Same here. The iPad is a perfect distraction-free reading and writing device. I don’t have any games, don’t watch movies on it and don’t use it as a Kindle. However, reading many PDF articles and taking notes in split view (PDF Expert and Drafts) while sitting on the couch is so nice. This can definitely be done with a laptop, but it’s just clunkier somehow.
Consumption iPad
Creation MBP
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I use TMG. IPad Pro for every sort of consumption. Also ideation and taking notes. I have a Mac mini m1 for automation of document Workflows and for office stuff.
Yes, I’ve described the experience of trying to work with text and files as “having too many speed bumps” to get into a fast workflow. That’s where my Mac excels. It again comes down to the right tool for the job. iPad is great for reading, watching videos and checking off to-do items, and playing games if that’s your jam. It can be anything you want it to be but it has its limits. I’m glad people are getting over the “iPad as a laptop replacement” experiment. It’s a good ‘occasional’ laptop but a better reading and entertainment device.
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It’s hard to be 100% iPadOS when Apple neither provides, or allows, a way to backup an iPad. So I use my Mac for storage and to backup my iPad. My only option so far is to manually store copies of my files on both google drive and onedrive.
I suspect the reason iPads have no way to backup is the same reason Macs don’t have touchscreens. Apple want to sell everyone both devices.
As a laptop replacement, for my mom it’s perfect. No Mac or PC in the house.
For creation, the iPad can be pretty good too — slides, documents, videos (to a point), audio (to a point). iPadOS is limiting though and I’m not sure it will ever be on par with macOS.
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100% agree. I’ve been gifted 2 iPads over the past few years. Both are sitting on a shelf with batteries drained to 0% cuz I just forget / can’t stand to use them for anything. All the exact same complaints you listed. – MacBook Pro all the way, esp now with my M1 speediness!
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I actually prefer traveling (as in vacationing) with my iPad rather than my laptop. There are obviously some things I can’t do as well with it (e.g., the iPad versions of Photoshop and Lightroom are still lagging behind the Mac versions), but for the few weeks I’m traveling, the [small] size and cellular-radio convenience of the iPad outweigh the cons. All that said, I almost always use it as laptop, so at home it does tend to take a back seat to Mac.
I’m hoping that iPad OS evolves away from iOS into something more Mac-like, even if it never run macOS…
…oh and that car manufactures will eventually let us get an iPad dock rather than a conventional radio.
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The one I had today was trying to move a file using Dropbox. A hilariously tedious experience that would have taken seconds on a laptop.
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I have 2 instances of Files set to open in split screen when I launch Files.app. It makes moving files, etc. much simpler, IMO.
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It seems reading through here that the iPad is becoming more of a consumption app through reading, browsing etc. Many find it too limiting as a laptop replacement.
What makes this non trivial is that the ipad is not a cheap device and depending on configuration can cost as much as a mac air. Anyone buying an ipad to replace their laptop and finding it doesn’t work ends up paying twice or having to limp through until they have enough finances. That makes this quite an important issue.
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I’m beginning to think I’ve joined the wrong forum here… 
Just for some balance, I’m one of those “insane” people. Or maybe “insane” adjacent: I use my iPad 95% of the time. (I know, I’ve written this elsewhere, and it seems I’m possessed by a masochistic drive to present a contrary voice whenever this topic comes up…).
I’m a writer, freelance educator and facilitator. Up until recently, I was a poetry professor. I’m also the artistic director for a self-elective poetry workshop programme, and an editor. So I write and edit things, handle research, manage projects (email, task management, CRM , scheduling etc), manage finances and budgets and do many of the other functions you might associate with the above roles. It’s all “real” work. Not just consumption. And I’m no blogger or influencer trying to build an audience off the back of a romanticised vision of an iPad-dominant working life.
I’m not stubbornly iOS exclusive. I have a couple of old Mac Minis and a 2016 MacBook— legacy machines. I used to be a full-tilt macOS kinda guy, but so much of what I was doing at one point was on the road that I sought a trade off between portability, ease of use and processing power. I benefit from the mobility and flexible form factor that iPads offer.
My current iPad inventory: a 12.9” 3rd gen, an 11” 3rd gen, and a 5th gen Mini. The 11” was my daily driver, and the Mini was really useful to have in hand through meetings and workshop sessions. I picked up the 12.9 from eBay during lockdown when I decided I needed some more screen space while working from home.
I use a Corne mechanical keyboard (split ergo) and generally stay away from keyboard cases. I’ve tried a mouse with iOS once, and it’s cool to know I can do that, but that’s not part of my set-up. I like my tablet to be a tablet, and I’m under no illusions of it being a laptop replacement. I use a generic Apple Pencil alternative when I need to do anything that demands precise fine grain control.
I have a background in web development, though I haven’t been keeping up with that at all (my personal site is woefully overdue an update…). I also dabble with a bit of creative coding, though again it’s been a little while. I’ll probably fire up one of the macOS machines when I get back to either of those. The other main reason I’d go back to a Mac would be hardcore file management— I’ve got a dud HD that I’ve been meaning to attempt to retrieve files from. That said, I haven’t powered up any of my Mac machines thus far this year.
I’m no apologist for iOS. Text selection and file management can be painful. Aggressive memory management is also painful, which raises another point: being an iPad Power User (ahem), you’d think I’d be first in line for a fully specced, top-o’-the-line M1 with all the RAM, but hey— my tech budget has limits, and I try to be responsible. And I don’t get to test out all the hot new PKM tools at launch because so many of them don’t work well in mobile Safari, or don’t have equivalent iOS apps. I’m a Notion user, but it’s taken a long time for them to get anywhere near feature parity on iOS, and they’re not even all the way there yet (though the latest update for text selection was welcome). Don’t even get me started about my love/hate relationship with Shortcuts. And I’m looking out for the day when I’ll be able do more with an iPad and an attached monitor than simply mirror with a restrictive screen ratio…
I first tried working exclusively on a first gen iPad. Whatever MacBook I was working with at the time died, and the iPad was all I had while waiting for a replacement. It was a terrible experience. But it didn’t turn me away from tablet computing entirely. I got back to it with the 9.7” Pro, and haven’t looked back since.
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Out of interest does anyone use their iPad for business calls (Zoom, etc)?
I’d love to use it, but the camera is in the wrong place for landscape mode to make it a good option.
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Back in 2010 Steve J. said , “PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around, they’re still going to have a lot of value, but they’re going to be used by one out of X people”
You are in the right forum, you’re just surrounded by truck drivers. And many people need a truck to do their job.
Others just like trucks. 
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Not exactly the best metaphor these days 
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Yes, I often use my iPad for teleconferencing, although not for work calls. I use it for club meetings, ‘get togethers’ with friend, personal interest webinars and the like. It works fine for me.
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That’s great!! 
20 characters …
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I think there’s just a lot of people in here for which the iPad doesn’t really fit as a main computer, for better or worse.
For me, I spend most of my day in iTerm (mostly vim), Vivaldi, Raycast, and Obsidian. The first three don’t even exist on iPadOS, and the last is often less smooth to use especially since the iPad is smaller and I can’t sync my vault directly to OneDrive. As much as I like the vision of the iPad, these things are deal-breakers.
Also, utilities such as Karabiner are not on iPadOS, and probably never will be, which is also a deal-breaker because muscle memory. Scripting is limited to Shortcuts or hacks like iSH.
I’m also aggressively portable but I’ve found a 13" M1 MBP is small/light enough to carry around without much effort while also having enough battery to last through the day.
If the iPad works for you, I’m happy for you, I just wish it worked for me too 
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Well this is the Mac Power Users forum after all…
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You’re not insane. Maybe you’re one of the fortunate ones. But you will find much camaraderie with those equally insane-adjacent folks (along with some commentary from the truck drivers (h/t @WayneG)) over on this thread: Why I transitioned away from the Mac (mostly)
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