Apart from things already discussed here, the iPad won’t be able to replace a “regular” computer for me until it support virtualization so that I can run multiple VMs with multiple operating systems. (This requirement could be shifted to a server, but that’s kind of cheating for the scope of this discussion )
Also, in general, if you can find an app that does just what you want then the iPad is often a brilliant computing device, but the moment you need to use more than one app to work with the same data it very quickly becomes a mire of weird and arcane “you can do that by tapping with two fingers and holding, creating a shortcut, and hoping that the developers of the respective apps support this feature that only works on second Sundays when there’s a full moon” kinds of things.
Selecting text is extraordinarily frustrating if you’re doing something like writing code.
And finally, as I ranted about in my post over in the Software section, there is no way to lock the screen for a time without putting the device to sleep.
I will note that Apple does seem to be working hard to address some of these issues. Also, all of that being said, I love my iPad Pro and it’s getting very close to being the sole computing device that I will take on trips.
Working on Excel spreadsheets is really my only remaining big gripe with iPad (in addition to the Files points many people have made). I could probably survive without trackpad support, but keyboard shortcuts just aren’t quite the same and Excel functionality, while improved from earlier versions, still not the same as desktop version. I hold out hope it will get there.
I have 30+ years of muscle memory invested in using a PC, and 12 years of that are on a Mac. I don’t see any reason to change.
On the other hand: Right now I’m doing my weekend-morning social media/RSS sweep on my iPad, as I do every weekend morning and for an hour or so in the evening on weekdays. I always do that on my iPad. Once recently I brought the MacBook Pro to the couch and that was fine … but I haven’t done it again. This social media/RSS sweep seems to be an iPad thing and I don’t know why.
No possible way to have all your documents downloaded automatically for offline use (even if online, it frustrating to wait that the files app downloads the document you want to use)
Could have an optional pointing device (mouse or trackpad)
I don’t think iOS will ever be my only, and there are too many advantages to macOS right now for me to seriously consider switching, or even using iOS as a primary device (unless it was temporary, and I was traveling).
I like a big screen.
I like my Trackpad with Force Touch.
I like multitasking with background processes.
I like my choice of keyboard… with function keys.
I am used to some apps I’ve used for years, along with their keyboard commands.
Many apps I use have no iOS equivalents.
I like to control my files in folders on local drives, and I like the control I have in terms of backups.
I enjoy being able to acquire apps from developers, including apps that Apple would not allow in the App Store because their powerful functionality crosses a line for apps it wants to make available in its walled garden.
I think this might be better framed by task type. Professional reading, reviewing, marking up manuscripts (my own and others), etc. I can all do on the iPad easily. Initial data analysis (in R and MaxQDA among others) has to be done on the Mac, but all my analytic notes are going into Markdown (or R Markdown) so once the actual crunching is done, most of the synthesis and preliminary writeup can happen on iOS. Bibliographic management happens in BibDesk on the Mac, but gets synced to a Filemaker (and FM Go) database on iOS (and this could theoretically be replaced with Mendeley, ReadCube etc. but I am too heavily invested in automating BIbDesk to give it up).
File search and multiple windows are the main bottlenecks for me. But I really love annotating with the Pencil, especially Smart Annotation in Pages – which I use to set up annotations that I then process on the Mac.
I think for me its the form factor of the iPad that I enjoy so much. I don’t necessarily want it to replicate the Mac or a traditional computer but there are definitely several computing tasks that are fairly basic that would be nice to work well on the iPad such as having apps having multiple windows.
I really like using my Mac; always have. My 2015 MacBook Pro (15”) is the best machine I’ve ever owned. But for reasons I cannot explain, I’d really love to be able to work 100% from my iPad — without decreasing my productivity and without using underpowered tools. In fact, I don’t want it to replace my current tools, I want it to improve them in every way. I would like to have better tools, more efficient and productive work flows, better automation, and the like.
The iPad already has for some things—reading an annotating documents, which makes up a huge aspect of my daily work. It is the undisputed king of note taking. I have others, but those are big ones. Research is excellent on an iPad. File access is fine (but file management and batch processing is a sore point). A lot of database tools are excellent.
I like iPad multitasking but think there are some things that could make it at least as efficient as multitasking on a desktop-class computer. You don’t need to have arbitrary windowing to solve the problem of needing access to multiple tools and channels of information.
An iPad will never be a Cray supercomputer. But it should be able to enable a professional to do everything a professional can do on “any old computer.”
The question for me is why would anyone use the iPad for anything other than content consumption, or work using the Pencil, such as drawing or annotating PDFs?
For anything requiring a keyboard, the Mac is superior in every way.
And yet here I sit typing with an external keyboard on my iPad, because that is how I prefer to do recreational social media, RSS feeds, blogging and forums (like this one). And I do not know why I prefer it.
One reason for me is that the iPad is always ready to go, whereas a Mac takes time to start and get into the configuration I want it in. It’s more likely to be within reach as well. Also, when travelling the battery lasts forever, it has a cellular radio, and it’s not uncomfortable to use on a plane, even when flying in steerage. (I have the Smart Folio keyboard and, while not the best keyboard in the universe, it’s not bad. I could not use this thing without a keyboard).
For me, the difference between the desktop and the iPad versions of apps is stark. Logos Bible software is the bread and butter of my work and there is not a single Bible software company that is putting any effort into making mobile apps even partially as good as their desktop versions.
So I have 2 27” monitors with logos on one and all my writing stuff on the other. That cannot be equaled because and only because developers are not putting their energy into iPad software.
Well, I would say, that iPad is simply not made for any kind of active work. By “active”, I mean involving a large amount of tasks you do, be it editing text files, handling files between different applications, handling multiple windows. As long as you are reading/watching youtube and maybe poking a bit around with AP it is perfectly fine. Maybe the usage as typewriter is ok, too, but honestly - even the first macs running on a hardware which my AW outperforms were that good, too.
So the question is not what are the biggest barriers to going iPad only - there too many of them to count: Automation, bad keyboard layouts, lack of proper multitasking, file handling, barely usable for coding, no way to go around the AppStore and so on.The question is: Do you really need a mac?
Strange thing is: people, who are perfectly served with an iPad keep asking for a PC/Mac, so I have to ask them “What would you need it for?”. But here, at MPU, people ask whether they can switch to an iPad. You don’t even need to hear it out and can already say “No”. We are on a forum called “Mac Power Users”, people who can be happy with an iPad don’t know what “power user” means and will never find this place. It is like someone on a scientific forum would start a thread whether his/her needs could be met with a toy microscope for 50 EUR. If you are here, you don’t even need to ask.
Most days, working on my MacBookPro, I also have my iPad Pro – and my iPhone – sitting next to me. I’ll frequently pick it up when I want to
take handwritten notes (my preferred note taking method);
clip something from Safari because there’s a greater variety of share extensions on iOS than macOS thus far – read: iOS has a more refined toolbox for this clipping and sharing;
read and take notes on a PDF;
watch a video clip;
control Apple Music playing thru my HomePods – iTunes on Mac is seriously in need of a do-over.
I don’t think much about which device to use. It seems natural to pick up the iPad to do this, move over to the MacBook to do that, and so on.
It’s not an either/or Mac or iPad situation or question in my mind – it’s a both/and Mac and iPad world.
)
)