Had two external monitors on my 2019 MacBook Pro but it kept crashing as a result so had to remove one! 
Hoping this isn’t an issue with the new MacBook Pros
I’m aware of that, but that’s not my point. My point is that I don’t understand why people want to push the iPad to act like a Mac. It is like pushing a Fiat 500 to be a truck. Both have different uses cases.
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IMO, that’s frequently a case of “don’t tell me the facts, my mind is made up”. And to a certain extent that’s OK. Most of the times I’ve set up Windows/VMWare on a Mac it was for someone who really needed to be using a PC.
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I think there are a couple of reasons for that:
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An iPad + (especially the Magic) Keyboard comes tantalizingly close to meeting 90% of many people’s day to day computing needs. It comes with significant advantages in terms of connectivity and simplicity of management too. It can be very tempting to try to make the device do that last 10% too, but there’s a disproportionately high level of effort required for that due to the limits of the platform, many of which contribute to its simplicity. Bridging that gap is a tinkerer’s dream and an ordinary user’s nightmare. Tech podcasters tend to be tinkerers, so that message is the one that tends to be promoted.
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Apple has marketed the iPad as, “Your next computer is not a computer.”
When the iPad is in its element it really shines, leading proponents to promote it as a do-everything computer. When the iPad steps slightly out of its element, its limitations become significant obstacles very quickly, leading to questions like yours.
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The M1 MBA is crazy good. No fan, mine never even gets close to warm (usually under 88 degrees, 79 as I type this). I haven’t rebooted it in like three weeks. I have the 16GB flavor.
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This. There’s a lot of videos/articles out there saying “if you want to use your iPad as your only machine, you can!”. And sometimes it’s difficult to determine that no, you can’t, based on your preferences or needs. Workarounds for different issues are all over the internet, which makes you think that you can circumvent problems, but depending on what you need they often don’t work out well.
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I’ve used multiple monitors with several MacBooks with no issues for years. I think it would either be a hardware problem, or some conflicting software.
As someone whose computer is used almost exclusively to backup his iPad, I agree with most of what Mike has to say. But I’m not sure about replacing phones with tablets. After all 15% - 19% of internet users in the U.S. only use a smartphone.
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And that’s where I really disagree with the article too, but not just because of what device people use for Internet. Actual phone service is much, much more reliable than data connectivity in my experience. There are places around where I live - major city, not out in the sticks - where data connectivity is pretty flaky and/or nonexistent. The phone works fine.
It feels like “if you had to give up the phone network or give up Zoom, what choice would you make?” is a really bizarre comparison that makes a number of questionable assumptions. I know that unless the whole world had to make the choice with me, I couldn’t give up either.
Someday we might be there - but not yet.
And if they’d just…y’know…take that cellular chip in my iPad and allow it to actually make phone calls using the phone number the carrier has to assign anyway…that would be awesome. I’d be happy to ditch my iPhone. 
I was going to buy an iPad Pro until I noticed that with the extras I needed or desired, the MacBook Air M1 2020 would actually cost me less. At that point, there was absolutely no contest. I had to get the Mac and oh what a Mac the M1 is!
There is so much a Mac can do that an iPad cannot. Let’s just say, for example, the editing and organization in Photos alone. This machine boggles my mind. It had been at least 8 years in which I had had no Mac and while I certainly missed it I had no idea how much until I bought a MBA M1 this summer. It has opened up so many doors and stuff I could have forgotten was merely lying dormant.
And a wonderful bonus is being able to use the iPad software on a Mac although it is not not necessarily optimized for it.
An iPad is cool for a lot of things. Even though the laptops are light, try lugging it around in a busy airport for a few hours. I love love love the Apple Pencil and look forward to the day more of the kinks are worked out of it (it seems to depend on the app).
I don’t think I could go back to an iPad only, not after enjoying the power of a M1. By the same token, I have three functioning iPads and I do love them but they are a different but similar sport.
AND… the iPhone (yes, I finally skimmed the article) serves a different purpose than either the tablets or the Macs. Probably still it’s main function is that of a phone.
I am so glad all of these marvelous devices are out there!
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Seasoned MacOS users (especially the poweruser type) are also used to customising their systems and adding tools such as the impressive BetterTouchTool and so they miss these hugely on an iPad.
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Wow then imagine what the 2022 version (rumored) is going to be like!
Ouch dont get me started on the iOS file system! Dropbox still can’t be set as a default download folder location (its grayed out still) and that’s just the start. Definitely a pain point.
I’d also add that the cursor that’s controlled by the Magic Keyboard Cover is abysmally imprecise and, in many cases, just doesn’t work and you have to use touch to do what you want to do therefore breaking your workflow. (1st world problems I know but still)
Can’t wait to try this when I get an M1 for all those apps that haven’t a Mac analog and that I use heavily. (I do hope most of them have made their apps work on Mac at least)
If I understand this correctly, you’re saying the MacBook weighs more but IIRC they seem to be converging in weight (at least the MB Air) and maybe even flippening?
Wish I knew why they don’t allow this yet. Maybe some carriers don’t like it.
I’ve spent hours trying to troubleshoot this and eventually gave up after realising that I’ll ditch this old 2019 MacBook for an M1 as soon as I can (a few weeks at most hopefully). I can manage with one big screen but if I relied more on that second screen then I’d be quite annoyed (It was an extra monitor I had that I thought could be put to better use). Seems to be an edge case AFAICT possibly related to the specific combo I’m using 
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I’m not sure if it is the reason, but no calls on the iPad is good in my situation. My daughter has a celular iPad and gets connectivity for only €8 a month as she can share my cellular data. I do not want her to be able to call using my number.
I think not having calls makes an iPad better for young children and education, especially if you do not want them to have a phone.
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That’s a great point! Though there are probably ways to lock it up but they’ll always find a workaround 
All you need to make calls on an iPad is a browser and a Google voice account. The GV app is more convenient, but isn’t necessary. And I’m pretty sure Google isn’t the only service that offers this.
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I have always been kind of torn. I was an early adopter of the iPad Pro for many “laptop” tasks and I’m posting this from my “go anywhere” 12.9 Pro + Keyboard. I love it for both writing and doing research to support Writing, But….
MacBook Air / Pro have about the same portability as my beloved iPad in its keyboard (and it almost never leaves the keyboard), can also handle the things my iPad has issues with and power consumption is now down to the point on a MacBook that I might consider replacing both my iPad and my gigantic iMac as the new contender for my “go anywhere” device.
That’s right, I’m having to talk myself OUT of iPad vs Mac. I may be contrary 
My use case is not everyone’s and back when I was using a tablet for tons of data collection at an outside job; iPad was the slam dunk winner.
Nowadays, I’m considering whether the use case has changed enough to warrant the extra expense of an iPad + iMac.
Maybe One Device to Rule Them All is the new path for me?
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I like having an iPhone but I have to admit, I rarely touch it after I take it off the charger. It stays on my desk or in my pocket.
I work on my iPP, get notifications on my Apple Watch, and communicate through my AirPods, etc. A perfect iPhone for me would be a mini that could actually last all day.
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I do have a stand and a separate Magic Keyboard that I use on occasion, but my iPP is normally “naked” except for an $18 folio case.
“My use case is not everyone’s” either. If I needed a “Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro” to be productive on an iPad, I might switch to an M1 MBA too.
Sounds to me like you may be on the right path. 
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I’ve seen a lot of changes since I typed out my first line of COBOL on a keypunch machine. I think the last generation to see widespread use of traditional “keyboard & mouse” computers is alive today.
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