99% workable now for my needs, I'm okay with a bit of early discomfort if it's likely it will get better within a few months.

I've read this previously, which doesn't echo my usage needs, this article, which makes it seem doable, and this one which points toward not yet ideal for the larger screen, but that's partly because it was just introduced - is it safe to assume that components to go with it will certainly be available by the fall when iOS 11 comes out? Speaking of which, can I trust the hype that iOS11 will make the iPad perform more like a laptop, and that it will actually come out in the fall?

What I need:
A lightweight machine (I travel a lot), a fairly large screen, a keyboard that feels like a computer and not a toy, the ability to type with it on my lap (don't always have a desk / table available), MS Office (particularly Word). I don't do heavy duty photoshopping, but I do do a fair amount of image manipulation, sound editing, and occasional film editing (mostly in iMovie). I also still burn DVDs and CDs occasionally - I have a superdrive, but don't know if it's compatible with iOS? I'm also not yet at the phase where I'm comfortable with wireless headphones, but if that's going to be my only option if I stick with Apple no matter what, it's not a huge dealbreaker the way the other things would be (if adding a sturdier keyboard/case adds makes it heavier than an Air, or if I can't use it without a table, then it's a no go). I already have an iPad (also fairly ancient), but I use my laptop for almost everything - I don't want to miss its functionality, but I love the idea of having a laptop with a touch screen instead of a trackpad, and a removable keyboard for when I don't need one. My instinct would be to wait a few more months, but my laptop is dying rapidly.

Thanks!

posted by Mchelly to Technology (14 answers total)

Best answer: pretty sure you can't burn CDs/DVDs from an iPad.

tablets also seem to require you use some sort of cloud document/imaging solution (office365, google, dropbox) for file handling. you can't just plug in an external drive.
posted by noloveforned at 6:43 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This Wirecutter article about iPad keyboard cases makes it sound like it's hard to get a good typing experience on your lap—most cases give you a poor viewing angle, and the ones that don't either wobble or tip backward. The one keyboard case that is described as comfortable on the lap is $30, so the keyboard is probably going to feel more like a toy than a computer.
posted by ejs at 6:52 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: Your best (only?) option for a good keyboard on a iPad is a bluetooth keyboard not specifically designed for the iPad. I am just not convinced that any of the keyboard cases are any good. Of course, that makes working in your lap pretty challenging. Given what you use your computer for (photo, video, and sound editing), I am skeptical that you will find the iPad a satisfying experience. Things are getting better for content creation on tablets, but I still pretty firmly thing that tablets are much better for consuming content than creating it. If I were in your situation, I would probably opt for a traditional laptop.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:24 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: There is iMovie for iOS, but it is limited compared to the macOS version.

iPads (and Macs) still have headphone jacks.
posted by zsazsa at 7:45 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: You can't do what you need to do on an iPad. Photoshop doesn't run on an iPad. Not sure what you're using to edit sound, but Adobe Audition doesn't run on an iPad. You can't burn CDs or DVDs from an iPad.

You don't have a true file system on an iPad so you'll probably be annoyed when you're trying to deal with files.

You can't trust Apple to make devices more professionally suited as time goes on, so I wouldn't trust that Apple will make the iPad perform more like a laptop. For example, Apple has no real pro desktop option, made Final Cut a non-professional piece of software, etc, etc.

As I see it there are two classes of computer users, consumers and creators. The iPad is for consumers. You're a creator and need a computer with a full operating system.

PS: When the drive fails in an Air it's basically impossible to recover data, so make sure you've got a good backup if your laptop is dying. (I used to work as a tech in an Apple licensed repair shop.)

PPS: You should really check out the Microsoft Surface & Surfacebook. They're super premium feeling products, they have detachable keyboards, have touchscreens, and hit all the features you talk about. Microsoft has really out Appled Apple.
posted by gregr at 8:00 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I don't think you'll be happy typing on your lap with an iPad. That's a use case that really, really calls for a traditional laptop of some kind, and that's probably your answer right there, even if there weren't other red flags w/r/t the iPad option in your specs (burning DVDs, image & film editing, etc.).
posted by uberchet at 8:40 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: I'm a huge iPad-as-primary-computing-device advocate -- I will never buy another laptop for myself, personally -- but for your needs and wants, it doesn't sound like it will be a good fit. Go with a laptop.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:18 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I agree that the ipad probably isn't your best option.

I say this as someone who does use an ipad pro as my daily driver. It does make an excellent device for accessing terminals & web apps. I spend a large chunk of the day logged into other machines (prompt2 is nice, blink is my current favourite for mosh support) or interacting with jupyter notebooks (safari is safari) so my local needs don't tend to be huge.

That being said I do a little work with photos and pixelmator handles a lot of what I need. I do take a fair amount of footage with a gopro underwater (photos will import the footage using a lightning ssdcard reader) and that requires being able to split large clips into interesting ones. iMovie does that for me and google photos (I am ok with compression for this) handles my upload and storage.

I do use the smart keyboard most of the time. It's decently lappable (though not quite as reliable as the keyboard on my abandoned macbook air) is, frankly, the best typing option I've ever had on an airplane and is small enough, light enough and unobtrusive enough that it's the smart cover I keep on the device all the time. And I don't leave the house without the ipad and kb in my bag.

Excel and word are good enough on the ipad for a lot of things. The still dont, though, format things quite the same as their newest desktop equivalents. I tend to use google sheets most (for their ability to refer to other spreadsheets and query them with a limited SQL subset) but the web interface is.... not great without a mouse and the native app (Sheets) is..... not awesome. I use Numbers a lot for recording field data.

Frankly I've been able to use an ipad for the vast majority of the work that I do, but that's facilitated by having descent internet access, cheap and serviceable virtual machines (thanks digitalocean) & cheap cloud storage options (thanks google photos and Backblaze B2) to do a lot of the heavy lifting. In the last year and a halfish I've made moves to reduce my reliance on any local physical machinery which works for me. There are a few things that require me to have more physical interop and those i've largely delegated to a raspberry pi zero W. I run it headless, it's set to automatically connect to my phone's wifi hotspot and functions was a small battery powered linux device that interfaces to most things. My portable office supply looks something like this.

To repeat - there's a lot that can be done with an ipad. WWDC is on this week and announcements regarding iOS 11 iPad enhancements are going to make my life better. That being said there are definitely gaps and filling those are likely going to require skills (or tradeoffs) most people won't be happy with.
posted by mce at 9:21 AM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]

Ugh - that was dumb. I move the photo and the album link isn't the same. Try this instead.
posted by mce at 9:30 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: FWIW, I was in a position where I was using an iPad + keyboard as a laptop alternative for a while. I had no technical reason why this was unworkable--no special hardware or software requirements--I was mostly using it to take plain-text notes, access calendars and the web.

I wound up getting a MacBook Pro and relegating the iPad to the living room (and getting rid of my desktop Mac). I found there was just more friction in accomplishing even the relatively simple tasks I was trying to accomplish. The need to use the touchscreen for some stuff while using a hardware keyboard is un-ergonomic. Multitasking has improved considerably on iOS since then, but I'd still be hesitant on that basis alone.
posted by adamrice at 10:23 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: I am an active amateur photographer that shoots completely in RAW and am a Mac guy. I am also about to retire, sell 98% of what I own, and go nomad, either RV or Airbnb. I feel your pain. The iPad is not the answer for long-term travel. My current solution for short-term trips (3-4 weeks) is to backup my photos to a Photo Storage Device (PSD) that has WiFI capability and then pull a small portion onto the iPad that I travel with via a custom app. Edit in LR and or Photoshop for mobile devices and distribute.

For my upcoming nomadic lifestyle I have two choices. I have 2 requirements: 1) a tablet for lifestyle reasons and 2) the ability to store and manipulate lots of photos. I have determined that in the Mac ecosystem that means an iPad & a laptop (and no, the iPad Pro doesn't cut it for storage/file handling reasons). If I'm not carrying 100% of my belongings in a suitcase (ie: I'm going the RV route) that's OK. If I need to take weight into consideration I'm looking hard at the Microsoft Surface Book. It's a laptop that becomes a true tablet when needed with lots of graphics horsepower and seems to meet my requirements. I am fortunate enough to be in a position to try one for a few months, so I'll check it out.

Neither of these options is cheap, but I've been working my entire life to do this so I plan on doing it right.
posted by jeporter99 at 10:48 AM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: I had an iPad pro and it frustrated me to have to always push the home button to switch between apps. It felt like I had to relaunch an app anytime I wanted to use it. It's so much easier and faster to tab between apps on a regular laptop. I traded it in for a MacBook Air.
posted by bendy at 12:10 PM on June 8, 2017

Best answer: Just a quick note that many previous expectations are going to be upended by iOS 11 on the iPad Pro. Specifically, I believe that these issues are substantially different in iOS 11:

> tablets also seem to require you use some sort of cloud document/imaging solution (office365, google, dropbox) for file handling.

There's now a "Files" app, which is Finder by another name.

> it frustrated me to have to always push the home button to switch between apps. It felt like I had to relaunch an app anytime I wanted to use it.

There are now workspaces for much better multitasking management.

But as far as I know, there's no support for CD/DVD burning. Although maybe there could be a CameraKit hack?
posted by RedOrGreen at 6:59 PM on June 8, 2017

As much as it pains me to say it, the iPad isn't for you, at least not yet. I use an Air 2 as my daily driver, but have a laptop as support for things the Air can't do. I write extensively on the iPad (so it can be a creator's machine, depending on the kind of creation), using an external Bluetooth keyboard, as no keyboard case in the world is good enough on a 9.7 inch tablet.
posted by lhauser at 5:41 AM on June 9, 2017