Let me first say that I’ve not downgraded to Tahoe from Sequoia.
Until last year, I ran an iPad Pro 11" as my daily driver and a Mac Mini as my server which runs Plex and Photos. It backups up my important data and was used a few times a week for tasks I couldn’t do on the iPad.
Then, as is my won’t, back in July last year, I upgraded to the beta of iPadOS 26 and over the next few months, I learned how much I loathed the new iPadOS. I hated the new window mode, found it hard to focus in anything other than Single App mode and was unable to find something I liked to allow two apps side by side in a workable configuration that I didn’t find massively distracting.
My Daughter got a new job in September and until she could afford her own MacBook Air, I bought a 13" MBA so she could use it. Then when she bought her own, I started to use the MBA and it was such a breath of fresh air.
I had to change some subscriptions and buy some software again, but I started to use the MBA as my daily driver and I’m so glad I did this. if iPadOS hadn’t forced me to do it, I’d still be using an iPad, but the MBA is more flexible, it’s not heavy, the screen is brilliant and I honestly wouldn’t go back now anyway.
My iPad is used for some consumption in single app mode, but otherwise I don’t touch it. I won’t buy another at this point. The M1 iPad Pro is perfectly performant for what I need.
I’m surprised all of this is the case, but I’m happy and grateful for my M4 MBA and M1 Mac mini.
I’ve been wondering how this would play out. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. I’ve found it difficult to grab the resizing handle consistently and I don’t like having to tap twice to resize/mininize/maximize. The only reason I haven’t turned it off is that I can’t find any other way to get anything close to Split View.
Congrats on joining us over here on the Mac side. Of course, the other half of the people here will say “sorry to see you leave the IPad does everything team”.
Not a fan of the new window mode either. I prefer the traditional way myself.
Also - want to say - I reluctantly updated to Tahoe and I’ve got to say I am liking it! I am in dark mode the design elements match with my tastes perfectly.
Yep. With the pace of developments using M-chips, it remains only to convince WinOS addicts that they should instead thirst for ARM processing rather than Intel x86 processing, and macOS could rule the world.
And in any case, one should never be allowed to be divided into iPadOS versus macOS battles, as each Apple OS is still light-years ahead of WinOS for their own specific reasons.
I will be starting my 8th year of using an iPad as my main computer in a few months. And I can tell you, with total certainty, an iPad cannot do everything.
There’s no true backup available on iPad. And it doesn’t have a chromium browser.
I bought an 11” iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard and Pencil in April 2020. Why? Because I was really brassed off that my MacBook Pro (13”) suffered a years-long “iCloud does not work” bug.
Then in December (I think?) Apple released the first M1 MacBook Pro. I sold the iPad and went back to the Mac. Why? Because in just 8 months I came to realise the only thing the iPad worked better for was writing in Ulysses (apart from the usual media consumption tasks).
As soon as there was Apple Silicon in a Mac, the iPad’s greatest strength — the battery life — was levelled. I don’t often take my MacBook Pro into the office, but if I do I don’t take a charger, and it’s probably only on 80% charge when I grab it.
When I travel, I do take a charger, and tend to charge it every 2-3 days, though even that is sometimes because “charge it while you can” thinking comes into play. I could probably go 3-4 days typically, unless editing photos.
Oh yeah… and that’s the other big reason to go back to the Mac. It can do anything. My full fat multi-hundred dollar RAW processing app (in fact multiple), any and all automations, and, if I needed it (I don’t) full video and audio editing (and even recording) capabilities.
I still have an iPad mini for at-home personal media consumption, but I tend not to take that traveling because the Mac can do media as well and… it has a built in stand that works for resting it on a hotel bed.
Not really. It cannot do these things (without serious convolutions if at all) …
annotate by hand on a PDF document
perch stably on a music stand to display sheet music while playing a guitar
attach an IR thermal camera to review the heat loss on a house construction project
I’d also not swap out using my iPad for using a Mac laptop when I do these things …
reading news feeds while sipping coffee on the deck
reading an ebook (while sitting in a comfortable seat …)
watching a TV show (while sitting in a comfortable seat) when the real TV is being “absconded” by someone else
Well, if you truly believe something is supposed to do everything and the kitchen sink, perhaps you should consider whether you are wishing for a 120 tool Swiss army knife (the one with the kitchen sink tool). Hint: Such a knife does not exist.
Good carpenters have more than one type of hammer or saw or Phillips head screwdriver or … Why do folks get so animated to find ways to diss other folks for having more than one type of “computer tool”?
I don’t know. I got to use all kinds of tech from mainframes to AirTags and everything in between in the 50+ years since I took a “data processing for dummies” (i.e. business managers) course in school. IMO, at some level all computers do the same basic things. I once reset a users password on an IBM AS400 from a iPhone 5S, or maybe 6S, just to see if I could.
I’ve always encouraged people to select their software first, and let that determine what hardware they need to buy. Today I own an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook Air.
And the Mac stays home because I don’t like traveling with a lot of data and all my passwords.
I have gravitated in the opposite direction as there are a lot of things that I cannot do with my Mac. For example, I have to use Microsoft Authenticator all the time and having to get my phone out to authenticate every time is a hassle. On the iPad it just opens the app. I spend a lot of time annotating documents, and I find the pencil and portrait screen much nicer than using a mouse and landscape screen. I prefer the weight of my iPad when traveling and, at least for my workflow as a director, I have not missed any Mac-exclusive apps when traveling. I also much prefer the OLED screen of the iPad Pro and I love its modularity so I can switch from the full keyboard to slip on reading case. I also much prefer to have access to the video and media apps in iPadOS like DAZN and HBO, rather than having to access them with a browser on a Mac.
I think it depends on what you do for a living, but my MacBook has been sat in dock mode at home for over 18 months, and I don’t miss it at all! It’s now a home media server/games machine (unless I work from home which is very rare).
I have a Studio at work which I use when working from my desk, but when mobile I have no need for any of the Mac-exclusive apps.
Which sounds much like the argument that a lot of people would like to carry one tool that can do everything. A Swiss army knife with 120 functions (and the kitchen sink). As such, no problem. Except of course that certain tools truly are better exactly when they stand alone in their own form factor and design.
Try unscrewing a tightly-frozen Phillips-head screw from a hard-to-access location using the pull-out, half-sized Phillips-head screwdriver on the back side of a bulky 20-function Swiss army knife. Then try the same with a dedicated, properly sized, professional graded screwdriver.
It is not about deciding on devices because they will make you money. It is about picking a specific device (iPad or mac) because its form-factor or inherent attributes give you the least friction and efficiency in a particular workflow arena. It is about accepting compromises when you are limited only to one device with its specific form factor or attributes because the specific device truly does offer you the best choice for the most important tasks that you need/want to do routinely.
And after making your choice, get on quietly to do your job.
I’ve been more than impressed with Windows on ARM. I bought a cheap Lenovo in the Black Friday sales and it’s surprising how capable the ARM chips are, even on Windows - though I have more issues with Windows on ARM than I do macOS on ARM, but I think that’s to be expected! The software just hasn’t taken off on Windows like it has on macOS - partly I guess because Microsoft aren’t forcing people to go down the ARM route.
I have an 11" iPad Air that I barely use. I find I can use my MacBook Air and iPhone for all my needs. I leave the MacBook Air docked in my home office on workdays, and take it out to other rooms of the house on weekends and days off.
I had an iPad Mini that I gave my brother. I’m happy to do something for my brother — we live on opposite coasts so we are not as close as I would like — but I wish I still had that iPad mini. It’s a great ebook reader and media device. Don’t tell my brother I said that — I don’t want him to feel like he’s depriving me of anything.
Somewhat OT, but I’ve stayed with 1Password and it handles 2FA OTP fine on desktop computer (both Mac and Windows) fine. I’m surprised Microsoft Auth can’t?
lol. You kind of buried the lede, there. I, too, love my iPad on the go. It’s a luxury I can enjoy because I have a desktop back at my desk where I can really get work done.
