I am not the only one giving this serious consideration. As many of you know, I previously attempted an iPad-only workflow. While it came close to replacing my MacBook Pro, it ultimately fell short. With the release of iPadOS 26, I am prepared to try again. No predictions, no promises. We shall see.
I am a diehard Mac user, even if it means I have to lug around a big and heavy (relatively speaking) MacBook with me instead of something more portable. I’ve tried using an iPad, but like many people, I found that iPadOS isn’t the proper environment for my productivity.
Apple may have changed that … Basically, it’s an iPad until you need it to be a Mac …
The main reason why anyone picks an iPad over a Mac isn’t portability. The biggest iPad, a 13-inch iPad Pro, with the Magic Keyboard, is 2.8 pounds (1.27 kilograms), while a 13-inch MacBook Air is 2.7 pounds (1.24 kilograms). That’s the same. You can go with smaller iPads—these new features are also available in the iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini—but you need to be willing to sacrifice significant screen real estate for portability.
But the main reason why I—or any other Mac user—would pick an iPad over a Mac is that they want the touch interface. iPadOS 26 is the closest thing to a touchscreen Mac we have ever seen—and may ever get.
There is much to appreciate about iPadOS 26, but one of the great new features is the ability to set a default app. I was able to set iA Writer as my default app for all markdown files. Fantastic!
Don’t dump your MacBook, you’re going to need it. The iPad doesn’t have, and will probably never have, a real automatic backup system.
But with any old Mac, and a backup program like Arqbackup, you can use an iPad as your main computer. And have your files and photos automatically backed up.
In fact, if you avoid using iCloud for your files, the cheapest windows laptop from your local BestBuy will work just as well.
Having tried to use my iPad Pro 2018 as my primary device several years ago, I can’t see repeating that experiment again.
For me, the key issues are:
Lack of audio/video features still holding back using external devices with iPad.
The fear that it is likely some app, feature, or device that I might need will not work with the iPad and will never work.
I know that will not be the case with a Macbook, and thus the safer longer-term choice.
It’s been years since I faced the risk of needing a Windows app or Windows accessory that doesn’t work on the Mac, would hate to go back to that frustration by switching back to the iPad as my primary device.
Long time ago I wished my iPad could replace Mac, but I have given up this and never think of again even when iPadOS 26 is out. The only reason is I use MacBook Air is to type and use some functions I may need but rarely.
So,
I prefer 11-inch iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and case only for portability to go out sketching and write something (like a short article). The size allows me to put into my small backpack for running.
Instead of replacing my MacBook, I try to update laptop less often. At least I will use it for 8-9 years.
The cheapest Windows laptop is also an option, but my concern is security.
iPadOS 26 is making me think of dumping my iPad Pro for a MacBook Air
What features in iPadOS 26 (that weren’t there in the previous iPadOS) does everyone feel make the iPad more capable to no longer need a laptop? Stage Manger is definitely less buggy, however, doing things on the iPad is still just a bit harder than doing it on the Mac. A lot of important software isn’t there and what does exist is usually a scaled down version of the Mac app.
I was thinking this is my last iPad (iPad Pro M4 11"). I had been iPad first since the first iPad Air but the light and long-battery MacBook Air is quite compelling.
In my role I function much like a CEO. My days are filled with writing, research, meetings, and presentations. I have a book on school leadership underway, a white paper on integrating AI into the life and work of the school and education, and a steady stream of articles and communications. Because of that, I need a platform that is flexible and mobile. With iPadOS 26, the iPad is increasingly becoming that platform. For now, I am using it exclusively to see how well it works, and I will not make any final decisions until early next year. The new multitasking, external display support, and improved file handling are big steps forward and make the iPad feel far more practical for the kind of text heavy workflow I depend on. In many ways the iPad is like the long-wished-for touch screen Mac, except more versatile.
I am leaning toward a setup built around a 13 inch iPad Pro, an iPad Mini, and a Mac mini with a Studio Display. The iPads are my primary tools because they fit how I prefer to work—whether at the couch or conference table in my office or chair at home. The Mac mini would only serve as a fallback if I truly need macOS, which I suspect will not be often. Reading, annotating, and presenting are all easier on the iPad than on any laptop, and the ability to type, handwrite, dictate, and mark up directly on screen gives me more ways to work with the same documents. For backup, I do not rely solely on iCloud. I compress key folders and archive them to an external drive, to iCloud, and to Google Drive.
Everyone’s needs are different, but for me the iPad is increasingly becoming the modular platform that best matches the way I live and work. I’m still experimenting so I’m not ready to make a final decision. Time will tell. But, I’m optimistic this will work for me based on my role and and workflow needs and preferences.
So, after trying iPadOS 26 for a week, both the windowing and the external monitor connectivity with my IPad 13” and 11” are “good enough” to act as my main computer/s (which size who knows). I also had a minor epiphany (can they minor?) about an IPad as a main device, and that it is my main device already.
That doesn’t mean I have to dump my MacBook but the Mac becomes a second tier device instead of the IPad. If i replace the Macbook in future it will be an MBA, not a specced up MacBook Pro, Further, the MBA would only be replaced if needed (putting aside shiny new toy addiction syndrome). A MacBook offers me the option to have secure DMG file and easily backup a large photo library which if I lost, my wife would terminate me (I am her humble photo data manager)
My work flow is document based mainly using Word, preparing reports, reviewing spreadsheets and preparing long term business plans.
I even use an IPad for 90% of my corporate consulting work and the only problems I encounter is accessing data on secure drives but that is a company security policy restriction.
I eschew using my company laptop (windows) as it is slow, always updating something, and no 5G. The work laptop is an “absolutely last, last choice device of use”. I reach for the IPad all the time.
I also realise that an external monitor will always be a necessity even for an IPad only approach. So whilst a Mac-mini is a viable option despite my previously suggesting otherwise, for me a MacBook is more versatile and will remain in my Apple family.
So no “dumping of my Macbook” but recognising that my pattern of usage means I am already using my IPad as my main device.
I’m a software developer so I have to use a Mac for work. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I don’t imagine Apple will ever open up the iPad in a way that makes it a viable device for writing software. So for me, the Mac is my primary work computer and the iPad is my Home computer. I also use the iPad to read books and PDFs for work, but that is a small part of my day.
As much as I am enjoying iPadOS 26, I still don’t think it can really replace a MacBook Pro. For work, I have the 15-inch screen and even though the 13-inch iPad screen is pretty great, it is a bit cramped in comparison to the MacBook. Furthermore, the Mac has many more ports than the single USB-C port on the iPad. I recently bought some Blu-Rays and CDs that are pretty obscure and I don’t expect on streaming. I’m able to plug in an external blu-ray drive to watch and listen to these things.
So if I had to choose just one device, I would still pick a MacBook over an iPad, but since I don’t have to choose, I have both.
I’ll stick with my Macs. For me, the cognitive dissonance of having to switch from macOS to iPadOS and back is too much. Before I retired, I switched seamlessly between UNIX, Windows, and Mac. I must be getting old.
I love both of my Mini‘s (Mac M4 and iPad) and I’m trying to decide on a 13" Air to compliment the setup. I use a split mechanical keyboard so a new MacBook Air (as much as I would let one) doesn’t make sense to bring that and the mechanical keyboard with me versus the iPad Air.
Seems you a looking for a more portable, adaptable device for on the go work/pleasure use?
As you have a Mac mini at home and an iPad mini, a larger one may suit you well. Of course, 11” or 13” inch is the dilemma.
You can buy keyboard cases for iPad minis which are okay but they double the weight in my experience. iPad minis are reading/quick info access only devices for me.
So it becomes a screen size/weight comparison between 11” and 13”. The weight variance sans keyboard is negligible between the two sizes. The keyboards add both weight and more bulk.
I have the good fortune to have an 11” M4 iPad Pro and M1 12.9” M1 iPad Pro and IPad Mini-but one of them is going to be retired soon. Maybe the mini as aging eyes are challenged by focusing on a smaller screen.
Noting you have an iPad mini (and assuming you will keep it), I would vote for a 13” with/without keyboard as it can give you both pleasure usage and work if u add a keyboard unless of course you pack a separate keyboard. However I feel a separate keyboard is more inconvenient than a Magic Keyboard or cheaper variant thereof.
No doubt you’ve considered all this, but I hope another view assists and is not as the Aussie vernacular would say; “as useful as a hip pocket in a singlet”.
I realize I’m probably biased because I don’t care for iPadOS in the least, but that’s not what this post is about.
When I think about why I wouldn’t make a move like this my first thoughts are not negative, but positive: the laptops are great!
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro both are fantastic machines. They’re fast, great screens, great (laptop) keyboards, not too heavy, ports, controls, easy to use with external devices, rich software ecosystem - I want one!
I love my iPad when I’m on the couch. I use my iPads a lot. But I wouldn’t want my primary computing device to come with these strength/weakness trade-offs while devices that are as nice as Apple laptops right now remained on the shelf.
Tell me about presenting on/from an iPad. I can’t picture that being easier or better than my Mac.
Also, it sounds like you don’t have to do many Zoom/virtual (or hybrid) meetings? Our work tasks and roles have a fair amount of overlap but my team is distributed across four states and I’m in Slack huddles or Zoom ~20 times / week.
I deliver numerous speeches throughout the year. After completing my research and preparing my presentation notes on the iPad, when it is time to speak, I export those notes as a PDF, place the iPad on the podium, and deliver my rousing presentation. Over time, I have significantly reduced my use of slides. I seldom use them, and when I do, I generally limit myself to no more than two or three consisting only of a single image or a few words. This means that I have little need to use the iPad for both speaking notes and projecting slides.
Zoom Calls
I participate in Zoom meetings regularly, though certainly not twenty times a week. Depending on the season, I average between one and five per week. Apple’s decision to move the iPad’s camera to the landscape position made Zoom calls on the iPad entirely practical. When a meeting includes many participants, I connect the iPad to my monitor so that I can view the full gallery of attendees.
I probably spend more time on my iPad than on my Mac or iPhone, but that’s for reading or viewing content. If I actually want to type anything, I want a proper keyboard, and carrying that around in addition to the iPad is too much trouble in most circumstances, and spoils the experience of using it.
What I do love about the iPad, though, is that it has a SIM in it… And GPS.
Over time, I have significantly reduced my use of slides. I seldom use them, and when I do, I generally limit myself to no more than two or three consisting only of a single image or a few words. This means that I have little need to use the iPad for both speaking notes and projecting slides.