iPad power users - do you feel a pull towards a M1 Macbook?

Here’s to a sub-2 pound 14” Macbook! Not likely, I know :sweat_smile:

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I’m guessing the 14” will be around 3lbs, similar to the current 13”. The big MacBook Pro gained a bit of weight going from 15” to 16”, but I think keeping the weight down will be a bigger priority on the smaller MacBook Pro (Apple Silicon may also help with that). I do think there might be a prospect of a new MacBook Air that’s closer to 2lbs when it next gets revised.

This was very much my experience.

In answer to the OP’s question: no, not feeling any pull. My set up: 2018 iPad Pro 11", iPad Mini 5, and a 2016 12" MacBook[1] I picked up for a steal as a mobile complement to my iPad if/when I needed a macOS machine; I power it up once in a blue moon, typically for file management and a little light coding (Sublime Text, I love you…).

As it is, my work includes a lot of reading, writing, editing, planning things, delivering creative workshops and managing creative projects with small teams. iOS has its obvious limitations, and I look forward to future improvements. While Shortcuts has improved over the years, it’s still frustrating on a number of fronts when trying to put together any serious custom workflows. I’m also looking forward to upgrading to an iPad config that does better with available memory and background operations. So I’m no iPad apologist. But I’m pretty happy with what I have.


  1. As an iPad user, I’ve almost always had a Mac of some description I could fall back on just in case, except when my then Mac laptop died soon after I got the very first iPad, and I tried living with that iPad as my ONLY computing device for a bit. Fun experiment for a minute, but the novelty wore off quickly! ↩︎

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Also… (and this is something I don’t hear many people making a point of): I actually really enjoy touch-screen computing! For example, I do a lot with iThoughts, which is great on macOS, but I really like being able to touch, drag and arrange elements on my iPad (cue reference to Minority Report screen interfaces…). Feels like a different way of understanding and interacting with my thoughts/materials, closer and more direct than trackpad gestures and a keyboard.

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That sounds like a good guess.

The ultralightness seems to be reserved for a Macbook Air or the rebirth of the Macbook

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The iPad looks perfect for your type of workflow. I share some of it (heavy reading and writing) and I don’t feel a Macbook pull in those areas.

File management is a whole different story, unfortunately. Maybe it’ll be different in iOS 16.

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Speaking of ipad file management, this is a bit dated but one of the best videos I’ve seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fDVFXwav28

Very cool resource! Thanks :slight_smile:

I own an iPad Pro 2018 12 inch for my “power needs”. The main reason for the big model was its screen size and one of my use cases: reading and conducting music scores (nothing fancy, just a hobby). There is nothing for me that can replace this iPad for this use case. It is just great for that.

With the release of iPadOS and with the Magic Keyboard, the iPad did become even more interesting to me. I started using it more often and I catched myself several times using it for stuff I had been doing on my Mac before. But the shortcomings of iPadOS kept slowing me down. Yes, there were solutions. There were workflows. There where shortcuts. But I had to adapt. I had to change. I had to change my behavior in order to get stuff done on the iPad. And it took time. A lot of time. More time than it would have taken on the Mac. So, the process reversed. I started to go back to a Mac again for a lot of stuff.

I skipped the 2020 iPad Pro. The 2018 model was fine. And it still is.

Several months ago, I thought that it might be time to get the next iPad Pro model. When they released it a few weeks ago, I found myself in the situation that I still did not see any reason why I should upgrade to the new model. Yes, the hardware is amazing. It is great. But it still runs iPadOS. The story was: “They must have something in store for WWDC. This can only be a part of the iPad’s story in 2021.”

Well, WWDC’s keynote happened last week. I watched it. And then I ordered one. Finally. A MACBOOK AIR M1 16GB! :joy: A refurbished one.

It arrived a day later and by golly, it is settled: I do not need or want an iPad that does everything. I want a computer that has no fan, a long-lasting battery, that is available to me in an instant, is very portable and can run everything what I want and how I want it to do stuff. That is exactly what the Macbook Air M1 with 16 GB has proven to be for me.

I will keep using my iPad Pro 12 inch 2018, it is great. And eventually, it will be replaced with a new iPad. It might be a Pro again (because of the screen size and my use case), but it could be an iPad Air, too. But I do not see myself trying to become an iPad power user again…

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I did the exact same thing :joy:

I got the baseline model and, boy, it’s an amazing machine. I will continue to use my 10.5" iPad Pro, but until some major change it is a complementary machine for me, not a substitute.

Before buying the MBA I was also thinking that for my workflow I might not need a Pro iPad even if it could become my only machine.

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I really want to be an iPad power user. I started out my Apple journey with an iPad 2 and have never looked back since. Within a year after that I switched from Windows to Mac and Blackberry to iPhone and I’ve since been a Mac, iPhone, and iPad user. I have always wanted the iPad to be more but it has always hovered in the background as a third device that may be not so necessary to what I do. I will not get into some long drawn out soliloquy on my workflow but my job as a contractor for the state I live in requires me to use a VPN and web based program to track my clients that the state provides. Frankly, it is old, clunky, and they have never been able to keep up with optimization or newer browsers. I have always used Parallels just to run that for my daily job. It has been a yearly expense but I gladly pay it for several benefits. First the VPN we use locks us out of all other web traffic so no email, chat, or cloud file management. It is an utter pain to log in and out of because we must use extremely long, complicated passwords and the VPN does not play well with apps like 1Password or cut and paste. We have to type the password in. Every. Time. We. Log. In. Parallels has always been my way around it as I can stay logged into the VPN on Windows and I am free to do all the other things on the Mac end. Four years ago we were told it’s optimization would be upgraded from IE 11 (yes that’s Internet Explorer 11) so things would work on modern browsers and it keeps getting put on a back burner. I knew I wanted an M1 Mac the minute I laid eyes on it. I was using a 2018 15” MB Pro, i9, 32GB RAM. A ton of overkill for what I do but I got it from a friend that sold it to me at a price I could not refuse. Now I have a M1 MBP that I love dearly. Whereas a Mac version of our VPN exists, its never been updated for Big Sur and does not work with the developer preview of Windows. So I cheat and run an iPad version of the VPN on the M1 Mac. It’s not perfect but it works. I also keep my iPad on my desk to do all the other things and even airdrop documents back and forth so I don’t constantly have to log in and out of the VPN. Several attorneys I works with use Surface Pro’s and I look at them with longing. Not the longing for Windows but just the ability to do it all on one device. That’s what I wish for the iPad. Would it compromise my workflow to use one device? Somewhat. Is it all the iPad’s fault I cannot only use one device? Not entirely. A good bit of the blame goes to the state that I live in and work for. A lot goes to the iPad. I wear so many hats outside of my work. I have to run the business end of things, I keep the checkbook for our church, and I dabble in video and photo work. I’m planning to start a YouTube channel soon and I want to do so much on the iPad. But sometimes those things like the poor external display support and file management make it an absolute pain to do. It is sad because I see so much potential in the iPad, especially in the current hardware meta. People tell me all the time I should change the way I look at work if I want to use an iPad and do things the iPad way but I am not the only one with issues with the file system, poor multitasking, and poor external display support. So, for now the M1 MacBook Pro is the king of my world but I can’t help looking at my expensive 12.9” iPad Pro and all these Surface Pro’s in the world and long for what could be.

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Your post describes part of my current state of mind. I find small shortcomings while working with an iPad. But until now, its lightness and instant avaliability made it a perfect mobile computer.

Since the M1 MacBook release, the pull has been growing stronger. Your post isn’t helping! :sweat_smile:

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I understand your frustration. I´ve also thought about how cool and convenient it would be to have one single device to do all my work.

I believe it’s possible we´ll be getting part of your wishlist (better file system, multitasking and external display) in the future. Time will tell.

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Reports from those running the beta is that the files app is improved and I’ve only heard very positive reports on using the new multi-tasking.

For those that are asking for a better file system I’d be curious as to what the specifics are on that. Using the Finder as the baseline, what is it that bothers folks most about the Files app?

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Just some examples (that maybe be outdated)

  • Ability to search for the location where I wish to save my files.
  • Consistent open in place features.
  • Time machine for iPad files.
  • Consistent offline access to iCloud drive files.
  • Ability to sync files between the iPad and an external drive.
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And the ability to share files and folders as easily as one can with Drobbox. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Forgot that one :slight_smile:

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The main problem I had with the Files app is/was a lack of feedback as to what was happening during large file transfers. And Apple has apparently addressed that with a progress indicator in IOS 15.

The Mac Finder isn’t great, but neither is Windows File Explorer, or Nautilus and the other file managers on Linux/Unix. They are all a digital version of the wooden file cabinet invented in the mid 1800’s. Microsoft spent years trying to develop a database replacement for files and folders around 16 - 17 years ago but finally gave up on it.

Search has been my solution since I started using Evernote 11 years ago. I kept everything in one notebook and was able to find anything in seconds. Even notes from a photo of a whiteboard. Today I use Google Drive which has the same features.

Something will eventually replace files and folders, but I’m not smart enough to even guess at what that might be.

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@Andre.Sena covered most of it. I would also like to have more granular control over what documents stay on my iPad and what stays in the cloud. iCloud kind of sucks at this in general but its really bad on the iPad. It feels like it just wants to off load everything constantly.

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